JP2011209832A - Input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an input device that prevents leakage of an authentication code even when someone else sees the operation to input the authentication code.SOLUTION: The input device to be used for inputting a character includes: a touch face; a load detection part detecting a load of pressing the touch face; a tactile feedback part vibrating the touch face; and a control part intermittently feeding back tactile sensation to an object that has touched the touch face by the tactile feedback part when the press load is detected by the load detection part, and performing control to input the character based on the number of the sensations fed back and the press load detected by the load detection part.

Description

  The present invention relates to an input device, and more particularly to an input device for inputting an authentication code.

  In order to use ATMs (Automated Teller Machines) or credit cards of automatic transaction equipment installed in financial institutions and convenience stores, a PIN (authentication code) that only the customer (user) who owns the card knows ) Is required. However, recently, when an authentication code is input, the authentication code leaks due to peeping or voyeurism, and unauthorized transactions due to the leaked authentication code tend to increase.

  For this reason, in recent years, security for authentication codes has been emphasized, and various measures have been taken. For example, Patent Document 1 below discloses a personal identification number input device that can prevent leakage of an authentication code even when the fingertip is viewed by another person when the authentication code is input.

  This personal identification number input device includes a display unit, an input unit including a numeric keypad, and an information processing unit that executes information processing. A series of information processing as shown in FIG. 6 is performed by the information processing unit. ing. The customer does not input the personal identification number (authentication code) as it is, but enters a numerical value obtained by performing a predetermined calculation on the personal identification number in accordance with an instruction issued from the personal identification number input device. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, when the personal identification number is “1234”, first, the information processing unit determines the calculation method and operand for each digit. Then, the information processing unit causes the display unit to display an instruction “Please input a value obtained by adding 2 to the first digit of your personal identification number and press the execution key”. As the first numerical value input operation, the customer adds “2” of the operand determined by the information processing unit to “1” that is the first digit of the password in accordance with the instruction displayed on the display unit. "From the input section and press the Enter key. The customer repeats such an operation for four digits, and the information processing unit performs an inverse calculation from the input numerical value to derive the original personal identification number for authentication.

  Thus, in the PIN code input device described in Patent Document 1, since the numeric key and the PIN code entered by the customer are different, even when the fingertip is directly viewed by another person when entering the PIN code, Your PIN will not be leaked.

JP 2008-140009 A

  However, in an input device in which a user directly inputs a personal identification number (authentication code) by pressing a key or button, a character associated with the pressed key is accepted as it is. That is, since the pressed key and the character received by the input device correspond to each other, there is a problem that the authentication code is leaked by peeping or voyeurizing the pressed key.

  Also, as in Patent Document 1, even if the authentication code is not directly input, if the instruction displayed on the display unit is seen or a voyeur is taken, the authentication code is easily obtained by calculation. There is a problem that the authentication code is leaked to others. This is because the character corresponding to the pressed key is accepted as it is, so when a peep or a voyeur is taken, the character accepted by the input device from the pressed key is known to the other person and displayed as that character. This is because the authentication code is derived by performing the calculation based on the instruction displayed on the section.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an input device that can prevent leakage of an authentication code even when an operation for inputting the authentication code is seen by others.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an input device according to a first invention is an input device for inputting characters, and vibrates the touch surface, a load detection unit that detects a pressing load on the touch surface, and the touch surface. When a pressing load is detected by the tactile sensation providing unit and the load detecting unit, the tactile sensation providing unit intermittently presents a tactile sensation to the touch target touching the touch surface, and the load detecting unit A control unit that controls to input characters based on the detected pressing load and the number of tactile sensations presented.

  Further, in the input device according to the second invention, the control unit is different for each range of the pressing load based on the magnitude of the pressing load detected by the load detecting unit and for each number of tactile sensations presented. When a character is associated and an input determination operation is detected, the character associated with the range of the pressing load including the pressing load detected by the load detection unit and the number of tactile sensations presented is input. It is characterized by controlling as follows.

  Moreover, the input device based on 3rd invention makes it the said input determination operation | movement that the said control part detects that the touch target which is touching the said touch surface slides.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, even when the operation which inputs an authentication code is seen by others, the input device which can prevent the leakage of an authentication code can be provided.

It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the input device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the conceptual diagram of tactile sensation generation | occurrence | production of the input device which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the input device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the timing of the tactile response in the input device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the timing of the tactile response in the input device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the input of the authentication code in the conventional input device, and an authentication method.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, as an example of the input device of the present invention, an input device for inputting an authentication code such as a credit card terminal such as a bank ATM, a CAT (Credit Authorization Terminal) or a CCT (Credit Center Terminal) A description will be given assuming that However, the input device of the present invention is not limited to the above-described devices. For example, various devices including an input device such as a station ticket vending machine, a desktop PC, a mobile phone, and a PDA ( A personal digital assistant), a notebook PC, a mini-notebook PC, or the like can be used as a portable terminal equipped with an input device.

  FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the input device 10 according to the present embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the input device 10 includes a touch surface 11, a load detection unit 12, a tactile sensation providing unit 13, a storage unit 14, and a control unit 15 that controls the overall operation.

  The touch surface 11 is a surface that is touched by a touch target such as a finger or a stylus pen, and is made of, for example, a transparent film, acrylic, or glass. Note that the touch surface 11 may have an arbitrary configuration as long as it can be touched by a touch target. The touch surface 11 may be configured to detect that the touch target has touched the touch surface 11 or may be configured not to detect the touch surface 11. When detecting a touch of a touch target, a detection method using a resistance film type, a capacitance type, an optical type, or the like, which is a known method, is used. Further, the control unit 15 described later can detect a position where a touch target such as a finger is touching the touch surface 11 based on the detection result of the touch surface 11.

  The load detection unit 12 detects a pressing load on the touch surface 11 and is formed of, for example, a piezoelectric element. The user touches the touch surface 11 when inputting the authentication code. The load detection unit 12 detects a pressing load applied to the touch surface 11 during this touch.

  As described above, in the present application, a load detected by the load detection unit 12 when the touch surface 11 is pressed by a touch target such as a finger in order to input an authentication code is referred to as a “pressing load”. The authentication code here is a code that only the user himself / herself can know, such as a personal identification number, and is generally used for identity verification. The authentication code is composed of one or more characters (characters include numbers, symbols, codes, and the like).

  The tactile sensation providing unit 13 vibrates the touch surface 11 and is configured using, for example, a vibration element such as a piezoelectric element. When the tactile sensation providing unit 13 vibrates, a tactile sensation can be presented to a touch target such as a finger touching the touch surface 11.

  When the load detection unit 12 and the tactile sensation providing unit 13 are configured using piezoelectric elements, the piezoelectric elements can be shared.

  The storage unit 14 stores various types of input information and an authentication code used to determine whether the user is the person by collating with the input character (character string) based on the user's operation. It also functions as a memory. In addition, flags used for various determination processes are stored. This flag has, for example, an on state and an off state, and the control unit 15 to be described later can control to perform different processing depending on whether the flag is on or off. The flag may be assigned not only as a binary item of ON and OFF but also a plurality of numbers and characters. In this way, by assigning a plurality of numbers to the flag, the control unit 15 can perform determination processing of three or more branches based on the flag.

  The control unit 15 performs overall control and management of the input device 10 including each functional block of the input device 10. Here, the control unit 15 is configured as software executed on an arbitrary suitable processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), or a dedicated processor specialized for each process (for example, DSP (Digital Signal Processor)). Can be configured. The control unit 15 collates the authentication code character (character string) input based on the user's operation with the authentication code stored in the storage unit 14, and authenticates the authentication code character (character string) with the authentication code. Determine if the codes match. If it is determined that the authentication code character (character string) matches the authentication code, it is determined that the user is the user and a predetermined process is performed. Here, the predetermined process is, for example, a deposit and withdrawal process when the bank ATM is provided with the input device 10.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a mounting structure of the touch surface 11, the load detection unit 12, and the tactile sensation providing unit 13 of the input device 10 illustrated in FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the main part of the input device 10.

  The touch surface 11 detects a touch by a touch target such as a finger. When the touch surface 11 is pressed by a touch target such as a finger, the pressed portion is slightly bent (distorted) according to the pressing force. The load detection unit 12 detects a pressing load when a touch target such as a finger presses the touch surface 11. For this reason, the load detection unit 12 is disposed on the back surface of the touch surface 11 so as to transmit a pressing load based on the pressing force applied to the touch surface 11. The tactile sensation providing unit 13 presents a tactile sensation to a touch target such as a finger touching the touch surface 11. For this reason, the tactile sensation providing unit 13 is disposed so as to contact the touch surface 11, for example, so that vibration can be transmitted to the touch surface 11. Further, when the load detection unit 12 detects a pressing load by pressing a touch target 11 such as a finger, the tactile sensation providing unit 13 intermittently touches the touch target touching the touch surface 11. Present tactile sensation.

  In the input device 10 according to the present embodiment, “1” “2” “3” “4” “5” “6” “7” “8” “9” “0” are used as the characters for the authentication code. Ten kinds of characters (numbers) are used. The authentication code is composed of two characters for the authentication code. Therefore, when the authentication code for confirming the person is set to “50”, when the user continuously inputs the characters “5” and “0” for the authentication code, the input device 10 indicates that the user is the person himself / herself. It is judged that.

  Among the characters for the authentication code, the input device 10 determines the number of times the tactile sensation is presented to the touch target touching the touch surface 11 by the pressing load detected by the load detecting unit 12 and the tactile sensation providing unit 13. Based on this, a character for one authentication code is input. As described above, when inputting the characters for the authentication code, the input device 10 presents in advance for each pressing load range based on the magnitude of the pressing load detected by the load detecting unit 12 and by the tactile sensation providing unit 13. A character for a different authentication code is associated with each tactile sensation.

  For this association, the input device 10 sets 1N as a load reference of the pressing load, for example, and the characters “1” and “1” for the authentication code are set within a pressing load range larger than 0 [N] and smaller than 1 [N]. 2 ”,“ 3 ”,“ 4 ”, and“ 5 ”are associated. Further, the input device 10 associates the characters “6”, “7”, “8”, “9”, and “0” for the authentication code with the range of the pressing load of 1 [N] or more.

  Further, the input device 10 uses the authentication code characters “1” and “6” when the number of tactile sensations presented by the tactile sensation providing unit 13 is 1, and the authentication code characters “2” and “2” when the tactile sensation is presented twice. 7 ”, authentication code characters“ 3 ”“ 8 ”in the case of 3 times, authentication code characters“ 4 ”,“ 9 ”in the case of 4 times, and character“ 5 ”for the authentication code in the case of 5 times. “0” is associated with each. Note that the number of tactile sensations presented here is, for example, that the tactile sensation providing unit 13 starts to vibrate the touch surface 11 and vibrates the touch surface 11 for an arbitrary period of time. That is, the operation process for stopping the vibration is performed once. By performing this operation process once, a user who touches the touch surface with a touch target such as a finger can feel that the touch surface 11 starts to vibrate and stops via the touch target such as a finger. Can be obtained once.

  In this way, the character for the authentication code is associated with each range of the pressing load based on the magnitude of the pressing load detected by the load detection unit 12 and each number of tactile sensations presented by the tactile sensation providing unit 13. Thus, for example, the tactile sensation providing unit 13 feels the touch target touching the touch surface 11 three times in a state where the load detecting unit 12 detects a pressing load of 0.7 [N]. When the input determination operation is detected after the presentation (after the third tactile sensation is presented and before the fourth tactile sensation is presented), the character “3” for the authentication code is inputted. . Similarly, the tactile sensation providing unit 13 has a tactile sensation four times against the touch target touching the touch surface 11 in a state where the load detecting unit 12 detects a pressing load of 1.2 [N]. When the input determination operation is detected after the presentation (after the fourth tactile sensation is presented and before the fifth tactile sensation is presented), the character “9” for the authentication code is inputted. .

  Here, as a case where this input determination operation is detected, for example, when the load detection unit 12 no longer detects a pressing load by a touch target such as a finger on the touch surface 11 (detects 0 [N]. When the load detection unit 12 detects a pressing load that satisfies a load standard (for example, 1N) (exceeds 1N), the load detection unit 12 changes from a state that satisfies the load standard to a state that does not satisfy (below). When a pressing load is detected, when the touch surface 11 no longer detects a touch by a touch target such as a finger, the control unit 15 detects that a touch target such as a finger touching the touch surface 11 is sliding. And the like.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the input device 10 according to the present embodiment. Before this flowchart is started, the characters “1”, “2”, “3”, “4”, “5”, “6”, “7”, “8”, “9”, and “0” for the authentication code are as described above. A character for a different authentication code is associated with each pressing load range based on the magnitude of the pressing load detected by the load detecting unit 12 and each tactile sensation presented by the tactile sensation providing unit 13. .

  The control unit 15 determines whether or not the load detection unit 12 has detected a pressing load on the touch surface 11 (step S101). When the load detection unit 12 determines in step S101 that the pressing load on the touch surface 11 has been detected, the control unit 15 sets the counter value of the counter provided in the control unit 15 to zero and stores it in the storage unit 14. The flag used for the stored process determination is turned off (step S102). After step S102, the control unit 15 determines whether or not the pressing load detected by the load detection unit 12 satisfies a preset load standard (for example, 1 [N]) (step S103). . When it is determined that the pressing load detected by the load detection unit 12 satisfies the load standard, the process proceeds to step S104, and the control unit 15 turns on the flag stored in the storage unit 14.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S103 that the pressing load detected by the load detection unit 12 does not satisfy the load standard, or after step S104, the control unit 15 causes the tactile sensation providing unit 13 to touch the touch surface. A time interval (wait time) for presenting a tactile sensation to a touch target such as a finger touching 11 is randomly determined (step S105). Then, the control unit 15 determines whether or not the wait time has elapsed from the time when the wait time is determined in step S105 (step S106). If it is determined in step S106 that the wait time has elapsed, the control unit 15 controls the tactile sensation providing unit 13 so as to present a tactile sensation to the touch target touching the touch surface 11 once. The counter value of the counter is incremented by 1 (incremented) (steps S107 and S108). After step S108, the control unit 15 returns to step S105, and again determines the wait time at random. Since the wait time is determined at random, the wait time determined last time and the wait time determined this time may be the same wait time, or may be different.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step 106 that the wait time determined in step S105 has not elapsed, the process proceeds to step S109, and the control unit 15 determines whether or not an input determination operation has been detected. When it is determined that an input determination operation has been detected, the control unit 15 inputs a previously associated character based on the counter value of the counter provided in the control unit 15 and the flag stored in the storage unit 14. (Step S110), the process is terminated. On the other hand, when the control unit 15 determines in step S109 that the input determination operation is not detected, the process returns to step S106.

  Note that there is a character associated in advance based on the counter value of the counter provided in the control unit 15 and the flag stored in the storage unit 14, but the character “1” for the authentication code is turned off in advance. When “2”, “3”, “4”, and “5” are associated with each other, and the flag is on, the characters “6”, “7”, “8”, “9”, and “0” for the authentication code are associated with each other. ing. The counter value 1 has the authentication code characters “1” and “6”, the counter value 2 has the authentication code characters “2” and “7”, and the counter value 3 has the authentication code characters “3” and “7”. “8”, counter value 4 are associated with authentication code characters “4” and “9”, and counter value 5 are associated with authentication code characters “5” and “0”.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 3, the process is terminated after inputting characters in step S110. However, when characters are continuously input, the process returns to step S101 after step S110 to continue the process.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the tactile sensation presentation timing when the characters “5” and “0” for the authentication code are input. The X-axis direction represents the transition of time, and the Y-axis direction represents the pressing load detected by the load detection unit 12. A black circle indicates a tactile sensation, a state A indicates a state in which the user is operating the input device 10 to input the character “5” for the authentication code, and a state B indicates that the user is authenticated. A state in which an operation is performed on the input device 10 to input the character “0” for code is shown. In FIG. 4, an input determining operation is detected by moving a touch target such as a finger away from the touch surface 11. In FIG. 4, the characters from “0” to “9” described in association with the tactile sensation presented by the black circle are input candidate characters for the authentication code at the time when the tactile sensation is presented. is there. For example, after the first tactile sensation is presented to the user by the tactile sensation presentation unit 13, the input candidate character for the authentication code is “1” until the second tactile sensation is presented, and the control unit 15 If an operation for determining input is detected during this period, “1” is input as a character for the authentication code.

  When the user applies a pressing force to the touch surface 11 at time t0, the control unit 15 causes the tactile sensation providing unit 13 to present a tactile sensation to a touch target such as a finger at random time intervals (wait time). Control. This tactile sensation is based on vibration. For example, various tactile sensations can be presented by changing the period and amplitude. In order to input the character “5” for the authentication code, the user adjusts the pressing force so that the pressing load detected by the load detecting unit 12 does not satisfy (does not exceed) the load reference P1 (1 [N]). In addition, the number of tactile sensations presented at random time intervals is counted, and after the tactile sensation is presented five times, a touch target such as a finger is separated from the touch surface 11 (at time t1). Thus, when the user performs an operation to input the character of the authentication code, the control unit 15 inputs the character “5” for the authentication code.

  Next, in order to input the character “0” for the authentication code, the user adjusts the pressing force so that the pressing load detected by the load detection unit 12 satisfies (exceeds) the load reference P1 (1N). Then, the number of tactile sensations presented at random time intervals is counted, and after the tactile sensation is presented five times, the finger touch object is separated from the touch surface 11 (at time t2). As described above, when the user performs an operation to input the character of the authentication code, the control unit 15 inputs the character “0” for the authentication code.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the tactile sensation presentation timing when the characters “5” and “0” for the authentication code are input, as in FIG. In FIG. 5, when the touch target such as a finger is moved away from the touch surface 11 and when the control unit 15 detects that the touch target touching the touch surface 11 has slid, an operation for determining input is detected. Is done. The description similar to FIG. 4 is omitted.

  In order to input the character “5” for the authentication code, the user adjusts the pressing force so that the pressing load detected by the load detecting unit 12 does not exceed the load reference P1 (1N), and at random time intervals. The number of tactile sensations presented in is counted, and after the tactile sensation is presented five times, the touch target touching the touch surface is slid (at time t1). As described above, when the user performs an operation to input the character of the authentication code, the control unit 15 inputs the character “5” for the authentication code.

  Next, in order to input the character “0” for the authentication code, the user adjusts the pressing force so that the pressing load detected by the load detection unit 12 exceeds the load reference P1 (1N), and at random. The number of tactile sensations presented at time intervals is counted, and after the tactile sensation is presented five times, a touch target such as a finger is separated from the touch surface 11 (at time t2). As described above, when the user performs an operation to input the character of the authentication code, the control unit 15 inputs the character “0” for the authentication code.

  As described above, in the input device 10 according to the present embodiment, the character for the authentication code is input based on the tactile sensation presented to the user and the pressing load detected by the load detection unit 12. These tactile sensations presented to the user and the pressing load detected by the load detecting unit 12 are what the tactile sensation is presented to the user even if the other person sees how the user operates the input device 10. However, it is not known how much the load detection unit 12 detects the pressing load. Accordingly, another person who is watching the user's operation cannot know the character that the user is trying to input, and thus can prevent the leakage of the result authentication code. In addition, since the time interval (wait time) for presenting the tactile sensation is determined at random, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the character that the user intends to input is guessed by others based on the operation time for the user to operate the input device. Can do. Moreover, since the character for a different authentication code is matched for every range of the press load based on the magnitude | size of the press load detected by the load detection part 12, and for every frequency | count of the tactile sensation shown by the tactile sensation presentation part 13, it is shown Compared with the case where the user tries to input only based on the number of tactile sensations, the input device 10 according to the present embodiment can quickly input the character for the authentication code.

  Although the present invention has been described based on the drawings and examples, it should be noted that those skilled in the art can easily make various modifications and corrections based on the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these variations and modifications are included in the scope of the present invention.

  In the present embodiment, the numbers from “0” to “9” are used as the authentication code and the characters for the authentication code. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the characters for the authentication code and the authentication code are used. , English characters, Chinese characters, symbols, symbols, and other arbitrary characters can be used.

  In the present embodiment, when the wait time elapses, a tactile sensation is presented to the touch target touching the touch surface 11, and this tactile sensation is represented by a pressing load detected by the load detection unit 12. You may make it differ by the case where the load reference | standard is satisfy | filled and the case where it does not satisfy | fill. By doing in this way, the user can judge whether the press load which the load detection part 12 has detected satisfy | fills the load reference | standard by the difference in tactile sense, and can prevent an incorrect input.

  In the present embodiment, the wait time until the tactile sensation is presented is determined at random. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the vibration continuation time during which the tactile sensation providing unit 12 vibrates the touch surface 11 is randomly selected. You may decide. By doing in this way, similarly to the case where the wait time is random, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the character to be input is guessed by another person due to the operation time on the input device 10.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the wait time until the tactile sensation is presented is newly determined randomly every time the tactile sensation is presented. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the waiting time for presenting one tactile sensation is not limited to this. Until a character is input, the tactile sensation may continue to be presented at a wait time interval determined at random once. By doing so, the user can easily take the timing for performing the input determination operation, and can reliably input the character for the authentication code to be input.

  Further, in the present embodiment, 1N is set as the load reference of the pressing load, and the characters “1” and “2” for the authentication code are within a pressing load range larger than 0 [N] and smaller than 1 [N]. "3", "4", "5" are associated, and the authentication code characters "6", "7", "8", "9", and "0" are associated with the pressure load range of 1 [N] or more. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the load standard of the pressing load is set to two of 1 [N] and 2 [N], and is larger than 0 [N] and from 1 [N]. The authentication code characters “1”, “2”, and “3” are associated with a small pressing load range, and the authentication code character “4” is set within a range of a pressing load that is smaller than 1 [N] to 2 [N]. "5" and "6" are associated with the characters "7", "8", and "9" for the authentication code within the range of the pressing load of 2 [N] or more. 0 "may be associated with. As described above, a plurality of load standards may be provided, and a character for an authentication code that is used as appropriate may be associated with each range of a plurality of pressing loads.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Touch surface 12 Load detection part 13 Tactile sense presentation part 14 Memory | storage part 15 Control part

Claims (3)

An input device for inputting characters,
Touch surface,
A load detection unit for detecting a pressing load on the touch surface;
A tactile sensation providing unit that vibrates the touch surface;
When a pressing load is detected by the load detection unit, the tactile sensation providing unit intermittently presents a tactile sensation to the touch target touching the touch surface,
A control unit that controls to input characters based on the pressing load detected by the load detection unit and the number of tactile sensations presented;
An input device comprising: The input device according to claim 1,
The control unit associates different characters for each range of the pressing load based on the magnitude of the pressing load detected by the load detection unit, and for each number of tactile sensations presented,
When an input determination operation is detected, control is performed to input characters associated with the range of the pressing load including the pressing load detected by the load detection unit and the number of tactile sensations presented. An input device characterized by. The input device according to claim 2,
The input device is characterized in that the control unit detects that the touch target touching the touch surface has slid as the input determination operation.

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