JP2010244132A - User interface device with touch panel, method and program for controlling user interface - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve operability of a function corresponding to an touch operation, in a user interface device having a touch panel. <P>SOLUTION: An object approach detection part 2 decides an approach state of an object to the touch panel 1 by use of a detection signal output from the touch panel 1. A finger/palm distinction part 3 distinguishes whether the object is a finger or a palm of a user when it is decided in the object approach detection part 2 that the object approaches, and outputs a distinction result. When it is distinguished in the finger/palm distinction part 3 that the object having approached is the finger, a coordinate detection part 4 detects approach position coordinates on the touch panel 1 of the approaching finger. An application selection part 5 selects an application to be executed based on the approach position coordinates of the coordinate detection part 4 and a distinction result of the finger/palm distinction part 3. A display part 6 performs proper screen display correspondingly to the application selected by the application selection part 5. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a user interface device that switches an application to be executed by determining the proximity of a finger or palm to an electrostatic touch panel, a control method thereof, and a control program.

In recent years, content and functions installed in information processing terminals such as mobile phones and digital cameras have been increasing, and user operations have become complicated when browsing content or operating functions. . Therefore, it is an issue to realize a user interface that can easily and intuitively operate complicated contents and functions.
In response to this problem, for example, the operation input device of Patent Document 1 recognizes the shape of the user's hand and the direction of movement based on the image captured by the camera, selects an operation corresponding to the recognition result, For changing various parameters.
Further, the data input device disclosed in Patent Document 2 includes an image reading unit capable of storing palm prints or fingerprints, which are different for each hand or finger, and a combination thereof in association with different data, and capable of reading the palm prints or fingerprints. A part of a hand or finger is worn and another finger or part of the hand is read, converted into associated data and input.

JP 2001-216069 A JP 2000-242402 A

  Since the conventional user interface device is configured as described above, Patent Documents 1 and 2 do not disclose the use of a touch panel to recognize user operation input. For this reason, what is disclosed is a technique for discriminating whether a user's finger is close to the touch panel or a palm is closely linked to the operation, and a technique for determining a finger and a palm without using fingerprints and palm prints that greatly depend on individual differences. There is also a problem that it is not possible to sufficiently realize a user interface for easily and intuitively operating complicated contents and functions using a touch panel.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to improve the operability of a function corresponding to a touch operation in a user interface device having a touch panel.

  The user interface device with a touch panel according to the present invention uses the output value of the touch panel to output an object proximity detection unit that detects the proximity state of the object to the touch panel and an object proximity detection unit that detects the proximity state. A finger / palm discriminating unit for discriminating whether the object is a user's finger or palm from the values, and a coordinate detecting unit for detecting a proximity position coordinate of the finger on the touch panel when the finger / palm discriminating unit discriminates the object as a finger; And an application selection unit that selects an application according to the result of determination by the finger / palm determination unit and the proximity position coordinates detected by the coordinate detection unit, and a display unit that performs display corresponding to the application selected by the application selection unit. It is a thing.

  A user interface control method for a user interface device with a touch panel according to the present invention uses an output value of a touch panel to detect a proximity state in an object proximity detection step for detecting the proximity state of an object to the touch panel, and an object proximity detection step. If the finger / palm determination step determines whether the object is the user's finger or palm from the output value, and the finger / palm determination step determines that the object is a finger, the proximity position coordinates of the finger on the touch panel are detected. A coordinate detection step, an application selection step for selecting an application according to a result determined in the finger / palm determination step and a proximity position coordinate detected in the coordinate detection step, and a display corresponding to the application selected in the application selection step With steps It is.

  According to the user interface control program for a user interface device with a touch panel according to the present invention, an object proximity detection unit that detects a proximity state of an object to the touch panel using an output value of the touch panel and an object proximity detection unit When the state is detected, the finger / palm discriminating means for discriminating whether the object is the user's finger or palm from the output value, and the proximity position of the finger on the touch panel when the finger / palm discrimination means discriminates the object as the finger A coordinate detection unit that detects coordinates, an application selection unit that selects an application according to a result of determination by the finger / palm determination unit and a proximity position coordinate detected by the coordinate detection unit, and a display corresponding to the application selected by the application selection unit It is made to function as a display means for performing.

  According to the present invention, since the application is selected by determining whether the proximity object is a finger or a palm from the output value of the touch panel, it is possible to perform a palm operation in addition to a normal finger touch operation. The operability of the corresponding function can be improved. Further, by associating a specific application with the palm operation, the application execution button can be deleted from the display screen, and the screen can be simplified.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the user interface apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the user interface device according to the first embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the touch panel shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the method in which the object proximity detection part shown in FIG. 1 detects the distance of a touch panel and an object, the state which the touch panel and the object approached is shown to FIG. 4 (A), and the state which contacted is FIG. 4 (B). Shown in FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a method in which the finger / palm discriminating unit shown in FIG. 1 discriminates that a finger is in proximity to the touch panel, and FIG. This graph is shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining how the finger / palm discriminating unit shown in FIG. 1 discriminates that the palm is close to the touch panel, and FIG. 6A shows a state where the touch panel and the palm are close to each other. This graph is shown in FIG. FIGS. 7A and 7B are explanatory diagrams of an application selected by the application selection unit shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 7A shows an example of an application when a finger is in proximity, and FIG. . It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the user interface apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the user interface device according to the second embodiment. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a structure of information on position coordinates of sensor electrodes stored in a memory illustrated in FIG. 8. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the state of the sensor electrode preserve | saved at memory according to the palm gesture close | similar to a touch panel. It is explanatory drawing of the application which the application selection part shown in FIG. 8 shows, the example of the application in the case of operation by finger gesture is shown in FIG. 12 (A), and the example of the application in the case of operation by palm gesture is FIG. Shown in (B).

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a user interface apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the user interface device according to Embodiment 1 includes a touch panel 1, an object proximity detection unit 2, a finger / palm determination unit 3, a coordinate detection unit 4, an application selection unit 5, a display unit 6, and a control unit 7. Consists of

  The touch panel 1 detects an input by an object such as a user's finger or palm, and outputs a detection signal to the object proximity detection unit 2. The object proximity detection unit 2 uses the detection signal output from the touch panel 1 to determine the proximity state of the object to the touch panel 1. When the object proximity detection unit 2 determines that the object is close, the finger / palm determination unit 3 determines whether the object is a finger or a palm, and outputs a determination result. When the finger / palm discriminating unit 3 determines that the close object is a finger, the coordinate detecting unit 4 detects the close position coordinates on the touch panel 1 of the close finger. The application selection unit 5 selects an application to be executed based on the determination result of the finger / palm determination unit 3 and the close position coordinates of the coordinate detection unit 4. The display unit 6 displays an appropriate screen corresponding to the application selected by the application selection unit 5. The control unit 7 controls the overall operation.

Next, the operation of the user interface device according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the user interface device according to the first embodiment.
First, the object proximity detection unit 2 determines whether or not an object has approached the touch panel 1 (step ST1), and performs the operation of step ST1 until the proximity of the object is detected.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the touch panel 1. In the present embodiment, as the touch panel 1, a capacitance method that detects the proximity (and contact) of the object 10 to the touch panel 1 by detecting a weak change in capacitance between the object 10 and the touch panel 1. The projection capacitive touch panel is used. In addition, a capacitive surface capacitive touch panel may be used as the touch panel 1, and the proximity of the object 10 to the touch panel 1 may be detected according to the amount of change in capacitance.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the projection capacitive touch panel 1 detects a plurality of x-direction sensor electrodes 11 arranged in parallel to the y direction in order to detect a coordinate value in the x direction, and a coordinate value in the y direction. Therefore, it is composed of a plurality of y-direction sensor electrodes 12 arranged in parallel with the x-direction. Based on the detection signals output from the sensor electrodes 11 and 12, the object proximity detection unit 2 detects x, x, y, x, y, x, and x when the object 10 approaches or touches the touch panel 1. By detecting which sensor electrode is reacting in each of the y directions, the position of the object 10 in the x and y directions on the touch panel 1 (hereinafter, referred to as x coordinate and y coordinate, respectively) can be detected.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing how the object proximity detection unit 2 detects the distance between the touch panel 1 and the object 10, and is a graph showing the relationship between the amount of change in capacitance and the distance between the touch panel 1 and the object 10. It is. As shown in the graph, the capacitance between the touch panel 1 and the object 10 increases as the distance between the touch panel 1 and the object 10 decreases.
Since the degree of change in capacitance varies depending on the distance between the touch panel 1 and the object 10, the object proximity detection unit 2 determines that the object 10 is touched by the touch panel 1 based on the degree of change in capacitance between the touch panel 1 and the object 10. It can be determined whether it is close to or touched. Specifically, when the amount of change in capacitance is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold Th1 (region A), it is determined that the object 10 has approached the touch panel 1 (FIG. 4 (A)), and proximity is reached when it is less than the threshold Th1. Judge that it is not. Furthermore, when the amount of change in capacitance is equal to or greater than the threshold Th2 (> Th1) (region B), it can be determined that the object 10 has touched the touch panel 1 (FIG. 4B).

  Returning to FIG. When the proximity of the object to the touch panel 1 is detected in the object proximity detection unit 2 (step ST1 “Yes”), the finger / palm determination unit 3 determines whether the adjacent object is a finger or a palm ( Step ST2).

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining how the finger / palm discriminating unit 3 discriminates that the finger 10a is close to the touch panel 1, and FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining how the palm 10b is proximate. When the object close to the touch panel 1 is the finger 10a as shown in FIG. 5A, the distribution of the capacitance change of the x-direction sensor electrode 11 is the sensor having the largest change as shown in FIG. A steep distribution 21 is obtained with the value of the electrode as a peak. The distribution of the capacitance change of the y-direction sensor electrode 12 is similarly steep. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6A, when the object close to the touch panel 1 is the palm 10b, the distribution of the capacitance change of the sensor electrodes 11 and 12 in the x and y directions is shown in FIG. As shown, the distribution 22 is gentle, and the distribution 21 is not steep. Similarly, the distribution of the capacitance change of the y-direction sensor electrode 12 is also a gentle distribution. Therefore, the finger / palm discrimination unit 3 discriminates whether the object close to the touch panel 1 is the finger 10a or the palm 10b based on the steepness of the peak of the distribution of the capacitance change.

  When the finger / palm discriminating unit 3 easily discriminates without using the above-described distribution shape of the capacitance change as an index, the capacitance change amounts 21a and 22a of each sensor electrode are used as the index. Also good. Specifically, the finger / palm discriminating unit 3 counts the number of sensor electrodes in the x-direction sensor electrode 11 that have a capacitance change amount equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value Th2, and if this number is less than the threshold value m, It is determined that the object 10a is close to the touch panel 1, and if the palm 10b is close when the threshold value is equal to or greater than the threshold value m, it is determined whether the object close to the touch panel 1 is the finger 10a or the palm 10b. The finger / palm determination unit 3 determines the y-direction sensor electrode 12 in the same manner.

Returning to FIG. When the proximity object is determined to be a finger by the finger / palm determination unit 3 (step ST2 “finger”), the coordinate detection unit 4 detects the x and y coordinates on the touch panel 1 where the finger has approached in the subsequent step ST3. As described above with reference to FIG. 3, the position coordinate detection method by the coordinate detection unit 4 has the largest capacitance change amount in the x and y directions of the x direction sensor electrode 11 and the y direction sensor electrode 12. What is necessary is just to detect a sensor electrode. These x and y coordinates are the proximity position coordinates.
Subsequently, the application selection unit 5 selects an application to be executed based on the x and y coordinates detected by the coordinate detection unit 4 (step ST4). The display unit 6 displays a screen with appropriate contents corresponding to the application selected by the application selection unit 5 (step ST5).

  On the other hand, when the proximity object is determined to be a palm (step ST2 “palm”), in subsequent step ST4, the application selection unit 5 selects an application to be executed when the proximity object is a palm. The display unit 6 displays a screen with appropriate contents corresponding to the application selected by the application selection unit 5 (step ST5).

  The application selected by the application selection unit 5 in step ST4 is preferably an application that can be associated with a finger or palm operation. FIG. 7A shows an example of an application executed when the proximity to the touch panel 1 is the finger 10a, and FIG. 7B shows an example of an application executed when the proximity to the touch panel 1 is the palm 10b. The touch panel 1 is attached to and integrated with the front surface of the display unit 6, and the x and y coordinates detected by the coordinate detection unit 4 are used as position coordinates in the display area of the display unit 6. When the adjacent object is the finger 10a, the application selection unit 5 displays a part of a meaningful display area displayed at the screen position corresponding to the position coordinate of the finger 10a as shown in FIG. For example, an application for selecting one icon or the like is selected. On the other hand, when the adjacent object is the palm 10b, the application selection unit 5 selects an application for selecting the entire display area (for example, all icons) as shown in FIG. 7B. As shown in FIG. 7, a user interface that can be operated intuitively by the user by associating the application selected by the application selection unit 5 with the finger and palm operations in accordance with the metaphor of finger = partial and palm = entire. Can be realized.

In addition to the above, the application selection unit 5 selects, for example, an application for returning / forwarding by one page when the close object is the finger 10a when a display screen of a document having a plurality of pages is displayed on the display unit 6. When the adjacent object is the palm 10b, an application for returning / forwarding all pages may be selected.
In addition, when an application for controlling on / off switching of the power switch of the user interface device is associated with the palm operation, the application selection unit 5 selects a normal application when the adjacent object is the finger 10a. When the adjacent object is the palm 10b, an application for controlling on / off switching of the power switch can be selected.
In this way, if an application of a specific button is associated with a palm operation, the number of buttons in the display screen can be reduced, and the display screen can be simplified.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, the object proximity detection unit 2 that detects the proximity state of the object to the touch panel 1 and the object is the user's finger when it is determined that the object is close to the touch panel 1. In addition to the finger / palm discriminating unit 3 that discriminates whether there is a palm or not, an application selection unit 5 that selects an application to be executed depending on whether the finger is close or the palm is close is provided. Therefore, in addition to a normal finger touch operation, a palm operation is also possible, and the operability for functions corresponding to the touch panel 1 can be improved. Further, by associating a specific application with a palm operation, the application execution button can be deleted from the display screen, and the screen can be simplified.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
In the user interface device according to the first embodiment, it is detected that an object is close to the touch panel 1, further determines whether the close object is a user's finger or palm, and executes an application to be executed based on the determination result. By switching, in addition to the normal touch operation, operation by palm was realized. In the second embodiment, when it is determined that the palm is close to the touch panel 1, a user interface with further improved operability is realized by recognizing the direction of movement of the palm. Here, when the user moves and operates the palm brought close to the touch panel 1, it is called palm gesture, and when the user interface device recognizes the movement of the palm is called palm gesture recognition. In the second embodiment, a user interface device configured to use a palm gesture will be described.

  FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the user interface apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, and the same or corresponding parts as those in FIG. The user interface device according to the second embodiment stores a palm gesture recognition unit 8 for recognizing a palm gesture and information for recognizing the palm gesture at the subsequent stage of the coordinate detection unit 4 of the user interface device according to the first embodiment. The only difference is that a memory 9 is added. Therefore, the description of the second embodiment is limited to the contents different from the first embodiment, and the overlapping contents are omitted.

Next, the operation of the user interface device according to the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the user interface device according to the second embodiment. The operations in steps ST1 to ST3 shown in FIG. 9 are the same as the operations in steps ST1 to ST3 in FIG.
If the object proximity detection unit 2 does not detect the proximity of the object to the touch panel 1 in step ST1 (step ST1 “No”), the palm gesture recognition unit 8 stores information stored in the memory 9 in step ST6. Clear all.

  When the proximity object is determined to be a palm by the finger / palm determination unit 3 (step ST2 “palm”), the static values of the x and y directions used for the determination by the finger / palm determination unit 3 are equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold Th2. The palm gesture recognition unit 8 stores the sensor electrode index, which is the amount of change in capacitance, in the memory 9 (step ST7). If the palm gesture is performed in the state of being close to the touch panel 1, the state of the sensor electrode at each time in the palm gesture is stored in the memory 9. Then, the palm gesture recognition unit 8 uses the information in the memory 9 to recognize how the palm 10b that has moved close to the touch panel 1 moves, that is, the palm gesture (step ST8).

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the structure of the sensor electrode position coordinate information stored in the memory 9. As shown in FIG. 10, the memory 9 stores all or part of the state of the sensor electrode from the time t−n before the palm becomes close to the touch panel 1 to the latest time t. x _i represents the sensor number i from the x-coordinate origin side of the x-direction sensor electrode 11, and y _j represents the sensor number j from the y-coordinate origin side of the y-direction sensor electrode 12. The palm gesture recognizing unit 8 gives [1] to the sensor electrode indicating the amount of change in the electrostatic capacitance greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold Th2 as the state of the sensor electrode, and indicates the amount of change in the electrostatic capacitance less than the threshold Th2. [0] is assigned to the sensor electrode and stored in the memory 9.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the state of the sensor electrode corresponding to the palm gesture of the palm 10 b close to the touch panel 1. In FIG. 11, two hours before (FIG. 11A), one hour before (FIG. 11B), and the latest (FIG. 11 (FIG. 11)) stored in the memory 9 when the palm 10b moves in parallel with the x direction. Each state of the x direction sensor electrode 11 of C)) is shown. For example, in FIG. 11A, sensor electrode states x ₁ (2), x ₂ (2),..., X ₁₂ (2) of sensor numbers i = 12 and t = 2 are [1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0], and with the movement of the palm 10b, the amount of change in capacitance is large (that is, sensor electrode state [1]). , The latest t = 0 sensor electrode states x ₁ (0), x ₂ (0),..., X ₁₂ (0) are [0, 0, 0, 0, _{1, 1, 1} , 1,1,1,1,1]. Therefore, the palm gesture recognizing unit 8 can recognize that the palm 10b has moved in the x direction by using the change of the state of the sensor electrode having a large capacitance change amount. The palm gesture recognition unit 8 performs this palm gesture recognition processing on the x-direction sensor electrode 11 and the y-direction sensor electrode 12, and recognizes how the palm 10b that is close to the touch panel 1 has moved.

  In step ST6, when it is determined that the object is not close, the contents of the memory 9 are all cleared, and therefore the state of the sensor electrode only in the state of being close to each other is stored in the memory 9. I can keep it.

Returning to FIG. In step ST4, when the proximity object is a finger from the discrimination result of the finger / palm discrimination unit 3, the application selection unit 5 determines that the proximity object is a palm based on the x and y coordinates detected by the coordinate detection unit 4. In this case, an application to be executed is selected based on the result of palm gesture recognition by the palm gesture recognition unit 8. The display unit 6 displays a screen with appropriate contents corresponding to the application selected by the application selection unit 5 (step ST5).
When the proximity object is a finger, it is possible to recognize a finger gesture by using a temporal change in the x and y coordinates of the finger. For example, the user interface device includes a finger gesture recognition unit and a memory, and stores the x and y coordinates at each time detected by the coordinate detection unit 4 in the memory when the proximity object is determined to be a finger, and the finger gesture recognition unit May be configured to recognize the movement of the finger based on the time change of the x and y coordinates.

  The application selected by the application selection unit 5 in step ST4 is preferably an application that can be associated with the operation of the finger gesture or the palm gesture. FIG. 12A shows an example of an application executed in the case of an operation using a finger gesture, and FIG. 12B shows an example of an application executed in the case of an operation using a palm gesture. The touch panel 1 is attached to and integrated with the front surface of the display unit 6, and the x and y coordinates detected by the coordinate detection unit 4 are used as position coordinates in the display area of the display unit 6. When the adjacent object is the finger 10a and the finger gesture moves in the x direction, the application selection unit 5 returns one page of the document browsing screen page having a plurality of pages as shown in FIG. Select the forward application and perform page turning according to the movement direction of the finger gesture. On the other hand, in the case where the adjacent object is the palm 10b and the palm gesture moves in the x direction, the application selection unit 5 selects an application that returns / forwards all pages as shown in FIG. Performs page turning according to the direction of palm gesture movement. As shown in FIG. 12, a user interface that can be operated intuitively by the user by associating an application selected by the application selection unit 5 with a finger gesture and a palm gesture in accordance with a metaphor of finger = partial and palm = entire. Can be realized.

In addition to the above, for example, the application selection unit 5 selects a normal application in the case of a finger gesture, and selects an application that controls on / off switching of the power switch of the user interface device in the case of a palm gesture. You may do it. When a plurality of meaningful display areas (for example, icons) are displayed on the screen of the display unit 6, the application selection unit 5 displays a display area (one icon) of adjacent position coordinates in the case of a finger gesture. In the case of a palm gesture, an application for selecting the entire display area (all icons) may be selected. Further, the palm gesture recognizing unit 8 recognizes the moving speed in addition to the moving direction of the palm (similarly, the finger gesture recognizing unit recognizes the moving speed of the finger), and the application selecting unit 5 moves. Applications may be selected depending on direction and speed.
In this way, if an application of a specific button is associated with an operation by a palm gesture, the number of buttons in the display screen can be reduced, and the display screen can be simplified.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, when the finger / palm discrimination unit 3 determines that the object close to the touch panel 1 is a palm, the palm movement is recognized using the output value of the touch panel 1. A palm gesture recognition unit 8 is provided. For this reason, not only the user interface of the first embodiment using the proximity of the palm but also a user interface using the movement of the palm can be realized.

  When the user interface devices of the first and second embodiments are configured by a computer having the touch panel 1 and the display unit 6, the finger / palm determination unit 3, the coordinate detection unit 4, the application selection unit 5, the control unit 7, A program describing the processing contents of the palm gesture recognition unit 8 may be stored in an internal memory of a computer, and the CPU of the computer may execute the program stored in the internal memory.

  Further, according to the user interface devices of the first and second embodiments, the user can operate without touching the touch panel 1, so that the consumption of the panel is small and the life span is helped.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Touch panel, 2 Object proximity detection part, 3 Finger / palm discrimination | determination part, 4 Coordinate detection part, 5 Application selection part, 6 Display part, 7 Control part, 8 Palm gesture recognition part, 9 Memory, 10 Object, 10a Finger, 10b Palm, 11 x direction sensor electrode, 12 y direction sensor electrode, 21, 22 Capacitance change distribution shape, 21a, 22a Capacitance change amount.

Claims (14)

Using the output value of the touch panel, an object proximity detection unit that detects the proximity state of the object to the touch panel;
A finger / palm determination unit that determines whether the object is a user's finger or palm from the output value when the object proximity detection unit detects a proximity state;
A coordinate detection unit for detecting a proximity position coordinate of the finger on the touch panel when the finger / palm determination unit determines the object as a finger;
An application selection unit that selects an application according to the determination result of the finger / palm determination unit and the proximity position coordinates detected by the coordinate detection unit;
A user interface device with a touch panel, comprising: a display unit that performs display corresponding to the application selected by the application selection unit. A gesture recognition unit that recognizes the movement of a finger or palm in the proximity state from the output value of the touch panel,
The application selecting unit selects an application according to a result recognized by the gesture recognizing unit in addition to a result determined by the finger / palm determining unit and a proximity position coordinate detected by the coordinate detecting unit. User interface device with touch panel. A user interface control method for a user interface device with a touch panel,
Using an output value of the touch panel, an object proximity detection step of detecting a proximity state of the object to the touch panel;
A finger / palm determination step of determining whether the object is a user's finger or palm from the output value when a proximity state is detected in the object proximity detection step;
A coordinate detection step of detecting a proximity position coordinate of the finger on the touch panel when the object is determined to be a finger in the finger / palm determination step;
An application selection step of selecting an application according to the result of the determination in the finger / palm determination step and the proximity position coordinates detected in the coordinate detection step;
And a display step for performing display corresponding to the application selected in the application selection step. A gesture recognition step that recognizes the movement of a finger or palm in the proximity state from the output value of the touch panel,
4. The application selecting step selects an application according to a result recognized in the gesture recognition step in addition to a result determined in the finger / palm determination step and a proximity position coordinate detected in the coordinate detection step. User interface control method.   The application selecting step selects an application for controlling on / off switching of the power switch of the apparatus when it is determined that the palm is close in the finger / palm determining step. 5. The user interface control method according to 4.   5. The application selecting step selects an application for collectively selecting all displayed information when it is determined that the palm is close in the finger / palm determining step. The user interface control method described.   In the application selection step, when it is determined that the finger is close in the finger / palm determination step, an application for selecting information displayed in the close position coordinates detected in the coordinate detection step is selected. The user interface control method according to any one of claims 3 to 6.   In the application selection step, when the document browsing screen is displayed, if the finger / palm determination step determines that the palm is close, select the application that turns multiple pages of the document at once, and the finger approaches 5. The user interface control method according to claim 3, wherein an application for turning one page of the document is selected when it is determined that the document is turned on. A user interface control program for a user interface device with a touch panel,
An object proximity detecting means for detecting a proximity state of the object to the touch panel using an output value of the touch panel;
A finger / palm discriminating unit for discriminating whether the object is a user's finger or palm from the output value when the object proximity detecting unit detects a proximity state;
A coordinate detection unit that detects a proximity position coordinate of the finger on the touch panel when the finger / palm determination unit determines the object as a finger;
Application selecting means for selecting an application according to the result of the determination by the finger / palm determining means and the proximity position coordinates detected by the coordinate detecting means;
A user interface control program for causing a function corresponding to display means for performing display corresponding to an application selected by the application selection means. It has gesture recognition means that recognizes the movement of a finger or palm in the proximity state from the output value of the touch panel,
10. The application selecting unit selects an application according to a result recognized by the gesture recognizing unit in addition to a result determined by the finger / palm determining unit and a proximity position coordinate detected by the coordinate detecting unit. User interface control program.   The application selection unit selects an application for controlling on / off switching of the power switch of the apparatus when the finger / palm determination unit determines that the palm is in proximity. 10. The user interface control program according to 10.   11. The application selecting unit selects an application that selects all displayed information collectively when it is determined that the palm is close by the finger / palm determining unit. The user interface control program described.   The application selecting unit selects an application for selecting information displayed at the close position coordinates detected by the coordinate detecting unit when the finger / palm determining unit determines that the finger is close. The user interface control program according to any one of claims 9 to 12.   When the document browsing screen is displayed, the application selection unit selects an application that turns a plurality of pages of the document at once when the finger / palm determination unit determines that the palm is close, and the finger approaches The user interface control program according to claim 9 or 10, wherein an application for turning one page of the document is selected when it is determined.

Images