JP2010122846A - Pointing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pointing device capable of outputting an accurate position of a pointer when a user generates an event. <P>SOLUTION: The pointing device includes: a coordinate value generating part for generating a coordinate value corresponding to the position of contact on an operation surface; a contact operation surface information measuring part for measuring contact operation surface information indicating information of an operation surface during contact; a time information acquiring part for acquiring time information when the contact operation surface information is measured; a storing part for associating the contact operation surface information with the coordinate value and with the time information to store them; a depression operation detecting part for detecting that a depression operation is performed; a coordinate value extracting part for specifying time information when the depression operation is started from a change trend of the contact operation surface information to the time information stored in the storing part before detecting the depression operation and extracting the coordinate value corresponding to the specified time information at the start of the depression operation from the coordinate value stored in the storing part, when the depression operation is detected; and an outputting part for outputting the coordinate value detected by the coordinate value extracting part as a coordinate value corresponding to the position on the operation surface where the depression operation is performed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a pointing device, and in particular, has an operation surface that can be operated by contact, receives an event by being pressed at the time of contact, and coordinates according to a position on the operation surface that has received the event The present invention relates to a pointing device that outputs a value.

  In recent years, many program playback apparatuses such as televisions have both a function of performing the Internet and a function of a PC. In the conventional push button type remote control, since it is difficult to control these functions, there is a remote control having a pointing device (for example, Non-Patent Document 1). Here, the pointing device is a device that can input a position and coordinate values, such as a mouse in a PC.

  In Non-Patent Document 1, since a TV as a program playback device also has a PC function, a touch pad is mounted as a pointing device on a TV remote control. Under the touch pad, there is a button mechanism for generating a decision event (hereinafter, this remote controller is referred to as a touch pad remote controller). Here, the touch pad is a planar device that indicates the position or direction on the screen corresponding to the pointing device 100 when the user touches with a finger.

  Also, the user moves the pointer on the GUI by using the touch pad remote control, that is, by moving the finger by touching the touch pad mounted on the touch pad remote control. When the pointer position is determined and an event is transmitted for a desired object existing at the pointer position on the GUI, the user presses the touch pad with a finger to turn the button mechanism under the touch pad from OFF to ON, You can send an event.

  However, with the pointing device in Non-Patent Document 1, the user holds the touchpad remote control in his hand and presses the touchpad mounted on the finger with his / her finger to transmit a determination event. Therefore, the pointer position determined from the contact surface between the finger and the touchpad is shifted by the user's pressing operation, and the pointer is moved onto an object different from the desired object. There is a problem that cannot be sent. For example, when the user presses a button under the touchpad using a remote control with a touchpad that is a pointing device, the contact area of the finger touching the touchpad changes, so before and after pressing the button The pointer position will shift.

Therefore, a technique for correcting the pointer position when the user transmits an event has been proposed. For example, a method of calculating a centroid of an input position by acquiring a history of all event input positions for a certain object, and correcting by shifting the input reception range so that the centroid is the center of the event input reception range of the object ( The following patent document 1) has been proposed. In addition, for example, a method of reducing pointer displacement by averaging input coordinate values (Patent Document 2 below), and a coordinate value immediately before an event of releasing the finger after touching the touch panel is used. A method (Patent Document 3 below) and the like have been proposed.
“PC-AX30V Instruction Manual (Personal Computer Functions)”, Sharp Corporation, 2007, p. 32 JP 2004-280590 A JP-A-1-216390 JP 61-235935 A

However, the conventional technique for correcting the pointer position has the following problems.
In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, it takes time since correction is performed after acquiring the history of the input position for inputting the pointer position. Furthermore, the input position varies greatly depending on how to hold the touchpad remote control, the type of finger touching the touchpad, or the way the finger touches the touchpad. Therefore, the correction at the input positions that are greatly different from each other is inaccurate. Therefore, with the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is not possible to correct the pointer position at the time when the user generated the event.

  In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 2, the pointer position is calculated by sequentially averaging the input coordinate values. Therefore, the reaction of the pointer is delayed and the feeling of use of the pointing device is deteriorated. Further, since the pointer position is calculated from the average of input coordinate values, the calculated pointer position is not necessarily calculated as the pointer position on the locus of the position pressed by the actual user. That is, it deviates from the locus of the actual pointer position and is calculated as an incorrect pointer position.

  Further, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 3 assumes a touch panel with a large input range. That is, when the finger is moved away from the touch pad, the position of the pointer changes slightly as the finger area changes. No consideration is given to the fact that the pointer moves over another object due to the slight change and causes an erroneous input.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a pointing device that can output an accurate pointer position when a user generates an event.

  In order to achieve the above object, the pointing device of the present invention has an operation surface that can be operated by contact, accepts an event by being pressed on the operation surface at the time of the contact, and accepts the event. A pointing device that outputs a coordinate value according to a position on the operation surface, a coordinate value generation unit that generates a coordinate value according to a contact position on the operation surface, and an operation surface at the time of the contact A contact operation surface information measurement unit that measures contact operation surface information indicating the information of the contact, a time information acquisition unit that acquires time information when the contact operation surface information measurement unit measures the contact operation surface information, and the contact An accumulation unit that accumulates operation surface information, the coordinate values, and the time information in association with each other, a pressing operation detection unit that detects that a pressing operation is performed on the operation surface, and a pressing operation detection unit When a pressing operation is detected, the change tendency of the contact operation surface information with respect to the time information accumulated in the storage unit before the detection of the pressing operation is sequentially examined retrospectively from the time when the pressing operation is detected, and the change A coordinate value extraction unit that identifies the time information whose tendency has changed and extracts the coordinate value corresponding to the identified time information as a coordinate value at the start of the pressing operation, and the coordinate value extracted by the coordinate value extraction unit Is output as a coordinate value corresponding to the position on the operation surface that has received the event.

  With such a configuration, it is possible to output an accurate pointer position when the user generates an event. For example, in a pointing device such as a touchpad remote controller, when a user determines a pointer position and presses or releases the touchpad down button to generate an event, an event can be generated at the pointer position intended by the user . Thereby, a pointing device such as a touchpad remote controller can output an accurate pointer position where the user has generated an event, and the operability of the pointing device is improved.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the pointing device which can output the exact pointer position at the time of a user generating an event is realizable. Furthermore, the operability of the pointing device is improved.

  For example, when a user presses or releases a press on a pointing device such as a touchpad remote controller to generate an event, an accurate pointing position intended by the user can be output. Thereby, the user's selection mistakes in the GUI can be reduced, and the pointing operation using the touchpad remote controller can be quickly performed by reducing the selection mistakes. In this way, a pointing device such as a touchpad remote controller can be easily used by the user.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is an overview diagram showing a remote controller equipped with the pointing device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a scene in which the pointing device according to the first embodiment is used.

  The touch pad remote controller 1 includes a touch pad 10 and is used for the display device 2 shown in FIG. The touchpad remote controller 1 is connected to the display device 2 wirelessly.

  The display device 2 is a television having a PC function, for example. In the display device 2, the pointer on the GUI on the display screen is moved by the operation of the touchpad remote controller 1 connected wirelessly, and an object on the GUI is determined, for example. The display device 2 may be a PC, for example.

  The touch pad 10 is an example of the pointing device of the present invention, and the user indicates the position and direction on the screen corresponding to the touch pad 10 by touching with a finger. In addition, the touch pad 10 has a button mechanism for generating a determination event under the touch pad 10.

  The user moves the pointer on the GUI on the display screen corresponding to the touch pad 10 by moving the finger by touching the touch pad 10. Then, the pointer position is determined, and an event is transmitted to a desired object existing at the pointer position on the GUI of the display screen of the display device 2. Here, the event is transmitted when the button mechanism existing under the touch pad 10 is turned from OFF to ON by the user pushing the touch pad 10 with a finger.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the pointing device according to the first embodiment.

  The pointing device 100 shown in FIG. 3 includes a coordinate value acquisition unit 101, an area measurement unit 102, a time information acquisition unit 103, a storage unit 104, a pressing operation detection unit 105, a coordinate value extraction unit 106, and an output unit. 107. The pointing device 100 also includes a touch pad 10 that indicates a corresponding position or direction on the screen when the user touches and traces with a finger.

The coordinate value acquisition unit 101 acquires the coordinate value of the finger touching the touch pad 10.
The area measuring unit 102 measures and acquires a contact area value of a finger that is in contact with the touch pad 10.

  The time information acquisition unit 103 acquires time information at which the coordinate value acquisition unit 101 and the area measurement unit 102 have acquired respective values.

  The accumulation unit 104 accumulates the coordinate values, contact area values, and time information acquired by the coordinate value acquisition unit 101, the area measurement unit 102, and the time information acquisition unit 103 in association with each other.

  The pressing operation detection unit 105 detects a pressing operation that is an operation in which an event that turns from OFF to ON occurs when the button mechanism existing under the touch pad 10 is pressed when the touch pad 10 is pressed.

  When the pressing operation detection unit 105 detects a pressing operation, the coordinate value extraction unit 106 sequentially inspects the temporal change tendency of the contact area value stored in the storage unit 104 retroactively from the time when the pressing operation is detected. Then, the time at which the temporal change tendency changes is specified as the pressing start time that is the time when the user intends to perform the pressing operation. Then, the coordinate value extraction unit 106 extracts the coordinate value at the specified pressing start time from the coordinate values stored in the storage unit 104.

  The output unit 107 outputs the coordinate value extracted by the coordinate value extraction unit 106 to a device (for example, the display device 2) corresponding to the pointing device 100.

  As described above, the pointing device 100 according to the first embodiment is a touch pad that can be pressed on the touch pad remote controller 1 to operate a GUI of a PC or TV with a pointer, for example. The pointing device 100 detects a pressing operation that is an operation that generates an event when a button mechanism that exists under the touch pad 10 is turned on, and coordinates at a pressing start time that is a time when the user intends to generate the pressing operation. Extract and output the value. When the touch pad 10 is not pressed, the pointing device 100 stores the coordinate value, the contact area value, and the time in the storage unit 104 in association with each other.

  Next, the operation of the pointing device 100 according to the first embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the pointing device according to the first embodiment.

  First, the pointing device 100 continuously acquires the coordinate value acquired by the coordinate value acquisition unit 101, the contact area value measured by the area measurement unit 102, and the time acquired by the time information acquisition unit 103 (S10). ). Here, continuously acquiring includes acquiring continuously in the order of msec, for example, acquiring every 10 msec.

  Then, the pointing device 100 stores these acquired coordinate values, contact area values, and times in the storage unit 104 in association with each other (S11).

  In addition, since the coordinate value, the contact area value, and the time are stored in association with the storage unit 104, the coordinate value and the contact area on the touch pad 10 input with the user's finger at a certain time using the storage unit 104. Value. Therefore, the minimum time for which the coordinate value, the contact area value, and the time are stored in the storage unit 104 is at least after the user presses (presses) the finger against the touchpad 10 with the intention of the pressing operation. This is the time until the lower button mechanism is turned on.

  Next, the pointing device 100 detects whether or not the button mechanism under the touch pad 10 is turned on, that is, whether or not the pressing mechanism is pressed (S12).

  When the button mechanism under the touch pad 10 is in the OFF state, that is, when the pressing operation is not detected (N in S12), S10 and S11 are repeated again, and the coordinate value, the contact area value, the time, Keep accumulating.

  Next, in the pointing device 100, when the button mechanism under the touch pad 10 is ON, that is, when a pressing operation is detected (Y in S12), the coordinates at the pressing start time that is the time when the user intends to perform the pressing operation. Values are extracted by the coordinate value extraction unit 106 (S13). Note that details of the operation of S13 will be described below, and a description thereof will be omitted here.

  Finally, the pointing device 100 outputs the coordinate value at the pressing start time that is the time when the user intends to generate the pressing operation via the output unit 107 (S14).

  As described above, the pointing device 100 provides an accurate coordinate value at the pressing start time, which is a time when the user intends to generate a pressing operation on the display device 2 of a TV or PC that displays a GUI, for example. Send.

  By the way, the position of the pointer from the time when the user presses the button mechanism under the touch pad 10 for the pressing operation (pressing start time) until the event that the button mechanism turns from OFF to ON (pressing operation detection time) occurs. Shifts to a coordinate position not intended by the user. This will be described with reference to the drawings prior to describing details of the operation of S13.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a deviation of the pointer coordinate value that occurs when the button mechanism under the touch pad is pressed. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between the touch pad and the contact area of the finger when the button mechanism under the touch pad is turned on.

  The pointer 1 in FIG. 5 is a moment when the user intends to generate an event, that is, the moment when the pointer is moved to the coordinate position intended for the pressing operation and the button mechanism under the touch pad 10 is to be pressed. Pointer in time is shown. Let the coordinate value of the pointer 1 at this time be (X1, Y1).

  Thereafter, while the user continues to press the button mechanism under the touch pad 10 to generate an event (perform a pressing operation), the contact area of the user's finger in contact with the touch pad 10 is as shown in FIG. Increase as shown in the graph below. At this time, as the contact area between the touch pad 10 and the user's finger increases, the coordinate value of the pointer on the touch pad 10 determined by the contact surface of the user's finger changes. That is, as the contact area between the touch pad 10 and the user's finger increases, the position of the pointer 1 shown in FIG. 5 is shifted.

  Then, at the time when the button mechanism under the touch pad 10 shown in the graph shown in FIG. 6 is turned on, that is, when the pressing operation is detected, the position of the pointer 2 shown in FIG. Here, when the coordinate value (X2, Y2) of the pointer 2 is given, for example, the coordinate value (X1, Y1) of the pointer 1 becomes the coordinate value (X2, Y2) of the pointer 2 from the pressing start time to the pressing operation detection time. As a result, the coordinate value of the pointer determined by the contact surface of the user's finger changes.

  As a result, conventionally, the coordinate value of the pointer 2 becomes the coordinate value at the time of detecting the pressing operation at which the event occurred, and when the objects on the GUI at the positions of the pointer 1 and the pointer 2 are different, The user's intended operation on the GUI is not possible.

  As described above, conventionally, the pointer position is shifted to a coordinate position not intended by the user from the pressing start time to the pressing operation detection time.

  Next, an operation of extracting the coordinate value at the pressing start time that is the time when the user intends the pressing operation in S13 in FIG. 4 will be described.

  In S13, in order to prevent the pointer position from shifting to a coordinate value not intended by the user as described above, the coordinate value extraction unit 106 obtains the coordinate value of the pointer 1 shown in FIG. Extract. The algorithm at this time will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a method by which the coordinate value extraction unit extracts the coordinate value of the pointer 1.

  First, the coordinate value extraction unit 106 obtains and substitutes the current time in T and the contact area value in T for S from the storage unit 104 (S131).

  Next, the coordinate value extraction unit 106 obtains the time immediately preceding T from Tp and substitutes the contact area value at the time Tp from Sp from the storage unit 104 (S132).

  Next, the coordinate value extraction unit 106 calculates S-Sp and determines whether the result is greater than 0 (S133).

  If the result of S133 is greater than 0 (in the case of Y of S133), it is determined that the state where the user is still pressing continues at time T, that is, the pressing operation is not detected. Then, Tp is substituted for T and Sp is substituted for S (S134), and S132 and S133 are performed again.

  On the other hand, if the result of S133 is smaller than 0 (in the case of N of S133), the coordinate value extraction unit 106 determines that the time at which the user intends to generate an event, that is, the pressing start time. . Then, the coordinate value at time T is obtained from the storage unit 104 (S135), and the obtained coordinate value is set as the coordinate value of the pointer 1.

  As described above, the coordinate value extraction unit 106 extracts the coordinate value of the pointer 1 (coordinate value at the pressing start time).

  That is, the coordinate value extraction unit 106 sequentially inspects the change tendency of the contact area value with respect to the time accumulated in the accumulation unit 104 before the time of the pointer 2 at which the pressing operation is detected, retroactively from the time when the pressing operation is detected. The time when the change tendency has changed is obtained as the time of the pointer 1 which is the pressing start time. Then, from the obtained time of the pointer 1 (pressing start time), the corresponding coordinate value is extracted. This is illustrated in the lower graph of FIG.

  Note that the method of extracting the coordinate value at the pressing start time is not limited to the method described above. When a pressing operation is detected by the pressing operation detecting unit 105, the coordinate value extracting unit 106 specifies the pressing start time from the change tendency of the contact area value with respect to the time stored in the storage unit 104 before the pressing operation is detected. If the coordinate value corresponding to the specified pressing start time is extracted from the coordinate values stored in the storage unit 104, the form is not limited. For example, as the change tendency, the inclination of the contact area value with respect to each time accumulated in the accumulation unit 104 before the detection of the pressing operation is calculated. Then, the time at which the inclination becomes equal to or less than the threshold (for example, 0) at the time closest to the detection time of the pressing operation may be set as the time of the pointer 1.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, it is possible to realize a pointing device that can output an accurate pointer position when a user generates an event.

  For example, in a pointing device such as a touchpad remote controller, it is possible to correct an input shift caused by pressing a button during a pointing operation and output a correct coordinate value. Accordingly, it is possible to output an accurate pointer position where the user has generated an event (at the start of the pressing operation), and the operability of the pointing device can be improved.

  Although the touch pad 10 is used as the pointing device 100, this is one example of a pointing device and is not limited thereto. Any pointing device having an operation surface for generating coordinate values such as a touch panel can realize the present invention, and it is also included in the scope of the present invention.

(Embodiment 2)
In the first embodiment, the time at which the user's event is intended to be generated (pressing start time) is obtained using the change tendency of the contact area value of the user's finger with respect to the touch pad 10. However, this is one of the indexes for obtaining the pressing start time, and the pressure from the user's finger on the touch pad 10 may be used instead of the area. In the second embodiment, a case will be described in which the change tendency of the contact pressure value is used as the change tendency of the contact operation surface information in order to obtain the pressing start time.

  FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the pointing device according to the second embodiment. Elements similar to those in FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted. The pointing device shown in FIG. 8 is different from the pointing device area measuring unit 102, the accumulating unit 104, and the coordinate value extracting unit 106 according to the first embodiment in that the pressure measuring unit 202, the accumulating unit 204, and the coordinate value extracting unit 206 are used. The configuration of is different.

  The pointing device 200 illustrated in FIG. 8 includes a coordinate value acquisition unit 101, a pressure measurement unit 202, a time information acquisition unit 103, a storage unit 204, a pressing operation detection unit 105, a coordinate value extraction unit 206, and an output unit. 107. The pointing device 100 also includes a touch pad 10 that indicates a corresponding position or direction on the screen when the user touches and traces with a finger.

  The pressure measurement unit 202 measures and acquires a contact pressure value of a finger that is in contact with the touch pad 10.

  The accumulation unit 204 accumulates the coordinate values, contact pressure values, and time information acquired by the coordinate value acquisition unit 101, the pressure measurement unit 202, and the time information acquisition unit 103, respectively.

  When the pressing operation detecting unit 105 detects a pressing operation, the coordinate value extracting unit 206 sequentially inspects the temporal change tendency of the contact pressure value stored in the storage unit 204 retroactively from the time when the pressing operation is detected. Then, the time at which the temporal change tendency changes is specified as the pressing start time that is the time when the user intends to perform the pressing operation. A pressing start time that is a time when the user intends to perform the pressing operation is specified. Then, the coordinate value extraction unit 106 extracts the coordinate value at the specified pressing start time from the coordinate values stored in the storage unit 104.

  Next, the operation of the pointing device 100 according to the second embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the pointing device according to the second embodiment.

  First, the pointing device 200 continuously acquires the coordinate value acquired by the coordinate value acquisition unit 101, the contact pressure value measured by the pressure measurement unit 202, and the time acquired by the time information acquisition unit 103 (S20). ). Then, the pointing device 200 stores the acquired coordinate value, contact pressure value, and time in the storage unit 204 in association with each other (S21).

  Next, the pointing device 200 detects whether or not the button mechanism under the touch pad 10 is turned on, that is, whether or not the pressing mechanism is pressed (S22).

  When the button mechanism under the touch pad 10 is in an OFF state, that is, when a pressing operation is not detected (N in S22), S20 and S21 are repeated again, and the coordinate value, the contact pressure value, the time, Keep accumulating.

  Next, when the button mechanism under the touch pad 10 is turned on, that is, when a pressing operation is detected (in the case of Y in S22), the pointing device 200 has coordinates at a pressing start time that is a time when the user intends the pressing operation. Values are extracted by the coordinate value extraction unit 206 (S23).

  Finally, the pointing device 200 outputs the coordinate value at the pressing start time that is the time when the user intends to generate the pressing operation via the output unit 107 (S24).

  As described above, the pointing device 200 can transmit an accurate coordinate value at a pressing start time that is a time when the user intends to generate a pressing operation.

  Next, in S23 in FIG. 9, the operation of extracting the coordinate value at the pressing start time that is the time when the user intends the pressing operation will be described.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the touch pad and the finger contact pressure when the button mechanism under the touch pad is turned on. FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a method by which the coordinate value extraction unit extracts the coordinate value of the pointer 1. Here, the pointer 1 is a position pointer at the pressing start time as in the first embodiment, and the pointer 2 is a position pointer at the pressing operation detection time.

  First, the coordinate value extraction unit 106 obtains and substitutes the current time for T and the contact pressure value at T for the T from the storage unit 204 (S231).

  Next, the coordinate value extraction unit 106 obtains and substitutes the time immediately before T for Tp and the contact pressure value at the time Tp from Tp for Pp (S232).

  Next, the coordinate value extraction unit 106 calculates P-Pp and determines whether the result is greater than 0 (S233).

  If the result of S233 is greater than 0 (in the case of Y of S233), it is determined that the state where the user is still pressing continues at time T, that is, the pressing operation is not detected. Then, Tp is substituted for T and Pp is substituted for P (S234), and the calculations of S232 and S233 are performed again.

  On the other hand, if the result of S233 is smaller than 0 (in the case of N of S233), the coordinate value extraction unit 106 determines that the time at which the user intends to generate an event, that is, the pressing start time. . Then, the coordinate value at time T is obtained from the storage unit 204 (S235), and the obtained coordinate value is set as the coordinate value of the pointer 1.

  As described above, the coordinate value extraction unit 106 extracts the coordinate value of the pointer 1 (coordinate value at the pressing start time).

  That is, the coordinate value extraction unit 106 sequentially inspects the change tendency of the contact pressure value with respect to the time accumulated in the accumulation unit 204 before the time of the pointer 2 where the pressing operation is detected, retroactively from the time when the pressing operation is detected. The time when the change tendency has changed is obtained as the time of the pointer 1 which is the pressing start time. Then, from the obtained time of the pointer 1 (pressing start time), the corresponding coordinate value is extracted. This is illustrated in the lower graph of FIG.

  As described above, in the case of the second embodiment, the present invention can be realized even when the pressure value is used instead of the area value in the accumulation in the accumulation unit 104 and the detection in the coordinate value extraction unit 106. .

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, it is possible to realize a pointing device that can output an accurate pointer position when a user generates an event.

(Embodiment 3)
As described in the first embodiment, when the button mechanism under the touch pad 10 is turned from OFF to ON, the coordinate value extraction unit 106 determines the time at which the user intends to generate an event ( Detect the coordinate value of the pressing start time. However, this is an example of a pressing operation intended by the user, and is not limited thereto. Even when an event occurs when the user releases the button mechanism and the lower button of the touch pad 10 changes from ON to OFF, the pressing operation start time, which is the time when the user intends to generate the event, It is included in the scope of the invention. In the third embodiment, a pointing device 300 that detects a pressing operation in which an event occurs when the button mechanism is released and the lower button of the touch pad 10 changes from ON to OFF will be described.

  FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the pointing device according to the third embodiment.

  The pointing device 300 in FIG. 12 differs from the pressing operation detection unit 105 and the coordinate value extraction unit 106 according to Embodiment 1 in the configuration of the pressing operation detection unit 305 and the coordinate value extraction unit 306. Note that, in the configuration of the pointing device in the third embodiment, the same reference numerals are given to the same elements as those in FIG.

  The pressing operation detection unit 305 presses the touch pad 10 to press the button mechanism that exists under the touch pad 10, and further presses the button mechanism to release an event that causes the button mechanism to be turned from ON to OFF. Is detected.

  When the pressing operation detection unit 105 detects a pressing release operation, the coordinate value extraction unit 306 traces the temporal change tendency of the contact area value stored in the storage unit 104 from the time when the pressing release operation is detected. The inspection is sequentially performed, and the time when the temporal change tendency is changed is specified as the press release start time that is the time when the user intends the press release operation. Then, the coordinate value extraction unit 306 extracts the coordinate value at the specified press release start time from the coordinate values stored in the storage unit 104.

  Next, the operation of the pointing device 100 according to the third embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the pointing device according to the third embodiment. Flows similar to those in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  First, the pointing device 100 continuously acquires the coordinate value acquired by the coordinate value acquisition unit 101, the contact area value measured by the area measurement unit 102, and the time acquired by the time information acquisition unit 103 (S10). ). Then, the pointing device 100 stores these acquired coordinate values, contact area values, and times in the storage unit 104 in association with each other (S11).

  Next, the pointing device 100 detects whether the pressing release operation has been performed by the pressing operation detection unit 305 (S32).

  In addition, when the press release operation is not detected (in the case of N of S32), S10 and S11 are repeated again and the coordinate value, the contact area value, and the time are continuously accumulated.

  Next, when a press release operation is detected (in the case of Y in S <b> 32), the pointing device 100 performs coordinate value extraction at the press release start time at which the user intended the press release operation by the coordinate value extraction unit 306. (S33).

  Finally, the pointing device 100 outputs the coordinate value at the pressing release start time by the user via the output unit 107 (S14).

  As described above, the pointing device 100 can transmit an accurate coordinate value at the press release start time.

  Next, in S33 in FIG. 13, an operation of extracting the coordinate value at the press release start time when the user intends the press release operation will be described.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between the touch pad and the contact area of the finger when the button mechanism under the touch pad is turned from ON to OFF. FIG. 15 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a method by which the coordinate value extraction unit extracts the coordinate value of the pointer 1. Here, the pointer 1 is a position pointer at the time when the press release is started, and the pointer 2 is a position pointer at the time when the press release operation is detected.

  First, the coordinate value extraction unit 306 obtains and substitutes the current time for T and the contact area value at T for the T from the storage unit 104 (S331).

  Next, the coordinate value extraction unit 306 obtains and substitutes the time immediately before T for Tf and the contact area value at the time Tf from T4 for Sf (S332).

  Next, the coordinate value extraction unit 306 calculates S-Sf and determines whether the result is smaller than 0 (S333).

  If the result of S333 is smaller than 0 (in the case of Y of S333), it is determined that the user has not yet pressed down or has not been fully pressed down, that is, the pressing release operation has not been detected. . Then, Tf is substituted for T and Sf is substituted for S (S334), and the calculations of S332 and S333 are performed again.

  On the other hand, if the result of S333 is greater than 0 (in the case of N of S333), the coordinate value extraction unit 306 determines that the user intends to generate an event at the time T, that is, the press release start time. . Then, the coordinate value at time T is obtained from the storage unit 104 (S335), and the obtained coordinate value is set as the coordinate value of the pointer 1.

  As described above, the coordinate value extraction unit 306 extracts the coordinate value of the pointer 1 (coordinate value at the press release start time).

  That is, the coordinate value extraction unit 306 sequentially inspects the change tendency of the contact area value with respect to the time accumulated in the accumulation unit 104 before the time of the pointer 2 at which the press release operation is detected, retroactively from the time when the press operation is detected. Then, the time when the change tendency changes is obtained as the time of the pointer 1 which is the press release start time. And the coordinate value corresponding to it is extracted from the time of the obtained pointer 1 (pressing release start time). This is illustrated in the lower graph of FIG.

  As described above, according to the third embodiment, the present invention can be realized even when an event occurs when the button mechanism is released and the lower button of the touch pad 10 is turned off.

  As described above, according to the third embodiment, it is possible to realize a pointing device that can output an accurate pointer position when a user generates an event.

  Note that the method of extracting the coordinate value at the press release start time is not limited to the method described above. When the pressing operation detecting unit 305 detects the pressing release operation, the coordinate value extracting unit 306 determines the press release start time based on the change tendency of the contact area value with respect to the time stored in the storage unit 104 before the detection of the pressing release operation. If the coordinate value corresponding to the specified press release start time is extracted from the coordinate values stored in the storage unit 104, the form is not limited. For example, as the change tendency, the slope of the contact area value with respect to each time accumulated in the accumulation unit 104 before the detection of the press release operation is calculated. Then, the time at which the inclination becomes equal to or greater than a threshold (for example, 0) at the time closest to the detection time of the pressing operation may be set as the time of the pointer 1.

  Further, in the third embodiment, in order to obtain the time (the press release start time) intended to generate the user's event, it is obtained using the change tendency of the contact area value of the user's finger with respect to the touch pad 10. Yes. However, this is one of the indexes for obtaining the press release start time, and the pressure from the user's finger on the touch pad 10 may be used instead of the area.

  FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating another configuration of the pointing device according to the third embodiment. In the case of the pointing device 400 shown in FIG. 16, the pressure measuring unit 402, the accumulating unit 404, and the coordinate value are compared with the area measuring unit 102, accumulating unit 104, and coordinate value extracting unit 306 of the pointing device 300 according to the third embodiment. The configuration of the extraction unit 406 is different. Since these configurations and operations are the same as those obtained by combining the contents described in the second and third embodiments, the description thereof is omitted.

(Embodiment 4)
For example, in the first embodiment, the storage unit 104, the coordinate value extraction unit 106, and the output unit 107 are included in the configuration of the pointing device 100. However, these three elements are included in the scope of the present invention even if they are mounted on a device (for example, the display device 2) such as a PC or a TV connected to the pointing device. In the fourth embodiment, an example in which some of the components described in the first embodiment are mounted in another device will be described.

  FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the pointing device system according to the fourth embodiment.

  The pointing device system 1000 includes a pointing device 500 and a device that is connected to the pointing device 500 and includes a pointer position calculation device 600.

Elements similar to those in FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.
The pointing device 500 includes a coordinate value acquisition unit 101, an area measurement unit 102, a time information acquisition unit 103, a pressing operation detection unit 505, and a transmission unit 508. In addition, the pointing device 500 includes a touch pad 10 that indicates a corresponding position or direction on the screen when the user touches and traces with a finger.

  The transmission unit 508 continues to transmit the coordinate value, the contact area value, and the time information to the device including the pointer position calculation device 600.

  The pressing operation detection unit 505 substantially corresponds to the pressing operation detection unit 105 in FIG. 3, and an operation in which an event that turns from OFF to ON occurs when the touch pad 10 is pressed and a button mechanism existing under the touch pad 10 is pressed. A pressing operation is detected. The pressing operation detection unit 505 transmits information indicating that the pressing operation has been detected (for example, the time) to the pointer position calculation device 600 via the transmission unit 508.

  The pointer position calculation device 600 includes a storage unit 604, a coordinate value extraction unit 106, an output unit 107, and a reception unit 609. Elements similar to those in FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The receiving unit 609 accumulates the standard value, contact area value, and time information transmitted from the transmitting unit 508 in the accumulating unit 604. In addition, when receiving the time when the pressing operation is detected from the pressing operation detecting unit 505 via the transmitting unit 508, the receiving unit 609 notifies the coordinate value extracting unit 106 to that effect.

  The accumulation unit 604 continues to accumulate the coordinate value, the contact area value, and the time information received from the pointing device 500 in association with each other.

  When the coordinate value extracting unit 106 is notified that the pressing operation detecting unit 105 has detected the pressing operation, the coordinate value extracting unit 106 indicates the time change tendency of the contact area value accumulated in the accumulating unit 604 and the time when the pressing operation is detected. The inspection is sequentially performed retroactively, and the time when the temporal change tendency changes is specified as the pressing start time. Then, the coordinate value extraction unit 106 extracts the coordinate value at the specified pressing start time from the coordinate values stored in the storage unit 604.

  As described above, in the case of the fourth embodiment, a device such as a PC or a TV, which includes the three elements of the storage unit 604, the coordinate value extraction unit 106, and the output unit 107 connected to the pointing device 500 and includes the pointer position calculation device 600. The present invention can be realized even if it is mounted on.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, it is possible to realize a pointing device that can output an accurate pointer position when a user generates an event.

  As a result, the user can visually confirm the presence of the pointer and generate an event at the coordinate position where the user desires to generate the event. Further, by reducing erroneous input, the pointing operation is quickened, and the usability of the pointing device can be improved.

  The press release start time and the press start time are synonymous with the press operation start time. Further, as described above, the pressing operation in the claims includes a pressing operation and a pressing release operation. However, in the embodiment, the pressing operation and the pressing release operation are distinguished from each other in order to simplify the description. ing.

  The time information is described as using a time at a certain time, that is, an actual time, but is not limited thereto. For example, the time when the position coordinate is detected when the user's finger touches the touch pad 10 may be “1”, and a sequence number that is incremented each time the position coordinate is detected may be used.

  As mentioned above, although the pointing device of this invention was demonstrated based on embodiment, this invention is not limited to this embodiment. Unless it deviates from the meaning of this invention, the form which carried out the various deformation | transformation which those skilled in the art can think to this embodiment, and the structure constructed | assembled combining the component in different embodiment is also contained in the scope of the present invention. . For example, the case where the pointing device 500 is integrated with a device such as a PC or a TV is also included in the scope of the present invention.

  The present invention can be used for a pointing device, and in particular, can be used for a pointing device including a touchpad remote controller, a touch panel integrated with a screen, and the like.

1 is an overview diagram showing a remote controller equipped with a pointing device according to a first embodiment. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a scene in which the pointing device according to Embodiment 1 is used. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a pointing device in Embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an operation of the pointing device according to the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the shift | offset | difference of the pointer coordinate value which generate | occur | produces when the button mechanism under a touchpad is pressed. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the touch pad and the contact area of a finger when the button mechanism under the touch pad is turned on. It is a flowchart for demonstrating one example of the method in which a coordinate value extraction part extracts the coordinate value of the pointer 1. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a pointing device according to Embodiment 2. FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining an operation of the pointing device according to the second embodiment. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the touch pad and the contact pressure of a finger | toe when the button mechanism under a touch pad turns ON. It is a flowchart for demonstrating one example of the method in which a coordinate value extraction part extracts the coordinate value of the pointer 1. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a pointing device according to Embodiment 3. FIG. 14 is a flowchart for explaining an operation of the pointing device according to the third embodiment. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the touch pad and the contact area of a finger | toe when the button mechanism under a touch pad changes from ON to OFF. It is a flowchart for demonstrating one example of the method in which a coordinate value extraction part extracts the coordinate value of the pointer 1. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating another configuration of the pointing device according to Embodiment 3. FIG. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a pointing device system in a fourth embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Touchpad remote control 2 Display apparatus 10 Touchpad 100, 200, 300, 400, 500 Pointing device 101 Coordinate value acquisition part 102 Area measurement part 103 Time information acquisition part 104, 204, 404, 604 Accumulation part 105, 305, 505 Press Operation detection unit 106, 206, 306, 406 Coordinate value extraction unit 107 Output unit 202, 402 Pressure measurement unit 508 Transmission unit 600 Pointer position calculation device 609 Reception unit 1000 Pointing device system

Claims (11)

Pointing that has an operation surface that can be operated by contact, accepts an event by being pressed on the operation surface at the time of contact, and outputs a coordinate value according to a position on the operation surface that has accepted the event A device,
A coordinate value generation unit that generates a coordinate value according to the position of contact on the operation surface;
A contact operation surface information measuring unit for measuring contact operation surface information indicating information on the operation surface at the time of the contact;
A time information acquisition unit that acquires time information when the contact operation surface information measurement unit measures the contact operation surface information;
An accumulation unit that accumulates the contact operation surface information, the coordinate values, and the time information in association with each other;
A pressing operation detection unit for detecting that a pressing operation has been performed on the operation surface;
When the pressing operation is detected by the pressing operation detection unit, the change tendency of the contact operation surface information with respect to the time information stored in the storage unit before the detection of the pressing operation is traced back from the time when the pressing operation is detected. A coordinate value extraction unit that sequentially inspects, identifies the time information when the change tendency has changed, and extracts the coordinate value corresponding to the identified time information as a coordinate value at the start of a pressing operation;
A pointing device comprising: an output unit that outputs the coordinate value extracted by the coordinate value extraction unit as a coordinate value corresponding to a position on the operation surface that has received the event. The coordinate value extraction unit
When the value indicating the change tendency exceeds a threshold, the time information corresponding to the contact operation surface information at the threshold is specified as time information at the start of the pressing operation, assuming that the change tendency has changed. Item 10. The pointing device according to Item 1. The pointing device according to claim 1, wherein the contact operation surface information measurement unit measures a contact area value indicating the contact area as the contact operation surface information. The pointing device according to claim 1, wherein the contact operation surface information measurement unit measures a pressure value applied to the operation surface by the contact as the contact operation surface information. The pointing device includes a switch unit below the operation surface,
5. The pointing device according to claim 3, wherein the pressing operation detection unit detects the pressing operation by pressing the operation surface during the contact and pressing the switch unit via the operation surface. . The pointing device includes a switch unit below the operation surface,
The pointing device according to claim 3, wherein the pressing operation detection unit detects the pressing operation by pressing the operation surface during the contact and releasing the pressing. The coordinate value extraction unit
The value indicating the change tendency is a difference between the values of the contact operation surface information with respect to time information and time information preceding the time information, and the change tendency changes when the difference is smaller than 0. The pointing device according to claim 1, wherein the time information in the contact operation surface information in which the difference is smaller than 0 is specified as the time information at the start of the pressing operation. The pointing device according to claim 1, wherein the value indicating the change tendency is a gradient in the time information of the touch operation surface information with respect to the time information. The operation surface that has an operation surface that can be operated by contact and is connected to a remote control device that receives an event by being pressed on the operation surface at the time of the contact, and is wired or wirelessly connected, and the operation surface that has received the event A pointing device that calculates a point position coordinate that is a coordinate value according to an upper position,
The remote control device is
A coordinate value generation unit that generates a coordinate value according to the position of contact on the operation surface;
A contact operation surface information measuring unit for measuring contact operation surface information indicating information on the operation surface at the time of the contact;
A time information acquisition unit that acquires time information when the contact operation surface information measurement unit measures the contact operation surface information;
A pressing operation detector that detects that a pressing operation has been performed on the operation surface at the time of the contact;
A transmission unit that transmits the contact operation surface information, the coordinate value, and the time information;
A notification unit for notifying that the pressing operation is detected when the pressing operation detecting unit detects that the pressing operation has been performed;
The pointing device is
An accumulating unit that accumulates the contact operation surface information, the coordinate value, and the time information received from the transmitting unit;
When notified by the notification unit, the change tendency of the touch operation surface information with respect to the time information accumulated in the storage unit before the notification is sequentially inspected from the time when the pressing operation is detected, and the change tendency A coordinate value extracting unit that identifies the time information at which the time has changed, and extracts the coordinate value corresponding to the identified time information as a coordinate value at the start of a pressing operation;
A pointing device comprising: an output unit that outputs the coordinate value detected by the coordinate value extraction unit as a coordinate value according to a position on the operation surface that has received the event. The coordinate value extraction unit
When the value indicating the change tendency exceeds a threshold, the time information corresponding to the contact operation surface information at the threshold is specified as time information at the start of the pressing operation, assuming that the change tendency has changed. Item 10. The pointing device according to Item 9. A remote control device having an operation surface capable of being operated by contact and receiving an event by being pressed on the operation surface at the time of the contact; connected to the remote control device in a wired or wireless manner; and receiving the event A pointing device system comprising a point position calculation device that calculates a point position coordinate that is a coordinate value according to a position on an operation surface,
The remote control device is
A coordinate value generation unit that generates a coordinate value according to the position of contact on the operation surface;
A contact operation surface information measuring unit for measuring contact operation surface information indicating information on the operation surface at the time of the contact;
A time information acquisition unit that acquires time information when the contact operation surface information measurement unit measures the contact operation surface information;
A pressing operation detector that detects that a pressing operation has been performed on the operation surface at the time of the contact;
A transmission unit that transmits the contact operation surface information, the coordinate values, and the time information;
A notification unit for notifying that the pressing operation is detected when the pressing operation detecting unit detects that the pressing operation has been performed;
The point position calculation device includes:
An accumulating unit that accumulates the contact operation surface information, the coordinate value, and the time information received from the transmitting unit;
When notified by the notification unit, the change tendency of the touch operation surface information with respect to the time information accumulated in the storage unit before the notification is sequentially inspected from the time when the pressing operation is detected, and the change tendency A coordinate value extracting unit that identifies the time information at which the time has changed, and extracts the coordinate value corresponding to the identified time information as a coordinate value at the start of a pressing operation;
A pointing device system comprising: an output unit that outputs the coordinate value detected by the coordinate value extraction unit as a coordinate value corresponding to a position on the operation surface that has received the event.

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