JP2003280816A - Touch panel system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make executable a plurality of events with a simple configuration and by a simple operation. <P>SOLUTION: At the time of detecting the coordinates of a depression position on a panel surface by using a touch panel 100 using a resistance film, an operation (tap) to depress an additional depression point P2 is executed while a first depression point P1 is kept depressed. At that time, the transition of the coordinates is executed from the coordinates of the first depression point P1 through the coordinates of a middle point (middle point Ps) between the first depression point P1 and the additional depression point P2 to the coordinates of the first depression point. Thus, different events can be executed according to the transition of the coordinates, and for example, the button operation of a two button mouse can be performed by a touch panel 100. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a touch panel system using a touch panel using a resistive film, and more particularly to a touch panel system capable of obtaining an operation function similar to that of a plurality of mouse buttons.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a touch panel used as an operation input means, a touch panel using a resistance film (4-wire type) is generally used. This touch panel is configured to detect two types of pressing, which are generally not pressed and a certain coordinate is pressed, and output the coordinate position.

In a general touch panel, input by pressing a finger or a stylus pen on the plane of the touch panel (press: pen-down, release after pressing: pen)
-Up) function. This function can be used as a mouse click function which is generally used as another operation input means.

[0004]

However, the above-mentioned touch panel can realize only the operation corresponding to the one-button mouse. A touch panel having a function equivalent to the second button of a mouse also has various methods (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
000-81951, JP 2000-99269A.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-148347), but an operation that requires additional hardware or is unnatural or erroneous compared to a touch panel that uses a simple resistive film. Or
The control method was complicated.

An object of the present invention is to provide a touch panel system capable of executing a plurality of events with a simple configuration and operation in order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the object, the touch panel system according to the invention of claim 1 is a touch panel system that uses a touch panel that detects the coordinates of the pressed position on the panel surface using a resistive film or the like, and presses the first pressed point. When an operation of pressing an additional pressing point in the state is performed, the coordinates are the coordinates of the first pressing point to the coordinates of the middle point of the first pressing point and the additional pressing point to the first pressing point. It is characterized by comprising coordinate setting means for making a transition so as to become the coordinates of the above and event executing means for making a different event based on the transition of the coordinates.

According to the invention of claim 1, different events can be executed only by pressing (tap) twice on the touch panel, and the operation function can be improved by an intuitive and easy-to-learn operation. become. Moreover, since a general-purpose touch panel can be used, a high-performance touch panel system can be obtained at low cost without requiring additional hardware.

Also, in the touch panel system according to the invention of claim 2, in the invention of claim 1, the coordinate setting means divides the effective area of the touch panel into a plurality of divided areas based on the first pressing point. Split,
The event executing means may select and execute a plurality of events set in advance for each divided area based on the pressed position of the additional pressing point on the divided area.

According to the invention of claim 2, since the number of events executed by the same operation as in claim 1 can be easily increased, more sophisticated operation can be easily performed.

Further, in a touch panel system according to a third aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the second aspect, the coordinate setting means, when the first pressing point is an end of the effective area of the touch panel, It is characterized in that the divided area is diagonally divided on the effective area.

According to the invention of claim 3, even if the first pressing point is the end portion of the touch panel, the additional pressing point can be operated without being restricted by the effective area of the touch panel. Can be improved.

Also, in the touch panel system according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the second aspect, the coordinate setting means sets the first pressing point at an end of an effective area of the touch panel. It is characterized in that the divided area is vertically divided at the center side of the effective area of the touch panel.

According to the invention of claim 4, even if the first pressing point is the end of the touch panel, the additional pressing point can be operated without being restricted by the effective area of the touch panel. Can be improved.

A touch panel system according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the touch panel system according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, further comprising: a display unit for displaying a pressing point on the touch panel on a screen. The setting means displays the divided area on the screen of the display unit.

According to the invention of claim 5, it is possible to easily know the divided areas, it is possible to know different events for each divided area, and it is possible to easily perform the pressing operation of the additional pressing point.

The touch panel system according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the touch panel system according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the event executing means has coordinates of the first depression point and the additional depression point. Based on the detection
It is characterized in that an event corresponding to a plurality of button operations provided on the button mouse is executed.

According to the invention of claim 6, it is possible to obtain a plurality of button operation functions provided on the button mouse by using the touch panel system, and the same operation function can be easily operated without using the button mouse. You will get it.

[0018]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments of a touch panel system according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the structure of a touch panel using a general resistance film (4-wire type). The detection state using the touch panel 100 is roughly classified into two types, that is, not pressed and certain coordinates are pressed. The detection of the pressing can be determined by the conduction between the two conductive resistance films which are overlapped.

When the depression of the depression point P1 is detected,
Positions in X and Y directions (X1: X2, Y1: Y2)
By applying a voltage between the electrode 101 (X +) and the electrode 102 (X-) or between the electrode 103 (Y +) and the electrode 104 (Y-), the voltage appearing at the electrode of the resistance film on the opposite side is detected. , Calculate.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a detection state when two points are pressed at the same time. Although it depends on the control method, if two points of the pressing points P1 and P2 are pressed simultaneously,
It is detected that the intermediate point Ps which is the middle of the two points has been pressed. When the touch panel 100 is to be used like a mouse, pen-down / up is treated as a button click.

(Embodiment 1) The touch panel 100 of the present invention has a general resistance film type touch panel 100 shown in FIG. The present invention is characterized by the operation of the touch panel when a certain point is pressed and another point is additionally pressed (tapped).

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the operation at the time of pressing two points according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The output of the touch panel 100 is the coordinates (A) of the pressing point P1 →
Coordinates (middle point) Ps (C) of the middle point of the pressing point P1 and the additional pressing point P2 (B) → the pressing point P1
Transitions as shown in coordinates (A), and during this time, pen-
up does not happen. This operation is usually difficult to reproduce when operating with a stylus pen or one finger.

Therefore, by detecting such an operation and recognizing it as the button click being performed, the button click operation in the mouse can be realized using the touch panel 100.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the processing contents for causing the touch panel to perform the same operation as a two-button mouse. pe
It is recognized as a left click in the normal operation of the 2-button mouse by n-down (step S401). pe
An operation in which n-down → up continues is recognized as a left click. After this, the point moves while pen-d
When it is down (step S402), it is recognized as dragging (moving) while left-clicking (step S403). The above operation is the operation of a general touch panel.

After that, at the pressing point P1, pen-do
When another additional press point P2 is tapped during wn, the coordinates remain as pen-down and the additional press point P is
It continuously changes up to 2 (step S404), and returns to the coordinates of the depression point P1 within a fixed time.

Through the above processing, the touch panel 100 can be used to perform the same operation as a two-button mouse. In FIG. 4, a processing example for obtaining an operation similar to a right click of a two-button mouse using the touch panel has been described, but it is also possible to apply the input operation of other input means using the touch panel.

(Second Embodiment) In the second embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, the touch panel 100 is used to detect the tap of the additional pressing point and set it as a click event.
In the second embodiment, in addition to this configuration, the area (position, direction) of the additional pressing point with respect to the first pressing point
And a click event generated for each divided area is selectable.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the operation at the time of pressing two points according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In this example, a different event occurs when the additional press point P2 is tapped in the area on the left side of the first press point P1 and when the additional press point P3 is tapped in the right area.
(Processing can be selected based on the operation). Since the coordinate positions of the pressing points P1 to P3 can be detected by the touch panel 100, respectively, the pressing point P serving as a reference is pressed.
With respect to the virtual area line L1 passing vertically through 1, it is detected whether the direction of the additional pressing points P2 and P3 is the left or right area, and the corresponding event is executed.

It should be noted that a range close to the first pressing point P1 as a reference (center), for example, a circular area R1 having a predetermined radius and an area R2 having a predetermined width in the left-right direction are added pressing points. By setting it as an invalid area of the taps of P2 and P3, it becomes possible to prevent malfunction.

As a concrete event content, a tap (additional pressing point P2) on the left side of the first pressing point P1 is recognized as a left click of a two-button mouse. On the other hand, if the process of recognizing the tap (additional pressing point P3) in the right area as a right click, it becomes possible to match the operation of the left and right clicks of the two-button mouse.

Also, the right-side tap (additional pressing point P3) is recognized as a right click, and the left-side tap (additional pressing point P2) is recognized as a click similar to the third button (middle button) of a three-button mouse. You can also With this configuration, the number of points (number of buttons) that can be discriminated can be increased as compared with the processing described in the first embodiment. Furthermore, if the area on the touch panel 100 is divided into two or more areas, for example, three or more areas, the number of events that can be processed can be further increased.

(Third Embodiment) In the third embodiment, similarly to the second embodiment, it is possible to detect the area of the additional pressing point with respect to the first pressing point and select the click event generated in each direction. Have a configuration. In addition, it is a configuration example in which the position (direction) of the additional pressing point is changed based on the position of the first pressing point on the touch panel 100.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation at the time of pressing two points according to the third embodiment of the present invention. Normally,
Additional pressing points P2 and P3 with respect to the pressing point P1
Is determined as the click event by determining which of the left and right areas is tapped with respect to the first pressing point P1 which is the reference. When the first pressing point P1 is near the center of the effective area of the touch panel 100, if there are additional pressing points P2 and P3, the left and right areas are discriminated.

However, when the first pressing point is the end of the effective area of the touch panel 100, such as the positions of the pressing points P2 and P3 shown in the figure, the effective area is small on the right side, and the right side is due to the additional pressing points. I can't tap. Therefore, in the third embodiment, when the first pressing point P2 is close to the lower right as shown in the figure, the area division is performed not at the left and right but the virtual area line L that passes through the pressing point P2 and is inclined by a predetermined angle.
The area is divided based on 2 and the additional pressing point is recognized. In this case, it is detected whether the additional pressing point is in the lower left or the upper right of the diagonal line L2, and a different click event is set.

Similarly, when the first depressing point P3 is near the upper right, the additional depressing point is either the upper left or the lower right with reference to the virtual region line L3 that passes through the depressing point P3 and is inclined by a predetermined angle. It detects whether it is a region and sets it as a different click event. The above contents can be similarly processed even when the first pressing point is at the left end of the effective area of the touch panel 100.

The inclination angles of the virtual area lines L2 and L3 are set to 45 degrees as shown in the figure, and may be changed according to the aspect ratio of the touch panel 100 and the aspect ratio of the screen of the display unit (not shown). Can be set.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a mouse cursor display example when the first pressing point is pressed. As shown in FIG. 7A, when the first pressing point (referred to as P1) is near the center of the effective area of the touch panel 100 (see FIG. 6), the virtual area line is displayed on the mouse cursor M portion at that time. L1 can be displayed to notify the operator of each divided area. Similarly, FIG. 7B shows a display example when the first pressing point shown in FIG. 6 is P2, and FIG.
(C) is a display example when the first pressed point shown in FIG. 6 is P3.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a screen display example of virtual area lines. In the example shown in FIG. 7, virtual area lines L1 to L3
Is notified together with the mouse cursor, but independent virtual area lines L1 to L are not associated with the mouse cursor.
3 may be displayed on the display screen 800 of the display unit and notified. FIG. 8 shows the display state of the virtual area line L1 in the vertical direction.

Further, even if the first depression points P2 and P3 are the ends of the effective area of the touch panel 100, the virtual area lines L2 and L3 are not limited to be tilted by a predetermined angle.
For example, as shown in FIG. 8, when the first pressing point P1 is the end of the effective area of the touch panel 100,
Bring the virtual area line L1 to the center of the effective area,
It is also possible to have a configuration in which the virtual region line L1 in the vertical direction is displayed on the display screen 800.

The area division described in this embodiment and the method for executing the event for each area are realized by executing a program prepared in advance on a computer such as a personal computer or a workstation. can do. This program is a hard disk, floppy disk, CD
It is executed by being recorded in a computer-readable recording medium such as ROM, MO, and DVD, and being read from the recording medium by the computer. Further, this program can be distributed through the recording medium and a network such as the Internet.

[0042]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the invention, in the touch panel system using the touch panel for detecting the coordinates of the pressed position on the panel surface using the resistance film or the like, When an operation of pressing an additional pressing point is performed while the pressing point is being pressed, the coordinates are the coordinates of the first pressing point to the coordinates of the middle point of the first pressing point and the additional pressing point. ~ Since the coordinate setting means for making a transition to the coordinates of the first pressing point and the event executing means for executing a different event based on the transition of the coordinates are provided, two pressings (taps) are made on the touch panel. You will be able to execute different events by just doing, and you will be able to improve the operation function with intuitive and easy-to-learn operations. Further, since a general-purpose touch panel can be used, it is possible to obtain a high-performance touch panel system at low cost without requiring additional hardware.

According to the invention described in claim 2, in the invention described in claim 1, the coordinate setting means divides the effective area of the touch panel into a plurality of divided areas based on the first pressing point. 2. The same operation as in claim 1, wherein the event execution means divides and executes a plurality of events set in advance for each divided area based on the pressed position of the additional pressed point on the divided area. Since it is possible to easily increase the number of events executed by, it is possible to easily perform a more sophisticated operation.

According to a third aspect of the invention, in the invention of the second aspect, the coordinate setting means, when the first pressing point is an end of the effective area of the touch panel, Since the divided area is divided diagonally on the effective area, even if the first pressing point is the edge of the touch panel, it is possible to operate additional pressing points without being restricted by the effective area of the touch panel. This has the effect of improving the sex.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in the invention of the second aspect, the coordinate setting means, when the first pressing point is an end portion of the effective area of the touch panel, Since the divided area is divided vertically in the center of the effective area of the touch panel,
Even if the first pressing point is the edge of the touch panel,
It is possible to operate the additional pressing point without being restricted by the effective area of the touch panel, and it is possible to improve the operability.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, a display unit for displaying a pressing point on the touch panel on a screen is provided, and the coordinate Since the setting means screen-displays the divided areas on the display unit, the divided areas can be easily known, different events can be known for each divided area, and the pressing operation of additional pressing points can be easily performed. Produce an effect.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the event executing means includes the coordinates of the first pressing point and the additional pressing point. Based on the detection, since the event corresponding to the plurality of button operations provided on the button mouse is executed, it is possible to obtain the plurality of button operation functions provided on the button mouse by using the touch panel system,
The same operation function can be obtained by a simple operation without using a button mouse.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a touch panel using a general resistance film (4-wire type).

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a detection state when two points are simultaneously pressed.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an operation when pressing two points according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing contents for causing the touch panel to perform the same operation as a two-button mouse.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an operation when pressing two points according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an operation when pressing two points according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a mouse cursor display example when the first pressing point is pressed.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a screen display example of virtual area lines.

[Explanation of symbols]

100 touch panel 101-104 electrodes 800 display screen P1 to P3 pressing points Ps Intermediate point

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. In a touch panel system using a touch panel that detects the coordinates of the pressed position on the panel surface using a resistive film or the like, an operation of pressing an additional pressed point with the first pressed point still pressed. When the coordinate is performed, the coordinate is a coordinate setting means for transitioning to a coordinate of the first pressing point, a coordinate of a midpoint of the first pressing point and an additional pressing point, and a coordinate of the first pressing point. A touch panel system, comprising: an event executing unit that executes different events based on the transition of the coordinates. 2. The coordinate setting means divides the effective area of the touch panel into a plurality of divided areas based on the first pressing point, and the event executing means divides the additional pressing point on the divided area. The touch panel system according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of events set in advance for each divided area are selected and executed based on the pressed position. 3. The coordinate setting means divides the divided area diagonally on the effective area when the first pressing point is an end portion of the effective area of the touch panel. The touch panel system described in. 4. The coordinate setting means divides the divided area in the vertical direction at the center side of the effective area of the touch panel when the first pressing point is the end of the effective area of the touch panel. The touch panel system according to claim 2. 5. A display unit for displaying a pressing point on the touch panel on a screen, wherein the coordinate setting means screen-displays the divided area on the display unit. The touch panel system described in one. 6. The event executing means executes an event corresponding to a plurality of button operations provided on a button mouse, based on detection of coordinates of the first press point and the additional press points. Item 6. The touch panel system according to any one of items 1 to 5.