JP2012178170A - Input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an input device capable of improving operability when inputting information by a pressurizing operation using a touch panel.SOLUTION: The input device includes: display means for displaying an effective area indicating the reception range of input of a user; a touch panel disposed in association with the display means on a front surface of the display means; sense information generation means for generating sense information that the user can sense in response to the input to the touch panel corresponding to the effective area; and control means for controlling the sense information generation means so as to change the form of generating the sense information according to the position of the input to the touch panel inside the effective area.

Description

  The present invention relates to an input device, and more particularly to an input device having a touch panel.

  For example, in a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone, various input devices have been developed depending on the function and / or application of each terminal when a user operates the terminal. In many cases, an input operation is performed when a user directly presses a mechanical key or button disposed on the surface of the mobile terminal body with a finger or the like.

  The key of the input device in such a terminal is usually arranged according to the main use of the terminal, and in general, the physical arrangement of the key defined first can be changed later. It's not like that.

  By the way, recently, a variety of functions have been incorporated into small portable terminals, as some mobile phones have digital cameras and music playback functions. In addition to the main applications of each terminal, there are many auxiliary functions, PDA (Personal Digital Assistance: Personal Digital Assistant), etc. Some have multiple uses. In such a terminal, if the key arrangement is fixed, it may be inconvenient during an input operation depending on the function used.

  To eliminate this inconvenience of operation, a touch panel is placed in front of the liquid crystal display screen so that when an operation key or button displayed as an image on the display screen is pressed, it corresponds to that position. A terminal having an input device configured to accept an input from a touch panel has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In the information communication terminal device described in Patent Document 1, since it is possible to arbitrarily display a key arrangement on the display screen, a free key arrangement can be configured, and each function of the terminal can be configured. Each time it is switched, the key arrangement can be freely changed according to the function, and extremely good operability can be obtained. If such a terminal is used, the arrangement of keys can be arbitrarily changed according to each function installed in the terminal. Therefore, the user can perform an input operation by optimizing the input device of one terminal to each of a plurality of functions. It can be carried out.

  However, since a terminal using a touch panel as an input device realizes a flexible key arrangement, the entire surface of the touch panel is flat, and the input device operates using mechanical keys and buttons arranged in advance. In comparison, it is difficult to determine the shape of the keys and the boundaries between the keys by sensing the physical unevenness of the surface with the touch of the fingertips, so touch typing (blind touch) is performed without looking at the key display. ) Is difficult to perform, and moreover, key operation errors are likely to occur.

  In order to deal with such problems, a vibration generating device composed of a piezoelectric element or the like is arranged on the back side of the touch panel, and the finger tracing the touch panel follows the path that should be traced when operating the terminal. If it is, the first vibration that tells that it is the correct course is generated, and if the finger tracing the touch panel deviates from the course that should be traced, a second vibration different from the first vibration is generated. Thus, there has been proposed an input device that notifies the user that the finger to be operated is out of the course (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

  According to the input device disclosed in Patent Document 2, the user can determine whether or not the tracing (tracing operation) of the finger performing the input is correctly performed based on the touch of the fingertip. It is also possible to operate without much watching the screen to be operated when further inputting.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-69214 JP 2003-316519 A

  However, in the input device disclosed in Patent Document 2, as shown in FIG. 15, a large number of touch switches 160 are arranged in a matrix on the touch panel 140, and a finger is pointed in the correct direction, for example, the X direction or the Y direction. Is moved by causing the vibration generating device 200 to generate vibration by the first drive signal, and when the finger is moved in an error direction, for example, in an oblique direction, it is different from the first drive signal. The controller 180 is configured to control the vibration generator 200 to generate vibrations based on the second drive signal. That is, it is determined whether or not the movement is correct only when the finger moves from one touch switch 160 to the next touch switch adjacent thereto.

  Therefore, such an input device informs the user of whether or not the operation is correct in the case of an operation in which a finger is pressed one by one without sliding, like a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone. It is not possible.

  In addition, in a mobile terminal, input is often performed while gazing at a display screen on which information such as input characters is displayed. Therefore, when an input operation is performed on a touch panel on which operation keys that are not closely watched are displayed. For example, when a key is repeatedly hit, it is conceivable that the position of the finger to be input gradually deviates from the effective input range of the touch panel, and there is a possibility that an appropriate input operation as intended by the user may not be performed.

  If an unintended input operation is performed, it is necessary to redo the input operation after correcting the input mistake. However, while such an operation is being performed, thinking about the input operation originally desired by the user is interrupted. In other words, if such interruptions occur frequently, it causes significant stress for the user.

  Therefore, the objective of this invention made | formed in view of this point is to provide the input device which can improve the operativity at the time of inputting information by press operation using a touch panel.

The invention of the input device according to claim 1 that achieves the above object is as follows:
Display means for displaying an effective area indicating a reception range of user input;
A touch panel disposed in front of the display means in association with the display means;
Sensing information generating means for generating sensing information that can be sensed by the user in response to an input to the touch panel corresponding to the effective area;
Control means for controlling the sensing information generating means so as to change the mode of generating the sensing information according to the position of the input to the touch panel in the effective area;
It is characterized by providing.

The invention according to claim 2 is the input device according to claim 1,
The control means generates first sensing information for an input to the central area in the effective area, and the first sensing information for an input to an area other than the central area in the effective area. The sensing information generating means is controlled to generate second sensing information different from the sensing information.

The invention according to claim 3 is the input device according to claim 1 or 2,
The sensing information generating means generates different vibrations on the touch panel as first and second sensing information.

The invention according to claim 4 is the input device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The sensing information generating means generates different sounds as the first and second sensing information.

The invention according to claim 5 is the input device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The sensing information generating means changes the display of the display means to different modes as the first and second sensing information.

Furthermore, the invention according to claim 6 is the input device according to claim 5,
The sensing information generating means changes a display mode of a cursor displayed on the display means.

  According to the present invention, the user is provided with information based on the pressed position when inputting by a pressing operation using the touch panel, so that the user presses the center of each key or near the boundary. You can know whether or not. Therefore, as long as you have an overview of the layout of the keys and so on displayed on the touch panel, you can accurately perform input operations such as keys without gazing at the touch panel every time you press the key. Is significantly improved.

It is a schematic perspective view which shows the structure of the mobile telephone which has an input device which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic front view of the open state of the mobile phone shown in FIG. It is a functional block diagram of the mobile phone shown in FIG. It is a figure explaining the key display part and touch panel of a mobile telephone which are shown in FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the input device of the mobile phone shown in FIG. It is a conceptual diagram explaining operation | movement of the input device of the mobile telephone shown in FIG. Similarly, it is a conceptual diagram explaining operation | movement of the input device of the mobile telephone shown in FIG. Similarly, it is a conceptual diagram explaining operation | movement of the input device of the mobile telephone shown in FIG. Similarly, it is a conceptual diagram explaining operation | movement of the input device of the mobile telephone shown in FIG. It is a figure explaining an example of the position determination of the press part by 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a functional block diagram of the mobile telephone which has an input device which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a functional block diagram of the mobile telephone which has an input device which concerns on 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the information display part at the time of mail preparation of the mobile telephone shown in FIG. Similarly, it is a figure which shows the example of a display of the information display part at the time of the mail preparation of the mobile telephone shown in FIG. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the structure of the conventional input device.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each of the following embodiments, a foldable mobile phone is described as an example of a terminal provided with an input device. However, the input device of the present invention is applied to a foldable terminal or a mobile phone. The present invention is not limited, and any terminal having an input unit including a touch panel is applicable.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a configuration of a mobile phone 1 having an input device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The mobile phone 1 is a folding type that can be opened and closed by a hinge portion at the center of the main body, and FIG. 1 shows an open state. On one of the two surfaces that appear when the mobile phone 1 is in the open state, an information display unit 2 constituted by a liquid crystal screen or the like for displaying various information, and a voice output unit for outputting voice of a call, music playback sound, etc. 5 and a key display unit 3 for drawing the shapes of keys, buttons, etc. on a liquid crystal screen or the like and displaying these arrangements, as shown in a partially cut-out manner on the other surface, and this key display The touch panel 4 is disposed on the front surface of the unit 3 and is configured with a transparent switch that directly accepts an input by a user's finger or the like. In addition, the mobile phone 1 may be provided with a voice input unit such as a microphone, a digital camera and a one-segment tuner antenna, and various interfaces depending on the functions. .

  The cellular phone 1 according to the present embodiment causes the key display unit 3 to display the shape and arrangement of keys as images instead of arranging various keys and buttons as mechanical switches on the main body of the cellular phone 1. When the user presses the image portion on which the key is displayed, the touch panel 4 corresponding to the position is pressed, and a signal corresponding to the input is output from the transparent switch at the pressed position of the touch panel 4. So that

  In FIG. 2, the schematic front view of the open state of the mobile telephone 1 is shown. Here, as an example, the display of each display unit at the time of creating an e-mail is illustrated. The information display unit 2 displays an e-mail text creation / editing screen, and the key display unit 3 displays an operation key group necessary for e-mail text creation / editing selected from a template according to the application. It is. The user presses a key of the operation key group displayed on the key display unit 3 (actually presses the touch panel 4), and inputs characters constituting the e-mail. In the information display part 2 of FIG. 2, the fixed part of the character of the email input by the user is displayed at the top of the screen, and the current input point is indicated by a square cursor. At the time shown in the figure, the user presses the “1 / A line” key five times in the key display unit 3 and inputs “O”, which is the fifth character on the A line. Yes. In response to the input of the character “o”, various selection candidates for words beginning with “o” are displayed at the bottom of the information display unit 2, and the user selects and determines a candidate from among these.

  In FIG. 2, the e-mail creation function has been described as an example, but the information display unit 2 and the key display unit 3 are suitable for using the function according to various templates according to the functions of the mobile phone 1. Screen display and easy-to-use key layout. For example, although not shown, when using the call function, the information display unit 2 displays the input telephone number and name of the other party, or when using the music playback function, the information display unit 2 The name and volume are displayed, and the key display unit 3 displays the play and stop function buttons and the volume adjustment key. Further, when using the digital camera function, the information display unit 2 Displays the currently captured image, and displays various function buttons such as a shutter and an effect on the key display unit 3 so as to cope with various configurations.

  FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the mobile phone 1 according to the first embodiment. The mobile phone 1 includes the information display unit 2, the key display unit 3, the touch panel 4, and the voice output unit 5 described above, and also displays key shapes and layouts of input keys and buttons according to each application. A storage unit 6 for storing a plurality of templates to be displayed on the unit 3, a calculation unit 7 for calculating the positional relationship between the pressed position of the touch panel 4 and an image displayed on the key display unit 3, and a calculation unit 7 The determination unit 8 that determines the input position based on the calculation result of the above, the vibration generation unit 9 that is a sensing information generation unit that informs the user that the touch panel 4 has been pressed and a predetermined input has been made, and each of these blocks And a control unit 10 for controlling and managing.

  In the present embodiment, the vibration generating unit 9 is configured by, for example, a piezoelectric element that is arranged on the back surface side of the touch panel 4 and vibrates the touch panel 4, and the touch panel 4 is pressed to receive a predetermined input. When this occurs, the vibration generating unit 9 operates to give vibration to the fingertip of the user who is pressing the touch panel 1 to notify the user that the input has been accepted. By making the generation period of this vibration a short time (for example, for a moment), when the user presses a key on the touch panel 4, it resembles a click feeling obtained when a key or button configured with a mechanical switch is pressed A feeling can be given to the user.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 4, the key display unit 3 and the touch panel 4 of the mobile phone 1 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a state in which the user's fingertip 11 is about to touch a key displayed on the key display unit 3 of the mobile terminal 1. In this embodiment, as an example, the description will be made based on the arrangement of keys when creating an e-mail. However, keys and buttons suitable for input and operation corresponding to the application of each function to be used are displayed on the key display unit. 3 is displayed. In addition, each line from A to W, which is widely used as an e-mail creation function of the mobile phone 1, is made to correspond to each key, and the corresponding hiragana is moved forward by repeatedly hitting the key of each line. A description will be made assuming that a method of inputting characters one by one is used. Note that only a part of the entire key displayed on the key display unit 3 is illustrated, and other parts are omitted. Further, when the user presses the touch panel 4 with the skin of the fingertip 11, the pressed portion is not a single point but has a certain area, and the portion is indicated by a broken line as the pressed portion 12.

  In each key displayed on the key display unit 3, the inside bounded by the displayed key image is defined as a key display range 20 which is an effective area. In the touch panel 4 corresponding to the key display unit 3, an effective range for actually responding as a key is defined on the key display range 20 or slightly inside thereof, and this is set as a weak response range 21. Furthermore, a central region is defined at a position inside the weak response range 21 and close to the center of the key, and this is defined as a strong response range 22. The boundary between the weak response range 21 and the strong response range 22 on the touch panel 4 can be visually recognized easily by displaying the boundary on the key display unit 3 with lines or colors. The boundary may not be visible.

  The contact portions (XY coordinates) of a number of touch switches on the touch panel 4 are made to correspond to the respective ranges of the weak response range 21 and the strong response range 22 correlated with the keys displayed on the key display unit 3. Thus, the touch panel 4 outputs a signal corresponding to the position pressed and input by the user. The signal generated when the touch panel 4 is pressed is transmitted to the calculation unit 7 under the control of the control unit 10, and the calculation unit 7 calculates the XY coordinates pressed on the touch panel 4, and based on the calculation result. The determination unit 8 determines the pressed position and transmits the determination result to the control unit 10. The control unit 10 reads out processing to be executed when the position is input by referring to the storage unit 6 and controls the vibration generation unit 9 to generate vibration as sensing information as necessary. .

  In the present embodiment, when the weak response range 21 or the strong response range 22 is appropriately pressed, the control unit 10 causes the vibration generation unit 9 that is the detection information generation unit to generate vibration that is the detection information. To control. The vibration generated in this way is transmitted to the user's fingertip via the touch panel 4. Accordingly, the user can recognize that the key has been appropriately pressed and the input process has been appropriately performed.

  Next, the operation of the input device of the mobile phone 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 5 and the conceptual diagrams of FIGS.

  First, the control unit 10 reads a key layout template corresponding to the application from the storage unit 6, displays this template on the key display unit 3, and waits for input (step S1). When the touch panel 4 detects an input by pressing, the calculation unit 7 calculates a position where the input is detected (step S2), and the determination unit 8 determines the result of the calculation and the current key arrangement stored in the storage unit 6. The pressed position is determined by comparing with the template (step S3).

  Next, it is determined whether or not the position determined to have been pressed extends over a plurality of key display ranges 20 (step S4). If the position extends over the plurality of key display ranges 20, the input of those keys is regarded as invalid. Returning to the input waiting state without performing any processing. That is, when a plurality of keys are pressed at the same time, this input processing is not performed. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the keys are pressed between each other, and the pressing portion 12 of the user's fingertip 11 is moved to two keys ("1 / A line" key and "2 / A line" key). Even if each weak response range 21 is pressed, it is not possible to specify which key is pressed, so these keys are not regarded as input. Therefore, in this case, since the vibration is not generated by the vibration generating unit 9, the user can recognize that the input is not properly received.

  If the position determined to have been pressed in step S4 includes only one key display range 20, then whether the position of the press is within the strong response range 22 within the key display range 20 or not. NO is determined (step S5). When the detected pressing position is within the strong response range 22, the control unit 10 responds to an input to the strong response range, and the vibration generation unit 9 generates, for example, strong vibration as the sensing information ( In step S6), control is performed so as to perform input processing corresponding to the key (step S7). Thus, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, when the pressing portion 12 of the user's fingertip 11 presses the strong response range 22, for example, strong vibration indicating that the center portion of the key has been pressed is responded to it. Give to the fingertip 11 of the user. Therefore, the user can grasp that the pressed position is the correct position even if the user does not always look at the key display unit 3.

  In step S4, if the pressed position includes only one key display range 20 and that position is not within the strong response range 22, then the pressed position is weak within the key display range 20. It is determined whether it is within the response range 21 (step S8). When the detected position of the press is within the weak response range 21, the control unit 10 responds to the input to the weak response range, and the vibration generation unit 9 generates, for example, weak vibration as the sensing information ( In step S9), control is performed so as to perform input processing corresponding to the key (step S10). Accordingly, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, when the pressing portion 12 of the user's fingertip 11 presses the weak response range 21 without pressing the strong response range 22, in response to the pressing, for example, the center of the key The user's fingertip 11 is given a vibration that is weaker than when the part is pressed. Therefore, even if the user does not always look at the key display unit 3, the user can grasp that the pressed position is within the key display range 20 but slightly shifted from the center of the key.

  In step S4, when the pressed position includes only one key display range 20 and the position is not within the strong response range 22 and further within the weak response range 21, it is within the effective input range of the key. Is determined not to be pressed. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, the location where the pressing portion 12 of the user's fingertip 11 is pressed is, for example, just between the keys (in FIG. 9, the “1 / A line” key and the “2 / A line” key). In the case of neither the strong response range 22 nor the weak response range 21 such as between the keys, the vibration generating unit 9 does not generate vibration and does not perform input processing. Therefore, the user can recognize that the pressed position is not an effective input range.

(Second Embodiment)
In the input operation according to the first embodiment described above, the entire area of the pressing portion 12 of the user's fingertip 11 is input on the touch panel 4, but in this embodiment, a certain point in the pressing portion is a pressing position. To treat as.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining an example of the position determination of the pressing portion 12 according to the present embodiment. When the pressing part 12 of the user's fingertip 11 has a certain predetermined area, a rectangle surrounding the pressing part 12 is defined in a virtual XY plane on the touch panel 4. By connecting the midpoints of the opposing sides of the rectangle, the center of gravity of the rectangle is obtained, and this center of gravity is set as the center point 13. In this way, even when the pressing portion 12 has an area, the input can be processed as one point input.

  In particular, a mobile terminal such as the mobile phone 1 is not only used to hold a terminal body with one hand and press a key from directly above the touch panel with the other hand, but also with the hand held with one hand. Key operations are often performed using the thumb of the user. In this case, it is assumed that the key will be pressed with the thumb lying down considerably, or that the shape of the pressing portion 12 will be an extremely elliptical shape. For example, the area of the pressing portion 12 may become extremely small. Even in such a case, by performing the above-described processing for obtaining the center point 13 by the calculation unit 7, the input of the pressing portion 12 can be easily processed as one point input.

  Further, for example, when a large number of keys are displayed and arranged on the key display unit 3, the area of each key is reduced, so that the area of the pressed portion 12 is larger than the area of the key display range 20. Such a case is also conceivable. Even in such a case, by performing the position determination according to the present embodiment, it is possible to effectively use the key display unit 3 and provide good operability.

(Third embodiment)
Next, a mobile phone 50 having an input device according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram of the mobile phone 50 according to the third embodiment. In the cellular phone 50, in the first or second embodiment described above, the sensing information generating means outputs a sound so as to generate sound as sensing information, not the vibration generating unit 9 that vibrates the touch panel 4 as sensing information. This is the voice control unit 30 that controls the unit 5, and the other configuration is the same, so the same description is omitted.

  In the present embodiment, when the strong response range 22 is pressed, the voice control unit 30 controls the voice output unit 5 to generate, for example, a large beep as the sensing information, and the weak response range 21 is pressed. Then, control is performed to generate a small beep, for example.

  By doing in this way, even if the user does not always watch the key display unit 3, whether the position pressed on the touch panel 4 is a position close to the center of each key display range 20 (strong response range 22), It is possible to identify by sound whether the position is within the range (weak response range 21) recognized as key input although it is slightly off the center, or is not recognized as key input.

  In the above-described example, in the touch panel 4, the input in the strong response range 22 and the input in the weak response range 21 are distinguished by the strength of the beep sound. It is also possible to distinguish by using the number of sounds, or by using different sound effects instead of beep sounds.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, if there is an input by pressing on the touch panel 4 but the position of the pressing input is not within the strong response range 22 but within the weak response range 21, it is effective for the user. It is also possible to generate a sound effect that tells that the outside of the input range has been pressed. This makes it easier for the user to identify the position where the pressure is input.

(Fourth embodiment)
Next, a mobile phone 100 having an input device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 12 is a functional block diagram of the mobile phone 100 according to the fourth embodiment. In the mobile phone 100, in the first or second embodiment described above, the sensing information generating means changes the predetermined image display as sensing information, not the vibration generating unit 9 that vibrates the touch panel 4 as sensing information. The display control unit 40 controls the information display unit 2, and the other configuration is the same, so the same description is omitted.

  In the present embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. 13A, when a character input operation is performed using the e-mail creation function of the mobile phone 100, the strong response range 22 is pressed as a key input. Then, the display control unit 40 controls the display of the information display unit 2 so as to darken the color of the cursor for a moment or increase the luminance of the cursor for a moment as shown in FIG. When the weak response range 21 is pressed, for example, as shown in FIG. 13C, control is performed so that the color of the cursor is lightened for a moment or the brightness of the cursor is decreased for a moment.

  By doing in this way, even if the user is performing an input operation while looking at the information display unit 2 without always gazing at the key display unit 3, the position pressed on the touch panel 4 is in each key display range 20. Whether it is a position close to the center (strong response range 22), a position slightly off the center but recognized as a key input (weak response range 21), or a position not recognized as a key input, It can be identified by looking at the change in the cursor of the character being entered.

  In the above-described example, on the touch panel 4, the input in the strong response range 22 and the input in the weak response range 21 are distinguished by changing the color or brightness of the cursor of the information display unit 2 for a moment. In addition, it is also possible to distinguish by changing the size and shape of the cursor for a moment.

  In the present embodiment, when there is an input by pressing on the touch panel 4 but the position of the pressing input is not within the strong response range 22 but within the weak response range 21, the effective input range. It is also possible to change the cursor so that the user is notified that the outside has been pressed. For example, when the input is in the strong response range 22, the cursor is changed to “green” for a moment, and when the input is in the weak response range 21, the cursor is changed to “yellow” for a moment. When there is an input in a portion other than the response range 21, the cursor is changed to “red” for a moment. This makes it easier for the user to identify the position where the pressure is input.

  Further, when the outside of the effective input range is pressed, the cursor shape can be changed instead of changing the color of the cursor as described above. For example, as shown in FIG. 13A, when a character input operation is performed using the e-mail creation function of the mobile phone 100, if the strong response range 22 is pressed as a key input, for example, FIG. When the cursor shape is changed to a round shape as shown in a) and the weak response range 21 is pressed, the cursor shape is changed to a triangular shape as shown in FIG. When a portion that is neither 22 nor the weak response range 21 is pressed, even if the cursor is momentarily changed to a cross shape as shown in FIG.

  In addition, this invention is not limited only to the said embodiment, Many deformation | transformation or a change is possible. For example, the embodiments described above do not necessarily have to be implemented independently, and it is naturally possible to implement a combination of some of the embodiments appropriately.

  Further, when the second embodiment is implemented in combination with other embodiments, for example, at the time of initial setting of the input device, how to hold the terminal main body according to each user and how to press the key If the setting of the method for calculating the position of the pressing portion 12 corresponding to the application is registered in advance for each application, and the method for calculating the position of the pressing portion 12 is switched every time the application is switched, the operability is improved. Further improvement. By doing so, even if there are individual differences in the key operation method depending on the user, it is possible to obtain extremely good operability even if the pressing method varies from application to application.

  Furthermore, although the mobile phone according to each of the above embodiments has been described as a configuration in which the information display unit 2 and the key display unit 3 are separated, it is not essential that the two display units are separated. A touch panel may be provided on the entire front surface of the unit, and a key input area and an information display area may be provided on one screen to perform an input operation. In addition, the present invention can naturally be applied to a configuration in which two or more touch panels are provided on the front surface of the display unit in a terminal having two or more display units.

  The present invention can also be applied to a configuration in which the display unit itself detects an input by providing a sensor for each pixel of the display unit.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,50,100 Mobile phone 2 Information display part 3 Key display part 4 Touch panel 5 Audio | voice output part 6 Memory | storage part 7 Calculation part 8 Judgment part 9 Vibration generating part 10 Control part 11 User's fingertip 12 Press part 13 Center point 20 Key display Range 21 Weak response range 22 Strong response range 30 Voice control unit 40 Display control unit

Claims (6)

Display means for displaying an effective area indicating a reception range of user input;
A touch panel disposed in front of the display means in association with the display means;
Sensing information generating means for generating sensing information that can be sensed by the user in response to an input to the touch panel corresponding to the effective area;
Control means for controlling the sensing information generating means so as to change the mode of generating the sensing information according to the position of the input to the touch panel in the effective area;
Input device.   The control means generates first sensing information for an input to the central area in the effective area, and the first sensing information for an input to an area other than the central area in the effective area. 2. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the sensing information generating means is controlled so as to generate second sensing information different from the sensing information.   The input device according to claim 1, wherein the sensing information generation unit generates different vibrations on the touch panel as the first and second sensing information.   The input device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the sensing information generating means generates different sounds as the first and second sensing information.   The input device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the sensing information generating unit changes the display of the display unit to different modes as the first and second sensing information. The input device according to claim 5, wherein the sensing information generation unit changes a display mode of a cursor displayed on the display unit.

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