JP2010204812A - Portable terminal equipment and input device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve operability by making an input instruction following the intended operation of a user in a touch pad. <P>SOLUTION: On the basis of the contact information of a touch pad 16 detected by a detection part 17, the vertical contact width D of a contact region is calculated by a contact width calculation part 31, and the central coordinates y of the contact region are calculated by a central coordinate calculation part 32. Also, correction amounts D/N are calculated by using the contact width D and a prescribed correction parameter N by a correction coordinate calculation part 33. A determination part 34 determines the presence/absence of the movement of the contact region, and a moving amount calculation part 35 calculates the moving amounts of a contact point by using correction coordinates Y=y+D/N or central coordinates y based on the determination result. In this case, when the contact region is moved, the moving amount calculation part 35 calculates the moving amounts based on the correction coordinates, and when the contact region is stopped, when the contact region is separated, and when the contact is started, the moving amount calculation part 35 calculates the moving amounts based on the central coordinates. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a mobile terminal device including a touch pad for performing an input instruction, and an input device including the touch pad.

  Various electronic devices such as mobile phone devices, personal digital assistants, and portable music players have been improved in performance, multifunction, and miniaturization in the same way as PCs (personal computers). In order to cope with this, various devices have been applied to an input device that gives an input instruction. 2. Description of the Related Art Recently, an input device for an electronic device is widely used that includes a touch pad that gives an input instruction by touching an arbitrary position on an operation surface.

  When performing an input operation using a touch pad, it is difficult to perform detailed operations, and it may be difficult to move a cursor or the like to a desired position or to perform a touch operation at a desired position. In particular, when the user grips a mobile terminal device such as a mobile phone device and traces the touch pad with his / her thumb, there is a problem that the cursor does not move as expected or does not stop as expected. was there.

  As an example of improving the operability of the touchpad, for example, in Patent Document 1, the center coordinates of the contact area in contact with the user's finger are determined as representative coordinates, and the increase rate of the area of the contact area is detected and detected A coordinate input device that corrects representative coordinates and determines output coordinates when the area increase rate is equal to or greater than a predetermined reference area increase rate is disclosed.

In the above-described conventional example, the next movement is determined with respect to the designated coordinates of the operation point such as the cursor by determining the presence / absence of correction based on the increase rate of the area of the contact region and determining the output coordinates. For this reason, a complicated calculation is required and there is a problem that it takes time to determine coordinates. In addition, when moving a cursor or the like by performing an operation of tracing with a finger, there is a problem that it may not be stopped suddenly and the response at the time of operation is not good.
JP 2008-191791 A

  In the input device using the conventional touchpad including the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, the center of gravity of the contact part of the finger (the center of the contact area) is obtained, and the instruction coordinates of the operation point as the representative coordinates are determined. For this reason, depending on the user's way of operation, the operation intended by the user may not match the indicated coordinates and operation direction of the operation point that is actually output. In particular, when operating the touchpad with the thumb, when the cursor is moved, the indicated coordinates of the operation point output for the user's intention may be shifted, and in the direction opposite to the intended direction. There were problems such as the possibility of movement.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a portable terminal device capable of giving an input instruction suitable for an operation intended by a user on a touch pad and improving operability. And providing an input device.

The present invention is a portable terminal device including a touch pad, based on the contact width, a detection unit that detects a contact area on the touch pad, a contact width calculation unit that calculates a width of the contact area, and Based on the determination result of the determination unit, a correction coordinate calculation unit that calculates correction coordinates, a center coordinate calculation unit that calculates center coordinates of the contact region, a determination unit that determines the presence or absence of movement of the contact region, A movement amount calculation unit that calculates a movement amount using either the correction coordinates or the center coordinates, and an instruction that instructs a specific position corresponding to the touch operation on the touchpad using the calculated movement amount There is provided a portable terminal device including a coordinate output unit that outputs coordinates.
With this configuration, it is possible to calculate the amount of movement using either correction coordinates or center coordinates depending on whether or not the contact area on the touchpad is moving, and to output instruction coordinates that match the user's intention become. Therefore, it is possible to give an input instruction suitable for the operation intended by the user on the touch pad, and the operability can be improved.

The present invention is the portable terminal device described above, wherein the coordinate output unit uses a coordinate storage unit that stores the designated coordinates, and a movement amount based on either the correction coordinates or the center coordinates as the designated coordinates. Including a coordinate calculation unit to be added.
With this configuration, the amount of movement calculated by either the correction coordinates or the center coordinates according to the movement state of the contact area is added to the stored previous indicated coordinates, so that an appropriate operation corresponding to the touch operation on the touch pad can be performed. It is possible to output various designated coordinates. In this case, it is possible to output the designated coordinates as absolute coordinates or as relative coordinates using the movement amount.

Further, the present invention is the above-described mobile terminal device, wherein the movement amount calculation unit calculates a movement amount using the correction coordinates when the contact area has moved a predetermined amount or more, and the contact area If the movement is less than the predetermined amount, the movement amount is calculated using the center coordinates.
With this configuration, when the contact area moves by a predetermined amount or more, it is considered that the operation point of the touch operation is moving, and the movement according to the user's intention is calculated by calculating the movement amount using the correction coordinates. It is possible to obtain the indicated movement amount and designated coordinates. Further, when the movement of the contact area is less than the predetermined amount, it is considered that the operation point of the contact operation is stopped, and the movement amount is calculated using the center coordinates, thereby obtaining stable instruction coordinates without unnecessary movement. It becomes possible.

Moreover, this invention is said portable terminal device, Comprising: The said movement amount calculation part includes what calculates a movement amount using the said center coordinate, when the said contact width is less than a 1st predetermined value.
With this configuration, when the contact width is less than the first predetermined value, it is considered that the user's finger is separated or the contact is started, and the movement amount is calculated using the center coordinates, thereby stabilizing the movement without unnecessary movement. It is possible to obtain the designated coordinates.

Moreover, this invention is said portable terminal device, Comprising: The said movement amount calculation part does not add movement amount, when the said contact width is less than the 2nd predetermined value smaller than the said 1st predetermined value. Including things.
With this configuration, when the contact width is less than the second predetermined value that is smaller than the first predetermined value, it is possible to obtain stable designated coordinates without unnecessary movement by not adding the movement amount. become.

Further, the present invention is the mobile terminal device described above, wherein the correction coordinate calculation unit calculates a correction amount obtained by dividing the contact width by a predetermined correction parameter, and adds the correction amount to the central coordinate. Includes those that calculate correction coordinates.
With this configuration, it is possible to calculate the correction coordinates with the correction amount according to the contact width, and to calculate the movement amount and the instruction coordinates using the correction coordinates, thereby making it possible to bring the output instruction coordinates closer to the user's intention. Become. For example, the amount of movement such as the beginning of movement can be increased, and the response during operation can be improved.

The present invention is the portable terminal device described above, further comprising a vertical direction detection unit that detects a vertical direction of the touch pad, wherein the contact width calculation unit is an upward direction detected by the vertical direction detection unit. It includes what calculates the width of the contact area based on information.
With this configuration, it is possible to detect the upward direction of the touch pad, appropriately calculate the contact width of the contact area, and calculate correction coordinates based on the contact width.

  The present invention is also an input device for an electronic device including a touch pad, a detection unit that detects a contact area on the touch pad, a contact width calculation unit that calculates a width of the contact area, and the contact A correction coordinate calculation unit that calculates correction coordinates based on a width, a center coordinate calculation unit that calculates center coordinates of the contact region, a determination unit that determines whether or not the contact region has moved, and a determination result of the determination unit A movement amount calculation unit that calculates a movement amount using either the correction coordinates or the center coordinates, and a specific position corresponding to the touch operation on the touchpad using the calculated movement amount An input device is provided that includes a coordinate output unit that outputs designated coordinates for designating.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a portable terminal device and an input device that can perform an input instruction suitable for an operation intended by the user on the touch pad and can improve operability.

  In the following embodiments, a configuration example applied to an electronic device such as a mobile phone device will be described as an example of a mobile terminal device and an input device. The portable terminal device and the input device according to the present invention can be applied to various electronic devices such as a cellular phone device, a portable information terminal, a portable music player, and a remote controller.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a mobile terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The portable terminal device includes an operation input unit 11, a display unit 12, a control unit 13, a communication unit 14, and an audio processing unit 15. The operation input unit 11 constitutes the input device of the present embodiment, and includes a touch pad 16, a detection unit 17, and a coordinate correction unit 18.

  The touch pad 16 is composed of a planar operation device such as a capacitive sensor, and outputs a signal indicating a position touched by the user. Based on the output signal of the touch pad 16, the detection unit 17 detects a contact area touched by the user and outputs the contact area as contact information. Based on the contact information detected by the detection unit 17, the coordinate correction unit 18 performs a correction calculation process regarding the instruction coordinates of the operation point touched by the user, and outputs operation information such as the instruction coordinates indicating the operation point and the movement amount. .

  The display unit 12 is composed of a liquid crystal display device or the like, and is disposed below the touch pad 16 and displays various operation screens for operation with the touch pad 16 and other operation screens. The control unit 13 controls each part of the apparatus, inputs operation information from the operation input unit 11, and performs various signal processing, display control, communication control, and the like. The communication unit 14 performs communication processing corresponding to a communication line such as a cellular communication network, and includes an RF unit, a baseband processing unit, and the like. In addition, the communication part 14 is suitably comprised according to a corresponding communication means and communication system. The voice processing unit 15 performs voice processing such as input and output of call voice, music content reproduction processing, and the like. Here, the control unit 13 and the coordinate correction unit 18 of the operation input unit 11 are configured by a memory for storing processing information, a processor that performs processing operations, and the like, and each function is performed by executing processing according to a predetermined program. Realized.

  Next, an outline of the operation of the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the touch pad is traced from the top to the bottom with the thumb, and FIG. 3 illustrates the relationship between the change in the contact area and the designated coordinates of the operation point when the operation in FIG. 2 is performed. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state when the touch pad is traced from the bottom to the top with the thumb, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the change of the contact area and the indication coordinates of the operation point when the operation of FIG. 4 is performed. It is a figure explaining a relationship. Here, the case where it operates with a thumb is demonstrated as a typical example.

  When the user touches the touchpad with his / her thumb from the top to the bottom as shown in FIG. 2, the contact area is changed from TE1 → TE2 → as shown in FIGS. 2 (A), (B), (C) in order. It changes like TE3, and its center point (center of gravity) changes like C1-> C2-> C3. When trying to move the finger down, first, as shown in FIG. 2A, the thumb is pressed at the start of the operation, so that the contact area is maximized. Next, as shown in FIG. 2B, when the finger is moved downward, the belly of the finger is lifted, the contact area gradually decreases, and the center point of the contact area moves upward. Then, as shown in FIG. 2C, when the finger is moved, the finger is further raised, the contact area is minimized, and the finger moves downward with a substantially constant area.

  FIG. 3 shows the change of the contact area corresponding to the operation of FIG. 2 with the passage of time, with the horizontal axis representing time and the vertical axis representing vertical coordinates. Here, the left-right direction of the touch pad is defined as an X coordinate, and the up-down direction is defined as a Y coordinate. With respect to the change of the contact area TE, the movement of the designated coordinates of the operation point detected by the sensor of the conventional touch pad is the movement of the center point C (t) which is the center of gravity of the contact area TE. In this case, when viewing the movement of the center point C (t): y, the user moves up and then moves down, even though the user operates the finger from the top to the bottom, which is opposite to the intended direction. The indicated coordinates of the operating point may move in the direction. In order to solve this problem, the present embodiment corrects the center coordinates of the contact area. Note that when the user operates with a finger, the movement of the vertex T (t) of the contact area TE is considered to be close to the movement intended by the user because the user is usually aware of the tip of the finger. However, if the movement of the vertex T (t) is used as it is, there may be a stopped state with almost no change at the beginning of the movement.

  Therefore, in order to further approximate the movement intended by the user, a contact width D indicating the width of the contact area (here, the vertical width) and a predetermined correction parameter N (where N is a real number of 0 <N <2) and A correction amount D / N using is set, and a correction point A (t): Y = y + D / N obtained by adding the correction amount D / N to the center coordinate y is regarded as an operation point and used as an instruction coordinate. In this way, by adding the correction amount D / N corresponding to the contact width D to the central coordinate y, the movement amount can be output at a certain rate even at the beginning of the movement at the time of the contact operation. It is possible to obtain the designated coordinates of the operation point that achieves the ideal movement. Note that the information P (t) that is actually output as the designated coordinates indicating the movement of the operation point is a movement amount as a relative coordinate, or information obtained by sequentially adding this movement amount to the value of the previous designated coordinate.

  The correction parameter N is appropriately determined by performing a user setting operation or the like because there are individual differences among users. When N = 2, the correction amount D / N = D / 2 as shown in FIG. 3, and the position of the correction point A (t) is at the position of the vertex T (t) of the contact area corresponding to the tip of the finger. Match. In the present embodiment, by appropriately setting N within a range of 0 <N <2, it is possible to increase the amount of movement at the start of movement and increase the operation response, and the movement of the indicated coordinates of the operation point is an ideal curve. Can be approached.

  When the user touches the touchpad with his / her thumb from the bottom to the top as shown in FIG. 4, the contact area is changed to TE4 → TE5 → as shown in FIG. 4 (A), (B) and (C) in order. It changes like TE6, and its center point (center of gravity) changes like C4 → C5 → C6. When an attempt is made to move the finger upward, first, as shown in FIG. 4A, when the operation is started, the finger is raised and brought into contact with only the fingertip, so that the contact area is minimized. Next, as shown in FIG. 4 (B), when the finger is moved up, the finger is put on his / her belly, and the contact area gradually increases while moving upward. And as shown in FIG.4 (C), it will be in the state which laid the finger | toe further, and a contact area will become the maximum.

  FIG. 5 shows the change of the contact area corresponding to the operation of FIG. 4 with the passage of time, with the horizontal axis representing time and the vertical axis representing the vertical coordinate. With respect to the change of the contact area TE, the movement of the designated coordinates of the operation point detected by the sensor of the conventional touch pad is the movement of the center point C (t) which is the center of gravity of the contact area TE. In this case, when the center point C (t) is adopted as the operation point, the movement becomes unstable due to the change of the contact area TE. Further, since the position of the center point C (t) is lowered with the enlargement of the contact area TE, the movement amount is reduced with respect to the upward operation, and the operation response is deteriorated. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the correction point A (t): Y = y + D / N obtained by adding the correction amount D / N to the center coordinate y is regarded as the operation point and used as the instruction coordinate. It is possible to obtain the designated coordinates of the matching operation point and improve the response at the time of operation. Note that the information P (t) that is actually output as the designated coordinates indicating the movement of the operation point is a movement amount as a relative coordinate, or information obtained by sequentially adding this movement amount to the value of the previous designated coordinate.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a method of calculating the movement amount of the operation point including the time when the contact starts and the time when the contact is released. When the user starts touching the touch pad and starts touching, that is, when the user starts pressing, for example, when attention is paid to the vertex T (t), the vertex moves due to an unstable change in the contact area, and blurring occurs. Further, when the user separates his / her finger from the touch pad, the vertex moves due to an unstable change in the contact area as in the case of the start of contact, and blurring occurs. For this reason, the movement amount of the operation point may be set to 0 until a certain contact width is reached or when the contact width is equal to or smaller than a certain contact width. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the amount of movement is calculated using the coordinates of the center point C (t) where there is no blur at the start of contact and when the contact is separated when the contact area or the contact width is less than the first predetermined value. Further, the movement amount is not added when the contact area or the contact width is less than a second predetermined value that is smaller than the first predetermined value. When the contact area is moving, the movement amount is calculated based on the coordinates of the correction point A (t).

(First embodiment)
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the operation input unit of the mobile terminal device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The portable terminal device includes a contact width calculation unit 31, a center coordinate calculation unit 32, a correction coordinate calculation unit 33, a determination unit 34, a movement amount calculation unit 35, and a coordinate output unit 36 as the coordinate correction unit 18 of the operation input unit 11. ing.

  The contact width calculation unit 31 inputs the contact information of the contact area of the touch pad 16 detected by the detection unit 17, calculates and outputs a contact width D indicating the vertical width of the contact area. As the means for calculating the contact width D, for example, regarding the output of each electrode in the detection area of the touch pad 16, the value of the Y coordinate in the vertical direction is small to the top two from among those that exceed a predetermined threshold value. The contact width is calculated by using the upper two items. In the touch pad, a portion where the output of the electrode exceeds a predetermined threshold is detected as a contact area in contact with the user's finger, so the difference between the largest and smallest Y coordinate values is It can be regarded as the width of the contact area.

  The center coordinate calculation unit 32 inputs the contact information of the contact area of the touch pad 16 detected by the detection unit 17, calculates the coordinates of the center of gravity as the coordinates of the center of the contact area, and outputs it as the center coordinate value y.

  The correction coordinate calculation unit 33 receives the contact width D from the contact width calculation unit 31, calculates a correction amount D / N using a preset correction parameter N, and outputs it.

  The determination unit 34 receives the contact information, the correction coordinate value Y, and the center coordinate value y, and determines whether the touching finger is moving based on the change in the width of the contact region, the center movement, and the like. Determine whether your finger is moving away.

  The movement amount calculation unit 35 calculates a correction coordinate value Y = y + D / N from the center coordinate value y and the correction amount D / N based on the determination result of the determination unit 34. In the configuration example of FIG. 7, it is assumed that the movement amount calculation unit 35 has a part of the function of the correction coordinate calculation unit. In addition, the movement amount calculation unit 35 calculates the movement amount using either the correction coordinate value Y or the center coordinate value y, and outputs the movement amount ΔY or Δy. The coordinate output unit 36 stores a coordinate storage unit 37 that stores the previously output instruction coordinates, and a coordinate calculation unit that calculates the instruction coordinates by adding the movement amount from the movement amount calculation unit 35 to the stored previous instruction coordinate value. 38. In the coordinate output unit 36, the movement amount calculated by the movement amount calculation unit 35 is input, and the designated coordinates of the operation point obtained by adding the movement amount are calculated and output. At this time, if the designated coordinate of the previous operation point is P (t−1), P (t) = P (t−1) + ΔY or P (t) = P (t−1) + Δy is output. As an output of the operation input unit 11 including the touch pad 16, in addition to outputting the designated coordinates P (t) of the operation point calculated by the coordinate output unit 36 as an absolute coordinate, the movement amount ΔY calculated by the movement amount calculation unit 35 is output. Alternatively, Δy may be output as a relative coordinate indicating the operation amount.

  Here, an example of a method for setting the correction parameter N will be described. For example, a straight line is displayed on the display unit 12, and the user actually touches the touch pad 16 to perform an operation of moving on the straight line at a constant speed. Then, a correction parameter N that allows the operation point to move at a constant speed is set. At this time, N may be obtained by calculation so that the movement of the correction coordinate Y is constant per unit time with respect to the movement of the center coordinate y from the calculation formula Y = y + D / N of the correction coordinate. A plurality of stages of parameters may be set, and N may be selected so that the moving speed of the correction coordinate Y is constant. When selecting an appropriate correction parameter N from a plurality of parameters prepared in advance, for example, the user may operate by setting each parameter and select the one that best suits his / her feeling.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the operation input unit in the first embodiment. First, the detection unit 17 determines the presence or absence of a contact area based on the output of the touch pad 16, and determines whether or not the touch pad 16 has detected a finger (step S11). If the finger is not detected, the process ends. If the finger is detected, the process proceeds to the next process. Next, using the contact information detected by the detection unit 17, the center coordinate calculation unit 32 calculates the center coordinate value y, and the contact width calculation unit 31 calculates the contact width D (step S12).

  Then, the determination unit 34 determines whether the finger in contact with the touch pad is moving, that is, whether the contact area is moving (step S13). The presence / absence of the movement of the finger in contact is determined by, for example, whether or not the contact width has decreased. When the finger is moved in the vertical direction, the area of the contact region changes as described above, and the vertical width thereof varies. In particular, when it is moved downward, the contact width decreases, so that the movement of the finger can be determined by the change in the width of the contact area. It is also possible to determine the presence or absence of finger movement based on the movement of the center of the contact area.

  In step S13, when the finger in contact with the touch pad is moving, the determination unit 34 further determines whether the finger in contact is moving away from the touch pad (step S14). Whether or not the finger is in a state of being separated from the touch pad is determined by, for example, whether the contact area is smaller than a predetermined value, that is, whether the contact width is smaller than the predetermined value. Here, when the movement of the finger is equal to or greater than the predetermined amount and the finger has not moved away from the touchpad, the correction coordinate calculation unit 33 calculates the correction amount D / N as a process when the operated finger moves ( Step S15). Then, the movement amount calculation unit 35 calculates the correction coordinate value Y = y + D / N from the center coordinate value y and the correction amount D / N, and calculates and outputs the movement amount ΔY using the correction coordinate value Y ( Step S16). By using the correction coordinates when the finger moves, it is possible to detect a movement that matches the user's intention.

  On the other hand, when the finger touching the touch pad is not moving in step S13, the movement amount calculation unit 35 calculates the movement amount Δy using the center coordinate value y as a process when the operated finger is stopped. The movement amount Δy is output (step S17). If the finger is moving away from the touch pad in step S14, the movement amount Δy is calculated using the center coordinate value y in the movement amount calculation unit 35 in step S17 as a process when the finger to be operated is separated. This movement amount Δy is output. Also, at the start of contact where the finger starts to touch the touch pad, the movement amount Δy is calculated using the center coordinate value y as in the case of separation. When the finger is stopped, separated, and contact is started, the center coordinates that are substantially stationary can be used to obtain stable designated coordinates with no unnecessary movement, and the coordinates of appropriate operation points can be detected. At the time of separation or at the start of contact, if the width or area of the contact area is less than the first predetermined value, the movement amount is calculated using the center coordinates, or the width or area of the contact area is the first predetermined value. Various modification examples are conceivable in the movement amount calculation process, such as not adding the movement amount when the value is smaller than the second predetermined value which is smaller than the second predetermined value.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when the finger touching the touch pad moves, the movement amount is calculated using the correction coordinates corrected by the predetermined correction parameter with respect to the coordinates of the contact area, and when the finger is stopped, At the time of separation and at the start of contact, the amount of movement is calculated using the center coordinates of the contact area. As a result, when the finger is moved and when the finger is stopped, it is possible to output an amount of movement that matches the movement intended by the user and obtain the indicated coordinates of the operation point. When performing an operation of tracing from the top to the bottom, it is possible to eliminate the problem of once moving in the reverse direction, and it is possible to perform an operation input suitable for the user's sense. Similarly, when performing an operation of tracing from the bottom to the top, it is possible to approach the movement intended by the user, and the response to the operation can be improved. Further, by using an appropriate correction parameter, the response can be further enhanced at the beginning of the movement of the contact area in any of the operations from the top to the bottom and from the bottom to the top. In addition, by using the correction coordinates and center coordinates, the movement amount and instructions of the operation point can be performed by simple processing compared to the case where the representative coordinates are calculated from the rate of increase of the area of the contact area, the distance and direction during movement, Coordinates can be obtained.

  Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to calculate the movement amount and instruction coordinates of the operation point with a simple process, to perform an input instruction that matches the user's intended operation, and to improve the response during the operation. it can. Thereby, the operability of the touch pad can be improved, and the usability of the mobile terminal device can be improved.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the operation input unit of the portable terminal device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The second embodiment includes a vertical direction detector 39 in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

  The vertical direction detection unit 39 detects the upward direction of the touch pad 16 by detecting the vertical direction of the housing and the display unit when the user is gripping and operating, and outputs the upward direction information to the contact width calculation unit 31 To do. The contact width calculation unit 31 calculates the contact width D in the vertical direction of the contact area based on the upward direction of the touch pad detected by the vertical direction detection unit 39. As the vertical direction detection means, for example, in the case of a foldable portable terminal device that can be opened and closed in a plurality of directions such as vertical opening and horizontal opening, an opening / closing direction detection means for detecting the opening / closing direction of the housing by a hinge part or the like is provided, The upward direction of the display unit including the touch pad is determined according to the opening / closing direction. Here, in the case of vertical opening, the upward direction is determined to be the upward direction when the gripping operation is performed in the vertical opening such as the longitudinal direction of the casing. In addition, the opening direction is determined to be the upward direction when the lateral opening is performed, and the upward direction is determined as the upward direction when the gripping operation is performed in the lateral opening. For mobile terminal devices that do not have a slide type or open / close mechanism, use the acceleration detection means such as an acceleration sensor or gyro as the vertical detection means to detect the vertical direction of the housing or display unit, Can be detected.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, by detecting the upward direction of the touch pad, the contact width in the vertical direction of the contact area can be appropriately calculated. Therefore, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, the amount of movement during operation and the detection accuracy of the operation point can be improved, and the operability can be further improved.

  The present invention is intended to be variously modified and applied by those skilled in the art based on the description in the specification and well-known techniques without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Included in the scope for protection.

  In the above-described embodiment, only the vertical direction of the touch pad is shown, but the same processing is also performed in the horizontal direction, and it is also possible to output designated coordinates using correction coordinates in two directions, the vertical direction and the horizontal direction. It is. Alternatively, the instruction coordinates may be output using the center coordinates in the left-right direction, and the processing in the left-right direction is arbitrary. That is, two types of processing, such as outputting the designated coordinates using the corrected coordinates only in the vertical direction and outputting the designated coordinates using the center coordinates in the horizontal direction, may be combined, or both in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction. Processing for outputting designated coordinates using the corrected coordinates may be applied.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention has an effect that it is possible to perform an input instruction suitable for a user's intended operation on the touch pad, and the operability can be improved, and a touch pad for performing an input instruction is provided. It is useful as a portable terminal device and an input device including this touch pad.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the portable terminal device which concerns on embodiment of this invention The figure which shows a mode when operation which traces a touch pad from the top to the bottom with a thumb The figure explaining the relationship between the change of a contact area at the time of operation of FIG. 2, and an operation point The figure which shows a state when the operation which traces the touch pad with thumb from the bottom to the top The figure explaining the relationship between the change of a contact area when the operation of FIG. 4 is performed, and an operation point The figure which showed the calculation method of the movement amount of the operation point including the time of contact start and the time of separation The block diagram which shows the structure of the operation input part of the portable terminal device which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the operation input part in 1st Embodiment. The block diagram which shows the structure of the operation input part of the portable terminal device which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Operation input part 12 Display part 13 Control part 14 Communication part 15 Audio | voice processing part 16 Touchpad 17 Detection part 18 Coordinate correction part 31 Contact width calculation part 32 Center coordinate calculation part 33 Correction coordinate calculation part 34 Determination part 35 Movement amount calculation part 36 Coordinate output unit 37 Coordinate storage unit 38 Coordinate calculation unit 39 Vertical direction detection unit

Claims (8)

A mobile terminal device having a touchpad,
A detection unit for detecting a contact area on the touchpad;
A contact width calculator that calculates a contact width indicating the width of the contact area;
A correction coordinate calculation unit that calculates correction coordinates based on the contact width;
A center coordinate calculation unit for calculating center coordinates of the contact area;
A determination unit for determining presence or absence of movement of the contact area;
A movement amount calculation unit that calculates a movement amount using either the correction coordinates or the center coordinates based on the determination result of the determination unit;
A coordinate output unit that outputs instruction coordinates that indicate a specific position corresponding to a touch operation on the touch pad using the calculated movement amount;
A mobile terminal device comprising: The mobile terminal device according to claim 1,
The said coordinate output part is a portable terminal device which has a coordinate memory | storage part which memorize | stores the said instruction | indication coordinate, and a coordinate calculation part which adds the movement amount by either the said correction | amendment coordinate or the said center coordinate to the said instruction | indication coordinate. The mobile terminal device according to claim 1,
The movement amount calculation unit calculates a movement amount using the correction coordinates when the contact area is moved by a predetermined amount or more, and uses the center coordinates when the movement of the contact area is less than the predetermined amount. Mobile terminal device that calculates the amount of movement. The mobile terminal device according to claim 3,
The said movement amount calculation part is a portable terminal device which calculates a movement amount using the said center coordinate, when the said contact width is less than 1st predetermined value. The mobile terminal device according to claim 4,
The movement amount calculation unit is a mobile terminal device that does not add movement amounts when the contact width is less than a second predetermined value that is smaller than the first predetermined value. The mobile terminal device according to claim 1,
The correction coordinate calculation unit calculates a correction amount by calculating a correction amount obtained by dividing the contact width by a predetermined correction parameter, and adding the correction amount to the center coordinate. The mobile terminal device according to claim 1,
A vertical direction detection unit that detects the vertical direction of the touchpad,
The said contact width calculation part is a portable terminal device which calculates the width | variety of the said contact area | region based on the information of the upper direction detected by the said up-down direction detection part. An input device for an electronic device equipped with a touchpad,
A detection unit for detecting a contact area on the touchpad;
A contact width calculator for calculating the width of the contact area;
A correction coordinate calculation unit that calculates correction coordinates based on the contact width;
A center coordinate calculation unit for calculating center coordinates of the contact area;
A determination unit for determining presence or absence of movement of the contact area;
A movement amount calculation unit that calculates a movement amount using either the correction coordinates or the center coordinates based on the determination result of the determination unit;
A coordinate output unit that outputs instruction coordinates that indicate a specific position corresponding to a touch operation on the touchpad using the calculated movement amount;
An input device comprising:

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