JP2001325066A - Touch operation input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide, using an inexpensive and simple means, a means for releasing the sleep state of a detecting means for detecting a touch operation position. SOLUTION: A pair of electrodes 20A and 20B are formed through an input pad 16 for performing touch operation, and electrodes 20A and 20B are brought into contact with a pair of compression coil springs 32A and 32B, formed directly under the input pad 16 so as to be electrically connected respectively. Also, this pair of compression coil springs 32A and 32B are arranged, so as to be brought into contact with the printed wiring of a printed wiring board 28 disposed directly under the input pad 16, and electrically connected to the wiring.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a touch operation input device, and more particularly to a touch operation input device used for a remote controller of a navigation system or the like mounted on an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been an increasing number of display devices having a touch operation function, such as a navigation system mounted on an automobile. As an example of this type of display device, a touch position on a display screen is configured to be detected by detection means such as an optical sensor, an electrostatic sensor, a conductive sensor, and a pressure-sensitive sensor.

Specifically, a light emitting element and a light receiving element are arranged so as to form a plurality of parallel optical axes corresponding to a vertical direction and a horizontal direction of a display screen, and the display screen is touched with a finger. It is configured to detect the center position of the touch area based on the interruption of the optical axis from the light emitting element to the light receiving element and output its coordinate data, and by touching the touch panel to perform touch operation input By selecting a display switch such as a menu screen displayed on the display device and pressing the touch panel, an operation determination switch provided immediately below the touch panel is turned on to determine a touch operation input. It is configured.

Further, there is a touch operation input device in which a display unit and a touch operation unit are separated and arranged at a place where the touch operation unit can be easily operated. The configuration of the touch operation input device is the same as that described above. Has become. Such a touch operation input device can provide a convenient operation by arranging the touch operation unit in a place where it is easy to operate in the vehicle, or by operating it by hand.

In this type of touch operation input device,
In order to search for the touch operation position, it is necessary to always operate the detecting means. Here, when the touch operation that is not used for a long time is not performed, the optical sensor as described above,
Because it uses detection means such as electrostatic sensors, conductive sensors, and pressure-sensitive sensors, it consumes unnecessary power.
There is a problem. Therefore, when the touch operation input is not performed for a predetermined time until the next touch operation input is performed after the touch operation input is performed, the operation of the detection unit is partially or entirely performed to reduce power consumption. It has been proposed to reduce power consumption by setting a sleep state to stop.

To release the sleep state, for example, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, a conduction detecting section 200 is provided on the touch panel surface, and the conduction detecting section 2 is provided.
There is a configuration in which the sleep state is released when the conduction detection by 00 is performed.

[0007]

However, the conduction detecting section 200 provided for canceling the sleep state as described above has a pair of electrodes (+ side detecting section and-side detecting section) on the touch panel surface. Must be electrically connected to a substrate provided immediately below the touch panel surface.

However, immediately below the touch panel surface, a switch 2 for determining a touch operation input is provided as described above.
02 is provided, and the operation is determined by pressing the touch panel. Therefore, a structure in which the touch panel moves is required. Therefore, in order to satisfy these configurations, it is necessary to take measures such as connecting the touch panel and the board with a cable, etc. There is a problem that the manufacturing process becomes complicated and costs increase, for example, it becomes difficult.

In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive and easy means for releasing a sleep state of a detecting means for detecting a touch operation position.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a detecting means for detecting a touch operation position on a touch panel for performing a touch operation, and an opposing touch operation surface of the touch panel are provided. Switch means provided on the side, the switch means being turned on and off when the touch panel is pressed, and the switch means is configured to calculate a touch operation position of the touch panel based on a detection result of the detection means, Control means for controlling the calculated touch operation position as a touch operation input position in accordance with ON / OFF of the touch panel; an electrode provided on the touch panel surface; and Producing means for urging the touch panel, and detecting when a touch operation is not performed for a predetermined time. A touch operation input device having a function of stopping the operation, is characterized by connecting the electrode and the biasing means, and said control means and said biasing means electrically and respectively directly.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the touch operation position on the touch panel is detected by the detection means, and the switch means is turned on and off by pressing the touch panel. Then, the control means calculates the touch operation position of the touch panel based on the detection result of the detection means. Further, the touch operation position detected by the detection unit based on the ON / OFF of the switch unit and calculated by the control unit is determined.

Further, the electrodes are provided on a touch panel for performing the above-mentioned touch operation, and the control means is provided with an urging means for urging a pressing operation of the touch panel. The electrode and the urging means, and the urging means and the control means, are electrically and directly connected. That is, the electrodes, the urging means, and the control means are electrically connected.

Here, for example, when a transition is made to a so-called sleep state in which the operation of the detecting means is stopped when a touch operation is not performed, a pair of electrodes are touch-operated when the sleep state is released. Becomes short-circuited.
That is, since the electrode, the biasing unit, and the control unit are electrically and directly connected, it is possible to detect that the touch operation has been performed by detecting the conduction state of the pair of electrodes. . Therefore, the sleep state can be released by using the touch operation as a trigger.

As described above, by electrically and directly connecting the electrode and the urging means and the urging means and the control means, the sleep can be easily and inexpensively performed without providing an electric connecting means such as a cable. It can function as a means for releasing the state.

Therefore, it is possible to provide an inexpensive and easy means for releasing the sleep state of the detecting means for detecting the touch operation position.

[0016] As described in claim 2, the electrode and the biasing means may be integrated. By doing so, it is possible to easily assemble the touch operation input device, and it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, the present invention is applied to a display system for a vehicle. [First Embodiment] FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of a display system 10 for a vehicle. The display system 10 for a vehicle is used to operate auxiliary equipment attached to a vehicle, such as an air conditioner, an audio system, and a navigation system. The display system 10 mainly includes a display 12 and a touch operation input device 14 (hereinafter, referred to as a touch tracer). Is configured.

The display 12 is arranged at the center of the instrument panel, which can be easily viewed by the driver and the passenger, and displays the operation status of the air conditioner, the audio, the guidance map screen of the navigation system, and the like. A predetermined screen is displayed according to operation input information from the touch tracer 14.

The touch tracer 14 can be arranged at a place where the driver can easily operate it, for example, at an armrest of a driver's seat door, a center console, or the like. It is used to operate ancillary equipment such as a computer system. Note that the touch tracer 14 can also be operated by holding it with a hand.

As shown in the front view of the touch tracer 14 in FIG. 2, an input pad 16 is arranged at the center of the touch tracer 14, and various modes and the like are selected at a position around the input pad 16. Select button 18
Is arranged. These selection buttons include a current location button 18A, a return button 18B, a detail button 18
C, wide area button 18D, NV / TV (navigation, television switching) button 18E, and power button 18D
Is provided.

Next, the internal structure of the touch tracer 14 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a front view showing a part of the touch tracer 14 cut away, and FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view showing a part of the touch tracer 14 cut away.

The touch tracer 14 is composed of outer casings 26A and 26B whose outer frame is divided into two. A substrate 30 is arranged. On the printed wiring board 28, a pair of compression coil springs 32A,
32B, and each compression coil spring 3
2A and 32B are arranged so as to be in contact with the printed wiring (a continuity detecting unit described later) of the printed wiring board 28 and are electrically connected. The pair of compression coil springs 32
A and 32B may be configured to solder the printed wiring of the printed wiring board 28, respectively.

Also, a pair of compression coil springs 32A, 32
B are arranged on concentric circles, and each compression coil spring 3
2A and 32B are arranged so as to be inserted around the operation determination switch 34, and urge the input pad 16 in the direction of arrow M in FIG. The operation determination switch 34
This is a switch for determining a position with respect to the position touched by the input pad 16, and is operated by touching a desired position on the input pad 16 and then depressing the entire input pad 16. Is turned on.

A member 27 having a substantially T-shaped cross section is provided on the outer casing 26A to suppress the outer periphery of the input pad 16 in response to the bias of the compression coil springs 32A and 32B. The substantially T-shaped member 27 functions as a fulcrum when the input pad 16 is pressed.

The input pad 16 has a pair of electrodes 20A, 2A
0B are provided, and the electrodes 20A and 20B are provided so as to penetrate from the surface (touch operation surface side) of the input pad 16 to the back surface (operation determination switch 34 arrangement side).
The electrodes 20A and 20B are in contact with and electrically connected to the compression coil springs 32A and 32B, respectively.

On the printed wiring board 30, an optical sensor unit is mounted. In this optical sensor unit, a plurality of LEDs 36 and phototransistors 38 are alternately arranged, an optical axis is formed in parallel, and the LEDs 36 and phototransistors 38 are arranged so as to face each other. The LED 36 and the phototransistor 38 are connected to the printed wiring board 30. The LED 36 and the phototransistor 38 are connected to the adjacent LED 3
6 or a light shielding member 4 for shielding light from the phototransistor 38
LED3 which is configured to be covered by
The optical signal required for the photo transistor 6 and the phototransistor 38 is shielded by the light shielding member 40.

A plurality of operation switches 42 are mounted on the printed wiring board 30. The operation switches 42 corresponding to the operations corresponding to the selection buttons 18A to 18F for selecting the various modes described above. Are arranged to be turned on.

The printed wiring board 28 and the printed wiring board 30 are electrically connected by a connector, a cable, or the like (not shown).

FIG. 5 shows the arrangement of the LEDs 36 and the phototransistors 38. In FIG. 5, LE
D36 is indicated by “throw” and the phototransistor 38 is indicated by “receiver”. In FIG. 5, the illustrated vertical optical axis (hereinafter, referred to as the optical axis)
Fifteen lines are set as Y lines) and 1 as the illustrated horizontal optical axis (hereinafter referred to as X line).
One is set.

As described above, the LED 36 and the phototransistor 38 on each of the X line and the Y line.
And are alternately arranged. Further, the LED 36 and the phototransistor 38 are arranged so as to be shifted in the optical axis direction with respect to the adjacent LED 36 and the phototransistor 38, whereby the optical axis pitch of the X line and the Y line can be reduced. .

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the display system 10. As shown in FIG. Display system 1
0 indicates that the LED 36, the phototransistor 38, the operation determination switch 34, the operation switch 42, and the continuity detector 22 disposed on the touch tracer 14 are connected to the touch tracer controller 44. , A control unit 46 for controlling ancillary equipment such as an audio system and a navigation system, and the display 12 are connected. The display 12 is connected so that a signal from the control unit 46 is input.

The touch tracer controller 44 includes a CP
The microcomputer is configured by a microcomputer including peripheral devices such as a U48, a ROM 50, and a RAM 52, and calculates the operation position coordinates of the input pad 16 based on signals input from the LED 36 and the phototransistor 38. In addition,
The position coordinates touched with a finger on the input pad 16 of the touch tracer 14 are calculated by calculating the center position coordinates of the above-described light-shielded lines of the X line and the Y line, and the calculated center position coordinates are displayed on the input pad 16. Touch position.

The touch tracer controller 44
Converts the calculated position coordinates touched by the finger into position coordinates corresponding to the display on the display 12 and outputs the position coordinates to the display 12. The display 12 displays the position on the screen where the finger is touching on the screen based on the position coordinates output from the touch tracer controller 44. The position display on the screen is displayed by inverting the color of the selection item (display switch displayed on the screen).

Here, when the operation determination switch 34 is pressed while the selection item is determined by the input pad 16, the operation determination switch 3 is transmitted to the touch tracer controller 44.
4 is output and the touch tracer controller 44
Outputs a signal for displaying the selected item on the display 12 to the control unit 46.

The control section 46 outputs to the display 12 information for switching to a screen according to the selected item, thereby switching the screen displayed on the display 12 to the screen of the selected item. Further, when the operation switch 42 of the touch tracer 44 is pressed, the control unit 46 is controlled so that a screen corresponding to the selection button 18 for selecting the pressed mode is displayed on the display 12 screen.

The touch tracer controller 44
When the signals from the LED 36 and the phototransistor 38 are not input to the CPU 48 for a predetermined time,
The operation of the LED 36 and the phototransistor 38 is stopped by the touch tracer controller 44 to shift to a sleep state in which power consumption is reduced. Then, the pair of electrodes 2 connected to the conduction detecting unit 22
When the conduction of 0A and 20B is detected, the sleep state is released.

Next, the operation of the display system 10 configured as described above will be described.

As shown in FIG. 7, when the ignition switch is turned on and the power is turned on, the navigation system operates as an initial function and the light provided on the touch tracer 14 is turned on. The power of the sensor unit is turned on and the sensor unit enters a detection standby state.

On the screen of the display 12, a map screen 70 showing the current position as shown in FIG.
Is displayed. At this time, a display switch 70a for selecting a function of the navigation system is displayed on an outer peripheral portion (for example, eight places) of the map screen 70.

Here, a case where the display switch 70a displayed on the outer peripheral portion of the map screen 70 is selected will be described. When a touch operation is performed on the input pad 16 of the touch tracer 14, the touch operation position is scanned by the above-described optical sensor unit. Scan of touch operation position
The X-line and the Y-line are performed respectively, and a light-shielded line is detected. Then, based on the detection of the light sensor unit of the light-shielded line, the CPU 48 calculates the coordinates of the position touched by the finger. The calculated position coordinates are further transmitted to the display 12 by the CPU 48.
Is converted into position coordinates corresponding to the display of the display 1
2 is output. On the display 12, the position on the map screen 70 where the finger is touching is displayed on the screen based on the position coordinates output from the touch tracer controller 44. At this time, the position on the screen is displayed by inverting the color of the display switch.

When a pressing operation is performed for each input pad 16 and the operation determination switch 34 is turned on, a signal of the operation determination switch 34 is output to the touch tracer controller 44 and the display 12 is selected by the touch tracer controller 44. A signal for displaying the item corresponding to the displayed display switch 70a is output to the control unit 46,
The information for switching to the screen according to the item corresponding to the display switch 70a selected by the control unit 46 is output to the display 12, so that the item corresponding to the display switch 70a is displayed on the display 12.

By the way, in the display system 10 of the present embodiment, when a touch operation is not detected by the optical sensor unit for a predetermined time, a transition is made to a sleep state in which power supply to the optical sensor unit is stopped. . Therefore, power consumption when the touch tracer 14 is not used can be reduced.

In the sleep state, a pair of electrodes 2 provided on the input pad 16 of the touch tracer 14
When 0A and 20B are short-circuited, that is, 1
When the pair of electrodes 20A, 20B is brought into conduction by touching the pair of electrodes 20A, 20B, the conduction signal of the pair of electrodes 20A, 20B is printed via the compression coil springs 32A, 32B. The signal is output to the conduction detecting unit 22 on the substrate 28. Then, the sleep state is released by the touch tracer controller 44 according to the conduction signal input to the printed wiring board 28.

As described above, in the touch tracer 14 of the present embodiment, the sleep state can be released by making the pair of electrodes 20A and 20B conductive with the finger. At this time, the conduction signal output to the conduction detection unit 22 when the pair of electrodes 20 </ b> A and 20 </ b> B is conducted is a pair of compression coil springs supported by urging the input pad 16 of the touch tracer 14. 32A,
Since the input is made via the 32B, there is no need to connect the electrodes 20A and 20B to the printed wiring board 28 using a cable or the like. Further, the electrical connection between the electrodes 20A, 20B and the printed wiring board 28 is established by the compression coil springs 32A, 32B.
By doing so, assembly in manufacturing can be easily performed, and production costs can be reduced.

When the electrodes 20A, 20B and the printed wiring board 28 are electrically connected by a cable,
The pressing operation of the input pad 16 causes the bent portion of the cable to become fatigued by stress and has a problem of mechanical durability. However, in this embodiment, since the compression coil springs 32A and 32B are used, the pressing operation of the input pad 16 The mechanical durability can be cleared.

In the present embodiment, the compression coil springs 32A, 32A are used as means for urging the input pad 16 above.
Although B is used, the invention is not limited to this, and a plate spring or the like may be used as long as conduction can be ensured.
In addition, the electrode 20A and the compression coil spring 32B, and the electrode 20B and the compression coil springs 32A and 32B may be integrally formed. By integrating the electrodes, the assembly at the time of manufacturing becomes easy, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

[0047]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an inexpensive and easy means for canceling the sleep state of the detecting means for detecting the touch operation position. is there.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a schematic configuration of a display system according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the touch tracer according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway front view of the touch tracer according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a part of the touch tracer according to the first embodiment in a cutaway manner.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an arrangement relationship between an LED and a phototransistor.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of the display system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a map screen displayed on a display.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional means for canceling a sleep state.

[Explanation of symbols]

 14 touch tracer 16 input pad 20A, 20B electrode 28 printed wiring board 32A, 32B compression coil spring 36 LED 38 phototransistor 44 touch tracer controller

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Masato Nishikawa 3-260 Toyota, Oguchi-cho, Niwa-gun, Aichi Prefecture Inside Tokai Rika Electric Works, Ltd. Address F-term in Tokai Rika Electric Works, Ltd. (reference) AD03 AE05

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A detecting means for detecting a touch operation position on a touch panel for performing a touch operation, a switch means provided on a side opposite to a touch operation surface of the touch panel, and turned on and off when the touch panel is pressed. A control in which the switch means is arranged, a touch operation position of the touch panel is calculated based on a detection result of the detection means, and the calculated touch operation position is determined as a touch operation input position in accordance with ON / OFF of the switch means Control means, an electrode provided on the surface of the touch panel, and a manufacturing means provided on the control means and for urging the touch panel in response to the pressing operation. A touch operation input device having a function of stopping the operation of the detecting means when the operation is not performed, Touch operation input device comprising said biasing means, and to electrically and directly connected to said control means and said biasing means. 2. The touch operation input device according to claim 1, wherein the electrode and the urging unit are integrated.