JP2011141584A - Input control equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the load of internal processing while improving operability. <P>SOLUTION: A control unit 13 includes: a mouse 23 for instructing execution of processing by moving a pointer to be displayed on a monitor 22; and a touch panel 51 superimposed on the monitor 22 to be depressed by a user. When the operation to the touch panel 51 is detected, a control part 56 turns the pointer which has been displayed so far to a non-display state, and when the mouse 23 is operated in such a state that the pointer is not displayed, displays the pointer again. When operating the touch panel 51 like this, visualization of the screen of the monitor 22 is facilitated and operability is improved by making the pointer non-displayed, and a processing load is reduced since the display processing of the pointer is not performed. This invention is applicable to an observation system. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an input control device capable of improving operability and reducing internal processing load when a touch panel and a mouse are used simultaneously.

  Conventionally, input control devices that can use a touch panel and a mouse at the same time are known. In such an input control device, the user not only moves the pointer on the display screen of the input control device by operating the mouse, but also presses the touch panel superimposed on the display screen with a finger. The pointer can be moved to the specified position (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2005-267377 A

  However, in general, the touch panel is operated when an input control device mainly selects a button displayed as an icon on the display screen. Therefore, the pointer is displayed each time the touch panel is operated. Moving was annoying to the user. In addition, depending on the display position of the pointer, buttons and characters on the display screen may be hidden by the pointer, making it difficult to see.

  Furthermore, if processing that always detects a mouse operation and displays a pointer and processing that detects a touch panel operation within the input control device, the processing load of the entire input control device increases. was there.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and improves the operability and reduces the processing load on the input control device when the touch panel and the mouse are used simultaneously in the input control device. It is something that can be done.

  The input control device of the present invention includes a display unit that displays an image on a display screen, a touch panel that is provided so as to be superimposed on the display screen, and detects the approach or contact of an object on the display screen, and an arbitrary on the display screen When an approaching or touching object to the display screen is detected by the operation input means operated when moving the display position on the display screen of the display means for instructing the position of the display and the touch panel, And the display control means for displaying the instruction means on the display screen when the operation input means is operated while the instruction means is not displayed.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, when using a touch panel and a mouse | mouth simultaneously in an input control apparatus, while improving operativity, the load in an input control apparatus can be reduced.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of one Embodiment of the observation system to which this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the structural example of a control unit. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of a menu. It is a flowchart explaining operation reception processing. It is a flowchart explaining the process with respect to a touch panel operation. It is a flowchart explaining the process with respect to a mouse operation.

  Embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[Configuration of observation system]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an embodiment of an observation system to which the present invention is applied.

  This observation system includes a microscope 11 for observing a sample, a camera head 12 fixed to the microscope 11, and a control unit 13.

  The microscope 11 irradiates the sample to be observed with illumination light, condenses the observation light generated in the sample by an optical system including an objective lens, and guides it to the camera head 12. The camera head 12 is composed of a camera or the like, receives observation light incident from the optical system of the microscope 11, converts it into an electrical signal, and supplies it to the control unit 13.

  The control unit 13 includes a main body 21, a monitor 22 including a liquid crystal display, and a mouse 23. The main body 21 is connected to the microscope 11 and the camera head 12 via a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface 24 and a cable 25.

  A touch panel (not shown) is superimposed on the display screen of the monitor 22, and the user operates the touch panel while viewing images and menus displayed on the monitor 22 or operates the mouse 23 to operate the microscope 11. And the operation of the camera head 12 is controlled.

[Configuration of control unit]
Further, the control unit 13 of FIG. 1 is configured as shown in FIG. 2 in more detail.

  That is, the control unit 13 includes a monitor 22, a mouse 23, a touch panel 51, a controller 52, a controller 53, an image processing unit 54, a display control unit 55, and a control unit 56. In FIG. 2, the same reference numerals are given to the portions corresponding to those in FIG. 1, and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

  The touch panel 51 is provided so as to overlap the display screen of the monitor 22, detects the proximity or contact (hereinafter simply referred to as contact) of a user's finger or the like, and supplies a signal corresponding to the detection result to the controller 52. . Based on the signal from the touch panel 51, the controller 52 supplies input operation information for specifying the contact position of the user to the touch panel 51 to the control unit 56.

  For example, when the user presses the touch panel 51, coordinates indicating the pressed position (contact position) and information indicating that the touch panel 51 has been touched are output from the controller 52 as input operation information. Here, the coordinates indicating the pressed position are the x-coordinate and the y-coordinate in the xy coordinate system with two straight lines orthogonal to each other on the display screen of the monitor 22 as axes. Hereinafter, the x coordinate and the y coordinate indicating the position on the display screen of the monitor 22 (the operation surface of the touch panel 51) are simply referred to as coordinates.

  For example, when the user releases the finger from the touch panel 51 from a state where the touch panel 51 is pressed by the user's finger, the controller 52 displays the coordinates indicating the position that has been pressed by the user so far, and the user presses the finger. Information indicating that it has been released is output as input operation information.

  The mouse 23 is operated by the user when moving a pointer displayed on the monitor 22 or selecting a button on a menu indicated by the pointer to execute a predetermined process. Here, the pointer is an instruction means for indicating an arbitrary position on the display screen of the monitor 22. The mouse 23 supplies a signal corresponding to the operation by the user to the controller 53.

  Based on the signal from the mouse 23, the controller 53 supplies coordinates indicating the movement destination of the pointer and information indicating the type of operation on the mouse 23 to the control unit 56 as input operation information. Here, the type of operation on the mouse 23 refers to which button provided on the mouse 23 is operated. For example, an operation on a button of the mouse 23 is a click, a double click, or the like.

  The click refers to an operation in which the user presses a button provided on the mouse 23 only once within a predetermined time, and the double click refers to an operation performed on the mouse 23 by the user within a predetermined time. This is an operation of pressing a given button twice in succession.

  The image processing unit 54 generates an observation image of the sample placed on the stage of the microscope 11 based on the electrical signal supplied from the camera head 12 and supplies the observation image to the display control unit 55. The display control unit 55 supplies an image such as an observation image from the image processing unit 54 or a menu supplied from the control unit 56 to the monitor 22 for display.

  The control unit 56 controls the operation of the camera head 12 and the microscope 11 according to the input operation information supplied from the controller 52 or the controller 53.

  Further, the control unit 56 includes a measurement unit 61, and the measurement unit 61 measures the distance between two points designated by the user in the observation image displayed on the monitor 22. More specifically, the actual distance between two parts on the sample displayed in the observation image is measured.

[Menu display example]
By the way, when the user turns on the power source of the microscope 11 or the control unit 13 and observation of the sample is started, the microscope 11 irradiates the sample on the stage with illumination light, and the camera head 12 is incident from the sample. The observation light is photoelectrically converted, and an electric signal obtained as a result is supplied to the image processing unit 54. Further, the image processing unit 54 generates an observation image of the sample based on the electrical signal from the camera head 12 and supplies it to the display control unit 55. The display control unit 55 supplies the observation image 91 and the pointer 93 image from the image processing unit 54 to the monitor 22 for display. Next, when the user moves the mouse 23 or touches the touch panel 51 to operate the mouse 23 or the touch panel 51, the menu 92 supplied from the control unit 56 is also displayed as shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 3, the observation image 91 of the sample to be observed is displayed on the entire display screen of the monitor 22, and is further superimposed on the observation image 91 on the display screen to instruct the execution and setting of various processes. A menu 92 and a pointer 93 as an instruction means are displayed.

  The menu 92 displayed on the monitor 22 includes a button 121 that is operated when the menu 92 is closed, a tag group 122 for displaying a button group of a specific category on the menu 92, and processing related to imaging of the observation image 91. A button group 123 is provided. The menu 92 also displays an enlargement button 124 for enlarging the observation image 91 and a button group 125 that is displayed when any one of the tag group 122 is selected.

  The tag group 122 includes five tags on which characters “camera”, “playback”, “save”, “tool”, and “setup” are displayed. For example, when the tag “camera” is selected, a button group 125 that is operated when performing various settings in the camera in the camera head 12 is displayed on the menu 92. For example, when the “reproduction” tag is selected, a button group for executing processing related to reproduction of the observation image 91 is displayed on the menu 92, and when the “save” tag is selected, the observation image 91 is displayed. A group of buttons for executing processing relating to storage is displayed on the menu 92.

  In addition, when a button displaying the letter “E” in the button group 123 is operated, exposure of the camera head 12 in the camera is started to capture the observation image 91, and the letter “C” is displayed. When the button is operated, the captured image 91 is stored in a memory (not shown).

  Furthermore, when a button located on the right side of the button group 125, for example, in the figure of the character “brightness” is operated, the exposure correction value of the observation image 91 is changed. Further, for example, when a button located on the right side of the character “saturation” in the button group 125 is operated, the color darkness adjustment value of the observation image 91 is changed and is located on the right side of the character “hue”. When the button is operated, the hue adjustment value of the observation image 91 is changed.

[Description of operation acceptance processing]
As described above, when the observation of the sample is started and the observation image 91 and the menu 92 are displayed on the monitor 22, the control unit 13 receives an operation on the touch panel 51 and the mouse 23 and executes a process according to the operation. Start the operation reception process.

  Hereinafter, the operation reception process by the control unit 13 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In step S11, the control unit 56 determines whether or not the touch panel 51 has been operated. For example, when input operation information including coordinates indicating a contact position of the touch panel 51 by the user and information indicating that the touch panel 51 has been touched is supplied from the controller 52 to the control unit 56, the touch panel 51 is operated. It is determined that

  If it is determined in step S11 that the touch panel 51 has been operated, in step S12, the control unit 13 performs processing for the touch panel operation. That is, processing according to the user's operation on the touch panel 51 is executed. And if the process with respect to a touch panel operation is performed, a process will return to step S11 after that and the process mentioned above will be repeated. Details of the processing for the touch panel operation will be described later.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S11 that the touch panel 51 has not been operated, in step S13, the control unit 56 determines whether or not the mouse 23 has been operated. For example, based on the input operation information supplied from the controller 53, the control unit 56 operates the mouse 23 when an instruction to move the pointer 93 by operating the mouse 23 or a button operation on the mouse 23 is detected. It is determined that

  If it is determined in step S13 that the mouse 23 has been operated, in step S14, the control unit 13 performs processing for the mouse operation. That is, processing according to the user's operation on the mouse 23 is executed. And if the process with respect to a mouse operation is performed, a process will return to step S11 after that and the process mentioned above will be repeated. Details of processing for mouse operations will be described later.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S13 that the mouse 23 has not been operated, the process returns to step S11 and the above-described process is repeated.

  In this way, when the observation of the sample is started, the control unit 13 monitors the user's operation on the touch panel 51 and the mouse 23 and performs processing according to the user's operation. This operation reception process is continuously performed, for example, until the observation of the sample is completed and the power of the control unit 13 is turned off.

[Description of processing for touch panel operation]
Next, processing for the touch panel operation corresponding to step S12 of FIG. 4 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  When the touch panel 51 is operated, in step S41, the control unit 56 determines whether or not the pointer 93 is displayed on the monitor 22. When it is determined in step S41 that the pointer 93 is displayed, in step S42, the control unit 56 controls display on the monitor 22 by the display control unit 55, and hides the pointer 93. That is, when the operation on the touch panel 51 is performed while the pointer 93 is displayed, the pointer 93 is not displayed and is not displayed on the monitor 22.

  If it is determined in step S42 that the pointer 93 is not displayed or the pointer 93 is not displayed in step S41, the control unit 56 determines whether or not the menu is displayed on the monitor 22 in step S43. judge.

  If it is determined in step S43 that the menu is not displayed, in step S44, the display control unit 55 displays the enlarged menu on the monitor 22 according to the control of the control unit 56.

  For example, the display control unit 55 displays a menu with fewer display items than the menu 92 displayed in FIG. Hereinafter, the menu 92 is also referred to as a normal menu, and a menu displayed larger than the normal menu is also referred to as an enlarged menu. That is, the enlarged menu is an enlarged display of the normal menu, and the functions and arrangement of buttons and the like displayed as icons on the enlarged menu are the same as those in the normal menu.

  When the enlarged menu is displayed in step S44, the process for the touch panel operation ends, and then the process returns to step S11 in FIG.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S43 that the menu is displayed, in step S45, the control unit 56 specifies the coordinates of the touch position on the touch panel 51 based on the input operation information from the controller 52. To do. That is, the control unit 56 specifies which position on the touch panel 51 the user touched from the coordinates included in the input operation information.

  In step S46, the control unit 56 displays a menu button or tag (hereinafter simply referred to as a button or the like) at the contact position of the touch panel 51 (display screen of the monitor 22) specified in the process of step S45. Determine whether or not.

  For example, when the normal menu or the enlarged menu is displayed on the monitor 22 and the user presses a button or the like on the menu displayed as an icon, the menu button or the like is displayed at the specified contact position. It is determined that That is, it is determined that a menu button or the like is displayed at the contact position when the user presses a button or the like on the menu and instructs execution of a process specified by the button or the like.

  If it is determined in step S46 that a menu button or the like is displayed at the contact position, in step S47, the control unit 56 executes processing according to the user's operation on the touch panel 51.

  For example, when the user presses the enlargement button 124 while the menu 92 shown in FIG. 3 is displayed on the monitor 22, the control unit 56 instructs the display control unit 55 to enlarge the observation image 91. . Then, the display control unit 55 enlarges and displays a part of the observation image 91 on the monitor 22 in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 56.

  If it is determined in step S47 that processing corresponding to the operation has been executed or no button or the like is displayed at the contact position in step S46, the control unit 56 displays a normal menu on the monitor 22 in step S48. It is determined whether or not.

  When it is determined in step S48 that the normal menu is displayed, in step S49, the display control unit 55 enlarges and displays the normal menu displayed on the monitor 22 according to the control of the control unit 56. And

  In other words, when the user performs an operation on the touch panel 51 while the normal menu is displayed on the monitor 22, the normal menu that has been displayed so far is enlarged and displayed as an enlarged menu.

  If it is determined in step S49 that the enlarged menu is displayed or the normal menu is not displayed in step S48, that is, if the enlarged menu is displayed, the process for the touch panel operation is terminated, and then the process is as shown in FIG. Return to step S11.

  As described above, when the touch panel 51 is operated while the pointer 93 is displayed, the control unit 13 hides the pointer 93 and displays the enlarged menu on the monitor 22. Control menu display.

  By hiding the pointer 93 when the touch panel 51 is operated, it is possible to prevent characters, buttons, observation images, and the like on the menu from being hidden by the pointer 93 and to improve operability. Moreover, since the display process of the pointer 93 is not performed during the operation of the touch panel 51, the processing load of the control unit 13 can be reduced accordingly.

  Further, by displaying a larger enlarged menu when an operation on the touch panel 51 is detected, the operation can be performed more reliably even when the touch panel operation is difficult to specify an accurate position. Can be improved.

  Further, for example, the user operates the touch panel on the menu displayed on the monitor 22 to designate any two points on the sample on the observation image, and between the two parts of the actual sample corresponding to the two points. Can be measured.

  When execution of such a measurement process is instructed by an operation on the touch panel 51 by the user, in step S47 described above, the control unit 13 performs the measurement process according to the user's operation and measures the distance.

  Specifically, when the touch panel 51 is operated, input operation information corresponding to the operation is supplied from the controller 52 to the control unit 56. Then, the control unit 56 specifies that the start of the measurement process is instructed based on the supplied input operation information and the coordinates of the buttons of the menu held in advance.

  Further, the control unit 56 controls the display control unit 55 to display the normal menu and the pointer 93 for the measurement process on the monitor 22 and accepts an operation on the touch panel 51 until the measurement process is completed. Stop temporarily. That is, the control unit 56 accepts only an operation on the mouse 23 without accepting an operation on the touch panel 51.

  At this time, since the distance cannot be measured accurately unless the position is designated by the pointer 93 according to the control of the control unit 56, the display control unit 55 displays a message on the monitor 22 that the operation on the touch panel 51 is not accepted. You may make it make it. Thereby, the user can know that the operation to the touch panel 51 is not accepted.

  When the normal menu for measurement processing is displayed on the monitor 22, the user operates the mouse 23 to move the pointer 93 and designates any two points on the sample on the observation image displayed on the monitor 22. . As a result of this designation operation, input operation information corresponding to the user's operation is supplied from the controller 53 to the measurement unit 61 of the control unit 56, so that the measurement unit 61 is designated 2 on the observation image from the input operation information. Specify the position of the point.

  Further, the measurement unit 61 acquires information about the camera built in the camera head 12 such as the resolution of the observation image from the camera head 12 as necessary, and also obtains information about the objective lens provided in the microscope 11 from the microscope 11. Information about the optical system such as optical magnification is acquired. And the measurement part 61 uses the information regarding the acquired camera, and the information regarding an optical system as needed, and the actual distance between two site | parts on a sample corresponding to two designated points on an observation image is obtained. The calculated value is calculated and recorded in a memory (not shown).

  In addition, the control unit 56 supplies the measurement value calculated by the measurement unit 61 to the monitor 22 via the display control unit 55 and displays it. When the measurement process is completed in this way, the control unit 56 starts accepting operations on the touch panel 51 again.

  When the measurement process is completed in step S47, the pointer 93 may be hidden again, and the process may proceed to step S48. Alternatively, the process from step S47 to FIG. You may make it return to the process of S11.

  As described above, when the distance measurement mode between two points, which is difficult operation by the touch panel operation, is entered, when the execution of the measurement process is instructed during the operation of the touch panel 51, the pointer 93 is displayed and the touch panel 51 is displayed. By not accepting the operation, it becomes possible to specify the position on the observation image more accurately, and the operability is improved. As a result, the user can obtain a more accurate measurement value. Even when the execution of the measurement process is instructed during the operation of the mouse 23, the control unit 56 stops accepting the operation on the touch panel 51, and resumes accepting the operation on the touch panel 51 when the measurement process ends. To do.

[Explanation of processing for mouse operation]
Next, processing for mouse operation corresponding to step S14 in FIG. 4 will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

  When the mouse 23 is operated, in step S81, the control unit 56 determines whether or not the pointer 93 is displayed on the monitor 22.

  If it is determined in step S81 that the pointer 93 is not displayed, in step S82, the control unit 56 controls display on the monitor 22 by the display control unit 55 and causes the monitor 22 to display the pointer 93. That is, when the user operates the mouse 23 in a state where the pointer 93 is not displayed, the pointer 93 is displayed on the monitor 22.

  If it is determined in step S82 that the pointer 93 is displayed or the pointer 93 is displayed in step S81, in step S83, the control unit 56 determines whether or not the enlarged menu is displayed on the monitor 22. To do.

  If it is determined in step S83 that the enlarged menu is displayed, the display control unit 55 causes the normal menu to be displayed on the monitor 22 in accordance with the control of the control unit 56 in step S84. That is, the menu display is switched from the enlarged menu to the normal menu before the enlargement.

  If it is determined in step S84 that the normal menu is displayed or that the enlarged menu is not displayed in step S83, the control unit 56 executes processing in accordance with the user's operation on the mouse 23 in step S85. .

  For example, when the user operates the mouse 23 to instruct the movement of the pointer 93, the control unit 56 specifies the movement destination of the pointer 93 based on the input operation information from the controller 53. Then, the control unit 56 controls the display control unit 55 to move the pointer 93 on the monitor 22 to the specified destination.

  Further, for example, when the menu 92 shown in FIG. 3 is displayed on the monitor 22, the user selects and clicks the button displaying the letter “C” in the button group 123 with the pointer 93. The control unit 56 causes the image processing unit 54 to record the observation image.

  When the process according to the user's mouse operation is executed in step S85, the process for the mouse operation ends, and then the process returns to step S11 of FIG.

  In this way, the control unit 13 displays the menu on the monitor 22 so that when the mouse 23 is operated in a state where the pointer 93 is not displayed, the pointer 93 is displayed and the normal menu is displayed. To control.

  By displaying the normal menu during the operation of the mouse 23, the observation image is not made invisible by the menu. Further, during the operation of the mouse 23, the pointer 93 can be used to indicate a more accurate position, so that the operability is not impaired even if the enlarged menu is not displayed.

  As described above, according to the control unit 13, the display of the pointer 93 and the menu 92 is controlled according to which of the touch panel 51 or the mouse 23 is operated. Therefore, it is possible to improve the operability by making use of the features of both the touch panel operation and the mouse operation, suppress unnecessary display of the pointer 93, and reduce the processing load.

  In the above description, the mouse 23 has been described as an example of the pointing device for moving the pointer 93. However, any other device that can instruct the movement of the pointer 93, such as a trackball or a trackpad, can be used. There may be.

  The embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  11 microscope, 12 camera head, 13 control unit, 22 monitor, 23 mouse, 51 touch panel, 56 control unit, 61 measuring unit, 92 menu, 93 pointer

Claims (4)

Display means for displaying an image on the display screen;
A touch panel provided to be superimposed on the display screen to detect the approach or contact of the display screen;
An operation input means that is operated when the display position on the display screen is moved by an instruction means that indicates an arbitrary position on the display screen;
When approaching or touching the display screen is detected by the touch panel, the instruction unit on the display screen is hidden, and the operation input unit is operated while the instruction unit is not displayed. An input control device comprising: display control means for displaying the instruction means on the display screen. Based on a plurality of positions on the observation image specified in a state where the observation image of the observation target is displayed on the display unit, the distance between the observation target parts corresponding to the plurality of specified positions Measuring means for measuring,
The input control device according to claim 1, further comprising: a control unit that stops receiving an operation on the touch panel when an instruction to perform a measurement process by the measurement unit is given. The display control means enlarges and displays the menu when an approach or contact of the display screen is detected by the touch panel while the menu is displayed on the display means. Item 3. The input control device according to item 1 or 2. The display control means displays the menu before enlargement when the operation input means is operated in a state where the enlarged menu is displayed on the display means. The input control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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