JP2007213135A - Coordinate detection device and coordinate detection method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a coordinate detection device for accurately calculating the coordinates of a touch region as the object of detection while preventing the deterioration in processing efficiency. <P>SOLUTION: This coordinate detection device 100 for detecting the coordinates of a touch region on a coordinate input picture 101 is provided with a first detection means 102a and a second detection means 102b for detecting the touch direction and touch width of a touch region; an object touch region specification means 105 for specifying an object touch region as the object of detection based on each touch direction and touch width when a plurality of touch regions are detected; a relative position holding means 105 for holding the relative position of the object touch region; and a calculation control means 105 for calculating the coordinates of the object touch region based on the touch region directions detected by the first detection means 102a and the second detection means 102b for the object touch region specified based on the relative position. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a coordinate detection device and a coordinate detection method for detecting the coordinates of a touch area on a coordinate input surface.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, touch panels that can draw characters and figures on a touch panel with a touch pen or the like are known. In this method, characters or the like drawn by the touch pen are displayed by detecting the coordinates of the touch area in contact with the touch pen.

  In general, when drawing a character or figure by hand using a pen, the writer may bring a part of the finger into contact with the writing surface to stabilize the pen operation while the pen tip is in contact with the writing surface. Many. In the touch panel as described above, the pen tip and the finger are often in contact with each other at the same time.

  In drawing on the touch panel, it is preferable that characters and the like can be input by an operation similar to general handwriting. However, as described above, when a finger or the like is in contact with the pen tip, the finger shields light.

  For this reason, both the touch area in which the pen tip is in contact and the touch area in which the finger is in contact are detected, and there is an inconvenience that it is not possible to determine which of the coordinates should be input. As a method for solving such a problem, for example, a method is disclosed in which a pen that is actually writing is distinguished from a finger by the width of a shield in a light receiving unit (see, for example, “Patent Document 1”). ).

JP 2005-31754 A

  However, as described above, when the pen and the finger are distinguished based on the width of the shield in the light receiving unit, there is a problem that processing takes time.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and provides a coordinate detection device and a coordinate detection method capable of accurately calculating the coordinates of a touch area to be detected while preventing a reduction in processing efficiency. With the goal.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the invention according to claim 1 is a coordinate detection device that detects the coordinates of a touch area touched on a coordinate input surface, and is close to the coordinate input surface. A first detection means for detecting a touch direction that is a direction of the touch area and a touch width that is a width of the touch area with respect to the position at which the touch position is positioned, and is close to the coordinate input surface; A second detection unit that is arranged at a different position from the first detection unit, detects a touch direction and a touch width that are directions of the touch region with respect to the arranged position, the first detection unit, and the first detection unit; 2 When the detection unit detects a plurality of touch areas, the target touch area to be detected is identified among the plurality of touch areas based on the touch direction and the touch width of each touch area. Target touch area specifying means, relative position holding means for holding relative positions of the target touch area specified by the target touch area specifying means with respect to a plurality of touch areas, the first detecting means, and the second The touch area direction detected by the first detection means with respect to the target touch area specified based on the relative position held by the relative position holding means when the detection means detects a plurality of touch areas. And a calculation control means for calculating the coordinates of the target touch area based on the touch area direction detected by the second detection means.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the coordinate detection device according to claim 1, wherein the target touch area specifying unit is the leftmost in the X direction of the coordinate input surface among the plurality of touch areas. When the width of the touch area is the narrowest, the leftmost touch area is specified as the target touch area.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the coordinate detection device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the target touch area specifying unit is the most in the X direction of the coordinate input surface among the plurality of touch areas. When the width of the right touch area is the narrowest, the right touch area is specified as the target touch area.

  The invention according to claim 4 is the coordinate detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first detection means and the second detection means are touches on the coordinate input surface. The target touch area specifying means holds the relative position when the first detection means and the second detection means detect the touch start of a plurality of touch areas. Features.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the coordinate detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first detection means and the second detection means are touches following the start of the touch. The movement of the area is further detected, and the target touch area specifying means holds the relative position held by the relative position holding means when the first detection means and the second detection means detect movement of the touch area. The target touch area is specified based on the above, and the calculation control means calculates the coordinates of the target touch area specified by the target touch area specifying means.

  The invention according to claim 6 is the coordinate detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first detection unit and the second detection unit are configured to touch the coordinate input surface. When the first detection unit and the second detection unit further detect the end of the touch on the coordinate input surface, the relative position held by the relative position holding unit is deleted. It further comprises deletion means.

  The invention according to claim 7 is the coordinate detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the first detection means and the second detection means detect three or more touch areas. In this case, the apparatus further comprises an inter-touch area distance calculating unit that calculates an inter-area distance between two predetermined touch areas among the three or more touch areas, and the target touch area specifying unit includes the inter-touch area distance. One of the two touch areas is specified as the target touch area when the distance between the areas calculated by the calculation unit is equal to or less than a predetermined value.

  The invention according to claim 8 is the coordinate detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the first detection means and the second detection means detect two touch areas. And a touch area distance calculating means for calculating an inter-area distance between the two touch areas, wherein the target touch area specifying means is configured such that the inter-area distance calculated by the inter-touch area distance calculating means is calculated in advance. One of the two touch areas is specified as the target touch area when it is equal to or less than a predetermined value.

  The invention according to claim 9 is the coordinate detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the first detection means and the second detection means detect two touch areas. In addition, when the inter-area distance calculation means for calculating the inter-area distance between the two touch areas, and the inter-area distance calculated by the inter-touch area distance calculation means is greater than a predetermined value, A warning means for notifying the user of a warning is further provided.

  The invention according to claim 10 is the coordinate detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the calculation control means includes a plurality of the first detection means and the second detection means. When the touch area is detected, the target touch area specifying unit calculates the coordinates of the target touch area after specifying the target touch area.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a coordinate detection method for detecting the coordinates of a touch area touched on a coordinate input surface, wherein a first detection means disposed close to the coordinate input surface is disposed. A first detection step for detecting a touch direction that is a direction of the touch area and a touch width that is a width of the touch area with reference to the position, and is close to the coordinate input surface and different from the first detection unit. A second detection step for detecting a touch direction and a touch width, which are directions of the touch area with reference to a position at which the second detection means arranged at the position is set as a reference, the first detection step, and the second detection In the step, when a plurality of touch areas are detected, a target to be detected among the plurality of touch areas based on the touch direction and the touch width of each touch area A target touch area specifying step for specifying a touch area; a relative position holding step for holding a relative position of the target touch area specified in the target touch area specifying step with respect to a plurality of touch areas in a relative position holding means; When the plurality of touch areas are detected in the first detection step and the second detection step, the first touch is performed on the target touch area specified based on the relative position held by the relative position holding unit. And a calculation control step of calculating coordinates of the target touch area based on the touch area direction detected by the detection means and the touch area direction detected by the second detection means.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the first detection unit is disposed in the vicinity of the coordinate input surface, and the touch direction that is the direction of the touch region and the width of the touch region with respect to the disposed position is the touch. The width is detected, and the second detection unit is arranged at a position close to the coordinate input surface and different from the first detection unit, and the touch direction and the touch width, which are directions of the touch area with respect to the arranged position, are determined. When the first touch detection means and the second detection means detect a plurality of touch areas, based on the touch direction and the touch width of each touch area, The target touch area to be detected is specified, and the relative position holding means holds the relative position of the target touch area specified by the target touch area specifying means with respect to a plurality of touch areas, and calculates When the first detecting means and the second detecting means detect a plurality of touch areas, the first detecting means for the target touch area specified based on the relative position held by the relative position holding means. Since the coordinates of the target touch area are calculated based on the touch area direction detected by the second detection means and the touch area direction detected by the second detection means, the coordinates of the touch area to be detected are accurately determined while preventing a reduction in processing efficiency. There is an effect that it can be calculated.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the target touch area specifying unit has the narrowest width of the leftmost touch area in the X direction of the coordinate input surface among the plurality of touch areas, Since the touch area is specified as the target touch area, when drawing with the right hand, the coordinates of the left touch area are always set as the target touch area, and this coordinate can be accurately calculated.

  According to the invention of claim 3, if the width of the rightmost touch area in the X direction of the coordinate input surface is the narrowest among the plurality of touch areas, the target touch area specifying unit Since the touch area is specified as the target touch area, when drawing with the left hand, the right touch area is always set as the target touch area, and the coordinates can be accurately calculated.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the first detection means and the second detection means further detect the start of touch on the coordinate input surface, and the target touch area specifying means is the first detection means and the second detection. When the means detects the touch start of a plurality of touch areas, the relative position is held. Therefore, the process of specifying which is the target area and holding the relative position may be performed only at the start of the touch. There is an effect that the processing efficiency can be improved.

  According to the invention of claim 5, the first detection means and the second detection means further detect the movement of the touch area following the start of the touch, and the target touch area specification means includes the first detection means and When the second detection means detects the movement of the touch area, the target touch area is specified based on the relative position held by the relative position holding means, and the calculation control means specifies the target specified by the target touch area specification means Since the coordinates of the touch area are calculated, in continuous drawing, the target touch area can be specified based on the relative position regardless of the width of the touch area, and the processing efficiency can be improved. .

  According to the invention of claim 6, the first detection means and the second detection means further detect the end of the touch on the coordinate input surface, and the deletion means is the first detection means and the second detection means. When the end of touch on the coordinate input surface is further detected, the relative position held by the relative position holding means is deleted, so that the writer changes and the drawing with the right hand is changed to the drawing with the left hand. In addition, there is an effect that the target touch area can be correctly specified.

  According to the invention of claim 7, when the distance calculation means between touch areas detects three or more touch areas when the first detection means and the second detection means detect three or more touch areas, The distance between the areas between the two predetermined touch areas is calculated, and the target touch area specifying means has two distances when the distance between the areas calculated by the distance calculation means between the touch areas is equal to or less than a predetermined value. Since any one of the touch areas is specified as the target touch area, a touch area that cannot be the target touch area is excluded, and the processing efficiency can be improved.

  According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, when the first detection unit and the second detection unit detect two touch areas, the inter-touch area distance calculation unit calculates the inter-area distance between the two touch areas. The target touch area specifying unit calculates and identifies one of the two touch areas as the target touch area when the inter-area distance calculated by the inter-touch area distance calculating unit is equal to or less than a predetermined value. Therefore, the touch area that cannot be the target touch area is excluded, and the processing efficiency can be improved.

  According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the distance between the touch areas is calculated when the first detection means and the second detection means detect two touch areas. When the distance between the areas calculated by the touch area distance calculating means is larger than a predetermined value, the warning means is notified to the user, so that the touch that causes a false detection is calculated. Since the area can be excluded, there is an effect that accurate coordinates can be detected.

  According to the invention of claim 10, the calculation control means specifies the target touch area when the first detection means and the second detection means detect a plurality of touch areas. Since the coordinates of the target touch area are calculated later, there is an effect that accurate coordinates can be calculated without calculating virtual coordinates.

  According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the first detection step, the touch direction which is the direction of the touch area with reference to the position where the first detection means arranged close to the coordinate input surface is arranged, and The touch width that is the width of the touch area is detected, and in the second detection step, the position near the coordinate input surface and the second detection means arranged at a position different from the first detection means is used as a reference. The touch direction and the touch width, which are the directions of the touch area, are detected, and when the plurality of touch areas are detected in the first detection step and the second detection step in the target touch area specifying step, Based on the touch width, a target touch area to be detected is identified from among a plurality of touch areas, and a relative position holding step and a target touch area identification step are identified. In the calculation control step, the plurality of touch areas are detected in the first detection step and the second detection step. The target position based on the touch area direction detected by the first detection means and the touch area direction detected by the second detection means for the target touch area specified based on the relative position held by the relative position holding means. Since the coordinates of the touch area are calculated, it is possible to accurately calculate the coordinates of the touch area to be detected while preventing the processing efficiency from being lowered.

  Exemplary embodiments of a coordinate detection apparatus and a coordinate detection method according to the present invention will be explained below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a display device 100 with a touch panel including the coordinate detection device according to the first embodiment. Hereinafter, the characteristic configuration and function of the display device 100 with a touch panel will be described with reference to FIG. The display device 100 with a touch panel includes a coordinate input surface 101, a first optical unit 102a, a second optical unit 102b, reflection units 103a, 103b, and 103c provided on an outer edge of the coordinate input surface 101, and a first direction detection unit. 104 a, a second direction detection unit 104 b, a main control unit 105, and an interface unit 106. The coordinate input surface 101 is a rectangular surface, and is used when a user inputs a touch point (position A in the figure) by touching with a pointing stick such as a touch pen or a finger.

  The first optical unit 102a and the second optical unit 102b are both arranged close to the coordinate input surface 101, and detect the touch point direction, which is the direction of the touch point at this position, based on the position where the first optical unit 102a and the second optical unit 102b are arranged.

  Each of the optical units 102a and 102b has a light emitting part and a light receiving part. The light emitting unit and the light receiving unit will be described in detail later with reference to FIGS. 3-1, 3-2, and 4. FIG. The light emitting unit emits light spreading in a fan shape. The light receiving unit receives the light recursively reflected by the reflecting units 102a, 102b, and 102c. The light receiving units of the optical units 102a and 102b receive light at the same timing. Note that the light receiving unit includes, for example, a line sensor, and detects a touch point direction which is a direction shielded by a finger, an indicator rod, or the like. That is, the touch point direction is detected at the same timing.

  The first direction detection unit 104a and the second direction detection unit 104b detect the touch point directions detected by the corresponding first optical unit 102a and second optical unit 102b, respectively. More specifically, each direction detection unit 104 inputs light information detected by the optical unit 102 as analog data. The analog data is information indicating an optical axis of light that should be received at a position where the light of the light receiving unit is not received among the light irradiated in a fan shape, that is, the touch point direction.

  Here, the combination of the first optical unit 102a and the first direction detection unit 104a constitutes a first direction detection unit. Similarly, the combination of the second optical unit 102b and the second direction detection unit 104b constitutes a second direction detection unit.

  The main control unit 105 receives the touch point direction from each of the direction detection units 104a and 104b, and calculates touch point coordinates that are coordinates of the touch point based on the touch point direction. The main control unit 105 also controls driving of each optical unit 102. Here, the main control unit 105 functions as a target touch area specifying unit, a relative position holding unit, a calculation control unit, a deletion unit, and a touch area distance calculation unit. The interface unit 106 receives touch point coordinates from the main control unit 105 and sends them to a personal computer (PC) 110 as an external device.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the principle by which the direction detection unit 104 and the main control unit 105 calculate touch point coordinates. The case where the coordinates of the touch point T are calculated based on the touch point direction detected by the first optical unit 102a and the second optical unit 102b will be described with reference to FIG.

Here, the height of the coordinate input surface 101, that is, the length of the short side is H. Also, let W be the distance between the first optical unit 102a and the second optical unit 102b. First, an angle θ1 of an angle formed by a straight line 510 passing through the first optical unit 102a and the touch point T and a straight line 514 passing through the first optical unit 102a and the second optical unit 102b is calculated. That is, the angle θ1 indicates the touch point direction detected by the first optical unit 102a. Further, θ2 is calculated as an angle formed by a straight line 512 and a straight line 514 passing through the second optical unit 102b and the touch point T. That is, the angle θ2 indicates the touch point direction detected by the second optical unit 102b. Further, the coordinates (x, y) of the touch point T are calculated by substituting the angles θ1 and θ2 into the following equations.
x = (W × tan θ2) / (tan θ1 + tan θ2) (1)
y = (W × tan θ1 × tan θ2) / (tan θ1 + tan θ2) (2)

  FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams illustrating a detailed configuration of the optical unit 102. FIG. 3A illustrates a state in which the optical unit 102 is viewed from the direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the irradiation light in a plane parallel to the coordinate input surface 101, that is, from the x-axis direction. FIG. 3-2 illustrates a state in which the optical unit 102 is viewed from the traveling direction of the irradiation light, that is, the y-axis direction. The optical unit 102 is disposed on a light source 122, lenses 123b and 123c for diffusing the light emitted from the light source 122 in a fan shape, a lens 126 for receiving reflected light, a CCD 127 as a light receiving unit, and an optical axis. Half mirror 124. The CCD 127 functions as a line sensor in which a plurality of elements are arranged.

  These are unitized. As a result, the alignment (distance and center alignment) between the light source 122 and the CCD 127 can be adjusted in units and can be easily adjusted.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining the principle that the light receiving unit 125 detects the touch point direction. When a finger touches a certain position T on the coordinate input surface 101, the irradiated light is blocked, and the reflected light does not reach a corresponding point on the CCD 127 corresponding to the direction. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, when a finger that blocks light touches a position T on the coordinate input surface 101, the light passing therethrough is blocked, and on the CCD 127, a region (dark spot) with a small received light intensity is located at the position D. Arise. The position of the dark spot D corresponds one-to-one with the shielding direction (position T). Therefore, the shielding direction, that is, the touch point direction can be detected based on the dark spot D detected by the CCD 127.

  Note that a shaded filter may be provided in the rear stage of the cylindrical lens 123c or the front stage of the CCD 127 so that the light reception intensity in the CCD 127 becomes uniform. This eliminates the need to set a direction-dependent threshold value for each element of the CCD 127 and facilitates control.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing coordinate detection processing by the display device 100 with a touch panel when the coordinate input surface 101 is touched. When the user touches the coordinate input surface 101 with a touch pen or the like, each of the optical units 102a and 102b detects the shielded direction corresponding to the touch area, that is, the touch area direction (step S100). Further, at this time, the width of the touch area is detected. Specifically, the number of pixels of the CCD 127 corresponding to the touch area, that is, the number of pixels with low received light intensity is detected. Then, the main control unit 105 specifies the number of input touch areas (step S102).

  When the two optical units 102a and 102b detect only one touch area direction, it is understood that there is one touch area. In this case (step S104, Yes), the main control unit 105 calculates the touch area coordinates by the above-described formulas (1) and (2) based on the touch area directions detected by the two optical units 102a and 102b. Calculate (step S106). If the touch area is close to a point, the coordinates of this point may be calculated. If the touch area is relatively large, the coordinates of the center thereof may be calculated. In the case where the touch area is relatively large, it is only necessary to determine in advance which coordinates of the touch area are to be calculated, and the present invention is not limited to the embodiment.

  On the other hand, when the main control unit 105 detects a plurality of touch area directions, it can be seen that there are two or more touch areas. In this case (No at Step S104), the main control unit 105 further determines whether or not this touch area is at the start of detection. When a user writes a character with a touch pen, the touch pen is brought into contact with the coordinate input surface 101 at the start of drawing, and then the character is drawn while the touch pen is in contact with the coordinate input surface 101. It is determined whether or not this drawing is started. That is, when the touch area is not detected immediately before, it is determined that the detection is started.

  As another example, when the touch area is not detected for a predetermined time or more, the next time the touch area is detected, it may be determined that this time is the detection start time. Accordingly, it is possible to determine that one character, one word, or one grouped document is continuous drawing.

  When it is time to start touch area detection (step S110, Yes), a target area to be detected is specified from a plurality of touch areas (step S114). The case where a plurality of touch areas are detected includes, for example, a case where the user's hand or sleeve is in contact with the coordinate input surface 101 together with the touch pen tip. In this case, the touch area corresponding to the touch pen is specified as the target area.

  In addition, when touch area coordinates are calculated based on multiple touch area directions detected corresponding to multiple touch areas, touch area coordinates that do not actually exist are calculated, and the touch area coordinates are accurately calculated. It becomes difficult to do.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining touch area coordinates calculated when a plurality of touch area directions are detected. When a hand is put on the coordinate input surface 101 and input is made with a touch pen or the like, as shown in FIG. 6, a touch area M touched by the touch pen and a touch area N touched by the touched hand are detected. In this case, the main control unit 105 calculates the touch area coordinates of the virtual touch areas K and L in addition to the touch areas M and N. As shown in step S <b> 114 of FIG. 5, such inconvenience can be solved by specifying the target area before calculating the touch area coordinates.

  Specifically, a touch pen is smaller than a hand or a sleeve. Focusing on this point, the smallest touch area is determined as a touch pen. Specifically, the direction having the smallest number of pixels with respect to the width of the touch area is specified as the touch area direction with respect to the target area.

  Next, the main control unit 105 holds a relative position indicating a relative positional relationship between the target area and another touch area (step S116).

  7 and 8 are diagrams for explaining the processing of step S115 and step S116. In the CCD 127a, CCDs are continuously arranged from the start pixel 128a to the end pixel 129a. As illustrated in FIG. 7, when the drawing is performed with the right hand, the touch area corresponding to the hand detected on the right side of the touch area corresponding to the touch pen is larger. That is, the width of the touch area on the start pixel 128a side is wider than the width of the touch area on the end pixel 129a side. Therefore, the main control unit 105 holds the leftmost position on the coordinate input surface 101, that is, the position closest to the start pixel of the CCD 127 as a relative position.

  Similarly, when drawing with the left hand, as shown in FIG. 8, the touch area corresponding to the hand detected on the left side of the touch area corresponding to the touch pen becomes larger. That is, the width of the touch area on the start pixel 128a side is narrower than the width of the touch area on the end pixel 129a side. Therefore, the main control unit 105 holds the rightmost position on the coordinate input surface 101, that is, the most end pixel side of the CCD 127 as a relative position.

  Next, when the relative position of the target area is held in step S116, the process proceeds to step S106, and the coordinates of the target area are calculated.

  On the other hand, if it is not at the start of detection in step S110 (No at step S110), as described above, the main control unit 105 holds the relative position of the target area at the start of detection. The target area is specified (step S112). Next, proceeding to step S106, the coordinates of the target area are calculated. This completes the coordinate detection process.

  As another example, for example, when a plurality of touch area directions are detected, only when the distance between the plurality of touch area directions is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the processes in steps S114 and S116 are performed. It is good also as performing. In the case of a touch area for a touch pen and a hand, it is assumed that two touch areas are detected within a certain distance range. Therefore, the distance range, for example, 20 cm is set as a specified value, and only when the distance is within this range, the process of step S114 is performed.

  Specifically, the number of CCD pixels corresponding to 20 cm is held, and the number of pixels is compared with the number of pixels between the two actually detected touch area directions for determination.

  When two touch area directions are detected, the distance between the two touch area directions is compared with a specified value. When three or more touch area directions are detected, the distance between two predetermined touch area directions among the three is compared with a specified value.

  Further, if it is determined that the value is greater than or equal to the specified value, it is determined that something other than the touch pen and the hand is in contact with the coordinate input surface 101, and a caution or warning message or warning sound is output from a speaker (not shown). It is also possible to issue Thereby, contact objects other than the target contact object can be excluded, and the coordinates of the target area can be accurately calculated. That is, the speaker functions as a warning unit. The warning means is not limited to the speaker, and may be a display device, for example. In this case, a character string indicating the warning content may be displayed.

  As another example, the main control unit 105 may delete the relative position of the target area when the two optical units 102a and 102b no longer detect the touch area. In this case, there is a possibility of switching from writing with the right hand to writing with the left hand. Therefore, in this case, the relative position is once deleted, and when writing is started again, the relative position of the target region is specified again. Thereby, even if it is a case where a writer changes, an object area | region can be pinpointed correctly.

  Next, a detailed hardware configuration of the display device with a touch panel 100 will be described with reference to FIG. In the drawing, only one optical unit 102 and one direction detection unit 104 are shown for convenience, but two optical units 102a and 102b and two direction detection units 104a included in the touch panel display device 100 are shown. , 104b have the same configuration and function as the optical unit 102 and the direction detection unit 104 shown in the figure.

  The optical unit 102 includes a light emitting unit 200 including an LD 122 and a light receiving unit 210 including a CCD 127. The CCD 127 is driven by an image processing LSI (described later) of the direction detection unit 104.

  The direction detection unit 104 includes a CPU 401 that controls the entire direction detection unit 104, a ROM 402 that stores a coordinate detection program, a RAM 403 that is used as a work memory, an image LSI 404 that performs image processing, and data from the optical unit 102. And a shading memory 406 for storing data serving as a reference for performing shading correction.

  The main control unit 105 includes a CPU 501 that controls the entire main control unit 105, a ROM 502 that stores a program for controlling the system, a RAM 503 that is used as a work memory, and an interface control unit 504 that controls the interface unit 106. is doing.

  When a plurality of optical units are driven independently, when a touch point is input to the coordinate input surface 101, the touch point direction is detected in one optical unit, but the touch point is detected in another optical unit. The problem that it is not done will arise. For this reason, the CPU 501 of the main control unit 105 generates a trigger, and drives the LD 122 according to the generated trigger, thereby making the timing of each LD the same. In addition, a trigger signal 520 is sent to the image LSI 404 of each direction detection unit 104. Then, the image processing LSI 404 drives the CCD 127 according to the trigger signal. Thereby, the CCD 127 can detect the touch point direction at the same timing.

  Thereby, since the two optical units 102a and 102b are driven synchronously, the two optical units 102a and 102b can detect the touch point direction at the same timing. That is, under the control of the main control unit 105, the light emitting unit 121 emits light at the same timing, and the light receiving unit 125 receives reflected light at the same timing, that is, detects the touch point direction.

  Further, the CPU 401 of the direction detection unit 104 and the CPU 501 of the main control unit 105 perform serial communication, and perform a detection start instruction indicating that detection is to be started, and transmission / reception of the detected touch point direction (510).

  In this embodiment, a serial interface is used. However, as another example, since communication is performed inside the apparatus, a dedicated interface may be used.

  The coordinate detection program described above is provided in a form that can be installed or executed and recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, floppy (R) disk (FD), or DVD. May be.

  In this case, the coordinate detection program is loaded on the main storage device by being read from the recording medium and executed on the display device 100 with a touch panel, and each unit described in the software configuration is generated on the main storage device. It is like that.

  Further, the coordinate detection program of the present embodiment may be provided by being stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and downloaded via the network.

  As described above, the present invention has been described using the embodiment, but various changes or improvements can be added to the above embodiment.

It is a figure which shows the display apparatus with a touch panel 100 containing the coordinate detection apparatus concerning Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the principle in which the direction detection part 104 and the main control part 105 calculate a touch point coordinate. 2 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of an optical unit 102. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of an optical unit 102. FIG. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the principle in which the light-receiving part 125 detects a touch point direction. It is a flowchart which shows the coordinate detection process by the display apparatus with a touch panel 100 when the coordinate input surface 101 is touched. It is a figure for demonstrating the touch area | region coordinate calculated when a several touch area | region direction is detected. It is a figure for demonstrating the process of step S115 and step S116. It is a figure for demonstrating the process of step S115 and step S116. It is a figure which shows the detailed hardware constitutions of the display apparatus with a touch panel 100. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Touch panel display apparatus 101 Coordinate input surface 102a, 102b 1st, 2nd optical unit 103a-103c Reflecting part 104a, 104b 1st, 2nd direction detection part 105 Main control part 106 Interface part 121 Light emission part 123c Cylindrical lens 125 Light receiving part 127 CCD
200 light emitting unit 210 light receiving unit 401 CPU
402 ROM
403 RAM
404 Image LSI
405 Data storage memory 406 Shading memory 501 CPU
502 ROM
503 RAM
504 Interface control unit

Claims (11)

A coordinate detection device that detects coordinates of a touch area touched on a coordinate input surface,
A first detection unit that is disposed in proximity to the coordinate input surface and detects a touch direction that is a direction of the touch region and a touch width that is a width of the touch region with respect to the disposed position;
A second detection unit that is disposed near the coordinate input surface and at a position different from the first detection unit, and that detects a touch direction and a touch width that are directions of the touch region with respect to the arranged position; ,
When the first detection unit and the second detection unit detect a plurality of touch areas, the target to be detected among the plurality of touch areas based on the touch direction and the touch width of each touch area. A target touch area specifying means for specifying a touch area;
Relative position holding means for holding relative positions of the target touch area specified by the target touch area specifying means with respect to a plurality of touch areas;
When the first detection unit and the second detection unit detect a plurality of touch areas, the first detection unit determines the first touch area specified based on the relative position held by the relative position holding unit. A coordinate detection apparatus comprising: a calculation control unit that calculates coordinates of the target touch region based on the touch region direction detected by the detection unit and the touch region direction detected by the second detection unit. .   When the width of the leftmost touch area in the X direction of the coordinate input surface is the narrowest among the plurality of touch areas, the target touch area specifying unit determines the leftmost touch area as the target touch area. The coordinate detection device according to claim 1, characterized by:   When the width of the rightmost touch area in the X direction of the coordinate input surface is the narrowest among the plurality of touch areas, the target touch area specifying unit determines the rightmost touch area as the target touch area. The coordinate detection apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by: The first detection means and the second detection means further detect a touch start on the coordinate input surface,
The target touch area specifying unit holds the relative position when the first detection unit and the second detection unit detect the touch start of a plurality of touch areas. To 5. The coordinate detection device according to any one of 3 to 4. The first detection means and the second detection means further detect movement of the touch area following the start of the touch,
The target touch area specifying unit is configured to detect the target touch area based on the relative position held by the relative position holding unit when the first detection unit and the second detection unit detect movement of the touch area. Identify
5. The coordinate detection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the calculation control unit calculates the coordinates of the target touch area specified by the target touch area specifying unit. The first detection means and the second detection means further detect the end of the touch on the coordinate input surface,
When the first detection unit and the second detection unit further detect the end of the touch on the coordinate input surface, the first detection unit and the second detection unit further include a deletion unit that deletes the relative position held by the relative position holding unit. The coordinate detection device according to claim 1, wherein: When the first detection means and the second detection means detect three or more touch areas, the inter-touch area calculation unit calculates a distance between two predetermined touch areas among the three or more touch areas. A distance calculating means;
The target touch area specifying unit determines one of the two touch areas as the target touch area when the inter-area distance calculated by the inter-touch area distance calculating unit is equal to or less than a predetermined value. The coordinate detection device according to claim 1, wherein the coordinate detection device is specified as follows. When the first detection means and the second detection means detect two touch areas, further comprising a touch area distance calculation means for calculating a distance between the two touch areas,
The target touch area specifying unit determines one of the two touch areas as the target touch area when the inter-area distance calculated by the inter-touch area distance calculating unit is equal to or less than a predetermined value. The coordinate detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized by: A touch area distance calculating means for calculating a distance between the two touch areas when the first detection means and the second detection means detect two touch areas;
9. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising warning means for notifying a user of a warning when the distance between the areas calculated by the touch area distance calculating means is larger than a predetermined value. The coordinate detection device according to any one of the above.   When the first detection unit and the second detection unit detect a plurality of touch areas, the calculation control unit specifies the target touch area after the target touch area specification unit specifies the target touch area. The coordinate detection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein coordinates are calculated. A coordinate detection method for detecting coordinates of a touch area touched on a coordinate input surface,
A first detection step of detecting a touch direction that is a direction of the touch area and a touch width that is a width of the touch area with reference to a position at which the first detection unit arranged close to the coordinate input surface is arranged. When,
Detecting a touch direction and a touch width that are directions of the touch area with reference to a position where the second detection means arranged close to the coordinate input surface and at a position different from the first detection means is arranged. A second detection step;
In the first detection step and the second detection step, when a plurality of touch areas are detected, a target to be detected among the plurality of touch areas based on the touch direction and the touch width of each touch area. A target touch area specifying step for specifying a touch area;
A relative position holding step of holding a relative position of the target touch area specified in the target touch area specifying step with respect to a plurality of touch areas in a relative position holding means;
When a plurality of touch areas are detected in the first detection step and the second detection step, the first detection is performed on the target touch area specified based on the relative position held by the relative position holding unit. And a calculation control step of calculating coordinates of the target touch area based on the touch area direction detected by the means and the touch area direction detected by the second detection means.

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