Information processing apparatus

• US 5,177,328 A
• Filed: 06/27/1991
• Issued: 01/05/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Ito, Takafumi, Adachi, Kensuke
• Primary Examiner(s): SCHREYER, STAFFORD
• Application Number:
  US07/720,158
• Time in Patent Office: 558 Days
• Field of Search: 178/18, 178/19, 340/711, 340/712
• US Class Current: 178/18.03
• 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 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0441 using active external devices, e.g. active pens, for receiving changes in electrical potential transmitted by the digitiser, e.g. tablet driving signals

Abstract

A display/input device is constituted by superposing a display device and a transparent tablet on each other. An operator points an icon included in an image displayed on a screen of the display device by means of a stylus pen, thereby inputting data. A central part of a coordinate detection area of the tablet overlaps the screen of the display device, and a peripheral part of the coordinate detection area is situated outside the screen. When the stylus pen points a predetermined region within the peripheral part of the coordinate detection area, predetermined processing ("cancel", "previous page", "next page") corresponding to a command allocated to the pointed predetermined region is carried out.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus capable of performing a plurality of processes and having a display/input device, said display/input device comprising a display device having a screen for displaying an image, a transparent tablet device superposed on the display device for detecting coordinates of a pointed location, and a stylus pen for pointing out a location on the tablet device, wherein an operator points out, using the stylus pen, an icon corresponding to input data and included in a display image on the display device thereby inputting the input data,

wherein a first part of a coordinate detection area of the transparent tablet device overlaps the screen of the display device, and a second part of the coordinate detection area of the transparent tablet device extends beyond a periphery of the screen of the display device, and

said information processing apparatus further includes execution means, responsive to the transparent tablet device, for executing a first predetermined process corresponding to the input data when a predetermined region in said second part of the coordinate detection area of the transparent tablet is pointed out by using the stylus pen, and for executing a second predetermined process corresponding to the input data when a locating outside the coordinate detection area of the transparent tablet device is pointed out by using the stylus pen.

11. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said stylus pen includes switch means for turning on when a point of the stylus pen is pressed, and said execution means executes the second predetermined process when said switch means is turned on without said transparent tablet device detecting the coordinates.

2. An information processing apparatus capable of performing a plurality of processes and having a display/input device, said display/input device comprising a display device having a screen for displaying an image, and a coordinate detection device superposed on the screen of the display device and having an area over which coordinates can be detected, wherein a center part of said area of the coordinate detection device overlaps the screen of the display device and a periphery part of said area of the coordinate detection device extends beyond an outer periphery of the screen, said information processing apparatus comprising:

execution means for executing a predetermined one of the processes in response to the detection of coordinates on predetermined regions within said periphery part of said area, and wherein said execution means includes input means for inputting data indicating one of the predetermined regions and process allocation means for allocating one of the processes to one of the predetermined regions in response to data input by the input means, thereby allowing a user to allocate arbitrary processes to the respective predetermined regions.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said execution means includes comparison means for comparing the coordinates detected by the coordinate detection device with the coordinates of the predetermined regions, and said execution means executes said predetermined one of the processes for each predetermined region in response to the comparison result of the comparison means.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein different processes are allocated to the respective predetermined regions.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said periphery part of the area of the coordinate detection device is situated at a peripheral part of the area over which coordinates can be detected.

6. An information processing apparatus capable of performing a plurality of processes and having a display/input device, said display/input device comprising display means for displaying an image, coordinate detection means for detecting coordinates of a pointed location, and location pointing means for pointing out the pointing location, said information processing apparatus comprising:

execution means, responsive to the location pointing means and the coordinate detection means, for recognizing a pointing action by the location pointing means when the location pointing means has pointed out a location outside a coordinate detection area of the coordinate detection means, thereby executing a predetermined one of the processes.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said execution means, responsive to the location pointing means and the coordinate detection means, executes the predetermined ones of the processes when the location pointing means has pointed out a location, the coordinates of which are not capable of being detected by the coordinate detection means.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said execution means includes changing means for changing the predetermined one of the processes.

9. An information processing apparatus capable of performing a plurality of processes, comprising:

a display device having a screen for displaying an image including an icon for instruction input;

location pointing means for pointing out a location, said location pointing means including indication means for indicating that a location has been pointed out and coordinate detection means for detecting coordinates of the pointed location;

comparison means for comparing the location pointed out by the location pointing means with the location of the icon displayed on the screen and for generating a comparison result, said comparison means including determining means for determining whether the location pointed out by the location pointing means is within a prescribed region outside said screen and for generating a determination result;

first execution means, responsive to the comparison result of the comparison means, for executing a one of the processes corresponding to the icon when the location pointed out by the location pointing means coincides with the location of the icon displayed on the screen; and

second execution means, responsive to the comparison result of the comparison means, for executing a one of the processes corresponding to a predetermined command when the location pointed out by the location pointing means does not coincide with the location of the icon displayed on the screen and for executing, using the determination result, the one of the processes corresponding to a predetermined command when the location pointed out by location pointing means is within said predetermined region and for executing another one of the processes corresponding to a predetermined command when the indication means has indicated that the location has been pointed out and the coordinate detection means has detected no coordinates.

10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 9 further including allocation means for allocating the predetermined command for the respective predetermined region.