JP2004272846A - Portable electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize a delimitation of character recognition on the basis of a simple operation input using fingers, in a function of recognizing handwritten characters written with a finger. <P>SOLUTION: A portable electronic device has impedance sensing means 31 (32) disposed in planar form in a given position on or near the surface of a case body, input signal generating means for computing a given position in an area where an impedance change is detected to collectively generate changes in the position with time as an operation input signal, and input signal controlling means for controlling an event where impedance changes are detected simultaneously in a plurality of areas, as a delimitation of the operation input signal generated by the input signal generating means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a portable electronic device such as a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and a notebook computer (hereinafter, referred to as a “mobile phone”). More specifically, the present invention relates to a mobile telephone and the like which detects the number of places where an operator simultaneously touches a finger in a predetermined area of the mobile telephone or the like and realizes a desired function according to the detected number.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In a portable electronic device such as a PDA having a function of recognizing a character handwritten with a stylus pen or the like on a touch pad, a separation between a first handwritten character and a second handwritten character is performed by the following (1) and (2). You are aware.
(1) A key or the like for inputting a delimiter is separately provided, and an input from the key or the like is detected as a delimiter.
(2) Two input areas for handwritten characters are provided, and a time when an input is moved from the first input area to the second input area is detected as a break.
[0003]
By configuring the keypad using a key mat provided with a capacitance sensing plate on the lower surface side, it has the same key input function as before, and furthermore, has an input function as a finger detection pad that detects finger touches A user interface device (a user interface device such as a mobile telephone) that also has a function is disclosed (see Patent Document 1).
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-2002-196856.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the technique (1), a key for inputting a delimiter is required. The technique (2) needs to have two input areas. In each case, the number of parts increases and the cost increases. Further, it is difficult to realize a device (such as a mobile telephone) that wants to perform an operation input with a finger on a small area.
An object of the present invention is to improve operability when a desired function is realized by touching a mobile phone or the like with a finger.
The desired function is determined according to, for example, (1) a function of giving a character / character separation by inputting a finger to an application for recognizing a character handwritten with a finger, and (2) a number of locations touched by a finger. And (3) a function of executing a process determined for each application according to the number of locations touched by a finger.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention is configured as in the following [1] to [8].
[1] Configuration 1:
A portable electronic device that operates according to an operation input signal,
Impedance sensing means provided in a plane at a predetermined portion near or on the surface of the case body of the portable electronic device,
An input signal generating means for obtaining a predetermined position from within the area where the impedance change is detected by the impedance sensing means and collectively generating a temporal change in the position as an operation input signal,
An input signal control unit that controls a case where an impedance change is simultaneously detected in a plurality of regions by the impedance sensing unit as a break of the operation input signal generated by the input signal generation unit,
A portable electronic device comprising:
[0007]
The operation input signal means a signal input by an input operation of the operator.
Examples of the impedance sensing means include, but are not limited to, a capacitance sensing means. Known impedance sensing means such as a means for sensing a change in resistance may be used as appropriate. One specific example of the capacitance sensing means will be described in detail in the embodiment section.
The impedance sensing means is provided on a surface of the case body of the portable electronic device or on a predetermined portion near the surface (a predetermined portion used as an input area for characters or the like) in a planar manner. Here, the planar shape includes not only a planar shape but also a curved surface shape such as along the surface of the case body. The impedance sensing means may be a plate or a flexible film.
[0008]
The check target of the impedance change detection is an area exemplified as R1 and R2 in FIG. 2B, that is, an area including a plurality of two-dimensionally continuous dots. The impedance change of each dot is detected, for example, as follows.
In FIG. 2B, the positions where “1”, “0”, and the like are described are a stripe-shaped first electrode group of the capacitance type sensor and a stripe shape in a direction orthogonal to the first electrode. Shows the crossover position with the second electrode group. The first electrode group is formed on a first plate, and the second electrode group is formed on a second plate that is integrally bonded to the first plate. Further, the capacitance type sensor is one specific example of the impedance sensing means. When a finger touches (or approaches to about 1 mm) the capacitance sensor, the capacitance between the first electrode and the second electrode changes near the contact portion, and this is output as a signal. In FIG. 4B, the portion that outputs this signal is indicated as “1”. In this way, a finger contact is detected.
[0009]
A description will be given of "determining a predetermined position from within the area where the impedance change is detected by the impedance sensing means and collectively setting a temporal change of the position as an operation input signal".
The predetermined position determined from within the impedance change detection area is the position of the center of gravity of the detection area within the area on the planar impedance sensing means. Note that a representative position other than the center of gravity may be used. Hereinafter, the position of the center of gravity or the like will be referred to. When the impedance sensing means forms a curved surface, an area obtained by developing the curved surface into a plane is adopted as the area on the impedance sensing means.
An area having coordinates corresponding to each coordinate in the area on the impedance sensing means on a one-to-one basis is provided in a memory, and a time-dependent change in the position of the center of gravity or the like of the detection area is recorded so that a locus drawn by the operation input signal can be obtained. obtain.
[0010]
[2] Configuration 2:
In the configuration of the above [1],
Further comprising a character recognition means for recognizing a character based on the trajectory of the operation input signal generated by the input signal generation means,
The input signal control unit provides the character recognition unit with the break as a character recognition break based on the operation input signal generated by the input signal generation unit,
A portable electronic device, comprising:
[0011]
A technique for performing character recognition from coordinates accumulated as a handwritten locus is described in, for example, “Handwritten Character Recognition by Computer (http://www.nemoto.ecei.tohoku.ac.jp/~wai/manu/manu/.html). And is publicly known.
As described above, the input signal control means controls the case where the impedance change is detected in a plurality of regions at the same time as a break of the operation input signal generated by the input signal generation means. This delimiter is provided to the character recognition means as a character recognition delimiter. As a result, the character recognizing means recognizes the character based on the trajectory of the operation input signal from the previous break to the current break.
[0012]
[3] Configuration 3:
A portable electronic device that operates according to an operation input signal,
Impedance sensing means provided in a plane at a predetermined portion near or on the surface of the case body of the portable electronic device,
A detection number acquisition unit that acquires the number of regions where the impedance change is simultaneously detected by the impedance sensing unit;
An input signal generation unit that generates an operation input signal having a meaning corresponding to the number of regions where the impedance change is detected at the same time,
A portable electronic device comprising:
[0013]
Various cases are conceivable as “the meaning given to the operation input signal corresponding to the number of detection areas”.
For example, the number of detection areas may be associated with an application, and the application corresponding to the predetermined number may be activated by touching the menu screen with a predetermined number of fingers.
Further, the hierarchy may be made deeper or shallower by touching the hierarchically structured menu screen with a predetermined number of fingers.
Further, in the game software or the like, for example, the case where the screen is touched with two fingers may be set to the right, the case where the touch is performed with three fingers may be set to the left.
Note that these are merely examples, and the “meaning given to the operation input signal” is not limited thereto.
[0014]
[4] Configuration 4:
A portable electronic device that operates according to an operation input signal,
Impedance sensing means provided in a plane at a predetermined portion near or on the surface of the case body of the portable electronic device,
A detection number acquisition unit that acquires the number of regions where the impedance change is simultaneously detected by the impedance sensing unit;
Input signal generating means for generating an operation input signal in response to detection of an impedance change by the impedance sensing means;
An input signal control unit that controls an operation input signal generated by the input signal generation unit according to the number of regions where the impedance change is detected,
A portable electronic device comprising:
The configuration of [4] is substantially the same as the configuration of [3]. However, in the configuration of [3], the “meaning to have” is fixed. It can be controlled.
[0015]
[5] Configuration 5:
In any one of the above [1] to [4],
A keypad having a plurality of keys,
The impedance sensing unit is a capacitance sensing unit provided below the keypad.
A portable electronic device, comprising:
The plurality of keys are, for example, a numeric keypad and a small number of function keys when the portable electronic device is a mobile phone. The impedance sensing means may be provided only below the keypad, or may be provided wider than the keypad.
FIG. 4A shows an example in which the impedance sensing means 31 (32) is provided below the keypad 21 (22).
[0016]
[6] Configuration 6:
In any one of the constitutions [1] to [5],
The portable electronic device is a mobile telephone;
A portable electronic device, comprising:
[7] Configuration 7:
In any one of the constitutions [1] to [5],
The portable electronic device is a portable information terminal,
A portable electronic device, comprising:
[8] Configuration 8:
In any one of the constitutions [1] to [5],
The portable electronic device is a notebook computer;
A portable electronic device, comprising:
[0017]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the portable electronic device of the present invention is embodied as a mobile telephone will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a mobile phone according to an embodiment, FIG. 2A is a top view of the mobile phone, and FIG. 2B is an explanatory diagram of a detection area of the mobile phone by a capacitance sensor. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing the capacitive sensor and the keypad provided in the AA portion of FIG. 2A. FIGS. 4 and 5 are flowcharts each showing an example of a procedure for performing a process in accordance with the detection result of the capacitance sensor.
[0018]
The mobile telephone illustrated in FIG. 2A has a liquid crystal display 60, and key groups (numeric keys and function keys) 21a, 21b,... Provided on a key mat 21 which is a component of a keypad (see FIG. 3). , A voice input device (microphone) 72, a voice output device (earpiece) 71, an antenna 50, and the like, which are integrally assembled inside or outside the case. A battery (not shown) is provided detachably.
[0019]
As shown in FIG. 3, the keypad includes a key mat 21 and a flexible substrate 22 (hereinafter, referred to as “keypad 20”). A capacitance sensor (a sensor composed of a first plate 31 and a second plate 32; hereinafter, referred to as a “capacitance sensor 30”), which is a specific example of the impedance sensing means, is sandwiched and bonded by the bonding layers 11 and 13. Have been. Note that the configuration shown in FIG. 3 is an example of a configuration in which the capacitance sensor 30 is provided below the keypad 20 as shown in FIG. In the configuration in which the capacitance sensor is provided in another part, a configuration different from the configuration shown in FIG. 3 is adopted. Further, even when the capacitance sensor 30 is provided below the keypad 20 as shown in FIG. 2A, it is not always necessary to configure the capacitance sensor 30 as shown in FIG. Of course, any configuration may be employed as long as 30 can be located. Also, when the capacitance sensor 30 (31, 32) is sandwiched between the key mat 21 and the flexible substrate 22, the adhesive layers 11 and 13 do not necessarily need to be interposed, and Needless to say, any configuration may be employed as long as the capacitance sensor 30 (31, 32) can be sandwiched between the conductive substrate 22 and the conductive substrate 22.
[0020]
As shown in FIG. 3, on the upper surface of the key mat 21, key groups (numerical keys, function keys, etc.) 21a, 21b,... Are provided. Metal contacts 22a, 22b,. When the user presses a desired key 21a / 21b ///, the pressing force applied to the key is transmitted to the metal contact 22a / 22b /// located immediately below via the capacitance sensor 30 (31/32), As a result, the metal contact outputs an electric signal to the keypad interface circuit 201. That is, the pressing of the key is detected.
In order to give a click feeling (metal knock feeling) when the key is pressed, a projection is provided at the lower central portion of each key of the key groups 21a, 21b,... And the capacitance sensor 30 (31. A hole may be formed in a corresponding portion such as 32), and the protrusion may be penetrated to the metal contacts 22a and 22b.
[0021]
As described above, the capacitance sensor 30 includes the first plate 31 and the second plate 32, and is integrated by being bonded by the bonding layer 12. Stripe-shaped electrodes (eg, ITO electrodes) are formed on both the plates 31 and 32, respectively. The first plate 31 is formed so that the stripe-shaped electrodes form an orthogonal direction (= configure a lattice). And a second plate 32 are provided. When a part of the human body such as a fingertip contacts (or approaches), the capacitance between the electrode of the first plate 31 and the electrode of the second plate 32 near the contact (or proximity) part changes. Output to the capacitance interface 301. That is, a change in capacitance is detected. This configuration is an example of a capacitance sensor, and it goes without saying that a capacitance sensor having a configuration other than the above may be appropriately adopted.
[0022]
As shown in FIG. 1, the circuit of the mobile telephone encodes an electric signal (voice signal) input from the voice input device 72 and supplies the encoded signal to the wireless interface circuit 82 and data (voice data) supplied from the wireless interface circuit 82. A codec circuit 81 that decodes data and the like; data other than audio data is not described here) and outputs it as an electric signal (audio signal) to the audio output device 71 to output audio; The data is converted into an electric signal and output from the antenna 50, and the electric signal received by the antenna 50 is converted into data (audio data or the like; description of data other than audio data is omitted) to convert the data into a codec circuit 81. A wireless interface circuit 82 for outputting to the A controller 83 for controlling such an operation of over face circuit 82, a memory 84 for use as needed controller 83. The codec circuit 81, the wireless interface circuit 82, the controller 83, and the memory 84 constitute a conventionally known mobile telephone circuit 80.
[0023]
The controller 83 receives, in addition to the codec circuit 81 and the wireless interface circuit 82, an electric signal (press detection signal) generated by pressing the key groups 21a, 21b,. It is converted into data (press detection data) and input. Further, a change in the capacitance detected by the capacitance sensor 30 in accordance with the contact (or proximity) of the human body is converted into data by the capacitance sensor interface circuit 301 and input to the controller 83. .
[0024]
The processing corresponding to the above input will be described with reference to a flowchart.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state in which two fingers are simultaneously touched by the capacitance sensor 30 when a character is handwritten while tracing the capacitance sensor 30 with one finger. A procedure for processing as a character recognition delimiter and performing character recognition based on the trajectory up to immediately before will be described.
[0025]
In step S11, a detection signal of the capacitance sensor 30 is fetched.
In step S13, it is checked whether an error caused by taking in the detection signal of the capacitance sensor 30 has been detected. As a result, if no error is detected (NO in S13), the coordinates of the position of the center of gravity of the detection area of the capacitance sensor 30 are obtained and stored in a predetermined area on the memory (S15).
[0026]
When an error caused by taking in the detection signal of the capacitance sensor 30 is detected (YES in S13), the type of the error is acquired (S17).
[0027]
If the type of error acquired in step S17 is an error caused by two fingers simultaneously touching the capacitance sensor 30 (YES in S19), each error stored in a predetermined area on the memory is determined. Characters are recognized based on the coordinates of the position of the center of gravity (= the locus of the position of the center of gravity) (see S21; S15). Further, the recognized character is output to a display device or the like, and the previous held data (the locus of the center of gravity position) is cleared (S23). As a result, the next character can be input.
[0028]
Then, the process returns to step S01. The above processing is repeatedly executed until the application of the character recognition processing ends (while NO in S01).
If the error type acquired in step S17 is an error other than an error caused by two fingers simultaneously touching the capacitance sensor 30 (NO in S19), processing corresponding to the error is executed. (S25).
[0029]
FIG. 5 illustrates that in an application other than character recognition (eg, a game or the like), input by one finger is processed as normal input of the application, and input by a plurality of fingers is processed as predetermined processing. Here are the steps.
[0030]
In step S61, a detection signal of the capacitance sensor 30 is fetched.
In step S63, it is checked whether or not an error caused by taking in the detection signal of the capacitance sensor 30 has been detected. As a result, when no error is detected (NO in S63), the detection by the capacitance sensor 30 is processed as a normal input of the application (S65).
[0031]
If an error caused by taking in the detection signal of the capacitance sensor 30 is detected (YES in S63), the type of the error is acquired (S67).
[0032]
If the type of error acquired in step S67 is an error due to two fingers simultaneously touching the capacitance sensor 30 (YES in S69), the number of areas detected by the capacitance sensor 30 Is acquired (S71), a process corresponding to the acquired region number is acquired from the region number-processing table (FIG. 5B), and the acquired process is executed (S75). In the illustrated example, when the number of detected areas is two, “move to the upper left”, when the number of detected areas is three, “move to the center”, and when the number of detected areas is four, “move to the center”. Move to lower right ".
[0033]
Thereafter, the process returns to step S51. The above processing is repeatedly executed until the application ends (while NO in S51).
If the error type acquired in step S67 is an error other than an error caused by two fingers simultaneously touching the capacitance sensor 30 (NO in S69), processing corresponding to the error is executed. (S77).
[0034]
【The invention's effect】
The portable electronic device according to the above [1], which operates in response to an operation input signal, comprises: an impedance sensing means provided in a plane on a surface of the case body of the portable electronic device or a predetermined portion near the surface; An input signal generating means for obtaining a predetermined position from within the region where the change is detected and collectively generating a temporal change of the position as an operation input signal; and a case where the impedance change is detected in a plurality of regions simultaneously. Input signal control means for controlling the input signal generation means generated as a break of the operation input signal, when the impedance change is detected in a plurality of regions at the same time, for example, the function to recognize handwritten characters written by fingers Can be processed as a character recognition delimiter. Therefore, the operability of the functions of the application such as the character recognition function can be improved.
[0035]
The portable electronic device having the configuration according to the above [3], which operates in response to an operation input signal, comprises: impedance sensing means provided in a plane on a surface of the case body of the portable electronic device or a predetermined portion near the surface; Since it has detection number acquisition means for acquiring the number of areas where the change is detected simultaneously, and input signal generation means for generating an operation input signal having a meaning corresponding to the number of areas where the impedance change is detected simultaneously, An operation input signal having a meaning corresponding to the number of regions where the impedance change is detected can be generated. That is, a plurality of meanings can be selectively used by a simple operation, and operability can be improved.
[0036]
The portable electronic device having the configuration according to the above [4], which operates in response to an operation input signal, comprises an impedance sensing means provided in a plane on a surface of the case body of the portable electronic device or a predetermined portion near the surface; Detection number acquisition means for acquiring the number of areas in which a change is detected at the same time; input signal generation means for generating an operation input signal in accordance with the detection of an impedance change; and Input signal control means for controlling the operation input signal generated by the input signal generation means, so that the same operation input signal can be properly used as an operation input signal having a different meaning according to the number of regions where impedance changes are simultaneously detected. it can. For this reason, various operation inputs can be performed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a mobile phone according to an embodiment.
2A is a top view of the mobile phone shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2B is an explanatory diagram of a detection area by a capacitance sensor of the mobile phone shown in FIG.
3 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing an electrostatic capacity sensor and a keypad provided in a portion AA in FIG. 2A. FIG.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure for performing a process according to a detection result by a capacitance sensor.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure different from that of FIG. 4 for performing a process in accordance with a detection result by a capacitance sensor.
[Explanation of symbols]
21 keypad key mat 22 keypad flexible substrate 31 first plate of capacitance sensor 32 second plate of capacitance sensor 50 antenna 60 liquid crystal panel (display)

Claims (8)

A portable electronic device that operates according to an operation input signal,
Impedance sensing means provided in a plane at a predetermined portion near or on the surface of the case body of the portable electronic device,
An input signal generating means for obtaining a predetermined position from within the area where the impedance change is detected by the impedance sensing means and collectively generating a temporal change in the position as an operation input signal,
An input signal control unit that controls a case where an impedance change is simultaneously detected in a plurality of regions by the impedance sensing unit as a break of the operation input signal generated by the input signal generation unit,
A portable electronic device comprising: In claim 1,
Further comprising a character recognition means for recognizing a character based on the trajectory of the operation input signal generated by the input signal generation means,
The input signal control unit provides the character recognition unit with the break as a character recognition break based on the operation input signal generated by the input signal generation unit,
A portable electronic device, comprising: A portable electronic device that operates according to an operation input signal,
Impedance sensing means provided in a plane at a predetermined portion near or on the surface of the case body of the portable electronic device,
A detection number acquisition unit that acquires the number of regions where the impedance change is simultaneously detected by the impedance sensing unit;
An input signal generation unit that generates an operation input signal having a meaning corresponding to the number of regions where the impedance change is detected at the same time,
A portable electronic device comprising: A portable electronic device that operates according to an operation input signal,
Impedance sensing means provided in a plane at a predetermined portion near or on the surface of the case body of the portable electronic device,
A detection number acquisition unit that acquires the number of regions where the impedance change is simultaneously detected by the impedance sensing unit;
Input signal generating means for generating an operation input signal in response to detection of an impedance change by the impedance sensing means;
An input signal control unit that controls an operation input signal generated by the input signal generation unit according to the number of regions where the impedance change is detected,
A portable electronic device comprising: In any one of claims 1 to 4,
A keypad having a plurality of keys,
The impedance sensing unit is a capacitance sensing unit provided below the keypad.
A portable electronic device, comprising: In any one of claims 1 to 5,
The portable electronic device is a mobile telephone;
A portable electronic device, comprising: In any one of claims 1 to 5,
The portable electronic device is a portable information terminal,
A portable electronic device, comprising: In any one of claims 1 to 5,
The portable electronic device is a notebook computer;
A portable electronic device, comprising:

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