Portable terminal device

• US 5,376,945 A
• Filed: 04/23/1992
• Issued: 12/27/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Tanaka, Yasuharu, Takenaka, Toshihiro, Morita, Akitaka, Haneda, Isamu
• Primary Examiner(s): Weldon, Ulysses
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHOW, DOON Y
• Application Number:
  US07/872,429
• Time in Patent Office: 978 Days
• Field of Search: 340/712, 340/709, 340/723, 340/747, 340/721, 340/724, 395/156, 395/157, 345/115, 345/112, 345/133, 345/146, 345/902, 345/145, 345/173
• US Class Current: 715/810
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/0225 User interface arrangements, e.g. keyboard, display; Interfaces to other computer systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/0283 for data storage and retrieval
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72469 for operating the device by selecting functions from two or more displayed items, e.g. menus or icons
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 345/902 Menu display

Abstract

In a portable terminal device of the invention, when a menu key provided on a keyboard is depressed by an operator, a copy/move menu is displayed on a display area under the control of a CPU which detects this depression. Then, the CPU determines which is specified as data to be copied or moved, a set of data displayed on the display area or part of the set of data. The specified data is input to a transfer buffer, and a copy or move process is executed. In a case where an insert process is selected for inserting the data stored in The transfer buffer into another display position, the transfer data is transferred to an input buffer, so as to copy or move the transfer data to the other position.

Claims

1. A portable terminal device for storing, copying, moving, inserting and displaying information data according to a selected menu function, comprising:

input means for receiving information data and commands from an operator;

a RAM for storing information data and area data;

a display area for displaying information data in an information data portion and menu selections in a menu selection portion;

control means for getting area data indicative of the location of an identified area on said display, for storing said area data in said RAM, and for displaying said identified area in a manner distinguishable from a remaining portion of said display; and

processing means for sequentially permitting an area of information data to be selected from the information data portion and then permitting a function to be selected from the menu selection portion, and for determining whether there exists the selected area of information data within said area data, and, if YES, processing the selected area of the information data in accordance with the selected function, and, if NO, processing the entirety of information data in accordance with the selected function.

2. A portable terminal device in accordance with claim 1, wherein said portable terminal device further comprises a touch panel substantially covering said menu selection portion and at least part of said information data portion of said display area, wherein said control means gets area data by causing said touch panel to output the area data.

3. A portable terminal device in accordance with claim 2, wherein said identified area is identified by the finger of an operator being dragged across said touch panel.

4. A portable terminal device in accordance with claim 1, wherein said control means causes the identified area to be displayed on said display area in reverse video.

5. A portable terminal device in accordance with claim 1, wherein said control means includes a control circuit and an A/D converter.

6. A portable terminal device in accordance with claim 1, wherein said processing means includes a CPU.

7. A data processing method for receiving, moving, copying, inserting and displaying information data in a portable terminal device, comprising the steps of:

receiving information data and commands from an operator;

displaying information data in an information data portion and menu selections in a menu selection portion;

getting area data indicative of the location of a user identified area of information data in the information portion of said display;

storing said area data;

displaying said identified area in a manner distinguishable from a remaining portion of said display;

allowing a function to be selected from the menu selected portion;

determining whether there exists an identified area of information data within said area data, and if there exists an identified area within said area data, then processing the identified area of the information data in accordance with the selected function, and processing the entirety of information data in accordance with the selected function if an identified area does not exist within said area data; and

wherein said identified area of information data is identified by the finger of an operator being dragged across a touch sensitive panel.

8. A data processing method for a portable terminal device in accordance with claim 7, wherein said displaying step of displaying said identified area in a particular manner includes a step of displaying said identified area in reverse video.