JP2012083840A - Input device and keyboard device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an input device capable of reducing the occurrence of a beat of oscillatory waves, and a keyboard device.SOLUTION: An input device 101 includes input means 111 having an input surface where an operator performs input operation, and plural pieces of vibration means 115and 115placed at positions for vibrating the input means. Further, the input device includes detection means 112 for detecting that the input operation is performed on the input surface, and control means 113 for outputting a control signal for vibrating the vibration means in order to notify the operator by vibration that the input operation has been performed on the input surface when the input operation on the input surface is detected. In the input device, the plural pieces of vibration means are placed so that vibration surfaces of adjacent vibration means are perpendicular to each other.

Description

  The present invention relates to an input device and a keyboard device, and more particularly to a touch panel type or capacitance type input device and a keyboard device.

  In recent years, as input devices for mobile devices and the like, touch panels have been widely used in place of conventional button-type input devices. However, the touch panel has a drawback that it is difficult for an operator to understand that an operation has been performed on the input surface of the touch panel.

  In view of this, attention has been paid to force feedback technology (HAPICS technology) that vibrates the touch panel in response to a touch operation to convey to the operator that the operation on the input surface has been performed. The vibration of the touch panel can be generated by vibration of a motor, for example.

  FIG. 11 is a device configuration diagram schematically showing the configuration of the input device 201 described in Patent Document 1. As shown in FIG. In the input device 201 of FIG. 11, motors (actuators) 213 are arranged at the respective corners of the touch panel 211, and the operator operates that the input surface is operated by vibrating the motor 213 according to the touch operation. Happily telling.

Special table 2009-533762

  When a touch panel is vibrated by a motor, the touch panel is heavy with respect to a large touch panel. Therefore, if the touch panel is vibrated by one motor, the vibration amount is insufficient. In this case, similarly to the case of FIG. 11, it is conceivable to solve the shortage of vibration amount by arranging a motor at each corner of the touch panel and vibrating the touch panel with a plurality of motors.

  However, in this case, when a rotary vibration motor is used, the rotational speed is slightly different even with the same type of motor. Therefore, when multiple motors are vibrated simultaneously, a beat of the vibration wave is generated and the amplitude of the vibration wave is increased. Will no longer be constant. Therefore, the effect of using a plurality of motors is reduced.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an input device and a keyboard device that can reduce the occurrence of beats of vibration waves when the input means is vibrated by a plurality of vibration means.

  An input device according to one aspect of the present invention includes an input unit having an input surface for an operator to perform an input operation, and a plurality of vibration units arranged at positions where the input unit is vibrated. Furthermore, the input device is configured to detect that an input operation to the input surface has been performed, and when an input operation to the input surface is detected, the input operation to the input surface has been performed. Control means for outputting a control signal for causing the vibration means to vibrate so as to notify the operator of the fact by vibration. Furthermore, in the input device, the plurality of vibration means are arranged such that vibration surfaces of adjacent vibration means are perpendicular to each other.

  In addition, a keyboard device according to another aspect of the present invention includes the input device, and the input unit is a touch panel that displays a software keyboard, or a plurality of keys that configure the keyboard are a single plate-like member. It is a formed hardware keyboard.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an input device and a keyboard device that can reduce the occurrence of beats of vibration waves when the input means is vibrated by a plurality of vibration means.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the input device of 1st Embodiment. It is a top view which shows the structure of the input device of 1st Embodiment. 3 is a graph showing amplitudes in the X, Y, and Z directions at points A, B, and C in FIG. 2. It is the top view which compared the structure of the input device of 2nd Embodiment, and the structure of the input device of a comparative example. It is the graph which showed the vibration waveform of each direction in the input device of 2nd Embodiment, and the input device of a comparative example. It is a top view for demonstrating the relationship between arrangement | positioning of a motor, and a gravity center. It is a top view which shows the structure of the input device of 3rd Embodiment. It is a top view which shows the structure of the input device of 4th Embodiment. 9 is a graph showing amplitudes in the X, Y, and Z directions at points A, B, and C in FIG. 8. It is an apparatus block diagram which shows schematically the structure of the keyboard apparatus of 5th Embodiment. FIG. 10 is a device configuration diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of an input device described in Patent Literature 1.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the input device 101 according to the first embodiment.

  An input device 101 in FIG. 1 is a touch panel type input device, and includes a touch panel 111, a touch panel IC (Integrated Circuit) 112, a control device 113, a plurality of motor drivers 114, and a plurality of motors 115.

  The touch panel 111 has an input surface for an operator to perform an input operation. The touch panel 111 is an example of input means of the present invention. When the operator performs an input operation on the input surface, an electrical signal is output from the touch panel 111 to the touch panel IC 112. The touch panel IC 112 detects that an input operation to the input surface has been performed based on the electrical signal. The touch panel IC 112 is an example of the detection means of the present invention.

The motor 115 is disposed at a position for vibrating the touch panel 111. The motor 115 is an example of the vibration means of the present invention. In FIG. 1, two motors 115 ₁ and 115 ₂ are shown. Specific positions of these motors 115 ₁ and 115 ₂ will be described later.

The motor driver 114 is a driver for driving the motor 115. 1 includes a motor driver 114 ₁ for driving the motor 115 _1, and a motor driver 114 ₂ for driving the motor 115 ₂ is shown. The motor 115 ₁ and the motor driver 114 ₁ constitute one actuator. Similarly, the motor 115 ₂ and the motor driver 114 ₂ constitute one actuator.

  The control device 113 is a device that outputs a control signal for vibrating the motor 115 and supplies the control signal to the motor driver 114.

  In the present embodiment, when an input operation to the input surface of the touch panel 111 is detected, an electrical signal is output from the touch panel IC 112 to the control device 113. When receiving this electrical signal, the control device 113 outputs a control signal for vibrating the specific motor 115 so as to notify the operator that the input operation to the input surface has been performed. Thereby, the operator can know that it operated on the input surface by the vibration of the touch panel 111. Note that which motor 115 the control device 113 vibrates to cause the touch panel 111 to vibrate will be described later. The control device 113 is an example of the control means of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, the motor driver 114 ₁ drives one motor 115 ₁ , but a plurality of motors 115 may be driven instead. In this case, the plurality of motors 115 are connected in parallel to the motor driver 114 _1, it is simultaneously driven by the motor driver 114 _1.

Similarly, the motor driver 114 ₂ may drive a plurality of motors 115 instead of driving one motor 115 ₂ . In this case, the plurality of motors 115 are connected in parallel to the motor driver 114 _2, it is simultaneously driven by the motor driver 114 _2.

  FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the configuration of the input device 101 according to the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the touch panel 111 of the present embodiment has a rectangular planar shape. In FIG. 2, the directions along the long side and the short side of the touch panel 111 are the X direction and the Y direction, respectively. Furthermore, the direction perpendicular to the input surface of the touch panel 111 is the Z direction.

  FIG. 2 further shows a center of gravity G of the touch panel 111 and a straight line L passing through the center of gravity G and extending in the X direction. FIG. 2 further shows points A, B, and C on the straight line L. Point B is located at the center of gravity G. Point A is located near one short side of touch panel 111, and point C is located near the other short side of touch panel 111.

Further, the motors 115 ₁ and 115 ₂ of the present embodiment are arranged near both ends of the horizontally long touch panel 111 as shown in FIG. Specifically, the motor 115 ₁ is disposed near the point A on the straight line L, and the motor 115 ₂ is disposed near the point C on the straight line L.

In addition, each of the motors 115 ₁ and 115 ₂ of the present embodiment has a weight with a biased center of gravity attached to the rotation axis thereof, and operates so as to vibrate circularly in a vibration plane perpendicular to the rotation axis. In Figure 2, the plane of vibration of the motor 115 ₁ is set parallel to the XZ plane, the motor 115 ₁ vibrates to have a vibration component in the X and Z directions. On the other hand, the plane of vibration of the motor 115 ₂ is set parallel to the YZ plane, the motor 115 ₂ oscillates to have a vibration component in the Y and Z directions.

As described above, the motors 115 ₁ and 115 ₂ of the present embodiment are arranged so that the vibration surface of the motor 115 _{1 and} the vibration surface of the motor 115 ₂ are perpendicular to each other. The motors 115 ₁ and 115 ₂ are arranged on the same straight line L passing through the center of gravity G, and their vibration surfaces are arranged parallel or perpendicular to the straight line L. Specifically, the vibration surface of the motor 115 ₁ is set parallel to the straight line L, and the vibration surface of the motor 115 ₂ is set perpendicular to the straight line L. The advantages of such an arrangement will be described later.

  FIG. 3 is a graph showing amplitudes in the X, Y, and Z directions at points A, B, and C in FIG.

  The horizontal axis in FIGS. 3A to 3C represents the position on the straight line L. In each of FIGS. 3A to 3C, the positions of points A, B, and C are shown. 3A, 3B, and 3C represent the X component, Y component, and Z component of the amplitude on the straight line L, respectively.

In each of FIGS. 3A to 3C, curves M ₁ and M ₂ are shown. A curve M ₁ represents the amplitude of vibration generated by the motor 115 ₁ , and a curve M ₂ represents the amplitude of vibration generated by the motor 115 ₂ .

FIG. 3A shows X-direction vibrations caused by the motors 115 ₁ and 115 ₂ . As shown in FIG. 3 (a), X-direction vibration by the motor 115 ₁ are oscillating at approximately the same amplitude at any position. In addition, since the motor 115 ₂ does not vibrate in the X direction, the X direction vibration at each position is almost solely due to the motor 115 ₁ .

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3 (b), in the Y-direction vibration at each position, component by the motor 115 ₂ is the main. The X-direction vibration is parallel to the straight line L passing through the center of gravity G, whereas the Y-direction vibration is perpendicular to the straight line L. Therefore, the Y-direction vibration caused by the motor 115 ₂ is further away from the motor 115 ₂ , that is, As it goes to the left in FIG. 3B, the amplitude becomes smaller.

Thus, the vibrations by the motors 115 ₁ and 115 ₂ have large components in different directions. Therefore, when the motors 115 ₁ and 115 ₂ are vibrated simultaneously, the vibrations by the motors 115 ₁ and 115 ₂ can hold both the amplitude in the X direction and the amplitude in the Y direction without canceling each other. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the motors 115 ₁ and 115 ₂ are vibrated at the same time, it is possible to obtain a stronger combined vibration than when the motors 115 ₁ and 115 ₂ are vibrated alone.

As shown in FIG. 3C, with respect to the amplitude in the Z direction, near the point B, the amplitude by the motor 115 ₁ and the amplitude by the motor 115 ₂ are approximately the same, and a beat is generated. However, since the vibrations in the X direction and the Y direction hardly interfere, and the amplitude in the Z direction is small when the amplitude is away from the point B, the vibration surfaces of the motors 115 ₁ and 115 ₂ are set in parallel according to this embodiment. Compared to the case, it is possible to obtain a combined vibration with fewer beats. This will be described in detail in a second embodiment described later.

  Finally, the effect of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

As described above, in the input device 101 of the present embodiment, the motors 115 ₁ and 115 ₂ for vibrating the touch panel 111 are arranged such that their vibration surfaces are perpendicular to each other. Thus, in the present embodiment, when the motors 115 ₁ and 115 ₂ are vibrated simultaneously, it is possible to obtain a strong combined vibration with fewer beats than when the vibration surfaces of the motors 115 ₁ and 115 ₂ are parallel to each other. It becomes possible.

  Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to vibrate the large touch panel 111 with a sufficient amount of vibration. Further, the motor 115 for vibrating the touch panel 111 does not need to be expensive, and the large touch panel 111 can be sufficiently vibrated with an inexpensive rotary vibration motor.

In the present embodiment, the motors 115 ₁ and 115 ₂ need not always vibrate at the same time, and only one of them may be vibrated independently. For example, when sufficient vibration is obtained with only one motor 115, only one motor 115 is vibrated, and when vibration is insufficient with only one motor 115, two motors 115 are vibrated simultaneously. In the present embodiment, selection of the motor 115 to be vibrated can be realized by the control device 113 selecting the motor driver 114 corresponding to the motor 115 to be selected and supplying a control signal to the selected motor driver 114. .

  In the present embodiment, various vibration means other than the rotary vibration motor can be employed as the vibration means. This embodiment has an advantage that the drive control of the vibration means can be sufficiently realized by a drive circuit for ON / OFF control instead of a high-speed drive circuit synchronized with vibration.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the touch panel 111 is vibrated by the plurality of motors 115, it is possible to reduce the generation of vibration wave beats.

  Hereinafter, the second to fifth embodiments, which are modifications of the first embodiment, will be described focusing on differences from the first embodiment.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 4 is a plan view comparing the configuration of the input device 101 of the second embodiment and the configuration of the input device 101 of the comparative example. 4A shows the touch panel 111 of the input device 101 of the second embodiment, and FIG. 4B shows the touch panel 111 of the input device 101 of the comparative example.

In FIG. 4B, a plurality of motors 115, specifically, three motors 115 _{1 to} 115 ₃ are attached to the touch panel 111. In FIG. 4B, the vibration surfaces of these motors 115 _{1 to} 115 ₃ are set parallel to each other.

In this case, even if these motors 115 _{1 to} 115 ₃ are of the same type, their rotational speeds are slightly different. Therefore, if these motors 115 _{1 to} 115 ₃ are vibrated at the same time, the difference in the rotation speed appears as a beat of the vibration wave. In addition, when these rotational speeds are very close, if the phases of vibrations of different motors are shifted from each other by 180 degrees, the vibrations may cancel each other.

On the other hand, also in FIG. 4A, a plurality of motors 115, specifically, three motors 115 _{1 to} 115 ₃ are attached to the touch panel 111. However, in FIG. 4A, these motors 115 _{1 to} 115 ₃ are arranged so that the vibration surfaces of adjacent motors are perpendicular to each other. Specifically, the vibration surface of the motor 115 _{1 and} the vibration surface of the motor 115 ₃ are set perpendicular to each other, and similarly, the vibration surface of the motor 115 _{2 and} the vibration surface of the motor 115 ₃ are set perpendicular to each other. Has been.

Thus, in FIG. 4 (a), in the same reason as in the case of FIGS. 2 and 3, in each position between the motor ₁₁₅₁ and the motor 115 _3, each between the motor 115 ₁ and the motor 115 ₃ Even at the position, it is possible to obtain a combined vibration with fewer beats than in the case of FIG.

  When combining vibrations in directions that do not interfere with each other at a certain point on the touch panel 111, the amplitude of each direction of the combined vibration is the same as the amplitude of each vibration before the combination, but the overall amplitude of the combined vibration is vector-like. It becomes stronger than the amplitude of each vibration before synthesis. Therefore, by vibrating a plurality of motors simultaneously, it becomes possible to obtain a stronger vibration than when one motor is vibrated alone.

  FIG. 5 is a graph showing vibration waveforms in respective directions in the input device 101 of the second embodiment and the input device 101 of the comparative example. FIG. 5A shows amplitudes in the X, Y, and Z directions on the touch panel 111 of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 4A. FIG. 5B shows a comparison with FIG. Amplitudes in the X, Y, and Z directions on the example touch panel 111 are shown.

In the comparative example, as shown in FIG. 4B, the vibration surfaces of the motors 115 _{1 to} 115 ₃ are all set parallel to the XZ plane (see FIG. 2 for the X, Y, and Z directions). ). As a result, as shown in FIG. 5B, beats are generated in the vibrations in the X direction and the Z direction.

On the other hand, in the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4A, the vibration surfaces of the motors 115 ₁ and 115 ₂ are set parallel to the XZ plane, and the vibration surface of the motor 115 ₃ is parallel to the YZ plane. Is set. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5A, the vibration in the Y direction is a vibration with few beats.

  Here, the relationship between the arrangement of the motor 115 and the center of gravity G will be described. FIG. 6 is a plan view for explaining the relationship between the arrangement of the motor 115 and the center of gravity G. FIG.

  6A and 6B, the motor 115 is arranged on a straight line L passing through the center of gravity G. However, the vibration surface of the motor 115 is set to be perpendicular to the straight line L in FIG. 6A, whereas it is set to be parallel to the straight line L in FIG.

  As a result, the vibration surface of the motor 115 in FIG. That is, the center of gravity G is located on the vibration surface of the motor 115 in FIG. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 6B, the entire touch panel 111 vibrates by the same vibration amount in the same direction.

  On the other hand, the vibration surface of the motor 115 in FIG. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 6A, the vibration distribution of the entire touch panel 111 is a circular distribution centering around the end of the touch panel 111, and the amount of vibration varies depending on the location. In addition, the center of the circle distribution does not vibrate.

Note that the X-direction amplitude M ₁ of the motor 115 ₁ in FIG. 3A is constant regardless of the location for the same reason as in FIG. 6B. Further, the amplitude M ₂ of the motor 115 _{2 in} the Y direction in FIG. 3B varies depending on the location for the same reason as in the case of FIG. 6A.

  From the above, for example, when it is desired to use the vibration of the motor 115 in the X direction, the motor 115 is disposed on a straight line L that passes through the center of gravity G and is parallel to the X direction, and the vibration surface of the motor 115 is It is desirable to set it in parallel with this straight line L.

  However, if it is sufficient that the vibration of the motor 115 can be used to vibrate the vicinity of the motor 115, the arrangement of the motor 115 and the direction of the vibration surface of the motor 115 may not be the above arrangement or orientation. . For example, the motor 115 may be disposed at a corner of the touch panel 111 or the like.

As described above, in the input device 101 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4A, the motors 115 _{1 to} 115 ₃ for vibrating the touch panel 111 are perpendicular to each other. It is arranged to become. Thereby, in this embodiment, when the adjacent motors 115 are vibrated simultaneously, it is possible to obtain a strong combined vibration with fewer beats than when the vibration surfaces of these motors 115 are parallel to each other. .

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the configuration of the input device 101 of the third embodiment.

In FIG. 7, the planar shape of the touch panel 111 is a square. FIG. 7 shows a centroid G of the touch panel 111 and straight lines L ₁ and L ₂ that pass through the centroid G and are orthogonal to each other. The straight lines L ₁ and L ₂ overlap the diagonal line of the square. The straight lines L ₁ and L ₂ are examples of the first and second straight lines of the present invention, respectively.

In FIG. 7, the motor 115 ₁ is arranged near a square corner on the straight line L ₁ , and the motor 115 ₂ is arranged near another corner of the square on the straight line L ₂ . Motors 115 ₁ and 115 _{2 in} FIG. 7 are examples of the first and second vibration means of the present invention, respectively.

In FIG. 7, the vibration surface of the motor 115 ₁ is set parallel to the straight line L ₁ , and the vibration surface of the motor 115 ₂ is set parallel to the straight line L ₂ . As a result, the vibration of the straight line L ₁ direction by the motor 115 _1, the vibration of the straight line L ₂ direction by the motor 115 ₂ are both constant regardless of the amplitude place. Furthermore, the vibration surface of the motor 115 _{1 and} the vibration surface of the motor 115 ₂ are perpendicular to each other, and it is possible to obtain a strong combined vibration with few beats.

Two or more motors 115 may be arranged on the straight line L ₁ . In this case, the vibration surfaces of these motors 115 are set perpendicular to the straight line L ₁ .

Similarly, the straight line L _2, may be disposed two or more motors 115. In this case, the plane of vibration of these motors 115 is set perpendicular to the straight line L _2.

As described above, in the input device 101 of the present embodiment, the motors 115 ₁ and 115 ₂ for vibrating the touch panel 111 are arranged such that their vibration surfaces are perpendicular to each other. Thereby, in this embodiment, when the adjacent motors 115 are vibrated simultaneously, it is possible to obtain a strong combined vibration with fewer beats than when the vibration surfaces of these motors 115 are parallel to each other. .

(Fourth embodiment)
FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the configuration of the input device 101 of the fourth embodiment.

In the present embodiment, the motors 115 ₁ , 115 ₂ , 115 ₃ are arranged in the vicinity of points A, C, B on the straight line L, respectively.

Also, the plane of vibration of the motor 115 ₁ is set parallel to the XZ plane, the motor 115 ₁ vibrates to have a vibration component in the X and Z directions. Also, the plane of vibration of the motor 115 ₂ is set parallel to the YZ plane, the motor 115 ₂ oscillates to have a vibration component in the Y and Z directions. Also, the plane of vibration of the motor 115 ₃ is set parallel to the XY plane, the motor 115 ₃ vibrates to have a vibration component in the X and Y directions.

As described above, the motors 115 _{1 to} 115 ₃ of the present embodiment are arranged so that the vibration surfaces of the adjacent motors 115 are vertical. Specifically, the vibration surfaces of the motors 115 ₁ and 115 ₃ are set perpendicular to each other, and similarly, the vibration surfaces of the motors 115 ₂ and 115 ₃ are set perpendicular to each other. This is the same as the configuration shown in FIG. However, in the present embodiment, unlike the configuration shown in FIG. 4A, the vibration surfaces of the motors 115 ₁ and 115 ₂ are also set perpendicular to each other.

Further, the motors 115 _{1 to} 115 ₃ are arranged on the same straight line L passing through the center of gravity G, and their vibration surfaces are arranged parallel or perpendicular to the straight line L. Specifically, the vibration surfaces of the motors 115 ₁ and 115 ₃ are set parallel to the straight line L, and the vibration surface of the motor 115 ₂ is set to be perpendicular to the straight line L.

  FIG. 9 is a graph showing amplitudes in the X, Y, and Z directions at points A, B, and C in FIG.

In each of FIGS. 9A to 9C, curves M _{1 to} M ₃ are shown. Curves M ₁ ~M _3, represents the amplitude of the vibration generated by the motor 115 _{1-115 3.} The shapes of the curves M ₁ and M ₂ are the same as those in FIG. On the other hand, the curve shape of the curve M ₃ is the same as the curve M ₁ in FIG. 9A in FIGS. 9A and 9B, and the curve M _{2 in} FIG. This is almost the same as the curve M ₁ in FIG. The curve shape of the curve M ₃ is the same as the curve M ₁ in FIG. 9A not only in FIG. 9A but also in FIG. 9B. The motor 115 ₃ is disposed on the center of gravity G. to cause.

When the motor 115 ₁ and the motor 115 ₃ are vibrated simultaneously, as shown in FIG. 9A, the X-direction vibration of the motor 115 _{1 and} the X-direction vibration of the motor 115 ₃ interfere with each other. A beat appears in the vibration. However, in the Y-direction vibration shown in FIG. 9 (b), the vibration component of the motor 115 ₃ becomes mainly, composite vibration of less Y direction beat is obtained. Further, in the Z-direction vibration shown in FIG. 9 (c), the motor 115 ₃ since no vibration component, the Z-direction vibration of the motor 115 ₁ can be obtained without directly interfering.

Therefore, when the motor 115 ₁ and the motor 115 ₃ are vibrated simultaneously, a beat appears in the X direction vibration, but the amplitudes of the Y direction vibration and the Z direction vibration become substantially flat. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, when the motor 115 ₁ and the motor 115 ₃ are vibrated simultaneously, it is possible to obtain a combined vibration with fewer beats than when the vibration surfaces of the motors 115 ₁ and 115 ₃ are set parallel to each other. It becomes possible.

Similarly, in the present embodiment, when vibrating the motor 115 ₂ and the motor 115 ₃ simultaneously, but beat appears in the Y-direction vibration, almost beat does not appear in the X-direction vibration and the Z-direction vibration. Therefore, according to this embodiment, when the vibrating motor 115 ₂ and the motor 115 ₃ simultaneously, compared with the case of setting a plane of vibration of the motor 115 ₂ and 115 ₃ in parallel with each other, to obtain a small composite vibration beat It becomes possible.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, when it is desired increasingly vibration in the left area than point B vibrates the motor 115 ₁ and the motor 115 ₃ simultaneously. On the other hand, when it is desired increasingly vibration of the right region from the point B vibrates the motor 115 ₂ and the motor 115 ₃ simultaneously. In addition, when any _{one of} the motors 115 _{1 to} 115 ₃ is sufficient, only one of them is vibrated alone.

As described above, in the input device 101 of the present embodiment, the motors 115 _{1 to} 115 ₃ for vibrating the touch panel 111 are arranged so that the vibration surfaces of adjacent motors 115 are perpendicular to each other. Thereby, in this embodiment, when the adjacent motors 115 are vibrated simultaneously, it is possible to obtain a strong combined vibration with fewer beats than when the vibration surfaces of these motors 115 are parallel to each other. .

(Fifth embodiment)
FIG. 10 is a device configuration diagram schematically showing the configuration of the keyboard device 121 of the fifth embodiment.

  The keyboard device 121 of FIG. 10 includes the input device 101 of any one of the first to fourth embodiments. FIG. 10 shows a touch panel 111 of the input device 101.

  In the present embodiment, the touch panel 111 is configured to be able to provide a software keyboard capable of performing key input by a touch operation on the keyboard displayed on the screen. As a method for realizing the software keyboard, for example, a method similar to a commercially available mobile device, copier, ATM device, or the like can be adopted.

  Generally, a software keyboard has a drawback that it is difficult for an operator to understand that the keyboard has been pressed. However, according to the present embodiment, the touch panel 111 is vibrated according to the touch operation, so that it is possible to give the operator a feel when the keyboard is pressed. In this embodiment, since the vibration of the touch panel 111 is generated by the motor 115 of the first or second embodiment, it is possible to effectively give the operator a keystroke feel with a strong synthetic vibration wave with few beats. It becomes.

  Note that the input unit of the keyboard device 121 of the present embodiment may be a hardware keyboard in which all keys constituting the keyboard are formed of a single plate-like member, instead of the touch panel 111. An example of such a hardware keyboard is a capacitive keyboard. In this case, it is possible to give the operator a keystroke feel by vibrating the plate member in the same manner as the touch panel 111.

  In addition, the keys of the keyboard device 121 according to the present embodiment are not limited to keys for alphabet characters and kana characters, but may be numeric keys (numeric keys), symbol keys, and various function keys. Therefore, the keyboard of the keyboard device 121 may be not only a general character input keyboard but also a numeric keypad keyboard such as a calculator.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide the keyboard device 121 that can effectively give a keystroke feel to an operator with vibration waves with few beats.

  As mentioned above, although the example of the specific aspect of this invention was demonstrated by 1st-5th embodiment, this invention is not limited to these embodiment.

101 Input device 111 Touch panel 112 Touch panel IC
113 Control Device 114 Motor Driver 115 Motor 121 Keyboard Device 201 Input Device 211 Touch Panel 212 Tactile Controller 213 Motor (Actuator)

Claims (7)

An input means having an input surface for an operator to perform an input operation;
A plurality of vibration means arranged at a position to vibrate the input means;
Detecting means for detecting that an input operation to the input surface has been performed;
When an input operation to the input surface is detected, a control unit that outputs a control signal for vibrating the vibration unit so as to notify the operator that the input operation to the input surface has been performed by vibration. And
The input device, wherein the plurality of vibration means are arranged so that vibration surfaces of adjacent vibration means are perpendicular to each other.   The control means is configured to vibrate only one vibration means of the plurality of vibration means, and to vibrate two or more vibration means simultaneously. The input device according to claim 1.   The input device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of vibration units are arranged on the same straight line passing through the center of gravity of the input unit.   The input device according to claim 3, wherein the plurality of vibration units are arranged such that a vibration surface of each vibration unit is parallel or perpendicular to the straight line. The plurality of vibration means includes
One or more first vibration means arranged on a first straight line passing through the center of gravity of the input means;
One or more second vibrating means disposed on a second straight line passing through the center of gravity of the input means and orthogonal to the first straight line;
The input device according to claim 1, further comprising: The first vibration means is arranged such that a vibration surface of the first vibration means is parallel or perpendicular to the first straight line,
The second vibrating means is arranged so that a vibrating surface of the second vibrating means is parallel or perpendicular to the second straight line.
The input device according to claim 5. An input device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, comprising:
The keyboard device characterized in that the input means is a touch panel for displaying a software keyboard, or a hardware keyboard in which a plurality of keys constituting the keyboard are formed by a single plate-like member.

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