Document processing device

• US 6,072,474 A
• Filed: 07/03/1996
• Issued: 06/06/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 08/11/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Watanabe, Tadashi, Fukui, Yuichi, Morimura, Takeshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Luu, Matthew
• Application Number:
  US08/674,108
• Time in Patent Office: 1,434 Days
• Field of Search: 345/173, 345/174, 345/175, 345/176, 345/177, 345/179
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04892 Arrangements for controlling cursor position based on codes indicative of cursor displacements from one discrete location to another, e.g. using cursor control keys associated to different directions or using the tab key arrangements for controlling cursor position based on coordinate signals G06F3/038

Abstract

When a user touches a tablet with a pen, a coordinate pointed with a nib of a pen and a tool force on this coordinate are detected, and a cursor is displayed at a position corresponding to the coordinate in a display device. Furthermore, the shape, color and size, etc., of the cursor can be varied according to a change in coordinate, tool force. This permits the user to recognize a level of the tool force which he actually applies at a glance. Additionally, an operational mode is switched according to an amount of change in detected coordinate and the tool force. As a result, the user is permitted to control an operational mode of the document processing device with ease only by a pen operation, thereby improving an operability.

Claims

1. A document processing device, comprising:

pointing means for allowing a user to specify a coordinate by applying thereon a tool force;

coordinate detection means for detecting a coordinate specified by said pointing means;

tool force detection means for detecting a tool force at a time the coordinate is specified;

display means; and

plotting means for plotting an image in said display means at a position corresponding to a coordinate detected by said coordinate detection means in an operational mode of either a variable mode in which a plotting process is performed according to a tool force detected by said tool force detection means or a fixed mode in which a plotting process is performed according to a predetermined constant tool force, and

operational mode switch means for switching the operational mode of said plotting means between the variable mode and the fixed mode based on a change in at least one of the coordinate detected by said coordinate detection means and the tool force detected by said tool force detection means.

2. The document processing device as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

time measuring means for measuring an elapsed time,

wherein the operational mode of said plotting means is switched when an amount of change in tool force is not more than a predetermined value within a predetermined elapsed time measured by said time measuring means, and an amount of change in coordinate is not more than a predetermined value within a predetermined elapsed time measured by said time measuring means.

3. The document processing device as set forth in claim 1, wherein:

the operational mode of said plotting means is set to the fixed mode when a detected amount of change in tool force is not more than a predetermined value during a period till an amount of change in coordinate reaches a predetermined value.

4. The document processing device as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

informing means for informing the user that the operational mode of said plotting means has changed.

5. The document processing device as set forth in claim 1, wherein:

the operational mode of said plotting means is switched from the fixed mode to the variable mode when the tool force becomes not more than a predetermined value.

6. The document processing device as set forth in claim 1, wherein:

the operational mode of said plotting means is switched from the fixed mode to the variable mode when a predetermined time has elapsed after the tool force becomes not more than a predetermined value.

7. The document processing device as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

time measuring means for measuring an elapsed time,

wherein the operational mode of said plotting means is switched from the fixed mode to the variable mode when an amount of change in tool force reaches a predetermined value within a predetermined elapsed time measured by said time measuring means and an amount of change in coordinate is not more than a predetermined value during a period from said time measuring means starts measuring of an elapsed time till the amount of change in tool force reaches the predetermined value.

8. The document processing device as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

cursor display means for displaying a cursor according to a tool force in said display means,

wherein said cursor display means displays a cursor which permits an identification of the fixed mode when the operational mode of said plotting means is the fixed mode.

9. A document processing device, comprising:

pointing means for allowing a user to specify a coordinate by applying thereon a tool force;

coordinate detection means for detecting a coordinate specified by said pointing means;

tool force detection means for detecting a tool force at a time the coordinate is specified;

display means;

plotting means for plotting an image in said display means at a position corresponding to a coordinated detected by said coordinate detection means;

in an operational mode of either a variable mode in which a plotting process is performed according to a tool force detected by said tool force detection means or a fixed mode in which a plotting process is performed according to a predetermined constant tool force, and

operational mode switch means for switching the operational mode of said plotting means between the variable mode and the fixed mode based on a chance in at least one of the coordinate detected by said coordinate detection means and the tool force detected by said tool force detection means; and

tool force display means for displaying an indicator indicative of a tool force detected by said tool force detection means.

10. A document processing device comprising:

pointing means for allowing a user to specify a coordinate by applying thereon a tool force;

coordinate detection means for detecting a coordinate specified by said pointing means;

tool force detection means for detecting a tool force at a time the coordinate is specified;

display means;

plotting means for allowing an image in said display means at a position corresponding to a coordinate detected by said coordinate detection means;

tool force display means for displaying an indicator indicative of a tool force detected by said tool force detection means;

sound memory means for storing a sound corresponding to a level of a tool force detected by said tool force detection means; and

sound output means for receiving a sound corresponding to a tool force applied by the user from said sound memory means and outputting the sound when a level of the tool force applied by the user has changed.

11. The document-processing device as set forth in claim 10 further comprising:

color memory means for storing a color according to a level of tool force detected by said tool force detection means,

wherein said tool force display means takes in a color corresponding to the tool force applied by the user from said color memory means and displays a pointer of the indicator in the color.

12. The document processing device as set forth in claim 11, further comprising:

color setting means for setting a color corresponding to each level of tool force by the user.

13. The document processing device as set forth in claim 10, further comprising:

sound setting means for setting a sound corresponding to each level of the tool force by the user.

16. The document-processing device as set forth in claim 10 further comprising:

display position memory means for storing a position at which the indicator is displayed; and

display position setting means for setting a display position of the indicator by the user.

17. The document-processing device as set forth in claim 10, further comprising:

warning means which outputs a warning message when a tool force detected by said tool force detection means reaches a predetermined value.

14. A document processing device, comprising:

pointing means for allowing a user to specify a coordinate by applying thereon a tool force;

coordinate detection means for detecting a coordinate specified by said pointing means;

tool force detection means for detecting a tool force at a time the coordinate is specified;

display means;

plotting means for plotting an image in said display means at a position corresponding to a coordinate detected by said coordinate detection means;

tool force display means for displaying an indicator indicative of a tool force detected by said tool force detection means;

function determination means for determining a function selected by the user; and

display scale memory means for storing therein a display scale corresponding to each function,

wherein said tool force display means receives a display scale of an indicator from said display scale memory means, which corresponds to a function selected by the user, and displays the display scale.

15. The document processing device as set forth in claim 14, further comprising:

display scale setting means for setting a display scale corresponding to each function by the user.

18. A document processing device, comprising:

pointing means for allowing a user to specify a coordinate by applying thereon a tool force;

coordinate detection means for detecting a coordinate specified by said pointing means;

tool force detection means for detecting a tool force at a time the coordinate is specified;

display means for displaying an entire image of a document to be processed and an observation window for displaying a part of the entire image in a larger scale on a same screen simultaneously; and

mode determination means for determining based on a change in coordinate and tool force whether only a border specified in a portion displayed in the observation window is moved or the portion displayed in the observation window is moved.