Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Display peripheral interface input device – Including keyboard
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-18
2004-10-26
Zimmerman, Mark (Department: 2671)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Display peripheral interface input device
Including keyboard
C345S157000, C345S215000, C345S215000, C345S215000, C345S215000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06809724
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display apparatus and a portable information processing apparatus incorporating the display apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A standard window system which is one of a screen display system for computers employs a coordinate input device such as a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or a track ball, for the purpose of commanding the position and movement of a cursor on a display screen. A program which has been related to an icon displayed at a predetermined coordinate position is started when the user operates a selecting button such as a clock button of, for example, a mouse, after placing the cursor on the icon. The user also can designate a predetermined region or area on the display screen by moving the cursor while continuing pressing of the selecting button.
This type of display system permits scrolling of the display screen by suitably operating the cursor.
The operations such as alteration of the display screen, movement of the cursor, scrolling of the display screen and so forth, however, are difficult to conduct in known wearable device such as wrist-watch-type devices having conventional arrangement of the operating means for inputting instructions for implementing these operations. Such difficulty arises from the posture of the wearable device when used and from the limited size of the operating means. Thus, the user tends to fail to smoothly effect operations such as pointing of a position, scrolling, etc., and to make wrong selection of the functions.
Pointers such as a mouse or a track point in one hand permits a cursor to move in any desired direction but on the other hand poses a problem in that the cursor becomes unstable, hampering smooth and accurate pointing of a position.
For instance, referring to
FIG. 57
, the cursor may erroneously designate a point P
2
at coordinates X
2
, Y
2
on a menu screen
2000
having a plurality of icons
2004
, even when the user intended to move the cursor to a point P
1
which is at coordinates X
1
, Y
1
. This is mainly attributed to the fact that the large degree of freedom of operation of the pointing device, e.g., a mouse, for implementing all-direction movement of the cursor tends to allow errors &Dgr;X, &Dgr;Y to occur with respect to the target point P
1
. Consequently, the user cannot accurately point the target position in one action. After wrongly pointing the point P
2
, the user has to operate the operation means once again to move the cursor from P
2
to P
1
.
FIG. 58
shows another type of portable information processing apparatus denoted by
2010
. A cursor displayed on the display screen
2014
can be moved in all directions, i.e., up and down and to the left and right, in accordance with instruction input through an operation means
2012
.
Obviously, this type of portable information processing apparatus also suffers from the problem explained in the foregoing.
In case of a portable information terminal device, sizes of the display screen, icons and operation means are small as compared with ordinary personal computers (PCs). The portable information terminal device is difficult to use when the operation means are arranged and used in the same way as those on ordinary PCs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a display apparatus which, even when used on a small-sized information processing apparatus such as a wearable device, enables the user to accurately and adequately conduct operations such as pointing and scrolling by means of a cursor, with improved ease of use.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a portable information processing apparatus incorporating such a display apparatus.
To this end, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a display apparatus, comprising: display means for displaying, on a display screen, a display image containing a time axis formed so as to extend at least in a first direction; input operation means for physically moving at least the time axis in one of the first direction; and controlling means for controlling the display screen based on an operational input given by an operation of the input operation means; wherein the input operation means includes a rotational operating means having an axis of rotation extending in second directions which cross the first direction; and wherein the rotational operating means is arranged such that a rotational operation of the rotational operation means by a first physical amount causes a physical movement of at least the time axis by a second physical amount corresponding to the first physical amount.
In accordance with these features of the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to arrange such that the direction of scrolling (first direction) of the time axis on the display screen coincides with the direction of rotation of the input operation means. Hitherto, as stated before, operations such as alteration of the display screen, movement of cursor, scrolling of the display screen and so forth could not easily be conducted on wrist-wear type portable device having conventional arrangement of input operation means, due to restriction in the size of the input operation means and the posture of the wrist-worn device when operated. In contrast, according to the invention, the user can easily effect operations using cursor, because the scrolling direction coincides with the direction of rotation of the input operation means.
Conventional all-direction pointer such as a mouse or a track point allows unstable behavior of the cursor in response to the input instruction. In contrast, the display apparatus of the invention can ensure stable movement of the cursor because the cursor is movable only uni-axially. Further, the uni-axial movement of the cursor at high speed is realized by making use of the centrifugal force and inertial of the rotational input operation means. It is therefore possible to accurately command the horizontal movement and position of the cursor, while achieving high speed of cursor movement, with linear relationship between the operational input and the response of the display screen, whereby an interface is implemented which is easy to understand.
In the display apparatus of the first aspect having the described features, the rotational operation means may be arranged such that a direction tangent to the rotational operation means coincides with the first direction.
With this arrangement, the rotational operation means can also be sued for the purpose of setting a greater scale of display, i.e., enlargement of the display. This eliminates the necessity of complicated operation mechanism, thus reducing burden on the user, as well as the cost.
In the display apparatus of the first aspect, the input operation means may be arranged such that the input operation means when operated causes an enlargement of a predetermined display region of the display screen.
With this arrangement, the direction of movement coincides with the direction in which the display region is enlarged, giving an impression to the user as if the input operation means is mechanically linked to the display screen. It is therefore possible to realize a user-friendly operation environment.
When such an enlarging function is implemented, the arrangement may be such that the operation means is movable at least in the second directions, and causes the enlargement of the predetermined display region when moved in one of the second directions.
With this arrangement, the user can easily recognize the enlarged display region at one end of the display screen toward which the input operation means is moved.
This enlarging function may be implemented such that the input operation means is located at one end of the display screen as viewed in the first direction and, by being moved in one of the second directions, causes the enlargement of the predetermined display region which is positioned at one end of the display screen as viewed in the second direction
Nakashima Roy
Shiraishi Atsushi
Seiko Epson Corporation
Wallace Scott
Zimmerman Mark
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