WO2020158422A1

WO2020158422A1 - Input device

Info

Publication number: WO2020158422A1
Application number: PCT/JP2020/001326
Authority: WO
Inventors: 智英宇佐美
Original assignee: 株式会社デンソー
Priority date: 2019-01-29
Filing date: 2020-01-16
Publication date: 2020-08-06
Also published as: JP2020123037A

Abstract

An input device comprising: an operation unit (10) having an operation surface (11a) that an operator operates by using an operation body (F); a detection unit (12) that detects an operation position for the operation body on the operation surface; a drive unit (13) that vibrates the operation surface; and a control unit (15) that on the basis of a signal output from the detection unit, applies a prescribed drive voltage to the drive unit and drives same. A standing wave is generated on the operation surface in the vibrated state. The operation surface having the standing wave generated thereupon has: junctures (113) that include a section in which no fluctuation occurs in an orthogonal direction, being the normal direction relative to the operation surface when in a non-vibrating state; and mountain-and-valley sections (114) that have a greater fluctuation in the orthogonal direction than the junctures. The control unit fluctuates the drive voltage in accordance with the operation position on the operation surface relative to the coordinate data for the mountain-and-valley sections and the junctures.

Description

Input device

Cross-reference to related application

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-13217 filed on January 29, 2019, the description of which is incorporated herein by reference.

The present disclosure relates to an input device capable of input operation by an operation body such as a finger.

As a conventional input device, for example, one described in Patent Document 1 is known. This input device is provided at a position different from that of the display device, and detects the operation position of the finger on the operation surface. The touch pad vibrates the operation surface based on the detection result, and the input device moves between the finger and the operation surface. An actuator that controls the frictional force of the actuator and a control unit that controls the operation of the actuator. This input device is configured such that an icon displayed on the display device, that is, an operation button, can be input to the icon by operating a finger on the touch pad.

In the area on the touch pad, the portion corresponding to the icon of the display device is the target area, and the portion corresponding to the periphery of the icon is the peripheral area. When the finger moves on the operation surface of the touch pad and passes through the peripheral region to the target region through a region other than the peripheral region, the control unit controls the actuator to generate vibration in the peripheral region. To do. As described above, when the finger passes through the peripheral region, an air film called a squeeze film is generated between the finger and the operation surface due to the above-described vibration, and the frictional force of the finger against the operation surface does not generate vibration. Lower than if. This phenomenon is called the squeeze effect.

On the other hand, when the finger moves in the area other than the peripheral area, the control unit does not operate the actuator. In this case, no vibration is generated on the operation surface, and a larger frictional force is generated between the finger and the operation surface than when vibration is generated on the operation surface. As a result, the moving speed of the finger on the operation surface is higher in the peripheral area where the operation surface vibrates than in areas other than the peripheral area where the operation surface does not vibrate. Therefore, this input device reduces the frictional force in the peripheral area and pulls the finger toward the target area when the operator operates the finger so as to pass through the peripheral area from other than the peripheral area and reach the target area. The operator is reminded of such a "feeling of pulling in".

JP, 2017-130021, A

By the way, the inventors of the present invention conducted extensive studies on this type of input device, and found that the squeeze effect may be uneven due to a standing wave due to vibration generated on the operation surface.

Specifically, a standing wave is generated on the operating surface when the operating surface is vibrated by the actuator. More specifically, on the operation surface in which the standing wave is generated, due to vibration, a portion (hereinafter referred to as “mountain valley portion”) in which a mountain state and a valley state are alternately repeated in a cross-sectional view. , A portion that hardly changes and becomes a knot state (hereinafter referred to as a “knot portion”) occurs. With the direction orthogonal to the operating surface in the non-vibrating state as the orthogonal direction, the ridges and valleys are the portions where the variation in the orthogonal direction is large, and the squeeze film is generated, so the degree of reduction of the friction force due to the squeeze effect is large. On the other hand, the knot portion has a small variation in the orthogonal direction and a squeeze film is unlikely to occur, so that the degree of reduction in the frictional force due to the squeeze effect is small.

That is, since the degree of reduction in the frictional force is different between the mountain valleys and the knots on the operation surface that is simply vibrating, fluctuations in the frictional force, that is, unevenness may occur. In this case, the operator feels a finger or the like uneven, and the operation feeling deteriorates. The input device described in Patent Document 1 cannot deal with the unevenness of the squeeze effect.

The present disclosure has an object to provide an input device in which unevenness due to a squeeze effect is reduced more than in the past and an operation feeling is improved.

An input device according to the aspect of the present disclosure includes an operation unit having an operation surface operated by an operator with an operation body, a detection unit that detects an operation position of the operation surface by the operation body, a drive unit that vibrates the operation surface, and a detection unit. A control unit that applies a predetermined drive voltage to a drive unit to drive the drive unit based on a signal output from the unit, and a standing wave is generated on the operating surface in a vibrated state. The resulting operation surface has a nodal portion including a portion that does not fluctuate in the orthogonal direction and a peak and valley portion that has a fluctuation in the orthogonal direction larger than the knot portion, with the normal direction to the operation surface in the non-vibrating state as the orthogonal direction. The control unit changes the drive voltage according to the operation position with respect to the coordinate data of the peaks and valleys and the knots on the operation surface.

Thereby, when the operator operates the operation surface with a finger or the like, the operation position is detected by the detection unit, and the control unit drives the drive unit according to the operation position to vibrate the operation surface, The input device makes the operator feel a predetermined operation feeling. In addition, a standing wave is generated on the operating surface in a driven state, and a knot portion including a portion that does not fluctuate in a direction orthogonal to the operating surface in a state in which vibration does not occur, and fluctuation in the orthogonal direction is greater than that It becomes a state having a large mountain valley portion. Then, the control unit performs control to vary the drive voltage of the drive unit according to the operation position with respect to the standing wave. Therefore, this input device reduces unevenness of the squeeze film in a state where the operation surface is vibrated, Improving the operation feeling of the operator.

Note that the reference numerals in parentheses attached to the respective constituent elements and the like indicate an example of a correspondence relationship between the constituent elements and the like and specific constituent elements and the like described in the embodiments described later.

It is a figure which shows an example of the state which mounted the input device of 1st Embodiment in the vehicle. It is a block diagram which shows the outline of the input device of 1st Embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the outline of an operation part among the input devices of FIG. It is a top view which shows an example which selects another icon from one icon among the some icons displayed on the display part of the display device to which the input device of FIG. 1 was connected. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing an operation on the operation surface corresponding to the selection of the icon shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the operation unit in a state where a standing wave is generated by vibration. FIG. 6B is a diagram showing how the operation surface in the state of FIG. 6A is traced with a finger. 6B is an enlarged view of an area shown by a broken line in FIG. 6B, showing a state where a finger is placed on a mountain valley portion and a state where a finger is placed on a knot portion of the operation surface where a standing wave is generated. .. 7 is a graph showing a relationship between a driving voltage and a frictional force of a driving portion at a mountain valley portion and a node portion on the operation surface where a standing wave is generated. It is a figure which shows an example of the tracing operation performed on the operation surface. 9 is a graph showing the relationship between the operating position and the drive voltage of the drive unit when the drag operation of FIG. 8 is performed in the conventional input device. 9 is a graph showing the relationship between the operating position and the frictional force when the drag operation of FIG. 8 is performed in the conventional input device. 9 is a graph showing the relationship between the operating position and the drive voltage of the drive unit when the drag operation of FIG. 8 is performed in the input device of the first embodiment. 9 is a graph showing the relationship between the operating position and the frictional force when the drag operation of FIG. 8 is performed in the input device of the first embodiment. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of control executed by the control unit of FIG. 2. 7 is a graph showing a relationship between an operation position and a drive voltage of a drive section in a modified example of the first embodiment.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described based on the drawings. In each of the following embodiments, the same or equivalent portions will be denoted by the same reference numerals for description.

(First embodiment)
The input device 1 of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 11.

4, FIG. 5, FIG. 6A, and FIG. 8, for simplification of description, the left-right direction on the paper surface is the X direction, the direction orthogonal to the X direction on the paper surface is the Y direction, and these directions are indicated by arrows. Showing. Although not shown in cross section in FIGS. 5 and 8, some regions are hatched for easy viewing.

The input device 1 of the present embodiment is mounted on a vehicle 5 such as an automobile together with a separate display device 2 as shown in FIG. 1, and is applied to a vehicle-mounted input device that controls input to the display device 2. Is suitable. In this embodiment, an example in which the input device 1 is applied to an in-vehicle application will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the input device 1 is arranged, for example, in the center console 51 of the vehicle 5 and is connected to the display device 2 mounted on the instrument panel 50. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, in the input device 1, the control unit 15 described later is connected to the display device 2 and a predetermined in-vehicle device 3 via the in-vehicle LAN 4, and the operator operates the operation panel 11. It is configured to be able to control input to the display device 2 and the like by input.

The display device 2 is an arbitrary display such as a liquid crystal display or an OLED (organic light emitting diode) display. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the display device 2 is arranged at a position where the operator can visually recognize the display unit 20, such as a central portion of the instrument panel 50 of the vehicle 5 in the vehicle width direction. The display device 2 is configured as, for example, a display unit of a navigation device, and displays various information such as current position information of the vehicle on the map, traveling direction information, or guidance information to a destination desired by the operator. To display. Note that the display device 2 may be used to display information about the device when the in-vehicle device 3 is a device other than the navigation device.

The in-vehicle device 3 is a predetermined device mounted on the vehicle 5 together with the input device 1 and the display device 2, and is, for example, a car navigation system, a meter, an audio, a back camera, a road traffic information system, a dedicated communication device, or the like. However, it is not limited to these.

The in-vehicle LAN 4 is used for a communication network between the in-vehicle devices including the input device 1 and the display device 2. For example, CAN (abbreviation of Controller Area Network) or LIN (abbreviation of Local Interconnect Network) Can be done.

Note that the input device 1 is not limited to the above-described examples and the like, and the arrangement thereof may be appropriately changed such as being arranged on the steering wheel, and may be applied to other uses other than the vehicle.

(Structure of input device)
As shown in FIG. 2, the input device 1 of the present embodiment is separate from the display device 2, and has an operation unit 10 having an operation panel 11 and a detection unit 12, a drive unit 13, and a control unit 15. With.

As shown in FIG. 3, the operation unit 10 includes an operation panel 11 having an operation surface 11a and a detection unit 12, a drive unit 13, and a housing 14 having a support unit 140, and an operator operates a finger or the like. This is the part where the body F operates.

As shown in FIG. 3, the operation panel 11 includes an operation surface 11a that is a surface on which the operator operates the operation body F, and a detection unit 12 that detects an operation of the operation surface 11a by the operator. , For example, a touch pad or a touch panel.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the operation surface 11 a defines areas corresponding to various icons 21 displayed on the display unit 20 of the display device 2. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, when two icons 21 separated from each other in the X direction are displayed on the display unit 20, the operation surface 11a has an area corresponding to the icon 21 as shown in FIG. Two target areas 111 and their peripheral areas 112 are defined. In this case, one of the two target areas 111 on the left side in the X direction corresponds to the icon 21 displayed on the left side in the X direction in FIG. 4. The target area 111 on the right side in the X direction corresponds to the icon 21 displayed on the right side in the X direction in FIG. 4.

Hereinafter, for the sake of simplicity of description, the icon 21 on the left side in the X direction of FIG. 4 is referred to as “left icon 21A”, and the corresponding target region 111 on the left side of the X direction in FIG. 5 is referred to as “left icon 21A”. The target area 111A" is referred to. Further, the icon 21 on the right side in the X direction of FIG. 4 is referred to as a “right icon 21B”, and the corresponding target region 111 on the right side in the X direction of FIG. 5 is referred to as a “right target region 111B”.

The operation unit 10 is configured to be capable of performing predetermined operations such as selection and pushing of various icons 21 displayed on the display unit 20 by operating the operation tool F on the operation surface 11a. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the operator puts the operating tool F in the left target area 111, and slides the operating tool F from that state to the right target area 111 through the peripheral area 112 and performs a tracing operation. By doing so, the right icon 21B can be selected. By this operation, for example, in the display unit 20, the state in which the left icon 21A is selected is changed to the state in which the right icon 21B is selected.

The target area 111 corresponding to the icon 21 and the peripheral area 112 on the operation surface 11a are arbitrary and may be appropriately changed for each icon 21 displayed on the display unit 20, that is, for each design of the display screen. .. In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, the peripheral area 112 is defined not only in a portion of the operation surface 11a corresponding to an area different from the icon 21 displayed on the display unit 20 but also in a predetermined area. Good. For example, only the area between the different target areas 111 on the operation surface 11 a, the area around the predetermined target area 111, or the like may be defined as the peripheral area 112. In other words, the peripheral region 112 is a region in which the frictional force with the operating body F is different from that in the target region 111, and is a region for reminding the operator of a predetermined operation feeling such as a feeling of pulling in or a feeling of riding up, It is appropriately defined according to the target area 111. The above-described operation is an example, and various operations such as a drag operation in the Y direction and a rotation operation can be performed on the operation surface 11a as well as a drag operation in the X direction.

The detection unit 12 detects an operation on the operation surface 11a by the operator, and is arranged closer to the housing 14 than the operation surface 11a as shown in FIG. The detection unit 12 is, for example, of a capacitance type, in which a first electrode extending along one direction on the operation surface 11a and a second electrode orthogonal to the one direction are arranged in a grid pattern. And is covered with any insulating material. The detection unit 12 is configured so that the generated capacitance changes according to the position of the operating tool F that is close to the operation surface 11a. As shown in FIG. 2, the detection unit 12 is connected to the control unit 15 by a wiring (not shown) and outputs the electrostatic capacitance signal to the control unit 15 as a position signal.

The detection unit 12 is not limited to the capacitance type as long as it outputs a signal corresponding to the position of the operating body F to the control unit 15 when the operator puts the operating body F on the operation surface 11a. Alternatively, any other method such as a pressure-sensitive method may be used. Further, the detection unit 12 detects a contact of the operating tool F with the operation surface 11a, and thus may be referred to as a “touch sensor”. Further, the detection unit 12 may be configured to detect the pressing force applied to the operation surface 11a by the operation tool F based on the change in the capacitance caused by the pressure applied to the operation surface 11a, or optionally in addition to the touch sensor. The push sensor may be included.

The drive unit 13 generates ultrasonic vibration in a direction orthogonal to the operation surface 11a, vibrates the operation surface 11a as necessary, and squeezes the frictional force between the operation body F and the operation surface 11a. That is, it is an actuator used for reducing the friction coefficient. The drive unit 13 is made of, for example, a substance having a piezo effect, such as piezoelectric ceramics, which changes its volume when a voltage is applied and generates a voltage when a force is applied from the outside. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the drive unit 13 is provided near both ends of the surface of the operation panel 11 opposite to the operation surface 11a.

The drive unit 13 is configured to include, for example, an electrode (not shown) that sandwiches a substance exhibiting a piezo effect, and vibrates due to the piezo effect when an AC voltage is applied to this electrode. The driving unit 13 correlates its vibration frequency with the frequency of the applied AC voltage, and correlates its amplitude with the voltage value of the applied AC voltage. As shown in FIG. 2, the drive unit 13 is connected to the control unit 15 by a wiring (not shown), and the control unit 15 controls the generation of vibration and the magnitude of vibration.

As shown in FIG. 3, the housing 14 is a member that supports the operation panel 11 while accommodating the operation panel 11, and has a plurality of support portions 140 formed on the bottom surface thereof. The support part 140 supports the operation surface 11 a of the operation panel so that the drive part 13 can vibrate.

The control unit 15 has a storage medium such as a ROM and a RAM and a CPU (not shown), and is an electronic control unit that controls the drive of the drive unit 13 based on the position signal obtained from the detection unit 12. There is. The control unit 15 acquires the coordinate position of the operating tool F on the operating surface 11a, the moving direction of the operating tool F, the moving distance thereof, and the like based on the position signal output from the detecting unit 12. The control unit 15 acquires, as the operation state of the operation tool F, the presence/absence of a pressing operation on any of the target areas 111 on the operation surface 11a. The control unit 15 controls the generation state of vibration by the drive unit 13 in accordance with these operation states, generates a predetermined vibration on the operation surface 11a, and causes an operation feeling such as a feeling of retraction with respect to the operation body F. It is configured to execute control regarding.

When the operation position detected by the detection unit 12 corresponds to the peripheral area 112 of the operation surface 11a, the control unit 15 controls the drive unit 13 by applying a drive voltage to drive the drive voltage. The control unit 15 reduces uneven frictional force between the operation surface 11a and the operating body F in the peripheral region 112, depending on which position of a standing wave described later in the peripheral region 112 corresponds to the operation position. The control for varying the drive voltage to the drive unit 13 is performed. The details will be described later.

The above is the basic configuration of the input device 1.

(Standing wave on the operation surface)
Next, the standing wave generated on the operation surface 11a when the driving unit 13 is driven will be described with reference to FIGS. 6A to 6C.

In FIG. 6A, the drive unit 13 that is invisible when viewed from the direction normal to the operation surface 11a is shown by a broken line. In FIG. 6C, the position of the operation surface 11a in one cycle of the standing waves described below is shown by a solid line, and the position of the operation surface 11a in another cycle is shown by a broken line. In the following description, for simplification, the direction orthogonal to the operating surface 11a in the non-vibrating state is simply referred to as "orthogonal direction".

For example, as shown in FIG. 6A, in the case where the operation unit 10 includes drive units 13 extending along the Y direction at both ends of the operation surface 11a in the X direction, the drive unit 13 is driven. A description will be given as a typical example of the above.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 6B, a standing wave or a standing wave having a predetermined cycle is generated along the X direction on the operation surface 11a. Specifically, the operation surface 11a vibrated by the drive unit 13 is deformed in a wavy manner in the orthogonal direction, and is in a state of vibrating in the orthogonal direction on the spot. Hereinafter, for convenience, the operation surface 11a in such a state will be referred to as an "operation surface 11a having a standing wave." As shown in FIG. 6C, the operating surface 11a in which the standing wave is generated includes a knot portion 113 including a portion in which there is no fluctuation in the orthogonal direction, and a mountain trough portion 114 in which the fluctuation in the orthogonal direction is larger than that of the knot portion 113. It becomes a state having.

Here, when the inventors of the present invention have diligently studied this kind of input device, a squeeze film is formed between the operating surface 11a and the operating body F in a vibrated state. It was found that unevenness of the squeeze film could occur.

Specifically, the node portion 113 including a portion where there is no variation in the orthogonal direction of the operation surface 11a is unlikely to form a squeeze film with the operation body F, and has an effect of reducing the frictional force with the operation body F. Hard to get. On the other hand, since the squeeze film is formed between the mountain/valley portion 114 having a large variation in the orthogonal direction of the operation surface 11a with the operation body F, the degree of reduction in the frictional force between the operation body F and the operation body F is larger than that of the knot portion 113. .. That is, the operating surface 11a in the vibrating state is a state in which the peaks and valleys 114 in which the reduction in the frictional force with the operating body F is relatively large and the knots 113 in which the reduction in the frictional force is relatively small are mixed, That is, the frictional force is uneven. The operation surface 11a in which the unevenness of the frictional force is generated causes deterioration of the operation feeling of the operator.

Regarding the section between the knot 113 and the mountain valley 114 on the operation surface 11a where the standing wave is generated, for example, a predetermined threshold value is set for the frictional force between the operating tool F and the operation surface 11a, and the threshold value or less is set. This can be achieved by setting the area of No. 1 as the peaks and valleys 114 and the area larger than the threshold value as the nodal section 113.

(Operation and effect of input device)
In the input device 1 of the present embodiment, for example, the coordinate data on the operation surface 11a where a standing wave is generated by being vibrated, that is, the coordinate data of the standing wave is stored in advance in a predetermined data format such as a data table in a storage medium. Stored in. In the input device 1, the control unit 15 controls the drive voltage of the drive unit 13 to be changed in accordance with the operating position with respect to the coordinate data of the standing wave, and thus the frictional force between the operating surface 11a and the operating tool F is not uniform. It is configured to reduce. That is, the control unit 15 performs control for changing the drive voltage of the drive unit 13 depending on whether the operation position corresponds to the knot portion 113 or the mountain valley 114.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the knot portions 113 and the ridges 114 have different frictional forces with the operating body F with respect to the drive voltage of the drive unit 13. For example, when the driving voltage is zero, that is, when the driving voltage is not driven, the joint portions 113 and the crests 114 have the same frictional force F1 with the operating body F. However, as the driving voltage is increased, the frictional force is different between the nodal portion 113 where the squeeze film is less likely to occur and the peak-valley portion 114 where the squeeze film is produced. For example, when the drive voltage is E1, the frictional force at the knot 113 is F2, whereas the frictional force at the crest 114 is F3, which is smaller than F2. The control unit 15 controls the drive voltage so that the frictional force at the joint 113 and the frictional force at the peaks 114 are the same or almost the same.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, a finger, which is the operating tool F, is placed at a point X1 in the left target area 111A, and the finger directly passes through the peripheral area 112 to the right target area 111B. An example will be described in which the tracing operation of sliding to the point X2 is performed.

When the same operation is performed with the conventional input device, the drive voltage of the drive unit is zero in the left target area 111A but is E1 in the peripheral area 112, as shown in FIG. 9A. , When it reaches the right target area 111B, it is reset to zero. The frictional force between the operating surface 11a and the operating body F at this time is F1 in the left and

right target areas

111A and 111B, but is alternately F3 and F2 in the peripheral area 112 as shown in FIG. 9B. become. This is because, as described above, the operating surface 11a in the vibrating state is in a state in which a standing wave is generated and the node portion 113 and the ridges 114 are formed.

On the other hand, in the input device 1 of the present embodiment, the control unit 15 sets the drive voltage of the drive unit 13 to E1 when the operating tool F is in the peripheral region 112 as illustrated in FIG. 10A, for example. , E2 is used for control. Specifically, when the operating position of the operating tool F corresponds to the mountain/valley portion 114, the control unit 15 sets the drive voltage of the driving unit 13 to E1 and the operating position of the operating tool F corresponds to the knot portion 113. In that case, the drive voltage is set to E2. As shown in FIG. 7, the drive voltage E2 is higher than E1, and the frictional force at the joint 113 is the same as the frictional force F3 at the peak 114 at the drive voltage E1.

When such drive voltage control is performed, the frictional force between the operating surface 11a and the operating body F becomes constant at F3 even in the peripheral region 112, as shown in FIG. 10B, and unevenness occurs. Reduced compared to the past. Therefore, the operator can obtain a predetermined operation feeling such as a stable pull-in feeling without perceiving the deterioration of the operation feeling due to the uneven frictional force in the peripheral region 112.

Note that, in the above, an example in which the frictional force at the joint 113 and the frictional force at the mountain valley 114 are the same has been described, but these frictional forces are not only the same, but the same, that is, the operator feels It does not matter if there is a difference that does not make the difference between the two not perceived. Further, the frictional forces F1, F2, and F3 change according to the material of the operation panel 11 and the operation body F and the environment such as temperature and humidity. Therefore, the drive voltages E1 and E2 take such factors into consideration. Is set appropriately.

(Control in input device)
Next, the control executed by the control unit 15 of the input device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

First, in step S101, the control unit 15 sets the drive voltage of the drive unit 13 to zero. When the operator places the operating tool F on the operation surface 11a, the detection unit 12 outputs a signal corresponding to the operation position to the control unit 15 in step S102. After acquiring the position signal corresponding to the operation position from the detection unit 12, the control unit 15 advances the process to step S103. At this point in time, the operation surface 11a has not yet vibrated and is in a high friction state in which the frictional force between the operation surface 11a and the operating body F is larger than that in the state where the operation portion 11a vibrates.

In step S103, the control unit 15 determines whether or not the operation position is the peripheral area 112. In the case of a positive determination in step S103, the control unit 15 advances the processing to step S104. On the other hand, in the case of a negative determination in step S103, the control unit 15 returns the process to step S102.

In step S104, the control unit 15 determines whether the operation position is the knot portion 113 of the operation surface 11a where the standing wave is generated. In the case of a positive determination in step S104, the control unit 15 advances the processing to step S105, and sets the drive voltage of the drive unit 13 to, for example, E2 in step S105. On the other hand, in the case of a negative determination in step S104, the control unit 15 advances the process to step S106, and sets the drive voltage of the drive unit 13 to E1, for example, in step S106.

In steps S105 and S106, the operation surface 11a is vibrated by the drive unit 13, and the frictional force between the operation surface 11a and the operation tool F is reduced due to the squeeze effect. As described above, the frictional force in these steps is the same or approximately the same in order to prevent the operation feeling of the operator from being deteriorated. In addition, when the drive voltage E1 in step S106 is the “first drive voltage”, the drive voltage E2 in step S105 may be referred to as the “second drive voltage”. After step S105 or step S106, the control unit 15 advances the process to step S107.

In step S107, the control unit 15 determines whether the operation position has reached the predetermined target area 111. In the case of positive determination in step S107, the control unit 15 advances the processing to step S108. On the other hand, in the case of a negative determination in step S107, the control unit 15 returns the process to step S102.

In step S108, the control unit 15 controls the drive voltage of the drive unit 13 to zero, and controls the operation surface 11a so that it does not vibrate, that is, the high friction state. Then, the control unit 15 ends the process.

By performing the above-described control, the control unit 15 controls the coordinate position of the standing wave from when the operating tool F is placed on the operating surface 11a until the operating tool F reaches the predetermined target area 111. The drive voltage of the drive unit 13 is changed according to the operation position with respect to. In other words, the control unit 15 controls the drive voltage to a predetermined value when the operating position corresponds to the peripheral area 112, and drives the operating voltage in the peripheral area 112 according to the operating position for the coordinate data of the standing wave. Vary the voltage. Therefore, the frictional force between the operation surface 11a and the operating body F in the peripheral region 112 is kept within a predetermined range that does not give an uncomfortable feeling to the operator, and the operation feeling is improved as compared with the conventional case.

Note that the above-described processing by the control unit 15 can be applied even when the operating tool F moves only the node 113 or the mountain valley 114 of the operating surface 11a where the standing wave is generated. That is, even when the operating tool F moves only one of the knot portion 113 and the ridge/valley portion 114, since the drive voltage is fixed as the first drive voltage or the second drive voltage, the operation surface 11a and the operation surface 11a are operated. The frictional force with the body F is constant. Therefore, the unevenness of the squeeze effect is reduced, and the deterioration of the operation feeling is suppressed.

According to the present embodiment, even if a standing wave is generated by vibrating the operation surface 11a, unevenness due to the squeeze effect is reduced compared to the conventional case, and the operation feeling is improved.

(Modification of the first embodiment)
In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10A, when the operation position changes from one of the knot portion 113 and the ridge/valley portion 114 to the other, one of the drive voltages E1 and E2 is used. An example has been described in which control is performed so that the change to the other becomes a rectangular wave. However, the control of the drive voltage described above is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited to this.

For example, as shown in FIG. 12, the control unit 15 may perform control such that the change from one of the first drive voltage E1 and the second drive voltage E2 to the other becomes a pulse wave different from a rectangular wave. Specifically, the control unit 15 may perform control such that the change of the drive voltage when changing from one of the drive voltages E1 and E2 to the other becomes a pulse wave having a predetermined gradient. That is, in the peripheral region 112, the change in the drive voltage when the operation position moves from one of the knot portion 113 and the ridge/valley portion 114 to the other does not need to have a gradient, as shown in FIG. 10A. As shown in FIG. 12, it may have a predetermined gradient. As shown in FIG. 12, even in the control in which the driving voltages E1 and E2 are changed with a predetermined gradient, the frictional force in the peripheral region 112 is as shown in FIG. 10B without a gradient between the driving voltages E1 and E2. As with the changing control, it falls within a predetermined range.

Even in this modification, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained.

(Other embodiments)
Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to examples, it is understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the examples and structures. The present disclosure also includes various modifications and modifications within an equivalent range. In addition, various combinations and forms, and also other combinations and forms including only one element, more, or less, are within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.

(1) The control unit 15 and the method thereof described in the present disclosure are provided exclusively by configuring a processor and a memory programmed to execute one or more functions embodied by a computer program. It may be realized by a computer. Alternatively, the control unit 15 and the method thereof described in the present disclosure may be realized by a dedicated computer provided by configuring a processor with one or more dedicated hardware logic circuits. Alternatively, the control unit 15 and its method described in the present disclosure combine a processor and a memory programmed to execute one or a plurality of functions with a processor configured by one or more hardware logic circuits. It may be realized by one or more dedicated computers configured by. Further, the computer program may be stored in a computer-readable non-transition tangible recording medium as an instruction executed by the computer.

(2) In the above-described first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, an example in which the control unit 15 sets the drive voltage of the drive unit 13 to zero in steps S101 and S108 has been described, but the drive voltage is not necessarily zero. You don't have to. For example, when the frictional force between the operating surface 11a that is not vibrating and the operating tool F is larger than expected, the control unit 15 sets the drive voltage in steps S101 and S108 to a predetermined value larger than zero. You may control.

Claims

An input device,
An operation unit (10) having an operation surface (11a) operated by an operator with an operation body (F);
A detection unit (12) for detecting an operation position of the operation surface by the operation body;
A drive unit (13) for vibrating the operation surface,
A control unit (15) for applying a predetermined drive voltage to the drive unit to drive the drive unit based on a signal output from the detection unit,
A standing wave is generated on the operating surface in the vibrating state,
The operation surface on which the standing wave is generated has a nodal portion (113) including a portion that does not change in the orthogonal direction with the normal direction to the operation surface in the non-vibrating state as an orthogonal direction, and the orthogonal direction. And a valley portion (114) in which the variation in is larger than the knot portion,
The said control part is an input device which changes the said drive voltage according to the said operation position with respect to the coordinate data of the said mountain valley part and the said node part in the said operation surface.
The input device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the drive voltage when the operation position corresponds to a peripheral area (112) of a predetermined target area (111) on the operation surface.
The input device according to claim 2, wherein the control unit controls the drive voltage from a time when the operation position reaches the peripheral area of the operation surface to a time when the operation area reaches the target area.
The control unit sets the drive voltage to a first drive voltage (E1) when the operation position corresponds to the peaks and valleys, and sets the drive voltage to the drive voltage when the operation position corresponds to the knots. Control to the second drive voltage (E2),
The input device according to claim 1, wherein the second drive voltage is higher than the first drive voltage.
The control unit changes the drive voltage from one of the first drive voltage and the second drive voltage to the other when the operation position changes from one of the peaks and valleys to the other. The input device according to claim 4, wherein the control is performed so that the waveform becomes a rectangular wave.
The control unit changes the drive voltage from one of the first drive voltage and the second drive voltage to the other when the operation position changes from one of the peaks and valleys to the other. The input device according to claim 4, wherein is controlled so that the pulse wave has a predetermined gradient.