Two-handed method of displaying information on a computer display

• US 5,731,801 A
• Filed: 03/31/1995
• Issued: 03/24/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Wacom Co Limited (Wacom)
• Original Assignee: Wacom Co Limited (Wacom)
• Inventors: Fukuzaki, Yasuhiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Faile, Andrew
• Assistant Examiner(s): VU, NGOC YEN T
• Application Number:
  US08/415,060
• Time in Patent Office: 1,089 Days
• Field of Search: 345/146, 345/179, 395/156, 395/157, 395/352, 395/353, 364/474.27
• US Class Current: 715/842
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

A method for displaying a display object on a display screen, which method permits efficient simultaneous input operation by allowing a display object to be shown on a display screen without producing an area wherein an electronic pen is disabled when simultaneous input is performed with the electronic pen held in a dominant hand and an electronic cursor held in the other hand. The electronic pen is operated by the operator'"'"'s dominant hand and the electronic cursor by the other hand on an input table of a coordinate input device. A pointer indicating the position specified by the electronic pen, a pointer indicating the position specified by the electronic cursor, and display objects associated with the electronic cursor are displayed on the display screen. The display objects on the display screen are shown at the location of the other hand, i.e., the non-dominant hand, so that the electronic cursor does not interfere with the movement of the electronic pen when the operator moves the electronic pen to work on the display objects on the input table.

Claims

1. A method of displaying a display object on a display screen, wherein an electronic pen is operated by an operator'"'"'s dominant hand and an electronic cursor is operated by the other hand, the pen and cursor both being operated on a coordinate detecting device input table;

the method comprising;

displaying on the display screen (a) a first pointer which indicates a position pointed by said electronic pen, (b) a second pointer which indicates a position pointed by said electronic cursor, and (c) a display object associated with said electronic cursor;

said display object being displayed on said display screen at the location of said other hand so that said electronic cursor does not interfere with said electronic pen when said electronic pen is moved on said input table to work on said display object.

2. A method of displaying a display object on a display screen according to claim 1, wherein said display object associated with said electronic cursor is a push-up menu which has a menu bar located at its bottom and a menu item extending upward from said menu bar when the menu item is displayed.

3. A method of displaying a display object on a display screen according to claim 1, wherein said display object associated with said electronic cursor is a window which has a title bar serving as a handle displayed at the bottom of said window.

4. A method of operating a display of a computer by an operator using a dominant hand and another hand, the computer activating the display so plural objects are simultaneously displayed on a display area of the display,

the method comprising:

selecting one of the objects by the operator pointing a first position device at a first point on an input table while pointing a second position pointing device to a second point on the input table;

the operator pointing the first device with the another hand and pointing the second device with the dominant hand;

activating the first and second position pointing devices, the input table, the computer and the display so signals indicative of the positions of the first and second devices relative to the table are supplied to the computer, the computer responding to the signals to activate the display with simultaneous indications of the positions of the first and second devices;

the first position pointing device including a bulbous body grasped by fingers and the palm of the another hand, the second position pointing device including a rod like body grasped by a finger and thumb of the dominant hand as a pen is grasped, the objects being positioned on the display so the position of the bulbous body does not interfere with the position of the rod like body, the body objects selected by the first position pointing device being located together in one region, locating the region on the display only at positions remote from positions on the display corresponding to positions on the table where the second position pointing device is to be located so the bulbous body and the another hand grasping it do not interfere with movement of the dominant hand and the rod like body on the table.

5. A method of operating a display of a computer, the computer activating the display so a window is provided in a display area of the display, comprising

activating the computer to cause a vertically extending menu bar to be poisitioned adjacent a side of the window opposite from a dominant hand of an operator,

selecting a menu title from the menu bar by the operator positioning a first position pointing device to a first point on an input table with another hand opposite from the dominant hand while selecting a region in the area by the operator positioning a second position pointing device to a second point on the input table with the dominant hand, the first position pointing device including a bulbous body grasped by fingers and the palm of the another hand, the second position pointing device including a rod like body grasped by a finger and thumb of the dominant hand as a pen is grasped, the first and second devices and the input table and the display and the computer being coupled together so the positions of the first and second devices relative to the input table are signalled to the computer which activates the display, the menu bar being sufficiently close to said side of the display as to avoid interference with movement of the rod like body by the dominant hand on the table during selection of the menu title from the menu bar.

6. A method of operating a display of a computer comprising activating the computer so a window is provided in a display area of the display, the window being provided so it includes a bottom title bar and a menu bar containing plural menu titles, the menu bar being located immediately above the bottom title bar, selecting one of the menu titles, and activating the computer so that in response to the one menu title being selected plural menu items are pushed up above the selected menu title.

7. A method of operating a computer display including a first window in a display area, the first window having a first title bar along its bottom edge,

the method comprising:

moving the first window to the top of the display area so the only substantial part of the first window in the display area is the first title bar, so title indicia in the first title bar are displayed in the display area.

8. the method of claim 7 further including moving a second window having a second title bar along its bottom edge to the top of the display area so the second window overlaps and is behind the first window and the second title bar is immediately below the first title bar so (a) title indicia in the second title bar are displayed in the display area below the indicia in the first title bar and (b) the indicia in the first and second title bars are simultaneously displayed.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the first window includes a menu bar above the title bar, and pushing up items from the menu bar while the first window is positioned in the display area at a location such that indicia in the pushed up items are displayed.

10. A method of operating a display of a computer, comprising activating the computer to cause a window to be provided in a display area of the display and an object to be provided in the display area, the window including a menu containing plural menu items selectively associated with different regions of the object, the method comprising:

selecting one of the menu items by an operator positioning a first position pointing device to a first point on a control surface with a first hand while selecting one of the regions of the object by the operator positioning a second position device to a second point on the control surface with a second hand, and

activating the computer so it performs an operation specified by the selected menu item in the selected region.

11. The method of claim 10 further including moving the window about in the display area by the operator grabbing the window with the first position pointing device and moving the first position pointing device on the control surface with the first hand.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the menu items are colors and the object regions are regions to be colored, whereby the computer is activated to cause the color selected by the operator positioning the first position pointing device to be displayed in the region selected by the operator positioning the second position pointing device.

13. The method of claim 10 wherein the second hand is a dominant hand of the operator and the first hand is another hand of the operator, the first and second position pointing devices pointing to an input table that exchanges energy with the first and second position pointing devices so signals indicative of the positions of the first and second devices relative to the tablet are supplied to the computer, the computer responding to the signals to activate the display with simultaneous indications of the positions of the first and second devices;

the first position pointing device including a bulbous body grasped by fingers and the palm of the another hand, the second position pointing device including a rod like body grasped by a finger and thumb of the dominant hand as a pen is grasped, the menu items being positioned on the display so the position of the bulbous body does not interfere with the position of the rod like body.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the menu items are located together in one region, further including moving the region to different positions on the display area by the another hand positioning the first position pointing device at a point on the table corresponding with a corner of the region opposite from the dominant hand and then moving the first position pointing device on the table to move the region on the display area.