JP2011154553A - Information processor, information processing method, program and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve input operability when drawing a figure by use of a touch panel. <P>SOLUTION: A composite machine 100 detects contact coordinates X(N), Y(N) between the touch panel 90 and a contact object, distinguishes a minimum value Xmin and a maximum value Xmax of the X coordinate, and a minimum value Ymin and a maximum value Ymax of the Y coordinate as a contact range, and obtains minimum contact coordinates (Xmin, Ymin) and maximum contact coordinates (Xmax, Ymax) from the distinguished contact range. The composite machine 100 sets an elliptic figure E1 inscribed in a quadrangle formed by the minimum contact coordinates (Xmin, Ymin) and the maximum contact coordinates (Xmax, Ymax) as a display area, and displays it on a display device 18. Thereby, the figure can be drawn according to a contact area of a finger when performing input by the finger, and the figure can be drawn according to a contact area of a pen point when performing the input by a touch pen. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, a program, and a storage medium.

  The number of devices equipped with a touch panel is increasing year by year, and in recent years, it has become popular as a general input device such as being mounted on a mobile device such as a mobile phone or a mobile game machine. A touch panel is an absolute coordinate input device that has a one-to-one correspondence between the display screen and input points. Compared with coordinate input devices such as touchpads and mice that have a separate input point and display unit, input operations are straightforward and simple. There is an advantage of being.

  For example, in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, a technique for improving operability by determining a contact range between a touch panel and a contact object that performs input, and enlarging or reducing the display according to the size of the contact range of the contact object. Is disclosed.

  However, in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 described above, the electrical input information is corrected, and the position information of the contact portion such as a finger or a touch pen that is in contact with the touch panel is displayed on the touch panel regardless of the contact area. Is corrected so that the contact coordinate is one point. For example, when drawing a figure, even if the contact area is changed by changing the contact area, it is not possible to draw with a different line width as with normal writing tools, and the figure is drawn with a uniform line width. There is a problem that only drawing is possible.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to improve input operability when drawing a graphic using a touch panel.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the information processing apparatus according to the present invention is configured such that, when a contact object comes into contact with the touch panel, the contact coordinates included in the contact area where the contact object contacts the touch panel. Input receiving means for receiving the input, contact range determining means for determining a contact range in which the contact area is represented by a minimum value and a maximum value of the contact coordinates, and the contact range determined by the contact range determining means Display area setting means for setting a display area on the display unit corresponding to the input contact area; display control means for displaying the display area set by the display area setting means on the display unit; It is characterized by providing.

  In the information processing method of the present invention, the information processing apparatus includes a control unit and a storage unit, and when the control unit comes into contact with the touch panel, the contact region is in contact with the touch object. An input receiving step for receiving an input of contact coordinates included in the contact range, a contact range determination step for determining a contact range in which the contact area is represented by a minimum value and a maximum value of the contact coordinates, and the contact range determination means A display area setting step for setting a display area on the display unit corresponding to the input contact area using the contact range, and the display area set by the display area setting means is displayed on the display unit. And a display control step.

  In addition, the program of the present invention includes a computer, an input receiving unit that receives an input of a contact coordinate included in a contact area where the contact object is in contact with the touch panel when the contact object contacts the touch panel, and the contact Corresponding to the input contact area using the contact range determining means for determining the contact range representing the area by the minimum value and the maximum value of the contact coordinates, and the contact range determined by the contact range determining means The display area setting means for setting a display area on the display section and the display control means for displaying the display area set by the display area setting means on the display section are functioned.

  The storage medium of the present invention is a computer-readable storage medium storing the program.

  According to the present invention, the touch range is determined based on the minimum and maximum values of the contact coordinates with which the touch object touches the touch panel, and the display area is set using the determined touch range. The display area can be changed in accordance with the range, and there is an effect that it is possible to improve the input operability when drawing a figure using the touch panel.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a multifunction machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the multifunction peripheral. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the touch panel and the method for detecting the position of the contact point. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the touch panel and the method for detecting the position of the contact point. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a detected potential when a finger is touched. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the detected potential when touched with a touch pen. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the line width when a finger is input. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the line width when input is performed with a touch pen. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a contact range, a minimum contact coordinate, and a maximum contact coordinate. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of an input reception process from a contact object performed by the touch panel controller. FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of display processing performed by the multifunction peripheral. FIG. 12 is a functional block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a multifunction machine according to the second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the contact center coordinates. FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of display processing performed by the multifunction peripheral. FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining a case where a multipoint input touch panel according to the third embodiment is used to input with a plurality of types of contact objects. FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the multifunction machine. FIG. 17 is a functional block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the multifunction machine. FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a plurality of contact points at the time of the previous input. FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a plurality of contact points at the time of input this time. FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of a combination of a contact point at the previous input and a contact point at the current input. FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating an example of a combination of a contact point at the previous input and a contact point at the current input. FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of display processing performed by the multifunction peripheral.

  Exemplary embodiments of an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, a program, and a storage medium according to the present invention are explained in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a multifunction peripheral 100 as an information processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the multifunction peripheral 100 includes a controller 1, a communication control unit 13, an external storage device 14, an external media input / output device 15, a printing device 16, an image reading device 17, and a display device 18. The operation input device 19 is connected to each other by a PCI (Peripheral Component Interface) bus or interface.

  The communication control unit 13 performs control for the MFP 100 to communicate with the Internet 21, a PC (Personal Computer) 25, a server 24, and the like via a LAN (Local Area Network).

  The external storage device 14 is an external HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or the like. The external media input / output device 15 inputs and outputs data to and from external media such as a multimedia card, smart media, memory stick, SD memory card, CD-ROM, flexible disk, and USB memory.

  The printing device 16 is a color laser printer or inkjet printer that performs color printing, monochrome printing, single-sided printing, or double-sided printing. The image reading device 17 is a color scanner that reads an image such as a photograph or a document.

  The display device 18 is configured by an LCD (liquid crystal display) or the like, and displays information such as a scanned image, print settings, FAX settings, and various other settings. The display device 18 includes a touch panel 90 on the surface of the liquid crystal panel, and displays images such as figures and characters input from the touch panel 90 of the operation input device 19. The display device 18 is not limited to the LCD, and other displays such as a CRT may be used. Note that the display position (display coordinates) when displaying an image on the liquid crystal panel is associated with the detection position (contact coordinates) at which the touch panel 90 detects contact.

  The operation input device 19 includes a resistance film type touch panel 90 and key buttons (not shown) provided on the surface of the liquid crystal panel of the display device 18, and the user touches the touch panel 90 or presses the key buttons. Accepts input from.

  The controller 1 controls the entire multifunction peripheral 100, and controls image processing, communication, input reception processing from the operation input unit 19, display processing of the display device 18, and the like. The controller 1 includes a CPU 2, a memory unit 3, a FAX control unit 4, a LAN control unit 5, an input control unit 12, an input / output device control unit 6, a storage device control unit 7, a storage device 9, The image processing control unit 8, the print control unit 10, the image reading control unit 11, and the display control unit 70 are provided. These units are connected by a bus or interface such as AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port). ing.

  The memory unit 3 includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) used as a memory for storing programs and data, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) used as a memory for developing programs and data, a drawing memory for printers, and the like.

  The storage device 9 is composed of an HDD (hard disk drive) or the like, and is a storage device for storing image data, programs, font data, and forms.

  The CPU 2 controls the apparatus according to a control program stored in the memory unit 3. The CPU 2 also stores a FAX control unit 4, a LAN control unit 5, an input / output device control unit 6, a storage device control unit 7, an image processing control according to a program stored in the storage device 9 and expanded in the memory unit 3 as necessary. The unit 8 and the input control unit 12 are controlled.

  The FAX control unit 4 transmits the image data read by the image reading device 17 and the data stored in the storage device 9 or the memory unit 3 via the FAX line 23, and the data received via the FAX line 23 is stored in the storage device 9. For example, storage in a storage area.

  The LAN control unit 5 performs control to connect to the PC 25, the server 24, the Internet 21, etc. via the communication control unit 13 and the LAN, and receives data to be printed by the printing device 16 and images read by the image reading device 17. Send data, etc.

  The input / output device control unit 6 controls data read processing and write processing of the external storage device 14 and the external media input / output device 15.

  The storage device control unit 7 controls data read processing and write processing of the storage device 9.

  The image processing control unit 8 controls the print control unit 10 that controls the printing device 16, the image reading control unit 11 that controls the image reading device 17, and the display control unit 70 that controls the display device 18. .

  The input control unit 12 receives input from the touch panel 90 or key buttons (not shown) of the operation input device 19 and performs processing related to the received data. The input control unit 12 includes a touch panel controller 80 that processes data input from the touch panel 90 and controls the touch panel 90.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the multifunction peripheral 100 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the display control unit 70 includes a display area setting unit 71, a display control unit 72, and an image memory 73. The touch panel controller 80 includes an input receiving unit 81, a contact range determining unit 82, and a memory 83.

  Here, the configuration of the touch panel 90 and the input receiving operation will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 are diagrams for explaining the configuration of the resistive film type touch panel 90 and the method for detecting the position of the contact point. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the touch panel 90 includes an A surface that provides a potential difference in the X direction and a B surface that provides a potential difference in the Y direction orthogonal to the X direction. Then, when the B surface is pressed, the B surface is bent by the press and comes into contact with the A surface, and the A surface and the B surface are conducted. Thereby, the potential at the contact point can be detected, and the position in the X direction and the position in the Y direction can be detected by converting the potential into a position based on the resistance ratio.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a detection potential when the touch panel 90 is touched with a finger, and FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a detection potential when the touch panel 90 is touched with a touch pen. As shown in FIG. 5, when a finger as a contact object touches the touch panel 90 with a wide contact area, detection positions (detection coordinates) for detecting contact are wide. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, when the touch pen touches the touch panel 90 with a narrow contact area, the detection position for detecting the contact converges in a narrow range.

  In the conventional touch panel, when receiving an input from a contact object having a different thickness as described above, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the coordinates X1 (see FIG. 5) and X2 of the center of the detection position where the contact is detected are detected. (See FIG. 6) was determined as an input position (input coordinates), and displayed on the display device with a constant line width regardless of the contact ranges w1 and w2 where the contact object touched.

  On the other hand, when the finger is a contact object as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the MFP 100 according to the present embodiment has a line width corresponding to the contact range w <b> 1 when the finger touches the touch panel 90. Is displayed on the display device, and when the touch pen is a contact object as shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, the line width corresponding to the contact range w2 when the touch pen contacts the touch panel 90 To display a figure (trajectory of the contact object) on the display device.

  The input reception unit 81 (see FIG. 2) receives input of contact coordinates included in a contact area where the contact object touches the touch panel 90 when the contact object contacts the touch panel 90. That is, the input receiving unit 81 receives the coordinates of the position where the potential change is detected by the contact of the contact object as the contact coordinates (X (N), Y (N)), and all the contact coordinates received within a certain detection time. Is stored in the memory 83. Further, the input receiving unit 81 repeats the detection of the contact coordinates a plurality of times (N times).

  The memory 83 stores coordinate data (X (N), Y (N)) of all contact coordinates for N times received by the input receiving unit 81. Further, the memory 83 stores a contact range in which the touch area where the touch panel 80 and the contact object are in contact is represented by the minimum value and the maximum value of the contact coordinates.

  The contact range determination unit 82 reads the data of the contact coordinates X (N) and Y (N) for N times from the memory 83, and as shown in FIG. 9A, the minimum value Xmin and the maximum value Xmax of the X coordinate are The minimum value Ymin and the maximum value Ymax of the Y coordinate are discriminated as the contact range. Further, as shown in FIG. 9B, the contact range determination unit 82 obtains (Xmin, Ymin) as the minimum contact coordinates, obtains (Xmax, Ymax) as the maximum contact coordinates, and obtains the coordinate data of these two points. Store in the memory 83.

  The display area setting unit 71 sets a display area using the contact range determined by the contact range determination unit 82. Here, the display area is an area displayed by the display device 18 in association with the contact area when the touch panel 90 is input with a contact area with a contact object.

  More specifically, the display area setting unit 71 reads the minimum contact coordinates (Xmin, Ymin) and the maximum contact coordinates (Xmax, Ymax) from the memory 83. Then, as shown in FIG. 9B, the display area setting unit 71 is a quadrangle formed by the minimum contact coordinates and the maximum contact coordinates, that is, X = Xmin, X = Xmax, Y = Ymin, Y = Ymax. An ellipse figure E1 inscribed in a quadrangle surrounded by four straight lines is set as a display area. More specifically, the display area setting unit 71 uses the X coordinate Xmin of the upper left corner of the ellipse figure E1 and the upper left corner of the ellipse figure E1 as data for displaying the ellipse figure E1 as the display area on the display device 18. The Y coordinate Ymax, the width Xmax-Xmin of the ellipse figure E1, and the height Ymax-Ymin of the ellipse figure E1 are stored in the image memory 73.

  The image memory 73 stores, as data for displaying the elliptical figure E1 on the display device 18, the X and Y coordinates of the upper left corner of the elliptical figure E1, and the width and height of the elliptical figure E1.

  The display control unit 72 reads data for displaying the ellipse figure E1 from the image memory 73, and uses the read data and an elliptic function such as an Oval (fillOval) function or an Ellipse function for displaying the ellipse. The ellipse figure E1 is displayed on the display device 18.

  Next, the procedure of the input reception process performed by the multifunction machine 100 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a procedure of input reception processing from a contact object performed by the touch panel controller 80.

  The input receiving unit 81 detects the contact coordinates a plurality of times (for example, 20 times) and stores the coordinate data of all the detected contact coordinates in the memory 83. Therefore, when the power is turned on (step S1), the input receiving unit 81 initializes the number of detections N with 1 (step S2). The input coordinate reading process on the touch panel 90 starts from step S3.

  The input reception unit 81 applies a voltage in the X direction of the A plane as shown in FIG. 3 (step S3). When the contact object is in contact with the point C, the B surface is bent and the A surface and the B surface are in contact with each other, so that the input receiving unit 81 generates a potential E_x (N) from the B surface as shown in FIG. It detects (step S4). The input receiving unit 81 calculates the contact coordinates X (N) in the X direction from the detected potential E_x (N) and the resistance coefficient of the A plane (step S5), and all the contact coordinates X detected within a certain detection time. (N) is stored in the memory 83 (step S6).

  Moreover, the input reception part 81 applies a voltage to the Y direction of B surface, as shown in FIG. 4 (step S7). Then, the potential E_y (N) is detected from the A plane (step S8). The input receiving unit 81 calculates the contact coordinates Y (N) in the Y direction from the detected potential E_y (N) and the resistance coefficient of the B surface (step S9), and all the contact coordinates Y detected within a certain detection time. (N) is stored in the memory 83 (step S10).

  The input reception unit 81 increments the number of detections N by 1 (step S11), and determines whether or not the number of detections N is greater than 20 (step S12). When N is 20 or less (step S12: No), the process returns to step S3 and the processes of steps S3 to S12 are repeated.

  On the other hand, when the contact coordinates are detected 20 times and N is larger than 20 (step S12: Yes), the contact range determination unit 82 determines the contact coordinates X (N = 1 to 20) stored in the memory 83. The minimum value Xmin and the maximum value Xmax are discriminated from the inside (step S13). Similarly, the minimum value Ymin and the maximum value Ymax are determined from the contact coordinates Y (N = 1 to 20) stored in the memory 83 (step S14). Then, the contact range determination unit 82 obtains the minimum contact coordinates (Xmin, Ymin) and the maximum contact coordinates (Xmax, Ymax) with reference to Xmin, Xmax, Ymin, and Ymax, and stores them in the memory 83 (step S15). And it returns to step S2 and continues the input detection from a contact part.

  Next, a display processing procedure performed by the multifunction peripheral 100 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of display processing performed by the multifunction peripheral 100.

  The controller 1 performs display control when input of a figure starts, that is, when a touch object such as a finger or a touch pen touches the touch panel 90 and the touch panel controller 80 detects a change in potential as described above (step S21). The processing unit 70 is controlled to start display processing for the contact coordinates. First, the display area setting unit 71 reads the minimum contact coordinates (Xmin, Ymin) and the maximum contact coordinates (Xmax, Ymax) stored by the contact range determination unit 82 in step S15 of FIG. 10 from the memory 83 (step S22). .

  The display area setting unit 71 displays an ellipse figure E1 (see FIG. 9B) inscribed in a rectangle formed by the minimum contact coordinates (Xmin, Ymin) and the maximum contact coordinates (Xmax, Ymax) read in step S22. An area is set (step S23). Then, the display area setting unit 71 stores, in the image memory 73, the X and Y coordinates of the upper left corner of the elliptical figure E1 and the width and height of the elliptical figure E1 as data for displaying the elliptical figure E1 on the display device. (Step S24). The display control unit 72 displays the ellipse figure E1 on the display device 18 using the data stored in the image memory 73 (step S25).

  Then, the controller 1 determines whether or not the input has been completed by determining whether or not the contact object has left the touch panel 90 (step S26). When the figure is being input by the user and the input is not finished (step S26: No), the controller 1 returns to step S22 and repeats the processes of steps S22 to S26. On the other hand, when it is determined that the contact object has moved away from the touch panel 90 and the figure input has been completed (step S26: Yes), the controller 1 ends the process (step S27).

  As described above, the MFP 100 according to the present embodiment determines the contact range from the contact coordinates X (N) and Y (N), and displays the elliptical figure E1 inscribed in the quadrangle formed by the determined contact range. The area is displayed on the display device 18. Therefore, when inputting with a touch pen, a figure can be drawn with a thickness corresponding to the contact area of the tip of the touch pen. When inputting with a finger, the figure is drawn with a thickness corresponding to the contact area of the finger. can do. If the contact object is elastically deformed, such as a finger or a soft pen tip, the contact area and the contact range change depending on the writing pressure, so that the display area can be changed according to the writing pressure. That is, it is possible to easily change the display area following the change of the contact range, and it is possible to improve the input operability when drawing a figure.

  Further, since the multifunction peripheral 100 sets the display area based on the contact ranges Xmin, Xmax, Ymin, and Ymax, the contact area of the contact object (the area of the colored portion in FIG. 9A) is accurately calculated. Even without this, the display area can be changed in correspondence with the area where the contact object has come into contact. Therefore, there is an advantage that the memory capacity and the calculation amount required for setting the display area can be reduced as compared with the case where the contact area is calculated one by one.

(Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment, the display image is updated each time the contact range of the contact portion is detected a plurality of times. For example, when drawing a continuous line with a finger, the contact area of the finger is changed to change the contact area. You can change the thickness of the displayed line by changing the range. On the other hand, there is a case where it is desired to make the line thickness the same from the input start point to the input end point of one line. In the second embodiment, the display area described above is set according to the contact range of the contact object at the input start position where the contact object starts contact, and this is used up to the input end position where the contact object ends continuous contact. It is characterized by that.

  A multifunction device 200 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 and 14. FIG. 12 is a functional block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the multifunction device 200. As shown in FIG. 12, the display control unit 270 mainly includes a display area setting unit 271, a display control unit 272, and an image memory 273 that stores the display area. The touch panel controller 80 mainly includes an input reception unit 81, a contact range determination unit 82, and a memory 83. The same components as those of the MFP 100 according to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

  The display area setting unit 271 sets a display area for the input start position based on the contact range at the input start position where the contact object starts touching the touch panel 90 and stores the display area in the image memory 273.

  That is, when the ellipse figure E1 as the display area is not stored in the image memory 273, the display area setting unit 271 stores the memory 83 as in the display area setting unit 71 of the first embodiment. Data for displaying the ellipse figure E1 on the display device 18 is stored in the image memory 273 based on the minimum contact coordinates and the maximum contact coordinates.

  In addition, when the ellipse figure E1 is stored in the image memory 273, the display area setting unit 271 calculates the center point of the contact range and stores it in the image memory 273 as the contact center coordinates that are the center coordinates of the contact range. To do. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 13, the display area setting unit 271 displays the coordinates (Xmid, Ymid) of the center point of the line segment connecting the minimum contact coordinates (Xmin, Ymin) and the maximum contact coordinates (Xmax, Ymax). , Xmid = (Xmin + Xmax) / 2 and Ymid = (Ymin + Ymax) / 2 are stored in the image memory 73 as contact center coordinates. Then, the display area setting unit 271 sets the contact center coordinates (Xmid, Ymid) stored in the image memory 273 as the coordinates of the center of the ellipse figure E1, and sets the ellipse figure E1 centered on the contact center coordinates as the display area. And stored in the image memory 273.

  The display control unit 272 displays the display area stored in the image memory 273 on the display device 18 while the input by the contact is continuously performed after the contact object starts the contact.

  Similar to the image memory 73, the image memory 273 stores data for displaying the ellipse figure E1, and also stores contact center coordinates (Xmid, Ymid).

  Next, a display processing procedure performed by the MFP 200 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of display processing performed by the multifunction device 200. The same processes as those described with reference to FIG.

  The display area setting unit 271 determines whether or not the ellipse figure E1 has already been generated and the coordinate data related to the ellipse figure E1 is stored in the image memory 273 (step S30). If the ellipse figure E1 is not generated and the coordinate data related to the ellipse figure E1 is not stored in the image memory 273 (step S30: No), the process proceeds to step S31. The display area setting unit 271 sets, as a display area, an elliptical figure E1 that is inscribed in a rectangle formed by the minimum contact coordinates and the maximum contact coordinates read in step S22 (step S31). Then, the display area setting unit 271 stores data for displaying the elliptical figure E1 on the display device 18 in the image memory 273, similarly to step S24 of FIG. 11 (step S32).

  On the other hand, when the ellipse figure E1 is generated and the coordinate data related to the ellipse figure E1 is stored in the image memory 273 (step S30: Yes), the process proceeds to step S33. The display area setting unit 271 calculates the contact center coordinates (Xmid, Ymid) using the minimum contact coordinates (Xmin, Ymin) and the maximum contact coordinates (Xmax, Ymax) stored in the image memory 273, and stores them in the image memory 273. Store (step S33). The display area setting unit 271 sets the contact center coordinates (Xmid, Ymid) read from the image memory 273 as the coordinates of the center of the ellipse figure E1, and sets the ellipse figure E1 centered on the contact center coordinates as the display area. And stored in the image memory 273 (step S34). The display control unit 272 displays the ellipse figure E1 on the display device 18 using the data stored in the image memory 273 (step S35).

  As described above, the multifunction device 200 according to the second embodiment has a locus of a series of contact points connecting the input start position where the contact object starts contact and the input end position where the contact object ends contact. On the other hand, the ellipse figure E1 at the input start time is consistently input as a display area. As a result, the display area can be kept constant regardless of changes in the input pressure or contact angle of the contact object during operations such as drawing a line, and the locus of the contact object can be drawn with a uniform line width. it can. Therefore, it is possible to draw a figure according to the input method desired by the user, and it is possible to improve the input operability at the time of drawing the figure.

(Third embodiment)
In the first and second embodiments, the number of contact points by the contact object is one point. However, in the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 15, multiple inputs that can simultaneously accept inputs from a plurality of contact objects. In the point input type touch panel, a display area corresponding to the contact range of each contact object is displayed.

  A multifunction peripheral 300 according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the multifunction device 300, and FIG. 17 is a functional block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the multifunction device 300. The same components as those of the MFP 100 according to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

  As illustrated in FIG. 16, the multi-function apparatus 300 includes a multi-point input touch panel 390 and a touch panel controller 380 that processes data input from the multi-point input touch panel 390 and controls the touch panel 390. Yes. As shown in FIG. 17, the display control unit 370 includes a display area setting unit 371, a display control unit 372, and an image memory 73. The touch panel controller 380 includes an input reception unit 381, a contact range determination unit 382, and a memory 383.

  The multi-point input type touch panel 390 is an optical touch panel using an optical sensor built-in LCD (Liquid Crystal Display). Note that as the multi-point input type touch panel 390, another optical touch panel such as a camera system or a capacitive touch panel may be used. The LCD with a built-in optical sensor is provided with a control circuit for each light emitting element arranged in a grid, and the touch sensor's touch coordinates can be detected by providing a photosensor in the control circuit. It can be used as a sensor. Further, in the optical sensor, as described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-130276, a lens or a pin is used so that the display light of the LCD is reflected by the contact object and the reflected light is focused by the optical sensor. A hole is placed. In addition, the optical sensors arranged in a grid form detect the reflected light. The touch panel controller 380 compares the light intensity detected by the light sensor with the light intensity at the time of no input, and detects that the contact is detected when the light intensity of the detected light is high by a predetermined intensity. Coordinate data is accepted as contact coordinates.

  The input reception unit 381 calculates the movement distance of each contact point for each of a plurality of contact points (contact center coordinates) received from a plurality of contact objects at a predetermined time step, and the calculated movement distance is minimized. The contact coordinates by the same contact object are identified by the combination of points. Further, the contact range determination unit 382 stores the contact coordinates of the same contact object in the memory 383 in association with the identification number M for identifying each contact object.

  Next, a method in which the input receiving unit 381 detects the identity of a plurality of contact objects will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a plurality of contact points at the time T (k−1) at the previous input, and FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a plurality of contact points at the time T (k) at the current input. The input receiving unit 381 counts the time T at a predetermined time step. Further, the input receiving unit 381 compares the plurality of contact center coordinates at each time step (n = 1, 2,..., K−1, k,...) With the plurality of contact center coordinates at the preceding and following time steps. In the example shown in FIG. 18 and FIG. 19, since the number of contacts simultaneously touching the touch panel 390 is two, the contact point at the previous input T (k-1) (see FIG. 18) and the current input T (k) As a combination with the contact point (see FIG. 19), there are two patterns as shown in FIGS. Therefore, the input reception unit 381 takes the sum of the distances for each combination for all combinations of the contact center coordinates at the previous input T (k-1) and the contact center coordinates at the current input T (k). Calculate the smallest one.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 20, the distances D1 and D2 between the contact point at the previous input and the contact point at the current input are calculated, and the sum D of these distances is calculated as D = D1 + D2. Further, as shown in FIG. 21, distances d1 and d2 between the contact point at the previous input and the contact point at the current input are calculated for another combination, and the sum d of these distances is set as d = d1 + d2. calculate. The input reception unit 381 compares the distance sums D and d, and when the distance sum d in FIG. 21 is smaller than the distance sum D in FIG. 20 as shown in FIGS. 20 and 21, FIG. The combination of the contact points shown is determined to be due to the same contact object.

  The memory 383 includes coordinate data (minimum contact coordinates (Xmin, Ymin) and maximum contact coordinates (Xmax, Ymax)) and contact center coordinates (Xmid, Ymid) of the contact range of M contact points. Stored in association with the point identification number M.

  The contact range determination unit 382 reads the contact coordinates of each M contact object from the memory 383 and calculates the minimum contact coordinate (Xmin, Ymin) and the maximum contact coordinate (Xmax, Ymax) from each contact coordinate of each contact object. The contact range is determined for each contact object, and stored in the memory 383 in association with the identification number M of each contact point.

  The display area setting unit 371 reads the minimum contact coordinate and the maximum contact coordinate of each identification number M from the memory 383, and each elliptical figure E (M) inscribed in the quadrangle formed by each minimum contact coordinate and each maximum contact coordinate. Is set as a display area for the identification number M. Further, the display area setting unit 371 displays the ellipse figure E (M) on the display device 18 as data for displaying the X and Y coordinates of the upper left corner of the ellipse figure E (M) and the ellipse figure E (M). The width and height are stored in the image memory 373 for the elliptic figure E (M) of each identification number M.

  The image memory 373 stores the above-described data for displaying each of the M elliptical figures E (M) in association with the identification number M of each contact point.

  The display control unit 372 displays the elliptic figure E (M) with the identification number M on the display device 18 by using the data stored in the image memory 373 and the above-described elliptic function.

  Next, a display processing procedure performed by the multifunction machine 300 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of display processing performed by the multifunction peripheral 300 in the third embodiment.

  The controller 1 controls the display control processing unit 370 when input of a figure starts, that is, when a plurality of contact objects touch the touch panel 390 and changes in potential are detected at a plurality of coordinates (step S41). Display processing for contact coordinates is started. First, the display area setting unit 371 sets the identification number M to 1 (step S42). The display area setting unit 371 reads the minimum contact coordinates (Xmin, Ymin) and the maximum contact coordinates (Xmax, Ymax) from the memory 383 for the contact coordinates of the first contact point whose identification number is 1 (step S43).

  Next, the display area setting unit 371 forms a quadrangle formed by the minimum contact coordinates (Xmin, Ymin) and the maximum contact coordinates (Xmax, Ymax) for the contact point with the identification number M of 1 (FIG. 9B )) Is set as a display area (step S44). Then, the display area setting unit 371 uses the X coordinate of the upper left corner of the elliptical figure E (M) as data for displaying the elliptical figure E (M) on the display device 18 for the contact point with the identification number M = 1. The Y coordinate and the width and height of the ellipse figure E (M) are stored in the image memory 373 (step S45).

  The display area setting unit 371 increments the contact point identification number M by 1 (step S46). The display area setting unit 371 determines whether the identification number M is larger than the total number of contact points with reference to the memory 383 (step S47). When the identification number M is not greater than the total number of contact points (step S47: No), the display area setting unit 371 repeats steps S43 to S47 for all the contact points with the identification number M.

  On the other hand, when the identification number M is larger than the total number of contact points (step S47: Yes), the process proceeds to step S48. The display control unit 372 displays each elliptical figure E (M), which is each display area, on the display device 18 for each contact point of the identification number M stored in the image memory 373 (step S48). The controller 1 determines whether the input process has been completed (step S49). When the input process ends (step S49: Yes), the controller 1 ends the process (step S50). When the input process has not ended (step S49: No), the controller 1 returns to step S42 and repeats the processes of steps S42 to S49.

  As described above, in the third embodiment, on the multi-point input type touch panel 390, a display area corresponding to the contact area of each contact object is displayed on the display device 18 for each of the plurality of contact objects. . Therefore, even when performing drawing with a plurality of contact points such as a touch pen with a large number of people or a plurality of contact points, the line width to be drawn can be changed according to each writing pressure and the contact area of the contact object, It is possible to improve the input operability when drawing a figure.

  The program executed by the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment is provided by being incorporated in advance in a ROM or the like. The program executed by the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment is a file in an installable or executable format, such as a CD-ROM, a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), or the like. The information may be provided by being recorded on a recording medium that can be read by the user.

  Furthermore, the program executed by the information processing apparatus of the present embodiment may be configured to be provided by being stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and downloaded via the network. Further, the program executed by the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

  The program executed by the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment includes the above-described units (input reception units 81 and 381, contact range determination units 82 and 382, display area setting units 71, 271, and 371, and display control units 72 and 272). 372). As actual hardware, the CPU 2 (processor) reads out and executes a program from the memory unit 3 or the like, so that the above-described units are loaded on the main storage device, and an input receiving unit 81, 381, contact range determination units 82, 382, display region setting units 71, 271, 371, and display control units 72, 272, 372 are generated on the main storage device.

  In the above description, the elliptical figure E1 is used as the display area. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other figures may be used as the display area.

  In the above description, the contact range of the contact object is set by the minimum value and the maximum value of the contact coordinates. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other coordinates indicating the range of the contact coordinates X (N) and Y (N) are used. Also good.

100, 200, 300 MFP 1 Controller 18 Display device 70, 270, 370 Display control unit 71, 271, 371 Display area setting unit 72, 272, 372 Display control unit 73, 273, 373 Image memory 80, 380 Touch panel controller 81 , 381 Input reception unit 82, 382 Contact range determination unit 83, 383 Memory 90, 390 Touch panel

JP 2003-345511 A JP 2006-085218 A

Claims (8)

An input receiving means for receiving an input of a contact coordinate included in a contact area where the contact object is in contact with the touch panel when the contact object is in contact with the touch panel;
Contact range discriminating means for discriminating a contact range in which the contact area is represented by a minimum value and a maximum value of the contact coordinates;
Display area setting means for setting a display area on a display unit corresponding to the input contact area, using the contact range determined by the contact range determination means;
Display control means for displaying the display area set by the display area setting means on the display unit;
An information processing apparatus comprising: A storage means for storing the display area;
The display area setting means calculates the center coordinates of the contact range, and sets the display area by the calculated center coordinates and the display area stored in the storage means;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. The display area setting means determines whether or not the storage means stores the display area, and when the storage means stores the display area, the central coordinates and the storage means store. The display area is set according to the display area, and when the storage means does not store the display area, the display area is set using the contact range determined by the contact range determination means. thing,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 2. The input accepting unit accepts input of the contact coordinates where a plurality of the contact objects are in contact in a multi-point touch panel,
The contact range determining means determines the contact range for each contact object based on a minimum value and a maximum value of the contact coordinates for each contact object,
The display area setting means sets the display area for each contact object using the contact range for each contact object determined by the contact range determination means,
The display control unit displays the display area for each contact object set by the display area setting unit on the display unit,
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The display area setting means sets an elliptical figure inscribed in a polygon formed by the maximum value and the minimum value of the contact coordinates as the display area;
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein The information processing apparatus includes a control unit and a storage unit.
An input receiving step of receiving an input of a contact coordinate included in a contact area where the contact object is in contact with the touch panel when the contact object is in contact with the touch panel;
A contact range determination step of determining a contact range in which the contact area is represented by a minimum value and a maximum value of the contact coordinates;
A display area setting step for setting a display area on the display unit corresponding to the input contact area using the contact range determined by the contact range determination means;
A display control step of displaying the display area set by the display area setting means on the display unit;
An information processing method comprising: Computer
An input receiving means for receiving an input of a contact coordinate included in a contact area where the contact object is in contact with the touch panel when the contact object is in contact with the touch panel;
Contact range discriminating means for discriminating a contact range in which the contact area is represented by a minimum value and a maximum value of the contact coordinates;
Display area setting means for setting a display area on a display unit corresponding to the input contact area, using the contact range determined by the contact range determination means;
Display control means for displaying the display area set by the display area setting means on the display unit;
Program to make it work.   A computer-readable storage medium storing the program according to claim 7.

Images