1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control device, an input device, a control system, a handheld device, and a control method, which control the coordinate values of a pointer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Input devices such as a mouse, a touch pad, and the like have been principally employed as controllers for GUI (Graphical User Interface) which is commonplace with PCs (Personal Computers). GUI has not stayed at the HI (Human Interface) of PCs according to the related art, and has been used, for example, as interfaces of AV equipment or game machines used in the living room or the like with a television set as an image medium. Various types of input devices serving as spatial operation types which a user can operate in 3D space have been proposed as such a GUI controller (e.g., see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-56743 (paragraphs [0030] and [0045], FIG. 2), and International Publication No. 2009/020204 (paragraphs [0145] through [0152], [0194] through [0199], FIG. 7)).
The input device described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-56743 (paragraphs and [0045], FIG. 2) detects the angular velocity of the input device by an angular velocity sensor, generates the displacement information of a cursor according to the angular velocity thereof, and transmits this to a control device. The control device moves the cursor on a screen according to the displacement information transmitted from the input device.
With the input device described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-56743 (paragraphs and [0045], FIG. 2), an arrangement is made wherein the displacement information of the cursor is transmitted all the time, and accordingly, the cursor may perform movement that the user does not intend. For example, after finishing use of the input device, when the user attempts to put the input device on a table, the cursor is moved on the screen despite the user's intentions along with the movement of the input device.
As for a technique relating to such a problem, with International Publication No. 2009/020204 (paragraphs through [0152], [0194] through [0199], FIG. 7), an input device including two-step operating type operating buttons having a move button, a determine button, and a surface button whereby the move button and the determine button can consecutively be pressed, is described. With this input device, in a state in which the surface button is not pressed by the user, a pointer is not moved on the screen. In the event of the surface button being half-pressed by the user, the move button at the first step is pressed, and the movement of the pointer is started on the screen. In the event of the surface button further being pressed by the user, the determine button at the second step is pressed, and predetermined processing is executed on the screen. Subsequently, when releasing the finger from the surface button, pressing of the move button is released, the movement of the pointer on the screen is stopped. The user can arbitrarily control starting and stopping of the movement of the pointer, and accordingly, the user's unintentional movement of the pointer is restricted.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds