JP2007072617A - Operation unit - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an operation unit which can execute an operation selected based on an angle of inclination of the unit without using a resolution button. <P>SOLUTION: By an angle of inclination detection part 11, an angle of inclination of an operation unit 1 is detected and a posture signal is outputted; a central control part 15 selects an operation based on the posture signal, a movement detection part 14 detects a knock to the operation unit 1 based on the posture signal; when a knock is detected, the central control part 15 executes the selected operation. Until the attenuation time established beforehand is elapsed after the knock is detected by the movement detection part 14, selection of operation by the central control part 15 and detection of knock by the movement detection part 14 are stopped. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an operation device used for a portable terminal device that reproduces music data recorded on a recording medium (HDD, CD, MD, etc.), and in particular, an operation device that can be easily operated by holding the device with one hand. About.

  A portable terminal device that reproduces music data recorded on a recording medium (HDD, CD, MD, etc.) and a remote control device for remotely operating various electronic devices perform various operations as the functionality of the device increases. Since it is necessary, the buttons provided on the apparatus cannot be used, and an on-screen operation using a display is adopted. In on-screen operation, it is common to select multiple instruction keys arranged on the operation screen displayed on the display by operating operation means such as the up / down key, cross key, jog shuttle, It is difficult for an elderly person or an unfamiliar user to smoothly perform operations such as up / down key, cross key, and jok shuttle.

  Therefore, without using operation means such as up / down key, cross key, jok shuttle, etc., the tilt angle of the device is detected from the signal obtained from the acceleration sensor, and the instruction key on the operation screen is based on the tilt angle of the device. Has been proposed in which an instruction key displayed near the center of an operation screen is selected (for example, see Patent Document 1).

However, in the prior art, the device is tilted in the front / rear / right / left direction, the instruction key on the operation screen is moved up / down / left / right, and the desired operation is performed by keeping the device horizontal when the desired instruction key moves to the center. Although it is configured to select, there has been a problem that a determination button for executing the selected operation is required.
JP 2003-162371 A

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an operation device that can execute an operation selected based on the inclination angle of the device without using a determination button. There is in point to do.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has the following configuration.
The operating device of the present invention is an operating device that selects any one of a plurality of operations and executes the selected operation, and includes an inclination angle detection unit that detects an inclination angle of the device and outputs an attitude signal; An operation selecting means for selecting the operation based on an attitude signal; an operation detecting means for detecting a predetermined action on the apparatus based on the attitude signal; and the operation selection when the predetermined action is detected by the action detecting means. And an operation execution means for executing the operation selected by the means.

  Furthermore, the operation device of the present invention stores the selected operation until the operation selection unit selects a new operation, and the operation execution unit detects the predetermined operation by the operation detection unit. Then, the operation stored by the operation selection means is executed.

  Furthermore, the operating device of the present invention comprises a substantially cylindrical casing, and a rotation angle detecting means for detecting a rotation angle about the axis of the casing based on the attitude signal, and the operation selection The means selects the operation based on the rotation angle detected by the rotation angle detection means.

  Furthermore, in the operating device of the present invention, a plurality of light emitting elements corresponding to each of the plurality of operations to be selected are provided on the peripheral surface of the housing, respectively, and the selected by the operation selecting means The light emitting element corresponding to the operation is turned on.

  Furthermore, the operation device according to the present invention includes the selection of the operation by the operation selection unit and the operation by the operation detection unit until a predetermined decay time elapses after the predetermined operation is detected by the operation detection unit. The detection of the predetermined operation is stopped.

  The operating device of the present invention detects the tilt angle of the device by the tilt angle detecting means and outputs a posture signal, selects an operation based on the posture signal by the operation selecting device, and selects the operation based on the posture signal by the motion detecting device. When a predetermined motion is detected, and the predetermined motion is detected, the operation selected by the operation selection means is executed, and the operation selected based on the posture signal is executed based on the posture signal. Since there is no need to provide a determination button, the cost can be reduced.

  Furthermore, the operation device of the present invention performs the selection of the operation by the operation selection unit and the detection of the predetermined operation by the operation detection unit until a predetermined decay time elapses after the predetermined operation is detected by the operation detection unit. By being configured to stop, it is possible to prevent one predetermined operation from being recognized as a plurality of predetermined operations and to prevent an unintended operation from being selected.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an external view showing a configuration of an embodiment of an operating device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an operation notation and an LED layout provided in the operating device shown in FIG. a) is a perspective view, and (b) is a cross-sectional view in which the LED portion is cut into circles. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the embodiment of the operating device according to the present invention, FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the embodiment of the operating device according to the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a detection axis in the inclination angle detection unit shown in FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 shows an example of an output value output from the inclination angle detection unit shown in FIG. 4 when a hitting operation is performed. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining operation detection in the operation detection unit shown in FIG. 4.

  The present embodiment is a portable terminal device such as a digital audio player that reproduces music data recorded on a recording element such as a semiconductor memory. Referring to FIG. 1, an operation device 1 having a substantially cylindrical shape, and an operation device And headphones 2 connected to 1.

  Referring to FIG. 2, an operation notation 3 indicating an operation performed on the operation device 1 and an LED 4 which is a light emitting element for notifying that the operation notation 3 has been selected are provided on the peripheral surface portion of the operation device 1. It has been. As operation notation 3, “fast forward”, “play (pause)” and “reverse” for performing a playback operation, “Feel” for performing a music selection operation, “VOL +” and “VOL−” for performing volume operation, “EQ” for performing the equalizer operation and “HOLD” for performing the operation restriction are sequentially provided, and eight LEDs 4 are provided corresponding to the respective operation notations 3. Note that the operation notation 3 and the LEDs 4 are provided on the peripheral surface portion of the operation device 1 at intervals of 45 °.

  The selection of the operation in the operation device 1 is performed by rotating around the axis A of the operation device 1 with reference to FIG. 3, and any of the eight operations indicated by the operation notation 3 is selected. The LED 4 corresponding to the selected operation (operation notation 3) is turned on.

  Referring to FIG. 4, the inclination angle detection unit 11, the AD conversion unit 12, the rotation angle detection unit 13, the operation detection unit 14, the central control unit 15, and the lighting control unit are provided in the casing of the controller device 1. 16, an audio output unit 17, and a database 18.

  The inclination angle detection unit 11 is an inclination sensor using, for example, an acceleration sensor such as a capacitance type, a piezoresistive type, or a heat distribution detection type. Referring to FIG. And an attitude signal corresponding to the tilt angles of the X axis and the Y axis that pass through the axis A and are orthogonal to each other are output to the AD converter 12. In the present embodiment, the X axis is on the line connecting “VOL−” and “play (pause)” in the operation notation 3, and the Y axis is “Feel” and “HOLD” in the operation notation 3. It is set on each connecting line.

  As the tilt angle detection unit 11, a fixed beam and a movable beam (beam) are respectively regarded as electrode plates of capacitors, and variations in the distance between the beams are set as capacitance values in the X axis and the Y axis. When a capacitance type biaxial acceleration sensor that detects tilt is used, as shown in FIG. 6, output values corresponding to respective tilt angles of the X axis and the Y axis are obtained as posture signals. The output values shown in FIG. 6 are normalized with the magnitude of the gravitational acceleration G being “1”.

  The AD conversion unit 12 converts the posture signal output from the tilt angle detection unit 11 into a digital signal by sampling after the noise removal filter processing, and converts the posture signal into the rotation angle detection unit 13 and the operation detection unit at each sampling time. 14 for output. In the present embodiment, the sampling time in the AD conversion unit 12 is 10 mS.

  The rotation angle detection unit 13 is a rotation angle centered on the axis A of the controller device 1 based on the attitude signal input every sampling time (10 mS) of the AD conversion unit 12, that is, the inclination angles of the X axis and the Y axis. And the calculated rotation angle is output to the central control unit 15. The line connecting “Feel” and “HOLD”, that is, the rotation angle when the Y axis coincides with the direction of gravity is 0 degree, and the clockwise rotation about the axis A in FIG. The counterclockwise rotation around the axis A is negative.

  The motion detection unit 14 detects a “tapping” operation (hereinafter referred to as “knocking” operation) performed on the controller device 1 and outputs an operation detection signal to the central control unit 15.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of an attitude signal output from the tilt angle detection unit 11 when the controller device 1 is knocked. The output values per unit time of the output values on the X axis and the Y axis are shown. It turns out that it becomes large (about 0.1S) until a change is attenuated. Therefore, the motion detection unit 14 monitors the output value on the X-axis and Y-axis, or on either the X-axis or Y-axis in the posture signal input every sampling time (10 mS) of the AD conversion unit 12, and outputs the output value. When the amount of change exceeds a predetermined reference value, it is recognized that knocking has been performed, and an operation detection signal is output to the central control unit 15.

  The central control unit 15 selects one of the eight operations indicated by the operation notation 3 based on the rotation angle input from the rotation angle detection unit 13, and turns on the LED 4 corresponding to the selected operation (operation notation 3). When the lighting control unit 16 is instructed and an operation detection signal is input from the operation detection unit 14, the selected operation is executed.

  The lighting control unit 16 is a means for controlling the lighting of the LED 4 provided corresponding to each of the eight operation notations 3, and selects an operation (operation notation 3) selected based on an instruction from the central control unit 15. The corresponding LED 4 is turned on.

  The database 18 is a recording element such as a semiconductor memory, in which music data input from a music data input terminal (not shown) is recorded, and feeling information indicating the music tone of the music data is recorded for each music data. .

  The audio output unit 17 is an audio player that reproduces music data recorded in the database 18 based on an instruction from the central control unit 15, and outputs the reproduced music data to the headphones 2 connected thereto. Also, the audio output unit 17 has an equalizer function, and is set to any one of preset “normal”, “jazz”, “rock”, “classic”, “pop”, and “bass” sound effects. Music data can be played back.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the embodiment of the operating device 1 according to the present invention, and FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation selecting operation in the central control unit 15 shown in FIG. is there.

  The tilt angle detection unit 11 outputs an attitude signal corresponding to the tilt angles of the X axis and the Y axis, which are parallel to the surface of the controller device 1 cut in a circle and are orthogonal to each other through the axis A, to the AD conversion unit 12, An attitude signal is output from the AD converter 12 to the rotation angle detector 13 and the motion detector 14 at every sampling time (10 mS) (step A1).

  The rotation angle detection unit 13 calculates a rotation angle around the axis A of the controller device 1 based on the attitude signal input from the AD conversion unit 12, and outputs the calculated rotation angle to the central control unit 15. (Step A2), the motion detection unit 14 compares the posture signal input from the AD conversion unit 12 with the posture signal input last time (Step A3).

  Next, the motion detection unit 14 determines whether or not the change amount of the posture signal exceeds a predetermined reference value Vth (step A4), and the change amount of the posture signal exceeds the predetermined reference value Vth. If it is detected that the knocking has been performed, an operation detection signal is output to the central control unit 15.

  When the change amount of the attitude signal does not exceed the predetermined reference value Vth in step A4 and no motion detection signal is input from the motion detection unit 14, the central control unit 15 inputs from the rotation angle detection unit 13. It is specified which of the eight operations corresponds to the rotated angle (step A5). As shown in FIGS. 9A to 9H, the operation corresponding to the rotation angle range is specified in advance, and the operation including the input rotation angle is specified. The

  Next, the central control unit 15 determines whether or not the same operation has been specified continuously for a predetermined M times (for example, three times) (step A6), and the same operation has been specified for M times continuously. If not, the process returns to step A1, and if the same operation is specified M times consecutively, the specified operation is selected (step A7). The selected operation is stored in the central control unit 15 until a new operation is selected next time. In the present embodiment, it is configured so that an operation located at 22.5 ° to 67.5 from directly above is specified instead of an operation located directly above, and the operation device 1 is held and operated. At this time, the operation notation 3 in which the selected LED 4 is turned on can be easily seen.

  Next, the central control unit 15 instructs the lighting control unit 16 to turn on the LED 4 corresponding to the selected operation, and the LED 4 corresponding to the operation selected based on the lighting control unit 16 is turned on (step A8). Return to Step A1. The LED 4 corresponding to the selected operation allows the user to grasp the selected operation.

  When the change amount of the posture signal exceeds the predetermined reference value Vth in step A4, that is, when knocking is performed and a motion detection signal is input from the motion detection unit 14, the central control unit 15 selects the selected operation. (Step A9), waits for the elapse of time Tw set in advance as the decay time (step A10), and returns to step A1 after elapse of time Tw. The decay time is a time until the posture signal caused by knocking, that is, the output values of the X-axis and the Y-axis, is settled. In step A10, waiting for the elapse of time Tw, that is, the operation by the central control unit 15 And the detection of the knock by the motion detection unit 14 are stopped, so that one knock is prevented from being recognized as a plurality of knocks and an unintended operation is prevented from being selected. is doing.

Next, execution of each operation operation in the present embodiment will be described in detail.
When knocking is performed while “fast forward”, “play (pause)”, and “reverse” are selected, the song data being played is fast forwarded, the song data is played or paused, and played back. Each of the music data being played back is executed in reverse.

  When knocking is performed while “Feel” for performing the music selection operation is selected, the feeling information of the music data to be reproduced is sequentially selected, and the music data of the selected feeling information is sequentially reproduced. For example, if the feeling information is “Norinori”, “Songs that can be energetic”, “Healing”, or “Refreshing”, each time a knock is made, “Norino” or “Songs that can energize” , “Healing” and “Sawayaka” are selected in sequence.

  When knocking is performed in a state where “VOL +” and “VOL−” for performing volume operations are selected, the volume of the music data that is reproduced and output as sound is increased and decreased.

  When knocking is performed with “EQ” for equalizer operation selected, “Normal”, “Jazz”, “Rock”, “Classic”, “Pop”, and “Bass” sound effects are selected in sequence. The music data is reproduced with the selected sound effect.

  When knocking is performed in a state where “HOLD” for performing the operation restriction is selected, the operation selection operation based on the rotation angle shifts to a hold state in which the operation is stopped until cancel input is performed. As a release input, a new knock may be considered, and the hold state may be released by one or more knocks.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the tilt angle detection unit 11 detects the tilt angle of the controller device 1 and outputs a posture signal, and the central control unit 15 selects an operation based on the posture signal. The motion detection unit 14 detects a knock on the controller device 1 based on the posture signal, and when the knock is detected, the central control unit 15 is configured to execute the selected operation. The operation selected based on the above can be executed based on the attitude signal, and there is no need to provide a determination button, so that the cost can be reduced.

  Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, the operation control unit 14 selects the operation and the motion detection unit 14 detects the knock until a predetermined decay time elapses after the motion detection unit 14 detects the knock. Is stopped, it is possible to prevent one knock from being recognized as a plurality of knocks and to prevent an unintended operation from being selected.

  In the present embodiment, the tilt angle detection unit 11 is configured to detect the attitude signal corresponding to the two tilt angles of the X axis and the Y axis, but in addition to the two axes of the X axis and the Y axis, By detecting the tilt angle of the Z-axis orthogonal to the X-axis and the Y-axis, a posture signal corresponding to the detected tilt angles of the three axes of the X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis is detected. The operation may be selected in consideration of an inclination angle other than the rotation angle around the center A. Further, the operation device 1 of the present embodiment may be provided with display means such as a liquid crystal display, and the operation may be selected using the infant child means.

  It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it is obvious that each embodiment can be appropriately changed within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. In addition, the number, position, shape, and the like of the constituent members are not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be set to a suitable number, position, shape, and the like in practicing the present invention. In each figure, the same numerals are given to the same component.

It is an external view which shows the structure of embodiment of the operating device which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the operation description provided in the operating device shown in FIG. 1, and the layout of LED, (a) is a perspective view, (b) is sectional drawing which cut | disconnected the LED part. It is explanatory drawing explaining operation of embodiment of the operating device which concerns on this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of embodiment of the operating device which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the detection axis in the inclination-angle detection part shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of an output value output from the inclination angle detection part shown in FIG. 4 when the operation | movement is performed. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the operation | movement detection in the operation | movement detection part shown in FIG. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of embodiment of the operating device which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the operation selection operation | movement in the central control part shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 Operation device 2 Headphone 3 Operation notation 4 LED
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Inclination angle detection part 12 AD conversion part 13 Rotation angle detection part 14 Operation | movement detection part 15 Central control part (operation selection means, operation execution means)
16 lighting control unit 17 audio output unit 18 database

Claims (5)

An operation device that selects any one of a plurality of operations and executes the selected operation,
An inclination angle detecting means for detecting an inclination angle of the apparatus and outputting an attitude signal;
Operation selecting means for selecting the operation based on the posture signal;
Motion detection means for detecting a predetermined motion with respect to the apparatus based on the attitude signal;
An operation device comprising: an operation execution unit that executes an operation selected by the operation selection unit when the predetermined operation is detected by the operation detection unit. The operation selection means stores the selected operation until a new operation is selected,
The operation device according to claim 1, wherein the operation execution unit executes the operation stored by the operation selection unit when the predetermined operation is detected by the operation detection unit. A substantially cylindrical housing;
Rotation angle detection means for detecting a rotation angle around the axis of the housing based on the attitude signal;
The operation device according to claim 1, wherein the operation selection unit selects the operation based on the rotation angle detected by the rotation angle detection unit. A plurality of light emitting elements corresponding to each of the plurality of selected operations are provided on the peripheral surface of the casing,
4. The operating device according to claim 3, wherein the light emitting element corresponding to the operation selected by the operation selecting means is turned on.   The selection of the operation by the operation selection unit and the detection of the predetermined operation by the operation detection unit are stopped until a predetermined decay time elapses after the predetermined operation is detected by the operation detection unit. The operating device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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