JPH09269883A - Information processor and method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processor such as an electronic notebook reduced in display screen size, excellent in operability and improved in handleability at the time of displaying and selecting the menu of hierarchical structure. SOLUTION: This processor is provided with display parts 13 and 14 with display screen capable of inputting data by a user and a memory 42 storing data on the menus of hierarchical structure to display the menu of hierarchical structure desired by the user among the menus of hierarchical structure on the display screen. In addition, the processor is provided with a pressure detection means 52 for detecting pressure (tool force) generated at the time of depressing the desired position of the display screen, hierarchy judging means 31 to 33 judging which hierarchy of hierarchical structure the strength of this pressure is equivalent to and a menu display means reading data on the menu of the judged hierarchy from the memory 42 and displaying on the display screen.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus such as an electronic notebook and an information processing method, and more particularly to an information processing apparatus and an information processing method suitable for a hierarchical menu structure in which menus are arranged over a plurality of layers. Regarding

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a lightweight and compact information processing device such as an electronic notebook has come in handy as its function is improved.

As an example of this type of information processing apparatus, a pen input type disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-274081 (the name of the invention is "handwriting input device") is known. This pen input type information processing device
Plane coordinates on tablet touched by pen (2D)
The position is detected, and menu display and information processing are performed using only the plane coordinate data. That is, as shown in FIG. 1 of the publication, the information processing apparatus includes a coordinate input device having a pen and a tablet, a control device that analyzes and processes position data indicated by the coordinate input device, and a control device of this control device. And a display device for displaying the processing result.

The coordinate input device comprises, for example, a transparent tablet and a stylus pen. The stylus pen is switched on / off by a switch attached to the pen tip, and is turned on when the pen tip is pressed against the tablet. The transparent tablet is installed on the screen of the display device and has the same coordinate system as the screen of the display device. The contents displayed on the screen of the display device can be visualized through the transparent tablet, and the stylus pen can be used to instruct the coordinates according to the contents displayed. Further, the control device stores the coordinate data among the data input from the coordinate input device in a buffer and the stylus pen on / off information in another buffer, and detects the coordinate position each time the buffering is performed. Activate the function. With this coordinate position detection function, when the same coordinate data is continuously input from the coordinate input device for a certain number of times with the stylus pen turned on, the coordinate data is stored in the buffer,
This coordinate data is used for application processing such as line drawing. This is intended to eliminate harmful effects such as camera shake.

In the conventional information processing apparatus such as the apparatus described in the above-mentioned publication, the position data designated by the pen is two-dimensional coordinate data on the tablet. For this reason, when a conventional apparatus is provided with a hierarchical menu structure in which display menu data is formed over a plurality of layers and the menu display / selection function is implemented, the following embodiment is generally adopted.

A plurality of hierarchical menus are displayed on the screen of the display device (for example, a liquid crystal screen), and the user is instructed to select the desired hierarchical menu with a pen. The plane coordinate data based on this instruction is analyzed and the hierarchical menu to be displayed is selected, and the menu data of this hierarchical menu is read from the memory and displayed. The user is made to instruct the desired menu again from the displayed menu with the pen. In this way, when a menu is selected in a time series with a pen to select a menu, the menu selected in the past and the currently selected menu are displayed on the screen so as not to overlap with each other in order to clarify the instruction.

[0007]

However, when displaying / selecting a menu having a hierarchical structure, according to the conventional apparatus, it is necessary to perform menu selection one after another in a time series. The problem was pointed out.

First, since the past and present menus of the hierarchical structure are displayed so as not to overlap each other, the size of the display screen is inevitably increased. Forcibly, there was a problem that the entire device became large, which was contrary to the needs for weight reduction and compactness, and was inferior in portability.

Second, displaying the past and present menus in a hierarchical structure so as not to overlap each other means that
It means that the menu selected now is displayed at a position different from the selected position on the screen. Therefore, the user needs to move the pen and the line of sight each time a new menu is displayed. Especially as the number of menus increases,
The number of movements of the pen and the number of movements of the line of sight also increase. Therefore, the conventional device has a problem in usability that it increases visual fatigue of the user and is inferior in operability.

Thirdly, since the menu has a hierarchical structure, when selecting a menu located in the middle of the hierarchical structure, it is always necessary to go back to the top hierarchical menu and perform again. Therefore, in particular, with respect to a menu having a hierarchical structure, the conventional device often requires a large number of menu selections (labor), which causes a reduction in operability.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the conventional device, and when displaying / selecting a hierarchical menu, the display screen is small, the operability is excellent, and the electronic notebook is improved in usability. The first purpose is to provide an information processing device such as.

Further, in addition to the above-mentioned first object, when a menu having a hierarchical structure is displayed and the menu is executed, it is possible to perform an operation in a speedy and reliable optimum state according to the operation ability of the user. The second purpose is to

Further, in addition to the above-mentioned first or second object, when selecting / displaying a menu having a hierarchical structure, it is possible to move smoothly and quickly between the hierarchies and remarkably improve the operability. To aim.

[0014]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claims 1 to 8 stores a display unit having a display screen on which a user can input data and data of a hierarchical menu. In the information processing device, which is configured to display a menu of a hierarchy desired by the user from the menu of the hierarchical structure on the display screen, a pressure when a desired position of the display screen is pressed. Pressure detecting means, a layer determining means for determining which level of the layer structure the pressure detected by the pressure detecting means corresponds to, and a menu for the layer determined by the layer determining means. And a menu display unit for reading the data of (1) from the memory and displaying it on the display screen.

For example, the display unit includes a tablet device having a tablet surface for a user to input data, and has a structure in which the tablet surface is arranged so as to overlap the display screen. Preferably, a pen for touching a desired position on the tablet surface is provided, and the pressure detecting means is adapted to detect the writing pressure by the pressing of the pen. For example, the tablet surface is formed by a resistance film method.

Further, for example, the layer determining means is means for discriminating the magnitude of the pressure for each of a plurality of thresholds of the pressure width. The thresholds of the plurality of pressure widths are three-level pressure widths of “weak”, “medium”, and “strong”. Preferably, a pressure non-detection zone is provided between each of the plurality of pressure width thresholds.

More preferably, the present invention is applied to an electronic notebook.

Further, in the invention according to claims 9 and 10, in particular, the pressure detection means for detecting the pressure when the desired position of the display screen is pressed and the magnitude of the pressure detected by the pressure detection means are Hierarchical judgment means for judging which hierarchy of the hierarchical structure corresponds, menu display means for reading the data of the menu of the hierarchy judged by the hierarchical judgment means from the memory and displaying it on the display screen, and this menu Submenu display means for displaying, on the display screen, a submenu indicating which hierarchy of the hierarchical structure the menu displayed by the display means belongs to.

For example, the menu of the hierarchical structure includes menus of at least two kinds of works in the highest hierarchy and at least one hierarchy below it, and the sub-menu display means has the hierarchical structure of the currently selected hierarchy menu. It includes means for displaying a symbol indicating a hierarchical position in the whole for each type of the work, and by designating this symbol through the display screen, a menu of another type of work in the same hierarchy is displayed on the display screen. And a menu moving means for displaying.

Further, in the inventions according to claims 11 and 12,
In particular, pressure detection means for detecting the pressure when a desired position on the display screen is pressed, and a hierarchy for determining to which hierarchy of the hierarchical structure the magnitude of the pressure detected by the pressure detection means corresponds. A determination unit, a menu display unit for reading the data of the menu of the layer determined by the layer determination unit from the memory and displaying it on the display screen, and a measurement for measuring the time during which the display screen is continuously pressed. And a menu lock means for locking the menu screen displayed by the menu display means when the measured value of the measuring means reaches a set value. For example, it further includes an adjusting unit that allows the user to adjust the set value.

Further, in the invention according to claim 13, in particular, the detection means for detecting the amount emitted from the user when designating the desired position on the display screen, and the magnitude of the amount detected by the detection means. And a control means for selecting and displaying the hierarchical menu.

Furthermore, the invention of the information processing method according to claim 14 is a method of displaying a menu of a hierarchy desired by the user from the data of the menu having a hierarchical structure, wherein the user presses a desired position on the display screen. The pressure at this time is detected, it is determined which level of the hierarchical structure the level of this pressure corresponds to, and the menu data of the determined level is read and displayed on the display screen. Characterize.

[0023]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 shows the appearance of an electronic notebook as an information processing apparatus having a hierarchical menu structure. As shown in the figure, this electronic notebook is a pen input type, and the notebook body 11
And a pen 12. A display unit 13 having a display surface exposed on the upper surface of the notebook main body 11 is a tablet device 14.
It is integrated with.

The display unit 13 has a built-in liquid crystal display, and the transparent tablet surface 14a of the tablet device 14 is provided above it.
Have been polymerized. The tablet device 14 employs a resistance film system here.

A functional block diagram of the notebook body 11 of this electronic notebook is shown in FIG. Inside the notebook body 11,
In addition to the CPU 31, the RAM 32, the ROM 33, the display unit 1
3, a tablet device 14, and a communication control unit 35, and these units are connected to each other via a bus 36. A switch unit 37 (see FIG. 1) is also connected to the bus 36.

The CPU 31 is responsible for controlling the entire notebook and processing input data and display data, and also executes applied processing such as character recognition. RAM 32 is CPU 31
It is used for temporary storage of data accompanying the processing of. RO
M33 is an operating system program 40, a menu selection program 41, menu data 42, a character recognition program 43, which is necessary for processing by the CPU 31.
Fixed data such as the character recognition dictionary 44 is stored in advance.

The data processing section of the tablet device 14 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG.
And a data control 53 are functionally provided. The two-dimensional position on the tablet surface 14a designated by the pen 12 is detected by the plane position detecting unit 51 and converted into digital plane coordinate data. At the same time, the pen pressure detection unit 52 detects the digital amount of pen pressure (pressing force) data of the pen 12 as the third information other than the plane coordinate data. These plane coordinate data and writing pressure data are stored under the control of the CPU 31,
It is transferred to the RAM 32 via the data control 53 and stored.

Here, the principle of calculation of the plane coordinate data and the writing pressure data of the tablet device 14 according to the resistance film method will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, two transparent resistance films 6 are provided.
1, 62 are polymerized via spacers (not shown). The resistance films 61 and 62 are not in contact with each other when the pressing force is 0, but when the tablet surface (input surface) 14a is pressed with a finger or a pen, one resistance film 61 dents and contacts the other resistance film 62. It is structured. Resistive films 61, 62
Is usually an insulating substrate such as resin or glass (not shown)
It is attached to. Electrodes 63A and 63B are provided on two opposite sides of the resistance film 61, and when a voltage is applied between these electrodes, a potential gradient is formed in the resistance film 61. Similarly, electrodes 64A and 64B are also provided on the other resistance film 62, and a potential gradient is similarly formed by applying a voltage to these electrodes. However, the directions of potential gradients between the resistance films 61 and 62 are orthogonal to each other.

As means for applying a voltage, a DC power source 70 and switches 65A, 65B, 66A, 66
B, 67B, 68A. The electrode 63A is the switch 6
It is connected to the positive electrode and the negative electrode of the DC power supply 70 via 5A and 65B. Similarly, the electrode 63B has switches 66A, 6
It is connected to the positive electrode and the negative electrode of the DC power source 70 via 6B. Therefore, a potential gradient in both the forward and reverse directions can be selectively formed on the resistance film 61. The electrode 64A is a switch 67B.
To the negative electrode of the DC power supply 70, and the electrode 64B is connected to the positive electrode of the DC power supply 70 via the switch 68A. The electrodes 63A and 64A are connected to the switch 6
It is connected via 9 to the A / D converter 73 for potential measurement. The electrode 64A is further connected to a negative electrode potential V1 of the DC power source 70 as a reference potential via a resistor 72.

The resistance value of the resistor 72 is the same as that of the electrode 63 of the resistance film 61.
1/10 or more of the resistance value between A and 63B, 100 times or less,
Desirably, it is convenient to set the values to substantially the same value.

The operation of the tablet device 14 is made up of three steps. In the first step and the second step, the x coordinate and the writing pressure, which is the pressing force, are detected, and in the third step, the y coordinate is detected.

That is, in the first step, the switches 65B and 66A = on in FIG.
A, 66B, 67B, 68A = OFF, and switch 6
9 = Entered on the electrode 64A side. In this state, the resistance film 6
When 1 and 62 come into contact with each other at the indicated position, a potential gradient is formed in the resistance film 61, and in addition to the current flowing therethrough, the resistance film 61 passes through the contact point and passes through the resistance film 62, the electrode 64A, and the resistance 72. There is a current to do. This current is a non-negligible amount because the resistance value of the resistor 72 is set to be relatively small. The potential VX1 measured by the A / D converter 73 is expressed by the following equation. The potential VX1 is expressed with reference to the potential V1 (the same applies to the formulas described later).

VX1 = x.R72. (V2-V1) /
{R + R72 + R61 · x · (1-x) + R62 · y} Here, x and y are two-dimensional coordinates of the contact point and take values of 0 to 1. R61 is a resistance value between electrodes of the resistance film 61, R6
2 is the resistance value between the electrodes of the resistance film 62. R72 is the resistance value of the resistor 72. r is the resistance film 61 at the contact point,
62 is the contact resistance. V2 represents the potential of the positive electrode of the DC power supply 70.

In the second step, the switches 65A, 6
6B = ON, switches 65B, 66A, 67B, 68A
= OFF, switch 69 = set to the state of turning on the electrode 64A side. The direction of the potential gradient applied to the resistance film 61 is opposite to that in the first step. At this time, the potential VX2 measured by the A / D converter 73 is expressed by the following equation.

VX2 = (1-x) .R72. (V2-V
1) / {r + R72 + R61 ・ x ・ (1-x) + R62
・ Y} The potentials VX1, V measured in the first and second steps above
Using X2, the position coordinate x (= 0 to 1) in the X direction and the writing pressure a (= defined here as VX1 + VX2) are: x = VX1 / (VX1 + VX2) a = VX1 + VX2 = R72. (V2-V1) ) / {R + R72 + R61 · x
-(1-x) + R62 * y} is calculated.

In the third step, the switches 67B, 6
8A = on, switches 65A, 65B, 66A, 66B
= OFF, switch 69 = closed on the electrode 63A side. A potential gradient is formed on the resistance film 62, and the potential at the contact point is measured by the A / D converter 73 through the resistance film 61 and the electrode 63A in a high impedance state. This measured potential VY directly shows a value proportional to the y coordinate of the pressing designated position. 0-1
The coordinate value y standardized in the range of is calculated by y = VY / (V2-V1).

Data of these coordinates (x, y) and writing pressure a
The data calculation is performed by a calculation unit 74 (formed by a digital circuit, a microprocessor, etc.) in the subsequent stage of the A / D converter 73. That is, in other words, the A / D converter 73 and the arithmetic means 74 functionally form the above-mentioned plane position detecting section 51 and writing pressure detecting section 52.

In this way, the tablet surface 14a is moved to the pen 1
When you press (touch) at the end of 2 and point (point),
Two-dimensional coordinate position data (x, y) on the tablet surface 14a is detected from the tablet device 14, and the writing pressure a acting on the tablet surface 14a is obtained.

The switch section 37 is an "on" switch,
It has a "phone number" key, a "communication" key, a "forward" key, a "return" key, and an "option" key. "O
The "n" switch is for turning the power on and off. The "communication" key is for communicating with an external information processing device, and by operating this key, the built-in external line communication device (not shown) can be controlled by the communication control unit 35.

The "option" key is an indicator for changing the default value of the electronic notebook.
The "Forward" key and "Return" key are mainly used for scrolling information on the screen when the "Option" key is operated, but it may also be used as a preliminary operation system for menu selection described later. it can. The switch unit 37 is
It may be formed integrally with the liquid crystal display screen of the display unit 13,
It may be formed by a separate switch element.

The CPU 31 performs various kinds of processing according to the operating system program 40. That is,
The CPU 31 follows the menu selection program
Analyzing the plane coordinate data temporarily stored in the RAM 32,
Select the menu of the display hierarchy from the menu of the hierarchical structure described later, and the data of the menu is stored in the ROM.
It is read out from the 33 menu data 42 and displayed on the display (liquid crystal) screen. At the time of this display processing, necessary data is displayed on the display screen by referring to the character recognition program 43 and the character recognition dictionary 44 as needed, and the display position is the same for works of the same type. Furthermore, CPU
When performing data communication with an external information processing device to share data, the 31 executes this via the communication control unit 35. Furthermore, a resume function is also provided for storing the screen display state immediately before the power is turned off and for displaying the screen information stored until then when the power is turned on. The outline of the processing of the CPU 31 is shown in FIGS.

The electronic notebook of this embodiment employs a hierarchical menu as a menu displayed on the display unit 13, and an example thereof is shown in the state transition diagram of FIG. In the top layer, which is the uppermost layer, there is a main menu including the names of three types of works "memo pad" M1, "calculator" C2, and "schedule" S1 together with a "welcome" message G. On the second layer, there are work menus M2, C2, S2 subordinate to the respective types of works M, C, S. Further, on the third layer, menus M3 and S3 for drag points (selection function display, function execution) with a pen are prepared in “memo pad” and “schedule”. There is a menu of the lowermost layer through the third layer, and menus MBT, CBT, and SBT for ending the display are prepared for each work in the lowermost layer.

In FIG. 4, solid arrows indicate that the menus can be moved (between upper and lower menus in different layers, or between menus in the same layer). Particularly, in the second layer menu, it is possible to easily move between menus in the same layer, as will be described later.

FIG. 5 shows the correspondence between the hierarchical menu of FIG. 4 and the writing pressure threshold. Here, the menu selection / display is performed according to the writing pressure, and the threshold of the writing pressure for that is determined. A writing pressure value of 0 to 40 is given to the top layer of the uppermost layer, and a writing pressure value of 60 to 120 is given to the second layer.
Further, writing pressure values 190 to 255 are assigned to the lowermost layer. The writing pressure value here is, for example, 8-bit data,
It is obtained as data of 256 divisions from a minimum of 0 (writing pressure = 0) to a maximum of 255 which is the maximum detectable writing pressure. Therefore, the writing pressure threshold for the uppermost layer is when the user does not touch the tablet surface with the pen or when the user touches the tablet surface lightly. The writing pressure threshold for the second layer is normal (medium) pen touch. The pen pressure threshold for the bottom layer corresponds to a strong pen touch.

That is, the writing pressure thresholds are strengthened in order from the uppermost layer to the lowermost layer as "weak", "medium", and "strong".
When the user wants to open the top-level menu, he / she can make a light touch with the pen. When you want to open the menu of the second layer or the bottom layer, you need to perform the "medium" and "strong" pen touches, respectively. In this way, since it suffices to give an approximate writing pressure, it matches very well with the sense of pen touch operation by humans. Furthermore, since a pressure non-detection zone is installed between the writing pressure thresholds of each layer, "weak", "medium", "strong"
The separation of items can be improved, leading to reliable menu selection.

The above-mentioned menu for ending display at the lowermost layer can be omitted, and an example thereof is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.

Further, a submenu which is one of the features of this embodiment will be described. As will be described later, when a hierarchical menu is selected and displayed, a submenu SB is displayed together with the main menu MN (see FIG. 13).

As shown in FIG. 14, for example, the sub-menu SB has a format partitioned according to the type of work, and has a touch window WD for each work. In these windows WD, a position symbol indicating the position of the currently opened hierarchy in the entire hierarchy is displayed for each type of work. As this position symbol, the "." Mark is used here, and 1 from the left side of the liquid crystal display screen.
It is displayed as the second layer, the second layer, .... The meaning of this position symbol can take various forms and can be selected by an optional function as described later. Now, the position symbol "." Is optionally set so as to represent the order from the top of the currently opened hierarchy by the number (upper order mode). For example, when two position symbols “•” are displayed side by side in the window WD of a certain type of work on the submenu SB, the work of the currently open hierarchy is the second highest hierarchy. It means that. When the position symbol "." Is one, it indicates that the work in the currently opened hierarchy is the highest level. The display of the submenu SB is
In addition to the menu selection and display operation related to pen pressure, which will be described later, C
It is implemented by predetermined display control of the PU 31.

The position symbol is not necessarily limited to the "." Mark, and any appropriate mark or symbol can be used.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described focusing on the selection / display operation of the hierarchical menu.

The CPU 31 is activated when the power is turned on, and executes the processing shown in FIG. 8, for example. First, various predetermined initial settings are made (step 101), and an initial screen is displayed as shown in FIG. 13 (step 102). Then, in step 103, the pen 12 moves the tablet surface 14a.
It waits while judging whether or not it touches (ON), and when YES at step 103, moves to step 104 to execute a sub-program (see FIGS. 9 and 10) mainly for menu selection / display described later. Run. After this, step 1
At 05, various processing such as data input, processing, and character recognition is executed.

When the sub-program is activated in step 104 as described above, the selection operation of the hierarchical menu is started as shown in FIGS. CPU31 is R
When the menu selection program 41 is read from the OM 33 and this program is activated, the menu selection operation is performed.

Before this menu selection operation, "O
Since the "N" switch is set to ON and the power is turned on, the initial screen illustrated in FIG. 13 (the uppermost menu in the hierarchical menu) is displayed on the liquid crystal display surface of the display unit 13.

The pen 12 is moved to the tablet surface 14 by the user.
When a is brought into contact with (a), a series of processing shown in FIG. 9 is activated. When this process starts, in the first step 111, the lock flag F and the lock counter C are
NT is cleared.

Lock flag F and lock counter CN
Both T indicate the menu lock state of the liquid crystal display screen of the display unit 13. The menu-locked state means "a state in which the menu immediately before the pen is released is continuously displayed even when the pen is released from the tablet surface". The setting of the presence or absence of the menu lock function and the lock waiting time in which the pen must be in contact with the tablet surface before the menu lock state is obtained (when the menu lock function is provided) is set by an optional function described later.

Next, the CPU 31 shifts the processing to step 112, and receives the pen position coordinate data (x, y) detected by the plane position detecting section 51 of the tablet device 14 and the writing pressure data a detected by the pressure detecting section 52. Sampling (input). These data are digital amounts from the data control unit 53 of the tablet device 14 to the bus line 36.
Is supplied via The pen position coordinate data (x, y) is two-dimensional data representing the pen pointing (pressing) position on the tablet surface of the tablet device 14. The writing pressure data a is
It represents the pressure applied by the pen in the direction intersecting with the surface of the tablet indicated by the pen, and is supplied as relative pressure data in which the actual value of the maximum detectable pressure is the maximum bit.

Then, the process proceeds to step 113, where the CPU 3
1 determines whether the input pen position coordinate (x, y) is a desired menu position (touches the menu position). This is done by referring to the position data in the menu data 42 stored in advance in the ROM 33.
As described above, as the desired menu, “memo pad”, “calculator”, and “schedule” are prepared here.

If YES in the determination in step 113, it means that a desired menu is instructed, so that the lock flag F in step 114 is already set (F = 1). A determination as to whether or not to execute is made. If this determination is NO (F = 0), step 11
Enter the subroutine of 5. In this subroutine, a menu having a hierarchical structure corresponding to the magnitude of the writing pressure is selected and displayed (details will be described later).

After this, the processing of the CPU 31 is step 11
Move to 6. In step 116, it is determined whether or not the display duration of the same menu has reached the lock standby time T of a predetermined length. This lock waiting time T is the time until the menu is locked, and can be variably set by an optional function. In this step 116, the measurement count n of the loop processing of the lock counter CNT executed in the subroutine processing described later serves as the basis for the determination. Since the interval Δt for executing the subroutine is constant, if the number of measurements n is measured by the lock counter CNT, Δt ·
Time can be counted by n.

The CPU 31 makes a YE determination in step 116.
S, that is, when it is determined that the display continuation time of the same menu has reached the predetermined lock waiting time T, step 1
17 and whether to set the lock flag F (F =
1), or the state of F = 1 is maintained. On the contrary, when the determination is NO, it means that the display duration of the same menu has not yet reached the lock standby time T. Therefore, the process of step 117 is skipped and the state of the lock flag F = 0 is maintained.

If the determination in step 113 is NO (the pen pointing position is not the menu position), the processes in steps 114 to 117 described above are skipped. If YES in step 114 (lock flag F = 1), it means that the menu is locked, and therefore steps 115 to 117 are skipped.
In other words, the state of the lock flag F = 1 is maintained without entering step 115 which is the process of selecting and displaying a new menu.

Next, at step 118, it is judged if the pen 12 has moved away from the tablet surface 14a (OFF). If the determination is NO (pen-on), the process is returned to step 112, and the above-described process is repeated at regular intervals Δt until the pen-off is determined.

The selection / display operation of the hierarchical menu, which is carried out by the above-mentioned subroutine of step 115, will be described in detail below with reference to FIG.

The CPU 31 firstly executes step 11 in FIG.
In 5-1 the writing pressure a that has already been input is "0≤a≤4.
It is determined whether it is "0". By this judgment, it is recognized whether the writing pressure is 0 or weak (the pen is touching lightly).

If the result of this judgment is YES, the pen 12
Is not touching the tablet surface or is touching lightly with the pen, the process of step 115-2 is executed. In this step 115-2, the CPU 3
1 displays the top menu which is the top menu in the hierarchical structure (see FIG. 13). If the top menu is already displayed, that display state is maintained. That is, unless the top menu is displayed when the power is turned on and the top menu is displayed, the top menu is continuously displayed. Further, even when the top menu is touched lightly, the display state is maintained.

Next, the routine proceeds to step 115-3, where the lock counter CNT is incremented. By this count up, the time for the menu lock described above is measured.

Further, in step 115-4, it is determined whether or not the submenu SB (see FIG. 13) is turned on (displayed). Whether or not to display this submenu SB is specified in advance by an optional function. Y at this step
If it is determined to be ES, then in step 115-5, the submenu SB is displayed on the upper side of the liquid crystal display screen of the display unit 13 at a position divided from the main menu MN (G, M1, C1, S1). (See FIG. 13) or its display state is maintained. When NO is determined in step 115-4, the process of step 115-5 is skipped by a method such as flag determination (not shown).

NO in the determination in step 115-1 described above
If it is determined that, the process proceeds to step 115-6,
This time, it is determined whether or not the writing pressure a is in the state of “60 ≦ a ≦ 120”. By this threshold processing, it is recognized whether or not the writing pressure is medium (normal). Therefore, this judgment is Y
When the status becomes ES, the user is touching the pen 12 with a normal pressure, so that the process of step 115-7 is subsequently performed. That is, of the hierarchically structured menu, the desired work data of the menu data of the second layer is called from the ROM 33 and displayed (see FIG. 14). After this, the processing of steps 115-3 to 5 described above is performed.

Further, in step 115-6 described above, N
When it is determined that the value is O, the writing pressure a is “190 ≦ a ≦”.
255 "is determined (step 115-
8). Thereby, it can be recognized that the user has strongly touched the pen 12. Therefore, when the determination is NO in this process, the process returns to the process of FIG.

When a YES determination is made in step 115-8, it is then determined in step 115-9 whether "notify that the menu is the final menu in the hierarchical structure (end notification)". Whether or not to display this end notification is preset through an optional function.
When the end notification is given (YES in step 115-9), the menu data of the lowermost layer is read from the menu data 42 of the ROM 33 and displayed on the display unit 13 in step 115-10. When the end notification is not issued (NO in step 115-9), step 115-10
Is skipped. After the display processing of the end notification, the above-mentioned steps 115-3 to 5 are sequentially executed.

Further, the processing of FIG. 11 executed by the CPU 31 as the interrupt processing will be described. This process is a process that enables the user to move to another type of work in the same layer by using the submenu SB.

When the window WD for each type of work in the submenu SB is touched with the pen, the process of FIG. 11 is activated.
That is, first, the tablet surface 14 touched with the pen is
The plane position data of a is input (step 121), and the position content is determined (step 122). Based on this determination, it is determined which work should be moved, and therefore the recognized destination menu is read from the menu data 42 of the ROM 33 and displayed (step 123). As a result, it becomes possible to move the work types across the same layer without returning the initial screen.

Further, the optional function executed by the CPU 31 will be described with reference to FIG. This optional function is activated by pressing the "option" key of the switch section 37.

First, in step 131, the CPU 31 displays the default setting information of the optional function on the display unit 13. As a result, for example, menu lock: Yes, lock waiting time T = 1 second, submenu display: Yes, submenu position symbol meaning: upper-order mode, bottom-layer menu (display end) display: Yes, respectively Is displayed.

Next, when the information indicating that the user wants to change the default setting information is obtained in the dialog with the user, the setting of the item corresponding to the information can be changed. This allows
For example, when it is desired to release the menu lock, the release processing is performed (steps 132 and 133). Also,
When it is desired to change the lock waiting time T, the lock waiting time T specified by the user is accepted, this time T is converted into the number of times n of processing of the loop described above, and the result is stored (steps 134 to 136). When the lock waiting time T is shortened, for example, the menu screen is locked by a touch of the pen for a short time, and conversely, it can be lengthened. In consideration of the certainty of the pen touch and the stability of the menu lock, the user can specify an arbitrary length lock waiting time T within a predetermined range.

The display of the submenu SB can be canceled (steps 137 and 138), but in this case, "change of meaning of position symbol of submenu" does not work. When the “display of submenu SB” is continued, the meaning of the position symbol of the submenu can be changed (steps 139 and 140). The default mode for this position symbol is "upper order mode" here
The order from the left end side of the symbol “•” located on the right end side of the screen represents the rank from the higher rank of the hierarchy. As other selection modes, in the present embodiment, “upper menu number mode” indicating how many hierarchical menus are higher than the currently selected hierarchical menu, and “past selection” indicating a hierarchical menu selected in the past There is a "menu mode" and a "higher / lower menu number mode" that indicates how many hierarchical menus are in the upper and lower directions of the currently selected hierarchical menu. An appropriate one can be selected.

Further, the "display end" menu at the bottom layer can be canceled if necessary (step 141,
142).

Here, with reference to FIGS. 13 to 17, a representative example of the menu selection / display operation relating to the above-described processing will be described.

When the power is turned on, the initial screen shown in FIG. 13 is displayed (step 102 in FIG. 8). If the pen is not touched as it is, the display of the initial screen is maintained. When the pen is touched, the process of FIG. 9 is activated, and the menu selection / display operation corresponding to the pen pressure is started. With this activation, the submenu SB is immediately displayed together with the position symbol of the menu (FIG. 10, step 15-5). If the pen touch is continued for the lock waiting time T, the display screen is locked (steps 114, 116 and 11 in FIG. 9).
7) After that, even if the pen 12 is separated from the tablet surface 14a, the display screen does not return to the initial screen,
The display of the menu of the desired hierarchy of the selected work is maintained by the pen touch. In the menu locked state, the processing of FIG. 10 for determining the writing pressure is not involved.

Now, if "memo pad" is selected as the work by the above-mentioned pen touch and the writing pressure is in the category of "medium", the display screen changes to FIG. 14 and the menu state is locked. It At this time, the submenu S
The position symbol of the window WD of "Notepad" of B becomes "...",
It is displayed that the current layer of "Notepad" is the second layer. At the same time, it can be seen that the position symbols of the windows of “Calculator” and “Schedule” of the submenu SB are both “·”, and the respective menu layers are the top menu (top menu).

In the display menu state of FIG. 14, when the function selection position of “Create” of “Memo pad” is selected by touching the pen, in this case, the function screen of FIG. The work can be executed. At this time, the position symbol of "memo pad" of the sub-menu SB is displayed as "..." by predetermined display control, indicating that it is the third layer.

From the state of the display menu shown in FIG. 15, for example, if the user touches the pen lightly (weakly), the menu lock is released, and the top menu screen can be returned again. Therefore, when the position of the work "calculator" is touched with the pen with a moderate force, the menu screen of FIG. 16 is obtained in the menu locked state. "Calculator" window W in submenu SB
The position symbol of D is "...", which means that it is currently in the second layer.

From this display state, for example, if the user touches the pen lightly (lightly) again, the menu lock is released and the top menu screen can be returned to again. Therefore, when the position of the work “schedule” is touched with the pen by “medium” or “large”, the menu of the desired hierarchy relating to “schedule” is displayed in the menu locked state. FIG.
7 shows a display example of the menu "end display" in the lowermost layer.
At this time, the position symbol of the window WD of the "calculator" of the sub-new SB becomes "..." By predetermined control, and it can be seen that it is currently the fourth layer, that is, the bottom layer.

As described above, by pen-touching the position of a certain type of work with a desired pressure, it is possible to arbitrarily move vertically between hierarchical menus for each type.

In the above menu selection, the vertical menu is moved in the vertical direction, but in the present embodiment, the horizontal menu is also set to 1.
You can move by selecting once. In other words, different works can be moved across the same level. For example, in the menu display state of FIG. 14 described above, if the position symbol of the window of “Calculator” or “Schedule” of the submenu SB is touched with a pen, “Calculator” is displayed in the second layer by the processing of FIG. 11. Or you can go to "Schedule". Therefore, when moving to a different work, it is not always necessary to return to the top menu, and pen touch operation can be performed very easily and quickly.

The pen touch position required for this lateral movement is not necessarily limited to the position symbol. For example, in the example of FIG. 14, the "Calculator" or "Schedule" in the second layer menu M2 is selected. It may be a position.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the pen pressure can be detected, and the menu having the hierarchical structure can be selected according to the pen pressure being weak, medium or large. For this reason, it becomes possible to perform reliable and quick menu selection that matches the human sense. Further, by using the writing pressure data, the menus of works of the same type can be displayed at the same position on the screen, and the screen size, that is, the entire notebook can be downsized.

Further, since the menus of works of the same type are displayed at the same position, movement of the pen and movement of the line of sight are reduced, physical fatigue of the user is reduced, and operability is excellent.
Usability is dramatically improved.

Further, since the menu lock function for the selected menu is provided and the waiting time until the lock is adjusted can be adjusted, the optimum operation in consideration of the operation ability of the user can be performed, and the user-friendly electronic operation can be performed. You can provide a notebook.

Further, since the sub-menu function is provided and the symbol for displaying the position of the currently opened hierarchical menu is displayed in this sub-menu, the user can always recognize the current position in the hierarchical menu. . As a result, it is possible to easily obtain a pointer when moving vertically or horizontally in the hierarchical menu, and further improve the operability of menu selection. On the other hand, by using the position symbol and the like, it is possible to traverse between different kinds of works with one instruction operation (pen touch), and it is possible to greatly reduce the number of instructions and improve the operability of menu selection. .

Conventionally, as a device using this kind of writing pressure information, for example, a "coordinate input device" described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-233126 is known. However, in this device,
It is possible to input a plurality of writing pressure information and correct the writing pressure information with respect to the phase angle without reducing the detection range of the writing pressure. For this reason, it is of course different from the configuration of the present embodiment in which the writing pressure is used to select a menu having a hierarchical structure, and the present embodiment expands the usage form of the writing pressure and is an epoch-making breakthrough that has never existed before. An information processing device can be provided.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but various modifications can be made. For example,
The writing pressure data can be applied to display and confirmation of candidate characters in handwritten character recognition, list display and confirmation of phone numbers in the telephone directory, name of the other party, and list display and confirmation of mail address of communication partner. With respect to these items, the writing pressure data may be used for the display, and the display content may be appropriately changed depending on the magnitude of the writing pressure.

The pressure detection method for the display (input) surface is not limited to the resistance film method, but the pen tip expands and contracts due to the pressing force.
It is also possible to employ an electromagnetic induction method in which the resonance frequency changes in accordance with this. Further, the tablet device may be omitted if necessary, and the tablet device may be provided on the display surface of the display device.
For the dimensional coordinate position, a position indicator such as a mouse or a keyboard is used, and an input device such as a joystick or a potentiometer is used alone or in combination, and the third screen information (first and second is given by the input device). The two-dimensional coordinate position information) can be associated with the writing pressure at the two-dimensional designated position. For example, the operation amount of the analog joystick or potentiometer may be replaced with the writing pressure value. In the case of a digital joystick, the difference in the operating direction may be used instead of the writing pressure value.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the pen-input type electronic notebook is used, but it can be also applied to a system of touching with a finger.

[0097]

As described above, according to the information processing apparatus and the information processing method of the present invention, the pressure when the desired position on the display screen is pressed is detected, and the hierarchy is determined according to the magnitude of this pressure. Since the selection and display of the structure menu is one mode, there are the following various effects.

First, since a hierarchical menu can be selected and displayed by pressure from the user such as writing pressure, and the same type of work can be displayed at the same position, the display screen can be small, excellent in operability, and easy to use. An information processing device such as an improved electronic notebook can be provided. At the same time, it is possible to provide a device that can be promoted to be lighter and more compact and has excellent portability.

Further, since the user hardly needs to move the pen or the line of sight each time a new menu is displayed, the number of times the pen or the line of sight is moved is greatly reduced, and the user's visual fatigue is reduced. , Operability and usability are improved. Especially, by the menu lock function,
It enables accurate and stable operation in the optimum state according to the operation ability of the user.

Further, by displaying the sub-menu, the user can quickly recognize the position in the hierarchy of the current hierarchical menu, the moving operation in the hierarchical menu can be easily performed, and the sub-menu can be used. The horizontal menu can be moved with a single operation, which greatly improves the operability.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an electronic notebook according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the electronic notebook according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a tablet device.

FIG. 4 is a state transition diagram of a hierarchically structured menu according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a relationship between a hierarchical menu and a writing pressure threshold value.

FIG. 6 is a state transition diagram showing a menu having another hierarchical structure.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a relationship between another hierarchically structured menu and a writing pressure threshold value.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart exemplifying an outline of overall processing of the CPU.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of CPU menu selection / display processing.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a subroutine that is executed by a CPU and shows an example of threshold processing according to writing pressure.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a processing example regarding horizontal movement in a hierarchical structure menu by a CPU.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of option setting by the CPU.

FIG. 13 is a diagram of a display screen showing an initial screen.

FIG. 14 is a diagram of a display screen for explaining an example of menu selection.

FIG. 15 is a diagram of a display screen for explaining an example of menu selection.

FIG. 16 is a diagram of a display screen for explaining an example of menu selection.

FIG. 17 is a diagram of a display screen for explaining an example of menu selection.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 electronic notebook notebook body 12 pen 13 display unit 14 tablet device 14a tablet surface 31 CPU 32 RAM 33 ROM 37 switch unit 51 plane position detection unit 52 pressure detection unit 53 data control unit

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A display unit having a display screen on which a user can input data, and a memory for storing data of a hierarchical structure menu are provided, and a hierarchy desired by the user is selected from the hierarchical structure menus. In an information processing device configured to display a menu on the display screen, a pressure detection unit that detects a pressure when a desired position on the display screen is pressed, and a magnitude of the pressure detected by the pressure detection unit are And a menu display unit for reading the data of the menu of the layer determined by the layer determination unit from the memory and displaying it on the display screen. An information processing device characterized by the above. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display unit includes a tablet device having a tablet surface for a user to input data, and has a structure in which the tablet surface is arranged so as to overlap with the display screen. 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a pen for touching a desired position on the tablet surface, wherein the pressure detecting means detects a writing pressure caused by the pressing of the pen. 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the tablet surface is formed by a resistive film method. 5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the hierarchy determining unit is a unit that discriminates the magnitude of the pressure for each of a plurality of thresholds of a pressure width. 6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the threshold values of the plurality of pressure widths have three levels of pressure magnitudes of “weak”, “medium”, and “strong”. 7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a pressure non-detection band is provided between each of the plurality of pressure width thresholds. 8. An information processing apparatus, characterized in that the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 7 is applied to an electronic notebook. 9. A display unit having a display screen on which a user can input data, and a memory storing data of a hierarchical menu are provided, and a hierarchy desired by the user is selected from the hierarchical menus. In an information processing device configured to display a menu on the display screen, a pressure detection unit that detects a pressure when a desired position on the display screen is pressed, and a magnitude of the pressure detected by the pressure detection unit are Hierarchical judgment means for judging which hierarchy of the hierarchical structure corresponds, menu display means for reading the data of the menu of the hierarchy judged by the hierarchical judgment means from the memory and displaying it on the display screen, and this menu On the display screen, a submenu indicating which of the hierarchical structures the menu displayed by the display means belongs to is displayed on the display screen. The information processing apparatus characterized by comprising a Shimesuru submenu display means. 10. The hierarchical menu includes a menu of at least two types of works in the highest hierarchy and at least one hierarchy below it, and the sub-menu display means has a hierarchical structure of the currently selected hierarchy menu. It includes means for displaying a symbol indicating a hierarchical position in the whole for each type of the work, and by designating this symbol through the display screen, a menu of another type of work in the same hierarchy is displayed on the display screen. The information processing apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising a menu moving unit that is displayed on the screen. 11. A display unit having a display screen on which a user can input data, and a memory for storing data of a hierarchical structure menu are provided, and a hierarchy desired by the user is selected from the hierarchical menus. In an information processing device configured to display a menu on the display screen, a pressure detection unit that detects a pressure when a desired position on the display screen is pressed, and a magnitude of the pressure detected by the pressure detection unit are Hierarchy determination means for determining which hierarchy of the hierarchy structure corresponds, menu display means for reading the data of the menu of the hierarchy determined by this hierarchy determination means from the memory and displaying it on the display screen, and the display. Measuring means for measuring the time during which the screen is continuously pressed, and the menu display means when the measured value of the measuring means reaches a set value. The information processing apparatus being characterized in that a menu locking means for locking a more displayed menu screen. 12. The information processing apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising an adjusting unit that allows a user to adjust the set value. 13. A display unit having a display screen on which a user can input data, and a memory storing data of a hierarchical structure menu, wherein a hierarchy of a menu desired by the user is selected from the hierarchical menus. In an information processing device configured to display a menu on the display screen, a detection unit that detects an amount emitted from a user when designating a desired position on the display screen, and a size of the amount detected by the detection unit. An information processing apparatus comprising: a control unit that selects and displays the hierarchically structured menu according to the above. 14. In an information processing method for displaying a menu of a hierarchy desired by a user from hierarchical menu data, pressure when the user presses a desired position on the display screen is detected, and the pressure is detected. Of the hierarchical structure, the data of the menu of the judged hierarchy is read out and displayed on the display screen.