Scroll controller

• US 6,330,009 B1
• Filed: 11/24/1998
• Issued: 12/11/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/1997
• 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: Murasaki, Yasushi, Isoe, Toshio
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Cao H.
• Application Number:
  US09/198,394
• Time in Patent Office: 1,113 Days
• Field of Search: 345/123, 345/124, 345/125, 345/115, 345/339, 345/340, 345/341, 345/342, 345/343, 345/346, 345/764, 345/781, 345/784, 345/788, 345/803, 345/804
• US Class Current: 715/784
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning

Abstract

There is provided a scroll controller which solves a problem that in scrolling an image at coordinates specified by a pen or the like to specific coordinates (e.g., the center), it is unable in a display such as a liquid crystal display having a slow display reaction speed to grasp the state of movement when a scroll quantity (scroll speed) per unit time is fast. The scroll controller calculates a difference between prefixed coordinates and the coordinate position specified by a position specifying device and on the basis of the calculation result, controls so that not only stepwise scroll quantities are obtained, but also scroll quantities in starting and ending of the scroll are different from that in the other time of the scroll.

Claims

1. A scroll controller comprising:

a storage device for storing image information;

a display device for displaying the image information stored in the storage device;

a position specifying device for specifying a coordinate position of the image information displayed on the display device;

a calculating device for calculating a difference between prefixed coordinates and the coordinate position specified by the position specifying device;

a scroll quantity setting device for setting a scroll acceleration on the basis of a calculation result of the calculating device;

a scroll control device for scrolling the image information at least on the basis of the acceleration set by the scroll quantity setting device; and

wherein between a starting point and an end of reference point, the acceleration is set in the vicinity of the starting point, and deceleration is set in the vicinity of the end or reference point.

2. The scroll controller of claim 1, wherein the scroll quantity setting device sets scrolling quantities so that a scroll starts and ends with different scrolling quantities from that of other time of the scroll.

3. The scroll controller of claim 1, wherein, when a plurality of scroll operations by the scroll control device are carried out consecutively, the scroll quantity setting device increments a scroll quantity per unit time operation by operation.

4. The controller of claim 1, wherein scrolling speed changes during said scrolling as a function of the calculation result of said calculating device.

5. A scroll controller comprising:

a storage device for storing image information;

a display device for displaying the image information stored in the storage device;

a position specifying device for specifying a coordinate position of image information displayed on the display device;

a calculating device for calculating a difference between prefixed coordinates and the coordinate position specified by the position specifying device;

a scrolling device for scrolling the image information at the specified coordinate position to a prefixed coordinate position utilizing an acceleration based at least on the calculation result of the calculating device, so that different accelerations are utilized for coordinate positions specified at different distances from the prefixed coordinates; and

a notifying device for notifying at a point in time when an image portion at the specified coordinate position is scrolled to the prefixed coordinate position by the scrolling device.

6. The controller of claim 5, wherein said scrolling device scrolls the image information at the specified coordinate position to the prefixed coordinate position via at least first, second, and third intermediate locations so that scrolling speed of the image information at the specified coordinate position changes during said scrolling of the image information at the specified coordinate position to the prefixed coordinate position as a function of a distance from the specified coordinate position to the prefixed coordinate position.

7. The controller of claim 5, wherein scrolling speed changes during said scrolling as a function of the calculation result of the calculating device.

8. A method of scrolling comprising the steps of:

providing a storage device for storing image information, displaying at least a portion of the image information on a display device;

specifying a coordinate position of a portion of the image information displayed on the display device;

calculating a different in location between a predetermined coordinate position and the specified coordinate position;

scrolling image information corresponding to the specified coordinate position to another position on the display device, and calculating speed of said scrolling based upon the difference in location determined in said calculating step; and

wherein between a starting point and an end or reference point the acceleration is set in the vicinity of the starting point and deceleration is set in the vicinity of the end or reference point.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said scrolling step further comprises scrolling the image information corresponding to the specified coordinate position to the another position on the display device via a plurality of intermediate locations positioned between said specified coordinate position and said another position, and wherein first and second of the intermediate locations are spaced closer together than second and third of said intermediate locations so that scrolling speed increases during at least a portion of said scrolling.

10. A scroll control system comprising:

a storage device for storing an image;

a display for displaying only a portion of the image stored in said storage device;

a position specifying device for specifying a coordinate position of a first portion of the image pointed to on the display;

wherein said position specifying device points to the coordinate position on the display when it is desired to scroll the first portion of the image corresponding to said coordinate position to another location on the display;

a calculating device for calculating a difference between reference point coordinates on the display and the coordinate position of the first portion of the image pointed to by the position specifying device;

a scroll quantity setting device for setting a scroll acceleration value on the basis of a calculation result of the calculating device, so that the acceleration value is based upon a difference between said reference point coordinates and said coordinate position of the image pointed to by said position specifying device; and

a scroll control device for scrolling the first portion of the image corresponding to the coordinate position pointed to on the display to said another location on the display using the acceleration value set by the scroll quantity setting device.