JP2009025903A - Input device, input reception processing method and input reception processing program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a touch panel input device capable of simultaneously materializing both improvement of key selectivity and suppression of deterioration of erroneous detection property by properly changing size of a detection area of a key according to a result of input of a user to a touch panel. <P>SOLUTION: When any key displayed on a screen by the input is not selected when the input is performed, this input device expands the detection area for detecting that the key is selected, and sets it as the detection area for the next input. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to an input device, an input reception processing method, and an input reception processing program that detect input to a key displayed on a screen and input operation information.

  For example, a touch panel input device is known as an input device for inputting operation information using a Graphical User Interface (GUI). The touch panel input device is an area on the touch panel corresponding to the display area of the key by installing the touch panel on a display device (for example, Liquid Crystal Display, hereinafter referred to as LCD) that displays keys for instructing operations. An operation instruction is given by touching with a finger or the like.

  Normally, as shown in FIG. 19A, the display area of the key on the LCD and the detection area on the touch panel for detecting the selection of the key (hereinafter referred to as detection area) are substantially the same. ing. Therefore, if a part of the key display area is touched, it is detected that the key is touched. However, when the user actually uses the touch panel input device, the user may not be able to accurately touch the display area of the key aimed at the touch, and the touch may become invalid.

  As a first example, a case where the user cannot stand in front of the touch panel input device and operates the screen while viewing the screen of the touch panel input device from an oblique direction is conceivable. For example, when the user performs an operation while viewing the screen from the right side, the user tends to touch the right side of the target key display area. As a second example, a case where a key displayed on the edge of the screen of the touch panel input device is touched can be considered. Usually, since there is a step between the touch panel portion of the touch panel input device and the outer casing portion, the user may not be able to touch the target key display area well because the step is an obstacle. Further, when the user avoids the step, the user tends to touch the side closer to the center of the screen than the target key display area. As a third example, there may be a case where the user has a habit. For example, there is a user who has a habit of touching the left side of the target key display area. In the case of the first to third examples, there is a problem that the user cannot touch the intended key, no matter how many times the user touches, and feels great stress.

  Therefore, techniques for solving the above problems have been proposed. According to the technique described in Patent Document 1, the user's gaze direction is estimated, and the key detection area is expanded in the gaze direction. Therefore, even when a position slightly deviated from the display area of the key is touched, it is detected that the key on the side far from the user is touched, so the probability that the key aimed by the user is selected by input ( (Hereinafter referred to as key selectivity).

  According to the technique described in Patent Document 2, when there is an area that does not correspond to any key detection area (hereinafter referred to as an invalid detection area) around the key display area, the invalid detection area is used. The key detection area is expanded more than the key display area. Therefore, even when a position slightly deviated from the key display area is touched, it is detected that the key adjacent to the touched position is touched, so that the key selectivity can be improved.

JP-A-8-95708 JP 2005-284379 A

  However, according to the technique described in Patent Document 1, when the cause of deteriorating the key selectivity is the user's line-of-sight direction as in the first example, the key selectivity can be improved. In the case of the second and third examples, the key selectivity cannot be improved. When a plurality of keys are displayed on the same screen, an invalid detection area is generally installed between detection areas corresponding to the keys. The invalid detection area is mainly set to prevent the user from detecting that a key different from the target key has been selected (hereinafter referred to as “false detection”). Decreasing the distance between the key detection area and the key to be detected causes the probability of erroneous detection to occur (hereinafter referred to as erroneous detection). Therefore, according to the technique described in Patent Document 1 that estimates the user's line-of-sight direction and uniformly expands the key detection area, there is a problem that the misdetectability deteriorates while the key selectivity is improved.

  Similarly, the technique described in Patent Document 2 has a problem that the key detection area is expanded before a user input is performed in advance, so that the key selectivity is improved while the false detection performance is deteriorated.

  An object of the present invention is, for example, in a touch panel input device in which an LCD and a touch panel are integrated, the size of the key detection area is changed by changing the size of the key detection area according to the input result of the user's touch panel. Is appropriately changed to provide an input device, an input reception processing method, and an input reception processing program capable of achieving both improvement in key selectivity and suppression of deterioration in false detection performance.

The above problem is solved by the following means.
(1) Display means for displaying a screen including at least one key, input accepting means for accepting input of coordinates on the screen, and coordinates of the input when the input is accepted by the input accepting means And a detection area for detecting that the key displayed by the display means is selected, and a key selection determining means for determining which key is selected, and the key selection determining means When it is determined that no key is selected, the input device further includes a first detection area extending unit that expands the detection area of the key displayed on the screen and sets it as a new detection area.

  (2) The input device according to (1), wherein the first detection area extending unit extends only a detection area of a key located within a predetermined distance from the coordinate received by the input receiving unit.

  (3) The input device according to (1), wherein the first detection area extending unit extends only a key detection area located at a shortest distance from the coordinates at which the input receiving unit has received an input.

  (4) The input device according to (1), wherein the first detection area extending unit extends detection areas of all keys included in the screen displayed on the display unit.

  (5) The first detection area extending means extends the key detection area so as to extend only a portion of the outer periphery of the key detection area facing the coordinates received by the input receiving means. The input device according to any one of (1) to (4).

  (6) The input device according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein the first detection area extending unit extends the entire outer periphery of the key detection area.

  (7) The first detection area expanding unit expands the key detection area so that the key closer to the coordinate received by the input receiving unit has a larger expanded width and the farther the key, the smaller the expanded width. The input device according to any one of (1) to (6).

  (8) For a key whose detection area is expanded before the input when the input receiving unit receives an input and the key selection determining unit determines that no key is selected. The input device according to any one of (1) to (7), further including detection area reduction means for reducing a detection area that has been expanded before.

  (9) The detection area reduction means is configured such that the outer peripheral part of the detection area to be expanded by the input of the key whose detection area has been expanded before the input is the outer peripheral part of the detection area expanded by the immediately preceding input. The input device according to (8), wherein the expanded detection area is reduced when the detection area is different from the input area.

  (10) When the input accepting means accepts an input and the coordinates input immediately before are outside a predetermined distance from the coordinates input this time, the key whose detection area has been expanded before the input is as follows: The input device according to any one of (1) to (9), further including first detection area initialization means for initializing a detection area that has been expanded before the input.

  (11) When the input receiving unit receives an input and the key selection determining unit determines that any key is selected, the input of the key whose detection area has been expanded before the input The input device according to any one of (1) to (10), further including a second detection area initializing unit that initializes an extended area of the detection area that has been extended previously.

  (12) The input accepting means accepts an input, and it is determined by the key selection determining means that any key is selected, and the coordinates of the input are based on an initial detection area where the selected key is not expanded. The input device according to (11), further comprising second detection area expanding means for expanding a key detection area on the screen displayed in response to selection of the key when the key is outside.

  (13) a step of displaying a screen including at least one or more keys; an input receiving step of receiving an input of coordinates on the screen; and when there is the input reception, displaying the coordinates of the input and the screen The key selection determination step for comparing the detection area for detecting that the selected key is selected and determining which key is selected, and any key is selected in the key selection determination step. An input method comprising: a detection area extending step of expanding a detection area of a key displayed on the screen to be a new detection area when it is determined that there is no such area.

  (14) a step of displaying a screen including at least one or more keys; an input receiving step of receiving an input of coordinates on the screen; and when there is the input reception, displaying the coordinates of the input and the screen The key selection determination step for comparing the detection area for detecting that the selected key is selected and determining which key is selected, and any key is selected in the key selection determination step. An input program including a detection area expansion step of expanding a detection area of a key displayed on the screen to be a new detection area when it is determined that there is no such area.

  According to the invention described in (1) above, when there is an input to the invalidity detection area (hereinafter referred to as invalid input), that is, there is a cause of deteriorating the key selectivity, and the intended key display area is accurately set. When the touch cannot be performed, the key detection area is expanded, so that the key selectivity at the next input can be improved. Further, since the input to the invalidity detection area is treated as an invalid input to the last, the user can recognize that his / her input could not touch the key display area accurately. Therefore, it is possible to cause the user to feel that the display area of the key is to be touched accurately at the next input, and it is possible to suppress the deterioration of the misdetectability.

  According to the invention described in (2) above, the keys for expanding the detection area can be limited to keys displayed around the coordinates where invalid input has been made (hereinafter referred to as invalid input coordinates). The key targeted by the user when touching is highly likely to be a key displayed around the invalid input coordinates, and is unlikely to be a key displayed away from the invalid input coordinates. Therefore, even if the keys for expanding the detection area are limited to the keys displayed around the invalid input coordinates, there is an effect of improving the key selectivity at the next input. In addition, by not extending the key detection area displayed away from the invalid input coordinates, the detection error deterioration caused by extending the key detection area unrelated to the target key is reduced. Can be suppressed.

  According to the invention described in (3) above, the key for expanding the detection area can be limited to the key displayed closest to the invalid input coordinates. The key that the user aimed at touching is likely to be the key closest to the invalid input coordinates, and even if the key that expands the detection area is limited to this key, the key selectivity at the next input is improved. There is an effect to improve. In addition, by not expanding the detection area other than the key displayed closest to the invalid input coordinates, it suppresses the deterioration of misdetection caused by extending the detection area of the key unrelated to the key aimed by the user. can do.

  According to the invention as described in said (4), the detection area of all the keys displayed on LCD can be expanded. Therefore, after the user makes an invalid input around the key in an attempt to touch a certain key on the screen, an input for determining that the key has been selected (hereinafter referred to as a valid input) is performed. When an attempt is made to touch a key displayed at a distant position, the selectivity of a key to be touched later can be improved.

  According to the invention described in (5), it is possible to expand only the portion facing the invalid input coordinates in the outer periphery of the key detection area. The cause of the deterioration of the key selectivity described above is whether the user's line-of-sight direction (first example) or the key display position (second example) is the user's eyelid (third example). However, it is highly possible that the input aimed at a certain key becomes an invalid input, and the position where the user touches the key again deviates in the same direction as the previous invalid input with respect to the display of the key. Therefore, even if the part that extends the detection area is limited to the outer periphery facing the invalid input coordinates, there is an effect of improving the key selectivity at the next input. Further, by not expanding the detection area of the outer peripheral portion that does not face the invalid input coordinates, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of the misdetection that occurs by extending the detection area of the outer peripheral portion that has little effect of improving the key selectivity. it can.

  According to the invention described in (6) above, it is possible to extend all the outer peripheral detection areas of the key without depending on the positional relationship between the invalid input and the key display. Instead of a user who touches a position shifted in a certain direction with respect to the target key display as in the third example, for example, each time the user touches and touches the periphery of the key display appropriately Even if the user has a different direction of key displacement, the key selectivity can be improved. In addition, when the cause of the deterioration of key selectivity is the key display position as in the second example, the direction in which the user touch position deviates from the key display may be different for each key. is there. Therefore, when the user makes an invalid input around the key aiming at a certain key on the screen, and then makes an effective input to the key, and then tries to touch another key different from the key, Even when the first touched key and the later touched key are different from each other in the direction in which the touch position of the user deviates from the display, the selectivity of the key to be touched later can be improved.

  According to the invention described in (7) above, the extended width of the key detection area displayed near the invalid input coordinates is increased, and the extended width of the key detection area displayed far from the invalid input coordinates is further increased. Can be small. Keys near the invalid input coordinates are likely to be the keys that the user aimed at touching, and the key selection at the next input is improved by increasing the expansion width of the keys near the invalid input coordinates. There is an effect to. In addition, by reducing the extension width of the key detection area displayed far from the invalid input coordinates, it is possible to generate errors caused by excessively expanding the key detection area that is unlikely to be the key targeted by the user. Deterioration of detectability can be suppressed.

  According to the invention described in (8) above, when invalid input is repeated, the influence of the expanded width expanded at the newer invalid input is increased, and the influence of the expanded width expanded at the older invalid input. Can be reduced. The new invalid input is likely to have been made by the user trying to select the key that the user is currently aiming at, and by increasing the influence of the expanded width expanded at the new invalid input, the key selectivity at the next input is increased. There is an effect to improve. On the other hand, the key that the user aimed at the old invalid input is unlikely to be the same as the current target key, and it is the same as the current target key by reducing the expansion width expanded at the old invalid input. It is possible to suppress deterioration in misdetection caused by leaving the expanded width of the detection area expanded at the time of input aiming at a key having a low possibility of being present. Further, as another effect, it is possible to prevent the area on the screen from being filled with the expanded detection area.

  According to the invention described in (9) above, when the direction from which the current invalid input is removed differs from the direction from which the previous input is removed from the key display, the influence of the expansion width of the detection area by the previous input is different. The degree can be reduced. If the previous input and the current invalid input have the same misalignment direction with respect to the key display, there is a high possibility that the previous key and the current input aimed at the same key. By leaving the key without reducing it, there is an effect of improving the key selectivity at the next input. On the other hand, if the direction of the key display is different between the previous input and the current invalid input, it is unlikely that the previous key and the current input aimed at the same key, and the previous invalid input By reducing the extension width, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of misdetection that occurs when the extension width is left as it is.

  According to the invention described in (10) above, when the invalid input coordinate of this time is away from the previous input coordinate, the extended width of the detection area by the previous input can be initialized. If the current input and the previous input are more than a certain distance apart, it is unlikely that the key that the user aimed at the previous input is the same as the key that was targeted at the current input. By initializing the expansion width by, it suppresses the deterioration of misdetection caused by leaving the expanded width as it is when inputting a key that is not related to the key that the user is currently aiming at be able to.

  According to the invention described in (11) above, when a valid input is made with respect to a certain key on the screen, the extended width of the detection area by the previous input can be initialized. The effective input means that the user has reached the purpose of touching the target key, and it is unlikely that the same key will be touched again at the next input, and the extension width by the previous input is initialized. By doing so, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of misdetection caused by leaving the detection area expanded at the time of input aiming at a key having a low relation with the key aimed at the next input.

  According to the invention described in (12) above, when the coordinates at the time of valid input (hereinafter referred to as valid input coordinates) deviate from the initial detection area (reference detection area) of the key for which valid input has been made, The key detection area on the screen displayed according to the input can be expanded. In general, since the reference detection area substantially coincides with the display area of the key, if the effective input coordinates are out of the reference detection area of the key, the next time the expanded detection area is initialized by the effective input, Even when a new key is touched, the key detection area cannot be touched and there is a high possibility of invalid input. Therefore, there is an effect of improving the key selectivity by expanding the detection area before the next input. Also, if the effective input coordinates are within the key reference detection area, there is no cause to deteriorate the key selectivity, or there is a cause to deteriorate the key selectivity. The key display area is highly likely to be touched at the next input, and the key selectivity is not lowered even if the detection area is not expanded before the next input. In addition, when the effective input coordinates are within the key reference detection area, the detection area is not expanded, so that it is possible to suppress the deterioration of misdetection caused by excessively expanding the detection area.

  According to the invention described in (13) above, when there is an input to the invalid detection area, that is, when there is a cause of deteriorating the key selectivity, the key detection area cannot be accurately touched. Since the area is expanded, the key selectivity at the next input can be improved. Further, since the input to the invalidity detection area is treated as an invalid input to the last, the user can recognize that his / her input could not touch the key display area accurately. Therefore, it is possible to cause the user to feel that the display area of the key is to be touched accurately at the next input, and it is possible to suppress the deterioration of the misdetectability.

  According to the invention described in (14), when there is a step of displaying a screen including at least one key, an input receiving step of receiving an input of coordinates on the screen, and the input receiving, In the key selection determination step for determining which key is selected by comparing the coordinates and the detection area for detecting that the key displayed on the screen is selected, When it is determined that a key is not selected, the detection area of the key displayed on the screen is expanded, and a detection area expansion step for making a new detection area can be executed by the computer.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a Multi Function Peripheral (hereinafter referred to as MFP) provided with a touch panel input device, which is one embodiment of the input device of the present invention. The MFP is an image forming apparatus having functions such as copying, scanning, faxing, and network printing, and mainly includes a scanner unit 101 and a printer unit 102. The touch panel input device 103 is installed on the upper surface of the MFP. A scanner unit 101 converts a document transport unit 113 that transports a document, a scanner optical unit 104 that propagates light that has read the document, and light transmitted from the scanner optical unit 104 into an electrical signal (analog signal), and further converts it into a digital signal. An analog processing unit 105 for conversion, an input image processing unit 106 that performs image processing of a digital signal sent from the analog processing unit 105, an image storage unit 107 that stores image data sent from the input image processing unit 106, and the like. The printer unit 102 includes an output image processing unit 108 that performs image processing on image data sent from the image storage unit 107, a semiconductor laser unit 109 that outputs a laser beam in accordance with a signal sent from the output image processing unit 108, and a semiconductor laser unit. The electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum by the laser beam sent from 109 is developed with toner, and the toner image is transferred onto the paper to form an image, and the paper is stored. The paper cassette unit 111 and the paper discharge unit 112 for discharging paper are configured.

  FIG. 2 is a plan view of the touch panel input device 103. The touch panel input device 103 receives an operation setting value setting and an operation start instruction for the MFP. The touch panel input device 103 includes a start key 201 for instructing an operation start, a stop key 202 for instructing an operation stop, a reset key 203 for initializing operation settings, and a function selection for selecting a function. It comprises a key 204, a numeric keypad 205 for inputting numerical values, hard keys such as a clear key 206 for clearing the input numerical values, and an LCD 207. For example, a resistance conversion type touch panel 309 is attached to the surface of the LCD 207.

  FIG. 3 is a control system block diagram of the touch panel input device 103. The panel processing control unit 301 is a CPU, and is connected to the display unit 302, the input receiving unit 303, the storage unit 304, and the main body control unit 305, and controls the entire touch panel device. The panel processing control unit 301 reads the operation program and the initial setting value from the storage unit 304, receives a signal from the input reception unit 303, transmits / receives information to / from the main body control unit 305, and controls display on the display unit 302. I do. In addition, information such as a set value that has been set is written to the storage unit 304, and information is read from the storage unit 304 as necessary. A display unit 302 displays an operation mode and setting values, an LCD 207, a VRAM 306 that stores image data to be displayed on the LCD 207, an LCD controller 307 for controlling the LCD 207, an LCD backlight 308 that illuminates the LCD 207, and the state of the MFP. For the LED 208 and so on. The input receiving unit 303 includes a touch panel 309 installed on the LCD 207, hard keys 310 such as a start key 201 and a stop key 202, and the like. The storage unit 304 includes a ROM 311 that stores an operation program of the panel processing control unit 301, a work area for executing processing, and a RAM 312 that temporarily stores information used in processing.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the principle of the resistance conversion type touch panel 309. A resistance conversion type touch panel is obtained by stacking two transparent conductive films in which resistors are arranged in parallel at regular intervals with an insulating spacer interposed therebetween. The resistors are arranged at regular intervals in the horizontal (X) and vertical (Y) directions to form a matrix. When the user touches any position on the touch panel, a resistance value corresponding to the position is generated. The resistance value is converted into digital data by an analog-to-digital (A / D) conversion circuit, thereby obtaining data that can be processed by the panel processing control unit 301.

  5 to 7, 9 to 11, 15, 17, and 18 are flowcharts for explaining the processing contents of the embodiment of the present invention. Before describing each flowchart, an outline of the entire process will be described.

  When there is an input on the touch panel 309 and the input is invalid, a process for expanding the key detection area displayed around the input is performed (step S609 in FIG. 11), and the key for the next input is performed. Increase selectivity. If the key detection area displayed on the screen has already been expanded before the input (YES in step S601 in FIG. 11), the same key is used for the input and the previous input. It is determined whether or not the input is aimed at (steps S602 to S605 in FIG. 11). If it is determined that the possibility is low, a process for initializing the extended detection area before the input is performed (step S606 in FIG. 11), and the possibility is determined to be medium. In step S607, the expanded detection area before the input is reduced (step S607 in FIG. 11). If it is determined that the possibility is high, the extended detection area before the input is used as it is. By leaving it, it is possible to improve the key selectivity at the next input and prevent the deterioration of the misdetectability.

  Further, when a valid input is made after the detection area has been expanded by the expansion process at the time of invalid input, a process for initializing the detection areas of all keys displayed on the screen is performed (step of FIG. 15). S703), preventing the deterioration of misdetection at the next input. Further, it is determined whether or not the coordinates of the input are inside the reference detection area of the key selected by the input (step S701 in FIG. 15), and when it is determined that the coordinates are not inside (in step S701 in FIG. 15). Only for (NO), a process for expanding the detection area is performed (step S702 in FIG. 15 and step S902 in FIG. 18), and the key selectivity at the next input is improved.

  Further, when a hard key is input after the detection area is expanded by the expansion process, a process for initializing the detection areas of all keys displayed on the screen is performed (step S801 in FIG. 17). Prevents the deterioration of false detection at the next input.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the panel processing control unit 301. The panel processing control unit 301 reads a program recorded in the ROM 311 and performs processing described in each flowchart based on the program. This will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  When the power is turned on, initialization is performed (step S101), and a timer built in the panel processing control unit 301 is started (step S102). The timer time setting is stored in advance in the ROM 311 and is set in the panel processing control unit 301 at the time of initial setting in step S101. Subsequently, a display control process for controlling the display unit 302 is performed (step S103). Details of the processing in step S103 will be described later. Subsequently, an input control process for controlling the input receiving unit 303 is performed (step S104). Details of the processing in step S104 will be described later. Subsequently, processing other than the display control processing and the input control processing is performed (step S105). Then, it is determined whether or not the timer started in S102 has expired (step S106). If the timer has not expired (NO in step S106), the process waits, and if the timer has expired (step S106). In step S106, the process returns to step S102, and the processes from step S102 to step S106 are repeated.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the subroutine process of the display control process in step S103 of the flowchart shown in FIG. In the processing of this flowchart, it is determined whether or not there is an instruction for changing the display of the LED (208) and the LCD (207) from the main body control unit 305, and if there is an instruction, the display is based on the instruction. Make changes. This will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, it is determined whether an instruction to change lighting of the LED 208 is issued from the main body control unit 305 (step S201). The LED lighting change instruction is transmitted from the main body control unit 305 to the panel processing control unit 301 in order to notify the change condition of the LED 208 lighting state when the state of the MFP changes and the display of the LED 208 should be changed. . When the LED 208 lighting change instruction is issued (YES in step S201), the LED 208 lighting change process is performed (step S202). In the LED lighting change process, a lighting control signal is output to the LED 208 based on the lighting change instruction received from the main body control unit 305. As a result, the lighting color of the LED 208 changes, or the lighting / extinguishing state of the LED 208 is switched. On the other hand, if the LED 208 lighting change instruction has not been issued (NO in step S201), the process of step S202 is not performed, and the process proceeds to step S203.

  In step S203, it is determined whether a display change instruction for the LCD 207 has been issued from the main body control unit 305. An instruction to change the display on the LCD 207 is transmitted from the main body control unit 305 to the panel processing control unit 301 to inform the change condition of the display state of the LCD 207 when the state of the MFP changes and the display on the LCD 207 should be changed. The If a display change instruction for the LCD 207 has been issued (YES in step S203), a display change process for the LCD 207 is performed (step S204), the subroutine ends, and the routine returns to the routine shown in FIG. Details of the processing in step S204 will be described later. If a display change instruction has not been issued (NO in step S203), the process in step S204 is not performed, the subroutine ends, and the process returns to the routine shown in FIG.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a subroutine process of the LCD display change process in step S204 of the flowchart shown in FIG. The process of this flowchart is a process performed when an instruction to change the display of the LCD 207 is issued from the main body control unit 305, and receives image information and detection area information displayed on the LCD 207 from the main body control unit 305. When the inputted input satisfies a certain condition, the detection area is expanded. This will be described below with reference to a flowchart.

  First, image information on the screen displayed on the LCD 207 is received from the main body control unit 305 and written in the VRAM 306 (step S301). Then, detection area information for detecting that a key displayed on the screen is selected is received from the main body control unit 305 (step S302).

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating detection area information. The position on the touch panel is expressed by coordinates of 0 to 255 in the horizontal direction (X direction) and 0 to 255 in the vertical direction (Y direction). Therefore, the key detection area is designated using the coordinate values on the touch panel. When the shape of the detection area is rectangular, the detection area can be specified by specifying the coordinates of two points on the diagonal line. FIG. 8 shows an example in which the detection area is designated by the coordinates of the upper left end point and the lower right end point. The detection area expansion / reduction process described later is performed by changing a coordinate value for designating the detection area.

  Returning to FIG. 7, the detection area received in step S <b> 302 is referred to as a reference detection area in the sense that it is a detection area that has not been expanded by the expansion process described later. The panel processing control unit 301 writes the reference detection area information in an area for storing the reference detection area secured on the RAM 312. Subsequently, in step S303, processing for extending the detection area is performed. This processing is called initial expansion processing in the sense of processing for expanding the initial detection area received from the main body processing control unit 305. In the initial expansion process, the reference detection area is expanded to the current detection area only when the previously input satisfies a certain condition, and the reference detection area when the previously input does not satisfy the certain condition. Is set as the current detection area. Since the detection area is a dynamic area that changes according to the initial expansion process, other expansion processes described later, and the reduction process, the detection area at the time of the process is referred to as a current detection area. The panel processing control unit 301 writes the information on the current detection area in the area for storing the current detection area information secured on the RAM 312. Details of the processing in step S303 will be described later. Thus, the subroutine ends and returns to the routine shown in FIG.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a subroutine process of the input control process in step S104 of the flowchart shown in FIG. In the process of this flowchart, it is determined whether or not there is an input to the hard key 310 and the touch panel 309. If there is an input, the input process is performed. This will be described below with reference to a flowchart.

  First, it is determined whether or not there is an input from the hard key 310 (step S401). If there is an input from the hard key 310 (YES in step S401), a hard key input process is performed (step S402). The subroutine ends and returns to the routine shown in FIG. Details of the processing in step S402 will be described later. On the other hand, if it is determined that the hard key 310 has not been input (NO in step S401), it is determined whether or not an input from the touch panel 309 has been performed (step S403). If an input is made from the touch panel 309 (YES in step S403), touch panel input processing is performed (step S404), the subroutine ends, and the routine returns to the routine shown in FIG. Details of the processing in step S404 will be described later. If there is no input from the touch panel 309 (NO in step S403), the process of step S404 is not performed, the subroutine ends, and the process returns to the routine shown in FIG.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the subroutine process of the touch panel input process in step S404 of the flowchart shown in FIG. In the processing of this flowchart, it is determined whether or not the input coordinates of the touch panel 309 are included in the current detection area of the key displayed on the screen, and when the input coordinates are included in the current detection area of any key. When valid input processing is performed and the input coordinates are not included in the current detection area of any key, invalid input processing is performed. This will be described below with reference to a flowchart.

  First, an output signal from the touch panel 309 is converted into coordinate information on the touch panel (step S501). Since the resistance value output from the touch panel 309 and the touched position have a one-to-one correspondence as described above, the touched coordinate can be uniquely calculated from the resistance value. The calculated coordinates are called input coordinates. The following is a loop process performed for each key displayed on the LCD 207. First, the input coordinates are compared with the current detection area of the key, and it is determined whether or not the input coordinates are included in the current detection area of the key (step S502). The process of step S502 is repeated for each key, and when it is determined that the input coordinates are not included in the current detection area of all the keys displayed on the LCD 207 (NO in step S502), an “LCD display key loop” is displayed. The process ends, invalid input processing is performed (step S504), the subroutine ends, and the process returns to the routine shown in FIG. Details of the processing in step S504 will be described later. If it is determined that the input coordinates are within the current detection area of any of the keys displayed on the LCD 207 (YES in step S502), valid input processing is performed (step S503), and the subroutine ends, and FIG. Return to the routine described in. Details of the processing in step S503 will be described later.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart of the subroutine processing of invalid input processing in step S504 of the flowchart shown in FIG. The process of this flowchart is a process performed after invalid input is performed, and a process of expanding the current detection area of the key displayed around the coordinates input by the invalid input is performed (step S609). If the current detection area of the key displayed on the screen has already been expanded before the invalid input is made (YES in step S601), the input and the previous input are aimed at the same key. It is determined whether the input is likely to be input (steps S602 to S605). If it is determined that the possibility is low, a process for initializing the extended current detection area before the input is performed (step S606), and if the possibility is determined to be medium, A process for reducing the expanded current detection area before the input is performed (step S607), and when it is determined that the possibility is high, the expanded current detection area before the input is left as it is. The extension process is performed on the current detection area of the processing result (step S609). If the current detection area of the key displayed on the screen is not expanded before the invalid input is made (NO in step S601), the current detection area is not initialized or reduced, and the invalid input is performed. An expansion process is performed on the current detection area at the time (step S609).

  The following is a loop process performed for each key displayed on the LCD 207. First, it is determined whether or not the current detection area of the key to be processed has been expanded (step S601). It can be determined whether or not the reference detection area stored on the RAM 312 has been expanded by comparing the information on the reference detection area and the current detection area. If it is determined that the current detection area of the key has already been expanded (YES in step S601), it is determined whether or not the previous input is an invalid input (step S602). If it is determined that the previous input is an invalid input (YES in step S602), it is determined whether or not the previous input coordinate is within a predetermined distance from the current input coordinate (step S603). Based on this determination, it is determined whether the previous input and the current input are inputs aimed at the same key. An area within the predetermined distance is called an identity determination area. If the immediately preceding input coordinates are within the identity determination area (YES in step S603), the immediately preceding input and the current input are regarded as inputs aimed at the same key, and the immediately preceding input coordinates are determined as identity. If it is not within the area (NO in step S603), the previous input and the current input are regarded as inputs aimed at different keys.

  If it is determined in step S603 that the immediately preceding input is within the identity determination area (YES in step S603), it is determined whether or not the processing target key is a target for performing an extension process on the current detection area. (Step S604). In step S604, it is determined whether or not the display area of the key is subject to the expansion process depending on whether or not the key display area is within a predetermined distance from the current input coordinates. An area within the predetermined distance is referred to as a selection determination area. When a part of the display area of the key is included in the selection determination area, it is considered that the input this time is likely to have been aimed at the key, and the key is a target for the expansion process of the current detection area. Judge. If any part of the display area of the key is not included in the selection determination area, it is considered that the current input is unlikely to have been aimed at the key, and the key is subject to the expansion process of the current detection area. Judge that it is not. When it is determined that the key to be processed is a target for the expansion process of the current detection area (YES in step S604), an outer peripheral part to be expanded by the current input in the outer periphery of the key current detection area; It is determined whether or not the outer peripheral portion expanded by the immediately preceding input matches (step S605).

  In the present embodiment, in the current detection area expansion process, not all of the outer periphery of the current detection area is expanded, but only the current detection area of the outer peripheral portion facing the input coordinate direction is expanded. FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining a method of determining an outer peripheral portion to be expanded out of the outer periphery of the current detection region.

  FIG. 12A is a diagram illustrating a method for determining the direction of input coordinates with respect to a key. In the figure, the inside of the solid line is the key display area, the inside of the broken line is the current detection area of the key, PT0 is the reference point of the key display area, PTin is the input coordinate, L0 is the horizontal reference line of the touch panel coordinates, Lin Indicates a line connecting the reference point of the key display area and the input coordinates. The direction of the input coordinates with respect to the key is an angle θ formed by L0 and Lin. In this embodiment, the reference point of the key display area is the barycentric point of the key display area. However, the reference point is not limited to the barycentric point. For example, the upper left corner of the key display area may be the reference point. There is no particular limitation.

  FIGS. 12B and 12C are diagrams for explaining a method of determining the outer peripheral portion that extends the current detection area from the direction of the input coordinates with respect to the key. As shown in FIG. 12B, line segments L1 and L0 intersecting 360 degrees around the reference point at an angle of L0 and 15 degrees (θ1) and L0 and 75 degrees (θ2). Segment L3 intersecting at an angle of 105 degrees (θ3), line segment L4 intersecting at an angle of 165 degrees (θ4) with L0, and line segments L5, L0 and 255 intersecting with L0 at an angle of 195 ° (θ5) The line segment L6 intersects at an angle of θ (θ6), the line segment L7 intersects with L0 at an angle of 285 degrees, and the line segment L8 intersects with L0 at an angle of 345 degrees. The direction condition between L8 and L1 is θ81, the direction condition between L1 and L2 is θ12, the direction condition between L2 and L3 is θ23, the direction condition between L3 and L4 is θ34, L4 and L5. It is assumed that the direction condition sandwiched between θ45, the direction condition sandwiched between L5 and L6 is θ56, the direction condition sandwiched between L6 and L7 is θ67, and the direction condition sandwiched between L7 and L8 is θ78. FIG. 12C is a table showing the relationship between the direction condition and the outer peripheral part that extends the current detection area, and the outer peripheral part that extends the current detection area is determined based on the table. For example, when the direction of the input coordinate is 10 degrees, it is included in the direction condition of θ81, and the outer peripheral part that extends the current detection area is the right side.

  12D to 12F are diagrams for explaining the relationship between the direction of the input coordinates with respect to the key and the result of expansion of the current detection area. FIG. 12D shows a case where there is an input at the position of the point A. Since the direction of the point A with respect to the key is 5 degrees (θA) and 5 degrees (θA) is included in the direction condition of θ81, the right side of the current detection area is expanded. FIG. 12E shows a case where the point B is input. The direction of the point B with respect to the key is 25 degrees (θB), and 25 degrees (θB) is included in the direction condition of θ12, so the upper side and the right side of the current detection area are expanded. FIG. 12 (f) shows a case where there is an input at point C. The direction of the point C with respect to the key is 200 degrees (θC), and 200 degrees (θC) is included in the direction condition of θ56, so the left side and the lower side of the current detection area are expanded.

  In this embodiment, the case where the shape of the reference detection area of the key is a rectangle is illustrated, but the shape of the reference detection area is a shape other than a rectangle such as a circle, an ellipse, a rectangle with rounded corners, a triangle, or the like. There is no particular limitation. Even in that case, the outer peripheral portion facing the direction of the input coordinates can be determined based on the same idea as described in FIG. What is necessary is just to change the relationship between each direction condition described in FIG.12 (c), and the outer peripheral part which expands the present detection area for every shape of a reference | standard detection area. FIG. 12G shows an example of the result of extending the current detection area when the shape of the key reference detection area is circular.

  In the present invention, since the shape of the reference detection area of the key is not limited to a rectangle, it is accurate to express the “outer peripheral part that extends the detection area” as described above. However, in this embodiment, the key detection area is In order to describe the case of a rectangle, for the convenience of expression, the expression “side extending the detection area” is used below. However, the expression “side extending the detection area” should not be considered to be limited to the case where the shape of the key detection area targeted by the present invention is rectangular.

  Returning to FIG. 11, in step S605, if the side to be expanded by the current input matches the side expanded by the previous invalid input, the right side is expanded by the previous input, and the right side is also input by this input. If the left side and the top side are expanded by the previous input, and the left side and the top side are expanded by the current input, the side expanded by the previous input and the current input is completely Say that they match. Therefore, when the left side is expanded by the previous input and the left side and the upper side are expanded by the current input, it is determined that they do not match. Also, if the current detection area is not expanded by the previous input and any side is expanded by the current input, it is determined that they do not match.

  If it is determined in step S602 that the previous input is not an invalid input (NO in step S602), or if it is determined in step S603 that the previous input coordinates are not within the identity determination area (in step S603). In NO), a process for initializing the current detection area of the key to be processed is performed (step S606). Specifically, a process for making the current detection area of the key the same as the reference detection area is performed. If it is determined in step S604 that the processing target key is not the target of the current detection area expansion process (NO in step S604), or in step S605, the side to be expanded by the current input is the previous input. When it is determined that the side does not coincide with the extended side (NO in step S605), a process of reducing the current detection area of the key is performed (step S607). The reduction process is performed by a method of narrowing the current detection region of the already expanded side by a certain width in the normal direction of the side. In the reduction process, the side of the current detection area is prevented from entering the side of the reference detection area of the key. Specifically, when the side of the current detection area after reduction enters the inside of the side of the reference detection area of the key, the reduced side is expanded until it becomes equal to the side of the reference detection area.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the current detection area reduction processing in step S607. In the figure, the inside of the one-dot chain line frame indicates the current detection area before the reduction process, the inside of the solid line frame indicates the reference detection area, and the inside of the broken line frame indicates the current detection area after the reduction process. FIG. 13A shows a state in which the current detection area is narrowed by a certain width in the normal direction of the side. FIG. 13B shows an example in which the side of the current detection area after reduction enters the inside of the side of the reference detection area. In this example, the left side and the lower side of the current detection area after reduction enter the inside of the side of the reference detection area. FIG. 13C shows a state in which the reduced side that has entered the inside of the reference detection area is expanded until it becomes equal to the side of the reference detection area. In this example, the left side and the lower side of the current detection area after reduction are expanded until they become equal to the left side and the lower side of the reference detection area. By the processing, the side of the current detection area after the reduction is prevented from entering the inside of the side of the reference detection area.

  If it is determined in step S601 that the current detection area of the key to be processed has not been expanded before input (NO in step S601), or the side to be expanded by the current invalid input in step S605 is If it is determined that the side is coincident with the extended side due to invalid input (YES in step S605), the current detection area initialization process (step S606) and the current detection process reduction process (step S607) are not performed. It is determined whether or not the key is a target for performing an expansion process of the current detection area (step S608). The determination method is the same as that in step S604, and a description thereof will be omitted. If it is determined that the key is an object to be subjected to the process of extending the current detection area (YES in step S608), a process of extending the current detection area of the key is performed (step S609). In the expansion process, only the current detection area of the side facing the input coordinate direction among the sides of the key is expanded. The method for determining the side to be extended is the same as S605, and a description thereof will be omitted. In the expansion method, the current detection area of the side to be expanded is expanded by a certain width in the normal direction of the side. In the extension process, the side of the current detection area after extension enters inside the side of the current detection area of a key other than the key displayed on the screen (that is, overlaps with the current detection area of another key). To prevent. Specifically, when the side of the current detection area after expansion has entered the side of the current detection area of another key, the side of the current detection area of the other key is replaced with the side of the current detection area of the other key. Until it is outside (ie, until the overlap is eliminated).

  FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining the current detection area expansion processing in step S609. In the figure, the inside of the one-dot chain line frame indicates the current detection area before expansion, the inside of the solid line frame indicates the reference detection area, and the inside of the broken line frame indicates the current detection area after expansion. FIG. 14A shows the state of the current detection area before the expansion process. FIG. 14B shows the state of the expansion process when KEY00 is the processing target key and the sides to be extended are the upper side and the right side. In the figure, the current detection area is expanded in the direction of the arrow, and the right side of the current detection area after expansion extends inside the side of the current detection area of KEY01. FIG. 14C shows a state in which the right side of the current detection area after extension of KEY00 is reduced to the outside of the side of the current detection area of KEY01. By the above process, the side of the current detection area after expansion is prevented from entering the side of the current detection area of another key.

  Returning to FIG. 11, when the current detection area expansion process in step S609 ends, the process for one key ends, and the process proceeds to the process for the next key. If it is determined in step S608 that the processing target key is not the target for the current detection area expansion process (NO in step S608), the current detection area expansion process in step S609 is not performed. Proceed to processing of the key. When the processing of steps S601 to 609 is repeated for each key and the processing for all the keys displayed on the LCD 207 is completed, the “LCD display key loop” is terminated, the subroutine is terminated, and the routine shown in FIG. Return to.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart of the subroutine process of the effective input process in step S503 of the flowchart shown in FIG. In the processing of this flowchart, processing for initializing the current detection area of the key displayed on the screen is performed, and information on the selected key is transmitted to the main body control unit 305. Also, it is determined whether or not the input coordinates are within the reference detection area of the selected key. If it is not within the reference detection area, it is used when the current detection area is expanded at the next screen display change. Processing for determining an expansion condition is performed. This will be described below with reference to a flowchart.

  First, it is determined whether or not the input coordinates are within the reference detection area of the key (effective input key) determined to be selected (step S701). If the input coordinates are not within the reference detection area of the valid input key (NO in step S701), an initial expansion condition is determined (step S702). The initial extension condition is a condition used for the extension process of the current detection area, which is performed in the initial extension process of step S303 in the flowchart illustrated in FIG. The conditions include an initial extension direction condition for determining an edge for extending the current detection area and an initial extension width condition for designating the extension width of the current detection area. The initial extension direction condition is determined by the same method as the “direction of input coordinates with respect to the key” described in step S605 of the flowchart illustrated in FIG. The initial extension width condition is an extension width that first includes input coordinates when the side of the reference detection area of the valid input key is extended in the normal direction. Further, when the screen display is changed, an expansion instruction flag indicating that the current detection area should be expanded is set to 1. In this case, 1 indicates that it should be expanded, and 0 indicates that it is not expanded.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a method for determining an initial expansion condition in step S702. In the drawing, the inside of the solid line frame indicates the key display area, the inside of the broken line frame indicates the current detection area of the key, the inside of the alternate long and short dash line frame indicates the key reference detection area, and the black dot indicates the input coordinates. A method for determining the initial expansion condition in the input example of FIG. FIG. 16B shows a method for determining the initial extension direction condition. An angle θ formed by a line segment L1 connecting the reference point PT0 of the key display area and the input coordinates and the horizontal reference line L0 is set as an initial expansion direction condition. FIG. 16C shows a state in which the side of the reference detection area is extended in the normal direction, and is extended in the arrow direction in the figure. FIG. 16D is a diagram for explaining the extension width that will initially include the input coordinates. Let W in the figure be the initial expansion width condition.

  Returning to FIG. 15, if it is determined in step S701 that the coordinates of the valid input are within the reference detection area of the valid input key (YES in step S701), the process proceeds to the next step without performing the process of step S702. . The following is loop processing performed for each key displayed on the LCD 207, and initialization processing of the current detection area of the processing target key is performed (step S703). Specifically, a process for making the current detection area of the key the same as the reference detection area is performed. The processing in step S703 is repeated for each key, and when the processing for all the keys displayed on the LCD 207 is finished, the “LCD display key loop” is finished. Subsequently, information for specifying the valid input key is transmitted to the main body control unit 305 (step S704). With the above processing, the subroutine ends, and the routine returns to the routine shown in FIG.

  FIG. 17 is a flowchart of the subroutine processing of the hard key input processing in step S402 of the flowchart shown in FIG. The process of this flowchart is a process performed when there is an input with a hard key, a process for initializing the current detection area of the key displayed on the LCD 207 is performed, and information on the input hard key is stored in the main body. It transmits to the control part 305. This will be described below with reference to a flowchart.

  The following is loop processing performed for each key displayed on the LCD 207, and initialization processing of the current detection area of the processing target key is performed (step S801). Specifically, a process for making the current detection area of the key the same as the reference detection area is performed. The processing in step S801 is repeated for each key, and when the processing for all the keys displayed on the LCD 207 is completed, the “LCD display key loop” ends. Subsequently, information for specifying the input hard key is transmitted to the main body control unit 305 (step S802). Thus, the subroutine ends and returns to the routine shown in FIG.

  Here, the initial extension process in step S303 of the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 7 will be described. FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating the initial extension process. This will be described below with reference to a flowchart.

  First, it is determined whether or not the expansion instruction flag indicating that the current detection area should be expanded when the screen display is changed (step S901). If the expansion instruction flag is 1 (YES in step S901), the process proceeds to a loop process performed for each key displayed on the LCD below, and the current detection area of the processing target key is expanded according to the initial expansion condition. Is performed (step S902). In this extension process, first, an edge for extending the current detection area is determined from the initial extension direction condition. The method for determining the side is the same as step S605 in the flowchart shown in FIG. Then, the current detection region of the side to be extended is extended by the initial extension width condition in the normal direction of the side. At this time, the side of the expanded current detection area is prevented from entering the side of the current detection area of a key other than the key displayed on the screen. The method is the same as step S609 in the flowchart shown in FIG. The processing in step S902 is repeated for each key, and when the processing for all the keys displayed on the LCD 207 is completed, the “LCD display key loop” ends. In step S903, the extension instruction flag is changed to 0. If the extension flag is 0 in step S901 (NO in step S901), the processes in steps S902 and S903 are not performed. Thus, the subroutine ends and returns to the routine shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, a specific example will be described to explain how the current detection area is changed. Consider the case where the screen of FIG. 19A is displayed on the display means. In FIG. 19, the inside of the solid line frame indicates the key display area, the inside of the broken line frame indicates the current detection area, and the halftone dot portion indicates the invalid detection area that does not correspond to the current detection area of any key.

  When there is an input at the position of point 1 in FIG. 19A, the coordinates of point 1 are not included in the current detection area of any key, so the invalid input process shown in FIG. 11 is performed. FIG. 19B is a diagram for explaining the current detection area changed by the invalid input process. In the course of changing the current detection area from FIG. 19A to FIG. 19B, what processing is performed will be described below in order.

  The loop process of steps S601 to S609 in FIG. 11 is performed for all keys displayed on the LCD 207. First, processing for KEY00 is performed. Since the current detection area is not expanded before the input, the process proceeds to NO in step S601. Since the display area of KEY00 is not in the selection determination area, it is determined that the detection area is not to be expanded, and the process proceeds to NO in step S608. . In this example, the selection determination area is a rectangular area AREA00 centered on the point 1 indicated by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. The selection determination area may be a circular area or the like, and the shape is not particularly limited. This completes the process for KEY00. Next, processing for KEY01 is performed. Since the detection area has not been expanded before invalid input, the process proceeds to NO in step S601. Since a part of the display area of KEY01 is included in AREA00, it is determined that the current detection area is to be expanded, and in step S608. Proceed to YES. Subsequently, the current detection area of the side facing the input coordinate direction is expanded (step S609). In FIG. 19B, the direction of the input coordinates with respect to KEY01 is represented by LINE00. Of the sides of the current detection area of KEY01, the sides facing the direction of the input coordinates are the lower side and the right side, and the current detection area of that portion is expanded.

  The processes of steps S601 to S609 are also performed for KEY02, KEY10, KEY11, and KEY12. Since KEY10 does not include any part of the key display area in AREA00, the current detection area is not expanded. For KEY02, KEY11, and KEY12, a part of the key display area is included in AREA00, so the current detection area is expanded. Since the direction of the input coordinates with respect to the keys KEY02, KEY11, and KEY12 is different for each key, the side where the current detection area is extended also differs for each key as shown in FIG. 19B. In the invalid input process, information indicating that there has been an invalid input is not transmitted to the main body control unit 305. Therefore, the main body control unit 305 does not recognize that an invalid input has been made, and the main body control is caused by the invalid input. The display change instruction of the LCD 207 is not issued from the unit 305, and the apparatus waits until the next input is made in the current detection area after the expansion.

  Next, the processing when the invalid input is newly made after the point 1 is input and the current detection area shown in FIG. FIG. 19C is a diagram for explaining the current detection region that has an invalid input at point 2 and has been changed by the invalid input process described in FIG. 11. In the course of changing the current detection area from FIG. 19 (b) to FIG. 19 (c), what kind of processing is performed will be described in order.

  Since the current detection area is not expanded before the input of KEY00, the process proceeds to NO in step S601. Since the display area of KEY00 is not in the selection determination area (AREA00), the process proceeds to NO in step S608, and the process for KEY00 is performed. finish. KEY01 advances to YES in step S601 because the current detection area has already been expanded, and advances to YES in step S602 because the immediately preceding input is an invalid input, and the immediately preceding invalid input coordinate (point 1) is determined to be identical. Since it is in the area, the process proceeds to YES in step S603. In this example, the identity determination area is a rectangular area AREA01 centered on the point 2 indicated by the one-dot chain line in FIG. In this example, the identity determination area is rectangular, but it may be a circular or elliptical area, and the shape is not particularly limited. Since any part of the display area of KEY01 is not included in AREA00, it is not a target for the current detection area expansion, and the process proceeds to NO in step S604, and the current detection area of KEY01 is reduced (step S607). In FIG. 19 (c), the hatched area indicates the extension area remaining after the invalid input process at point 2 out of the extension width already expanded before the invalid input at point 2. Since any part of the display area of KEY01 is not included in AREA00, it is not a target for the current detection area extension, the process proceeds to NO in step S608, and the process for KEY01 ends. KEY02 undergoes the same processing as KEY01, and the expansion width that has already been expanded before the invalid input of point 2 is reduced. KEY10 undergoes the same processing as KEY00, and the current detection area is not changed, and the processing ends. Since the current detection area of KEY11 has been expanded before the input, the process proceeds to YES in step S601. Since the previous input is an invalid input, the process proceeds to YES in step S602, and point 1 is in AREA01, so in step S603. Proceed to YES. Since a part of the display area of KEY11 is included in AREA00, it is determined that the current detection area is to be expanded, and the process proceeds to YES in step S604. The sides to be expanded with respect to the invalid input to the point 2 of the key 11 are the upper side and the right side, and the sides expanded with respect to the invalid input to the point 1 are also the upper side and the right side. Proceed to YES. Since a part of the display area of KEY11 is included in AREA00, it is determined that the current detection area is to be expanded, and the process proceeds to YES in step S608. Subsequently, the upper side and the right side of the current detection area are expanded (step S609), and the process for KEY11 ends. The current detection area of KEY 11 is in a state in which the expansion width due to the input to point 1 and the expansion width due to the input to point 2 are added. KEY12 undergoes the same processing as KEY11, and the extended width due to the input to point 1 and the expanded width due to the input to point 2 are added. Thus, the process of changing the current detection area after the input to point 2 is completed, and the process waits until there is a next input in the current detection area after the change.

  FIG. 19D is a diagram for explaining the changed current detection area when the second invalid input is made at the position of point 2 different from that in FIG. 19C. In the course of changing the current detection area from FIG. 19 (b) to FIG. 19 (d), what kind of processing is performed will be described in order.

  Since the detection area of KEY00 is not expanded before input, the process proceeds to NO in step S601. Since a part of the display area of KEY00 is included in AREA00, it is determined that the current detection area is to be expanded. In S608, the process proceeds to YES, the lower side and the left side facing the point 2 in the current detection area are expanded (step S609), and the process ends. KEY10 undergoes the same processing as KEY00, and the upper side and the left side facing point 2 of the current detection area are expanded. KEY01 advances to YES in step S601 because the current detection area has already been expanded, and advances to YES in step S602 because the immediately preceding input is an invalid input. Since point 1 is outside AREA01, in step S603 Proceed to NO. Then, a process for initializing the current detection area is performed (step S606), and since any part of the display of KEY01 is not included in AREA00, the current detection area is not expanded and the process proceeds to NO in step S608. , Processing for KEY01 ends. KEY02, KEY11, and KEY12 undergo the same processing as KEY01, and the current detection area becomes the same as the reference detection area. Thus, the process of changing the current detection area after the input to point 2 is completed, and the process waits until there is a next input in the current detection area after the change.

  FIG. 19E is a diagram for explaining the current detection area after the change when the second invalid input is made at the position of point 2 different from that in FIG. 19C and FIG. 19D. In the course of changing the current detection area from FIG. 19 (b) to FIG. 19 (e), what kind of processing is performed will be described in order.

  Since the current detection area is not expanded before the input of KEY00, the process proceeds to NO in step S601. Since any part of the display area of KEY00 is not included in AREA00, the process proceeds to NO in step S608 and the process ends. . KEY10 undergoes the same processing as KEY00, and the current detection area is not changed, and the processing ends. KEY01 advances to YES in step S601 because the current detection area has already been expanded before the input, and advances to YES in step S602 because the immediately preceding input is an invalid input. Since point 1 is in AREA01, step 601 is executed. In S603, the process proceeds to YES. Since a part of the display area of KEY01 is included in AREA00, it is determined that the current detection area is to be expanded. In step S604, the process proceeds to YES, and the invalid input to point 2 of KEY01 should be expanded. Since the sides are the lower side and the left side, the sides extended for the invalid input to point 1 are the lower side and the right side, and the two are different. Therefore, the process proceeds to NO in step S605, and the current detection area of KEY01 is reduced. (Step S607). Since a part of the display area of KEY01 is included in AREA00, it is determined that the current detection area is to be expanded. In step S608, the process proceeds to YES, and the lower and left sides of the current detection area are expanded (step S609). , Processing for KEY01 ends. The current detection area of KEY01 is in a state in which the area expanded by the input to the point 1 (shaded portion) and the expansion width input to the point 2 are added. KEY11 undergoes the same processing as KEY01, and the width obtained by reducing the expansion by the input to point 1 and the expansion width of the upper side and the left side by the input to point 2 are added. KEY02 advances to YES in step S601 because the current detection area has already been expanded before the input, and advances to YES in step S602 because the immediately preceding input is an invalid input, and step 1 is in AREA01. In S603, the process proceeds to YES. Since any part of the display area of KEY02 is not included in AREA00, the current detection area is not expanded, and the process proceeds to NO in step S604, and the current detection area of KEY02 is reduced (step S607). . Since any part of the display of KEY02 is not included in AREA00, the current detection area is not expanded, and the process proceeds to NO in step S608, and the process for KEY02 ends. KEY12 undergoes the same processing as KEY02, and the expansion width already expanded before the invalid input of point 2 is reduced. Thus, the process of changing the current detection area after the input to point 2 is completed, and the process waits until there is a next input in the current detection area after the change.

  In the above description, the loop processing in steps S601 to S609 has been described in the order of KEY00, KEY01, KEY02, KEY10, KEY11, and KEY12. Priorities can be assigned to keys in advance, and processing can be performed in order of priority. As described above, the expansion process of the current detection area is performed in a range that does not enter the current detection area of another key. Therefore, the expansion width of the key to be expanded later is limited by the current detection area of the previously expanded key. There is a possibility that. Therefore, by performing processing in the order of higher priority, the current detection area of the key with higher priority can be made larger than the current detection area of the key with lower priority. In addition to predetermining the priority, it is possible to increase the priority of keys displayed close to the invalid input coordinates and decrease the priority of keys displayed far away. Alternatively, the number of selections of each key displayed on the screen may be stored, and the priority may be set higher for a key with a higher number of selections.

  In the above description, a mode in which the process of reducing the current detection area in steps S601 to S607 and the process of expanding the current detection area in steps S608 to S609 in the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 11 is performed in the same loop. However, the reduction process and the expansion process can be processed in separate loops. As described above, the expansion process of the current detection area is performed in a range that does not enter the current detection area of other keys. If the processing order of the key whose detection area is to be reduced is later, the expansion width of the current detection area of another key may be limited by the current detection area before the reduction of the key. This problem can be solved by making the reduction process and the extension process separate loops.

  FIG. 20 is a diagram for explaining the result of the initial extension process described in FIG. There are two types of patterns in which there is valid input on a screen and the screen of the LCD 207 is changed. The first pattern is a case where after a valid input is made on the screen of FIG. 19A, a new screen becomes the screen display of FIG. In the first pattern, the basic configuration of the screen such as key arrangement does not change, and only the state of elements such as keys displayed on the screen changes. In FIG. 20A, the display of the key (KEY01) for which valid input has been made is switched to the reverse display. The second pattern is a case where the screen display of FIG. 20B is displayed after valid input is made on the screen of FIG. 19A. For example, this is a case where a key for designating a function with screen transition such as mode setting is selected. In the second pattern, the screen transitions to a completely different screen basic configuration such as key layout. The process contents of the initial extension process described in FIG. 18 are the same for both the first and second patterns.

  If the current detection area is expanded in the initial expansion process, the expansion instruction flag is 1 in step S901 in FIG. In step S902, the current detection areas of all keys displayed on the LCD 207 are expanded. Further, only the side facing the direction of the initial extension direction condition in the key detection area is extended. In this example, since the initial extension direction condition is the direction indicated by the arrow in FIGS. 20A and 20B, the upper side and the right side of the current detection area of each key are extended. The extension width is an initial extension width condition (W). When the current detection areas of all the keys displayed on the LCD 207 are expanded, the expansion instruction flag is changed to 0 (step S903), the subroutine is terminated, and it waits for the next input in the current detection area after the change. Will be.

  For example, a process when an invalid input is made after the valid input has been made, for example, after the current detection area has entered the state of FIG. In the invalid input process shown in FIG. 11, the process of KEY00 is first performed. Since the current detection area is expanded, the process proceeds to YES in step S601. Since the previous input is not an invalid input, the process proceeds to NO in step S602, and the current detection area is initialized (step S606). Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the key is a target key for extending the current detection region (step S608). If the key is a target key (YES in step S608), the current detection region is expanded (step S609). . Similar processing is performed for KEY01, KEY02, KEY10, KEY11, and KEY12. As described above, when an invalid input is made in a state where the current detection area is expanded by the valid input, the extension width by the valid input is initialized, and the current detection area only by the extension width by the current invalid input. Is expanded.

  In the above-described embodiment, in steps S604 and S608 described in FIG. 11, it is determined whether or not the key is a key for extending the current detection area depending on whether or not the key display area is included in the selection determination area around the invalid input coordinates. Deciding. However, as another condition for the determination, a key displayed closest to the invalid input coordinates can be used as a key for expanding the current detection area. FIG. 21A is a diagram for explaining the current detection area after expansion in this mode. The meanings of the solid line frame, the broken line frame, and the halftone dot portion are the same as those in FIG. Point 1 indicates the position where the invalid input is touched. In FIG. 21A, only the current detection area of the KEY 12 displayed closest to the invalid input coordinates is expanded. Further, as another determination condition as to whether or not the key is for extending the current detection area, all the keys displayed on the LCD 207 can be used as keys for extending the current detection area. FIG. 21B is a diagram for explaining the current inspection area after expansion in this mode.

  In the embodiment, in steps S605 and S609 illustrated in FIG. 11, only the side facing the input coordinates among the sides of the current detection area of the key is set as an extended side. However, as another extension method, all sides of the current detection area of the key can be extended sides. FIG. 22 is a diagram for explaining the current detection area after expansion in this mode. The meanings of the solid line frame, the broken line frame, the halftone dot portion, and the one-dot chain line frame are the same as those in FIG. Point 1 indicates the position where the invalid input is touched.

  Further, in the above embodiment, in step S609 described in FIG. 11, the extension width of the current detection area is set to a predetermined constant width, and is the same for all keys for extending the current detection area. However, as another method for determining the extension width of the current detection area, the extension width can be determined according to the distance from the input coordinates to the display area of the key that extends the current detection area. In this case, it is preferable that the key closer to the input coordinates has a larger expansion width and the key farther away has a smaller expansion width. FIG. 23 is a diagram for explaining the current detection area after expansion in this mode. The meanings of the solid line frame, the broken line frame, the halftone dot portion, and the one-dot chain line frame are the same as those in FIG. Point 1 indicates the position where the invalid input is touched.

In other processing of step S105 in the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 5, when the operation being executed by the MFP is completed, processing for initializing the current detection area can be performed. For example, the current detection area is initialized when the output of the document instructed to copy is completely completed. At the time when the operation is completed, the user's purpose has been achieved, and it is possible to suppress the deterioration of misdetection caused by leaving the expansion width of the previous input as it is.
Further, in the other processing in step S105 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 5, when no input is made to the input device for a predetermined time or longer, processing for initializing the current detection area can be performed. If no input is made to the input device for a certain period of time or more, there is a high possibility that the user who made the previous input and the user who makes the next input are different. Therefore, by performing initialization of the current detection area, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of the misdetection that occurs when the extension width from the previous input is left as it is.

  In addition, when the MFP has a function of identifying a user, a process for initializing the current detection area when the user is changed in the other process of step S105 of the flowchart illustrated in FIG. It can be performed. By initializing the current detection area when the user is changed, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of the misdetection caused by leaving the extension width caused by the input of a different user as it is.

  As mentioned above, although the modification was demonstrated individually independently, you may implement combining these two or more modifications.

  In the above description, the key is expressed as a button for setting the function of the MFP. However, it should be considered that the key includes everything used for displaying options in the GUI such as an icon and a character display. It is.

  In the embodiment, the touch panel input device is used for the MFP, but may be used for other information devices. Moreover, although the example of the touch panel input device has been described in the embodiment, a form in which a key on the screen is selected with a pointing device such as a mouse may be used. The disclosed embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an MFP including an input device that is one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a plan view of a touch panel input device 103. FIG. 5 is a control block diagram of the touch panel input device 103. FIG. It is a principle explanatory view of a touch panel. 5 is a flowchart showing a main routine of a panel processing control unit 301. It is the flowchart which showed the subroutine of the display control process (step S103) of FIG. It is the flowchart which showed the subroutine of the LCD display change process (step S204) of FIG. It is a figure explaining detection area information. It is the flowchart which showed the subroutine of the input control process (step S104) of FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of touch panel input processing (step S404) in FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of invalid input processing (step S504) in FIG. It is a figure explaining the method to determine the outer peripheral part extended in the expansion process of a detection region. It is a figure explaining the reduction process of the present detection area | region in step S607 of FIG. It is a figure explaining the expansion process of the present detection area | region in step S609 of FIG. It is the flowchart which showed the subroutine of the effective input process (step S503) of FIG. It is a figure explaining the determination method of the initial expansion conditions in step S702 of FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of hard key input processing (step S402) of FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of initial extension processing (step S303) in FIG. 7; FIG. It is a figure explaining the processing content performed at the time of invalid input. It is a figure explaining an initial expansion process. It is a figure explaining the expansion result of a detection area when the judgment conditions of the key which expands a detection area are changed. It is a figure explaining the expansion result of the detection area at the time of expanding the detection area which faces all the perimeters which a key has. It is a figure explaining the expansion result of a detection field at the time of changing expansion width according to the distance from invalid input coordinates to key display.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Scanner part 102 Printer part 103 Touch panel input device 104 Scanner optical part 105 Analog processing part 106 Input image processing part 107 Image storage part 108 Output image processing part 109 Semiconductor laser part 110 Imaging part 111 Paper feed cassette part 112 Discharge part 113 Manuscript Transport unit 201 Start key 202 Stop key 203 Reset key 204 Function selection key 205 Numeric keypad 206 Clear key 207 LCD
208 LED
301 Panel Processing Control Unit 302 Display Unit 303 Input Accepting Unit 304 Storage Unit 305 Main Unit Control Unit 306 VRAM
307 LCD controller 308 LCD backlight 309 Touch panel 310 Hard key 311 ROM
312 RAM

Claims (14)

Display means for displaying a screen including at least one or more keys;
Input accepting means for accepting input of coordinates on the screen;
When an input is received by the input receiving means, the coordinates of the input are compared with a detection area for detecting that the key displayed by the display means is selected, and which key is selected. A key selection determining means for determining
First detection area expansion means for expanding the detection area of the key displayed on the screen to be a new detection area when it is determined by the key selection determination means that no key is selected. And an input device.   2. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the first detection area extending unit extends only a detection area of a key located within a predetermined distance from the coordinate received by the input receiving unit.   2. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the first detection area extending unit extends only a key detection area located at a shortest distance from a coordinate at which the input receiving unit has received an input.   The input device according to claim 1, wherein the first detection area extending unit extends a detection area of all keys included in a screen displayed on the display unit.   The first detection area extending means extends the key detection area so as to extend only a portion of the outer periphery of the key detection area that faces the coordinates received by the input receiving means. Item 5. The input device according to any one of Items 1 to 4.   5. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the first detection area extending unit extends the entire outer periphery of the key detection area.   The first detection area extending means extends the key detection area so that the key closer to the coordinate received by the input receiving means has a larger expanded width and the farther the key, the smaller the expanded width. The input device according to any one of 1 to 6.   When the input receiving unit receives an input and the key selection determining unit determines that no key is selected, the key whose detection area has been expanded before the input is expanded before the input. The input device according to claim 1, further comprising a detection area reduction unit that reduces the detection area that has been set.   The detection area reduction means, when the outer peripheral part of the detection area to be expanded by the input of the key whose detection area has been expanded before the input is different from the outer peripheral part of the detection area expanded by the previous input The input device according to claim 8, wherein the expanded detection area is reduced.   When the input accepting means accepts an input and the coordinates input immediately before are outside the predetermined distance from the coordinates input this time, the key whose detection area has been expanded before the input is The input device according to claim 1, further comprising first detection area initialization means for initializing the extended detection area.   When the input receiving unit receives an input and the key selection determining unit determines that any key has been selected, a key whose detection area has been expanded before the input is expanded before the input. The input device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, further comprising second detection area initialization means for initializing an extended area of the detection area.   The input accepting means accepts an input, and it is determined that any key is selected by the key selection determining means, and the coordinates of the input are outside the initial detection area where the selected key is not expanded. The input device according to claim 11, further comprising: a second detection area expanding unit that expands a key detection area on the screen displayed in response to selection of the key. An input receiving step for receiving input of coordinates on the screen on which at least one or more keys are displayed;
Key selection for comparing the input coordinates with a detection area for detecting that a key displayed on the screen is selected and determining which key is selected when the input is received A determination step;
In the key selection determining step, when it is determined that no key is selected, a detection region extending step is performed in which the detection region of the key displayed on the screen is expanded to be a new detection region. Input reception processing method. Displaying a screen including at least one or more keys;
An input receiving step for receiving input of coordinates on the screen;
Key selection that compares the input coordinates with a detection area for detecting that a key displayed on the screen is selected and determines which key is selected when the input is accepted A determination step;
In the key selection determining step, when it is determined that no key is selected, a detection area extending step for expanding the detection area of the key displayed on the screen to be a new detection area is performed by the computer. An input reception processing program to be executed.

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