Input device

• US 5,617,117 A
• Filed: 03/29/1995
• Issued: 04/01/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Tanaka, Atsushi, Kataoka, Mitsuteru, Imanaka, Takeshi, Yamamoto, Sozo
• Primary Examiner(s): LIANG, REGINA
• Application Number:
  US08/412,735
• Time in Patent Office: 734 Days
• Field of Search: 345/157, 345/159, 345/173, 345/145, 345/162, 178/18, 178/19
• US Class Current: 345/157
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

The present invention is directed to the provision of an input device for inputting coordinates that is natural to operate. In the present invention, coordinate input device outputs one- or higher-dimensional coordinates of an object placed in close proximity thereto or in contact therewith, and pressed or not-pressed information indicating whether said object is pressed or not pressed thereon. Cursor generating device accepts at its inputs the coordinates and the pressed or not-pressed information output from the coordinate input device, repositions the cursor in accordance with the input coordinates, and outputs an image with the external appearance of the cursor changed in accordance with the pressed or not-pressed information. Further, image generating device outputs a synthesized image synthesized by combining an image output from the cursor generating device and an image input at an image input terminal. Display device accepts the image output from the image generating device and displays the synthesized image.

Claims

1. An input device comprising:

coordinate input means for outputting one- or higher-dimensional absolute coordinates of an object placed in close proximity thereto or in contact therewith, pressed or not-pressed information indicating whether said object is pressed or not pressed thereon, and coordinate detected or not-detected information indicating whether the coordinates of said object are detected or not,

cursor generating means for accepting at inputs thereof said coordinates, said pressed or not-pressed information, and said coordinate detected or not-detected information output from said coordinate input means, and for outputting an image containing therein a cursor representing said coordinates,

area definition generating means for accepting at an input thereof said coordinate detected or not-detected information output from said coordinate input means, and for outputting an image containing therein an area definition defining a movable area of said cursor when said coordinate detected or not-detected information indicates the detection of said coordinates, and

image generating means for accepting at inputs thereof the image output from said area definition generating means and the image output from said cursor generating means, and for producing an image by superimposing said input images one over the other for output,

wherein said cursor generating means repositions said cursor in accordance with said input absolute coordinates and also changes the external appearance of said cursor on the basis of said pressed or not-pressed information and said coordinate detected or not-detected information.

2. An input device comprising:

coordinate input means for outputting an information of one- or higher-dimensional relative coordinates of a close or contacting object, the relative coordinates being determined with respect to the absolute coordinates which is obtained from a position of the object when the position is detected by the coordinate input means, and also outputting pressed or not-pressed information indicating whether said object is pressed or not pressed thereon,

cursor generating means for accepting at inputs thereof said relative coordinates and said pressed or not-pressed information output from said coordinate input means, and for outputting an image containing therein a cursor representing said coordinates,

area definition generating means for generating and outputting an image containing therein an area definition defining a movable area of said cursor which, when the absolute coordinates of said object are obtained by said coordinate input means, is displayed within a prescribed display screen in accordance with a predetermined rule using said absolute coordinates, and

image generating means for outputting a synthesized image synthesized by superimposing the image output from said cursor generating means over the image output from said area definition generating means,

wherein said cursor generating means repositions said cursor in accordance with said relative coordinates and also changes the external appearance of said cursor on the basis of said pressed or not-pressed information, and outputs an image of said cursor that moves within said movable area in accordance with said relative coordinates, starting from the initial position thereof defined by a predetermined rule within said movable area in said image to be synthesized.

3. An input device comprising:

coordinate input means for outputting one- or higher-dimensional coordinates of an object placed in close proximity thereto or in contact therewith and pressed or not-pressed information indicating whether said object is pressed or not pressed thereon,

cursor generating means for accepting at inputs thereof said coordinates and said pressed or not-pressed information output from said coordinate input means, and for outputting an image containing therein a cursor representing said coordinates,

operation detection means for accepting at inputs thereof from said coordinate input means the one- or higher-dimensional coordinates of said proximate or contacting object and the pressed or not-pressed information indicating whether said coordinate input means is pressed by said object, and for outputting a displacement of said coordinates made during the pressing and a moving speed of said coordinates at the time when a transition is made from a pressed condition to an unpressed condition,

film generating means for accepting at an input thereof the output of said operation detection means and for outputting a film pictorially representing a pattern of a movie film, and

image reproducing means for accepting at an input thereof the output of said operation detection means and for reproducing and outputting a desired position of stored moving images,

wherein said cursor generating means repositions said cursor in accordance with said input coordinates and also changes the external appearance of said cursor on the basis of said pressed or not-pressed information, and

wherein when the output of said operation detection means represents the displacement, said film generating means changes the pattern of said film to a pattern indicating said film having moved by a distance corresponding to said displacement, and when the output of said operation detection means represents the moving speed, and film generating means continues changing the pattern so that said film continues to move at said moving speed, while when the output of said operation detection means represents the displacement, said image reproducing means moves said reproduced and output image position by a distance corresponding to said displacement, and when the output of said operation detection means represents the moving speed, said image reproducing means continues to reproduce said reproduced and output image at a speed corresponding to said moving speed.