Coordinate input apparatus

• US 6,359,616 B1
• Filed: 06/17/1999
• Issued: 03/19/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: ALPS Electric Company Limited (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Ogura, Tsuyoshi, Yanai, Akira, Takase, Harumi, Suzuki, Shoji, Kikuchi, Yoshiyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Hjerpe, Richard
• Assistant Examiner(s): LESPERANCE, JEAN E
• Application Number:
  US09/336,420
• Time in Patent Office: 1,006 Days
• Field of Search: 345/173, 345/174, 345/156, 345/179, 178/18.01, 178/18.02, 178/18.03, 178/18.04, 178/18.05
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0418 for error correction or compensation, e.g. based on parallax, calibration or alignment

Abstract

A coordinate input apparatus for correcting the shift in an input coordinate system between different coordinate input apparatuses relative to an opening of each apparatus. A data processing block captures information from a coordinate detector PD to determine whether a tapping operation has been performed and determine whether the finger is being slid on a sensor board. A data analyzing block compares inputted absolute coordinates (X, y) with minimum coordinate values (Xmin, Ymin) and maximum coordinate values (Xmax, Ymax) indicative of a preset effective pointing area on the sensor board. A control block controls the data analyzing block to transfer replaced minimum coordinate values (Xmin, Ymin), maximum coordinate values (Xmax, Ymax) and the values of absolute coordinates (X, Y) to a data correcting block. Based on these minimum coordinate values (Xmin, Ymin) and maximum coordinate values (Xmax, Ymax), the data correcting block transforms the absolute coordinates (X, Y) into display coordinates. The control block moves a screen window or a cursor to a position indicated by absolute coordinates (X′, Y′) on a display screen.

Claims

1. A coordinate input apparatus comprising:

coordinate detecting device installed on a case so as to be exposed through a window provided on said case, said coordinate detecting device being provided with an operating surface having a predetermined size that is operated with a coordinate indicating means, a position indicated by said coordinate indicating means on said operating surface being outputted as input coordinate data about two-dimensional coordinates;

a storage device for storing range coordinate data about two-dimensional coordinates indicative of a rectangular coordinate input range in which a coordinate input operation is performed by said coordinate indicating means on said operating surface;

a data analyzing device for changing said range coordinate data according to said input coordinate data inputted by said coordinate indicating means;

a data correcting device for transforming, based on said range coordinate data, said input coordinate data into display coordinate data corresponding to coordinates on a display screen of an image display device; and

a display control device for displaying said display coordinate data to said display screen of said image display device,

wherein said range coordinate data is comprised of minimum coordinate data and maximum coordinate data indicative of said rectangular coordinate input range,

wherein, if said input coordinate data is smaller than said minimum coordinate data, said data analyzing device replaces the minimum coordinate data of said range coordinate data with said input coordinate data to generate a revised coordinate data range,

wherein, if said input coordinate data is larger than said maximum coordinate data, said data analyzing device replaces the maximum coordinate data of said range coordinate data with said input coordinate data to generate a revised coordinate data range, and

wherein, if said range coordinate data has been replaced with said input coordinate data to generate a revised coordinate range, said data correcting device transforms said input coordinate data into display coordinate data by comparing the range coordinate data with the revised coordinate data range.

2. The coordinate input apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said rectangular coordinate input range is set inside a frame of said window.

3. A coordinate input apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data correcting device transforms the input coordinate data into display coordinate data by comparing the range coordinate data with the revised coordinate data range so that an effective area of the operating surface of the coordinate input device is commensurate with an effective area of the display screen of the image display device.

4. A coordinate input apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the data correcting device transforms the input coordinate data into display coordinate data by applying the following formula:

5. A coordinate input apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a tap/slide component extract device for determining whether the coordinate indicating means is being tapped or slid on the operating surface of the coordinate input device.