Portable information processing apparatus having simplified page selection

• US 5,673,406 A
• Filed: 08/26/1996
• Issued: 09/30/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/1990
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Hirayama, Tomoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Zimmerman, Mark K.
• Application Number:
  US08/702,794
• Time in Patent Office: 400 Days
• Field of Search: 395/146, 395/148, 395/155, 395/156, 395/157, 395/158, 395/159, 395/161, 395/350
• US Class Current: 715/776
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/033 Pointing devices displaced or positioned by the user , e.g. mice, trackballs, pens or joysticks; Accessories therefor digitisers characterised by the transducing means G06F3/041
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0483 Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor

Abstract

An information processing apparatus is comprised of a processing circuit for processing information in a unit of pages, the information being classified into the same kind of pages as index informations, a display device for displaying class of the index information, and a pointing device for pointing the class of index information on the display device. The processing circuit processes the information such that, when the pointing device points to the displayed index information, the first page or a new page in the class of index information is displayed.

Claims

1. A portable information processing apparatus having a tablet and a pen pointing means for designating an area of said tablet, comprising:

processing means for processing information in a unit of pages, said pages displaying information selectively input by said pen, said information being classified into the same kind of pages as index information;

display means associated with said tablet for displaying a class of said index information shown as a tab of a page; and

said pointing means operative to point to said class of index information on said display means, wherein said processing means processes said information such that, when said pointing means points to said displayed index information, a first page in said class of index information or a new page having no information is selectively displayed alternately by pointing said pointing means a single time at said class of index information.

2. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said processing means creates said new page when said displayed class of index information is newly pointed to.

3. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising detecting means for detecting whether said pointing means points to said displayed index information, wherein when said first page is displayed, said processing means processes information to change said new page to displayed page, when said new page is displayed, said processing means processes information to change said first page to displayed page, and when an other page is displayed, said processing means processes information to change said first or new page to displayed page.

4. A portable information processing apparatus having a tablet and pen pointing means for designating an area of said tablet, comprising:

processing means for processing information in a unit if pages, said information being classified into the same kind of pages as index information;

display means for displaying information including key means;

pointing means for pointing to said key means;

detecting means for detecting whether said key means is pointed to by said pointing means;

page determining means for determining a class of index information of a displayed page; and

page changing means for changing a displayed page to a new page, wherein when a first page in said class of index is displayed, said page changing means changes said new page to a displayed page and when another page thereof is displayed, said page changing means changes said first page or said new page to a displayed page alternately by pointing said pointing means a single time.

5. A method of selectively accessing information comprising the steps of:

displaying information on a display means, said information including key information;

pointing a pointing means at said key information;

detecting whether said key information is pointed to by said pointing means; and

alternately displaying either a first page or a last page of information on said display means by pointing said pointing means at said key information a single time.