JP2014067253A - Operation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an operation device capable of improving its operability.SOLUTION: An operation device includes a capacitive sensor for detecting a capacitance change accompanying a touch of a user's finger to a touch pad 2, and a display 1 for displaying a screen where plural icons A-D are arranged. The operation device detects a touch position on the touch pad 2 on the basis of the amount of the capacitance change detected by the capacitive sensor, and obtains an input position on the screen from the detected touch position. The operation device determines which icon is selected on the basis of comparison between display ranges of the icons A-D on the screen and the input position, and executes processing according to the selected icon. When the display 1 displays a screen where four icons A-D are arranged, a possible range of an input position on the screen is limited to a limit range Rc that includes display ranges of all the icons A-D and is smaller than the whole range of the screen.

Description

  The present invention relates to an operation device capable of performing various operations by selecting an item displayed on a display unit through operation of an operation unit.

  Some vehicles are equipped with an operation device that allows a user to remotely control an air conditioner device (air conditioner device), a car navigation device (car navigation device), and the like. Conventionally, there is an apparatus described in Patent Document 1 as this type of operation apparatus.

  The operation device described in Patent Literature 1 includes a display disposed in an easily visible place such as an instrument panel of a vehicle and a touch pad disposed in an easily operable place such as a center console of the vehicle. Various items necessary for the operation of the air conditioner device and the car navigation device are displayed on the display. The user can select various items by moving the cursor displayed on the display by operating the touchpad with a finger. Further, when any item is selected and the touch pad is pressed with a finger, the item can be determined. When the determination operation is performed on any item, the operation device makes an operation request corresponding to the item to the air conditioner device or the car navigation device. When there is an operation request from the operation device, the air conditioner device and the car navigation device are driven based on the contents. In the operation device having such a configuration, the user can operate the air conditioner device and the car navigation device simply by selecting and determining various items on the screen through the operation of the touch pad, and thus convenience is improved.

JP 2006-215963 A

  By the way, although various operation screens, such as an operation screen of an air-conditioner apparatus and an operation screen of a car navigation apparatus, are displayed on the display, the number, position, and size of items differ depending on each operation screen. For this reason, in some operation screens, for example, items are displayed on only a part of the screen. When such an operation screen is displayed on the display, when the user operates the touchpad, the cursor moves to a portion where no item is displayed on the screen, and it becomes difficult to select the target item. There is. This is one factor that deteriorates the operability of the operating device.

Such a problem is not limited to an operation device using a touch pad as an operation unit, but is a problem common to various operation devices capable of selecting items on the screen through an operation of a predetermined operation unit.
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an operating device with improved operability.

  In order to solve the above problem, the invention according to claim 1 is detected by the detection unit that detects the operation position of the operation unit, the display unit that displays a screen on which a plurality of items are arranged, and the detection unit. Determining an input position on the screen based on the operation position, and determining which of the plurality of items is selected based on a comparison between the input position and a display range of each item on the screen; An operation device capable of performing an operation according to the selected item by selecting an item on the screen through an operation of the operation unit. When the control unit displays a predetermined screen on the display unit, the range of the input position that can be taken on the predetermined screen is displayed for all items that can be selected on the predetermined screen. Including the range and all of the predetermined screen. And gist to be limited to a narrower limits than circumference.

  According to the configuration, when an item is displayed only partially on a predetermined screen, the range that the input position can take on the screen includes the display range of all the items displayed on the screen. In addition, it is limited to a range narrower than the entire range of the screen. As a result, even when the user operates the operation unit over the entire range, the range that can be operated on the screen is limited to the display range of the items, so that each item can be easily selected. Therefore, the operability is improved.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the operating device according to the first aspect, the control unit uses an orthogonal two-axis coordinate system as a coordinate system of the input position on the screen, and the display unit has a predetermined value. When the screen is displayed, the minimum value and maximum value in one axis direction of the orthogonal biaxial coordinate system and the minimum value and maximum value in the other axis direction in the display range of all items selectable on the predetermined screen are displayed. The gist is to set the limit range based on the above.

In an operating device that uses an orthogonal two-axis coordinate system as the coordinate system of the input position on the screen, the restriction range can be easily set by adopting the above configuration.
Some operation devices determine an input position on a screen based on an absolute position of an operation position detected by a detection unit. In such an operation device, as in the invention according to claim 3, the detection unit uses an arithmetic expression or a map indicating a correspondence relationship between the absolute position of the operation position and the input position within the limit range. It is effective to adopt a configuration in which the input position on the screen is obtained from the detected operation position. Thereby, when the user operates the operation unit over the entire range, the range that the input position can take on the screen can be easily limited within the limited range.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the operation device according to any one of the first to third aspects, an image of a cursor is displayed on the display unit corresponding to the input position on the screen, The gist of the present invention is to limit a range in which the image of the cursor can move on the screen within the limit range.

  According to this configuration, even if the user operates the operation unit over the entire range, the cursor can be moved only within the limited range on the screen, so the user can visually limit the input position on the screen. I can grasp. Therefore, the operability is improved.

  According to the operating device of the present invention, the operability is improved.

The perspective view which shows the perspective structure inside the vehicle by which the operating device was mounted about 1st Embodiment of the operating device of this invention. (A) is a front view which shows the front structure of the display in which the menu screen was displayed about the operating device of 1st Embodiment. (B) is a front view showing a front structure of a display on which an air conditioner operation screen is displayed. (C) is a front view showing a front structure of a display on which a car navigation operation screen is displayed. The block diagram which shows the structure about the operating device of 1st Embodiment. (A) is a top view which shows the planar structure of the touchpad about the operating device of 1st Embodiment. (B) is a front view showing a front structure of a display on which a car navigation operation screen is displayed. (A) is a top view which shows the planar structure of the touchpad about the operating device of 1st Embodiment. (B) is a front view showing a front structure of a display on which an operation screen is displayed. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of processing for limiting an input position on a screen by the operation device according to the first embodiment. (A) is a top view which shows the planar structure of the touchpad about the operating device of 1st Embodiment. (B) is a front view showing a front structure of a display on which a menu screen is displayed. (A) is a top view which shows the planar structure of the touchpad about the operating device of 1st Embodiment. (B) is a front view showing a front structure of a display on which an air conditioner operation screen is displayed. (A) is a top view which shows the planar structure of the touchpad about 2nd Embodiment of the operating device of this invention. (B) is a front view showing a front structure of a display on which a car navigation operation screen is displayed. The flowchart which shows the procedure of the process which restrict | limits the input position on the screen by the operating device of 2nd Embodiment.

<First Embodiment>
Hereinafter, a first embodiment in which the operating device of the present invention is embodied will be described. The operation device of this embodiment is a device for remotely operating various in-vehicle devices such as an air conditioner device, a car navigation device, and an audio device of a vehicle. First, an overview of the operating device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the operating device includes a rectangular display 1 provided in the center cluster 3 and a rectangular touchpad 2 provided on the center console 4. In the present embodiment, the display 1 is a display unit, and the touch pad 2 is an operation unit.

  On the display 1, various operation screens necessary for operation of the operation target device such as an air conditioner are displayed. Specifically, a menu screen, an air conditioner operation screen, a car navigation operation screen, and the like as shown in FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 2A, on the menu screen, three icons A10 to A12 in which the names of the operation target devices are described and an icon A13 in which the characters “setting” are described are displayed side by side in the horizontal direction. The Icons A10 to A12 are selected when an operation target device is designated. The icon A13 is selected when changing various settings of the controller device.

  As shown in FIG. 2B, on the air conditioner operation screen, icons A20 to A24 on which characters such as “air volume” are written are displayed side by side at positions closer to the left side than the center of the screen. Icons A20 to A24 are selected when an operation target of the air conditioner is designated. In this operation screen, for example, when the “air volume” icon A20 is selected, icons A30 to A32 corresponding to the operation are displayed. The “−” icon A30 and the “+” icon A31 are selected when the air volume is increased or decreased, and the “complete” icon A32 is selected when the air volume adjustment is completed.

  As shown in FIG. 2C, on the car navigation operation screen, for example, when performing a destination search, an icon A30 composed of Japanese hiragana characters arranged in alphabetical order and a search text field 11 are displayed.

  An arrow icon A40 is displayed at the upper right end of all operation screens including the operation screens illustrated in FIGS. The icon A40 is selected when returning the display screen of the display 1 to the previous operation screen of the current operation screen. In addition, an image of a square cursor C indicating the input position on the screen is displayed in the entire operation screen. The cursor C moves in the screen based on the operation of the touch pad 2 by the user. In the operating device according to the present embodiment, the icon can be selected by moving the cursor C to a desired icon. Thus, in this embodiment, the icons displayed on each operation screen are selectable items.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the touch pad 2 is provided such that its operation surface 20 is exposed to the outside from the center console 4. As shown in FIG. 3, the touch pad 2 detects a plurality of capacitance sensors 21 that detect a change in capacitance due to a user's finger touching the operation surface 20, and a pressing operation on the operation surface 20. A pressing sensor 22 is provided. With such a configuration, when the user's finger contacts the operation surface 20, the detection value of the capacitance sensor 21 corresponding to the contact position of the finger among the plurality of capacitance sensors 21 changes. When the user presses the operation surface 20 with a finger, the operation is detected by the press sensor 22. The output signals of the capacitance sensors 21 and the pressure sensors 22 are taken into the control device (control unit) 5.

  The control device 5 is mainly composed of a microcomputer and includes a memory 50 and the like. The control device 5 detects a user operation on the touch pad 2 based on the outputs of the capacitance sensor 21 and the pressure sensor 22. Specifically, the finger contact position (touch position) on the touch pad 2 is detected based on the amount of change in capacitance detected by each capacitance sensor 21. As shown in FIG. 4A, the touch position is detected at each coordinate position of the orthogonal biaxial coordinate system including the Xt axis parallel to the long side direction of the operation surface 20 and the Yt axis parallel to the short side direction. Is done. The control device 5 determines the input position on the screen of the display 1 based on the detected absolute position of the touch position. As shown in FIG. 4B, the input position is designated by the coordinate position of the orthogonal biaxial coordinate system including the Xd axis parallel to the long side direction of the display 1 and the Yd axis parallel to the short side direction. The For example, when the control device 5 detects the position Pt1 of the lower left end of the touch pad 2 as shown in FIG. 4A as the touch position, the control device 5 sets the input position on the screen of the display 1 as shown in FIG. It is determined that the position is the position Pd1 at the lower left corner of the screen corresponding to the touch position Pt1. Further, when the touch position changes from the position Pt1 at the lower left end of the touch pad 2 to the center position Pt2 as indicated by an arrow in FIG. 4 (a), on the screen of the display 1 as indicated by the arrow in FIG. Is determined to have changed from the position Pd1 at the lower left corner to the position Pd2 at the center of the screen corresponding to the touch position Pt2.

  Further, the control device 5 determines which of the plurality of icons is selected by comparing the input position on the screen with the display range of each icon. Specifically, if the input position does not belong within the display range of any icon, it is determined that there is no selected icon. In this case, the control device 5 displays the cursor C at the input position. That is, when the input position on the screen is the position Pd1 shown in FIG. 4B, the control device 5 displays the cursor C at that position. Thus, the user can grasp the input position by confirming the position of the cursor C on the screen. On the other hand, when the input position belongs within the display range of any icon, the control device 5 determines that the icon is selected, and displays a thick outer frame so as to surround the selected icon. . When the outer frame is displayed so as to surround each icon as shown in FIGS. 2A to 2C, the icon display range is set within a range substantially equivalent to the range surrounded by the outer frame. Yes. In addition, the display range of an icon in which no outer frame is displayed like the “search” character shown in FIG. 2C is set within a range surrounded by an invisible outer frame surrounding the character. With this configuration, for example, when the input position on the screen is the position Pd2 shown in FIG. 4B, the control device 5 belongs to the display range of the icon “Nu”. The outer frame 10 is displayed so as to surround the “Nu” icon. As a result, the user can visually recognize that the “Nu” icon is selected.

  And the control apparatus 5 will perform the process according to the selected icon, if the pressing operation of the touchpad 2 is detected through the press sensor 22 in the state in which any icon is selected. For example, as shown in FIG. 4B, when a pressing operation on the touch pad 2 is detected in a state where the “Nu” icon is selected, a “Nu” character is displayed in the search text field 11 of the display 1. Further, for example, when a “menu screen” is displayed on the display 1 as shown in FIG. 2A, if a pressing operation of the touch pad 2 is detected in a state where the “air conditioner” icon A10 is selected, the display 1 is switched to the air conditioner operation screen shown in FIG. When the control device 5 detects the pressing operation of the touch pad 2 while the “+” icon A31 is selected on the air conditioner operation screen shown in FIG. 2B, an operation for increasing the air volume of the air conditioner device is performed. Judge that it was done. In this way, the control device 5 detects a user operation on the air conditioner device or the like.

  When the control device 5 detects a user operation on the air conditioner device or the like, as shown in FIG. 3, the control device 5 sends a request content corresponding to the operation through the in-vehicle network 6 such as a CAN (Controller Area Network) or the air conditioner device 7 or the car navigation device 8. The audio device 9 is notified. When each of the devices 7 to 9 receives a request from the control device 5, it performs an operation corresponding to the request.

  On the other hand, when the control device 5 is displaying a predetermined operation screen on the display 1, the range that the input position on the screen can take includes the display range of all the icons that can be selected on the screen, and Limit to a narrower range than the full range of the screen. The details will be described below with reference to FIG. Here, as shown in FIG. 5A, the coordinate position on the Xt axis of the touch position on the touch pad 2 is set in the range of “0” to “Xtmax”, and the coordinate position on the Yt axis is “0”. ”To“ Ytmax ”. That is, it is assumed that the entire operation range of the touch pad 2 is set within a range Rt surrounded by a two-dot chain line in the drawing.

  As shown in FIG. 5B, it is assumed that the display screen of the display 1 is a screen in which, for example, four selectable icons A to D are arranged in a square shape near the center. In this case, the minimum value in the Xd-axis direction of the display range of the icons A to D is “XdL”, and the maximum value is “XdH”. The minimum value in the Yd-axis direction of the display range of icons A to D is “YdL”, and the maximum value is “YdH”. At this time, the control device 5 detects the position P1 specified by the coordinates (XdL, YdL), the position P2 specified by the coordinates (XdH, YdL), the position P3 specified by the coordinates (XdH, YdH), and the coordinates (XdL). , YdH), a range indicated by a two-dot chain line surrounded by a position P4 designated by (YdH) is set as the limit range Rc. Then, the range that can be taken by the input position with respect to the entire operation range Rt of the touch pad 2, in other words, the range that the cursor C can take is limited within the limit range Rc. Specifically, when the control device 5 detects the touch position (Xt, Yt), the input position is calculated by calculating the input position (Xd, Yd) on the screen based on the following formulas (1) and (2). The range that (Xd, Yd) can take is limited within the limit range Rc.

Xd = (XdH−XdL) · Xt / Xtmax + XdL (1)
Yd = (YdH−YdL) · Yt / Ytmax + YdL (2)
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure in which the control device 5 calculates the input position (Xd, Yd) on the screen from the touch position (Xt, Yt) based on the equations (1) and (2). is there. Next, the procedure of the process will be described in detail with reference to FIG. The process shown in FIG. 6 is repeatedly executed by the control device 5 with a predetermined calculation cycle. The initial values of the minimum display value XdL and maximum value XdH in the Xd-axis direction and the minimum value YdL and maximum value YdH in the Yd-axis direction of the icon display range are initial values displayed on the display 1 when the operating device is started. It is set to a value corresponding to the operation screen.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the control device 5 first determines whether or not the touch position (Xt, Yt) has been detected based on the amount of change in capacitance detected by the capacitance sensor 21 (step). S1). When the touch position (Xt, Yt) is detected (step S1: YES), the minimum value XdL and the maximum value XdH in the Xd-axis direction of the display range of all icons on the operation screen currently displayed on the display 1, and Information on the minimum value YdL and the maximum value YdH in the Yd-axis direction is read from the memory 50 (step S2). Here, various operation screens are displayed on the display 1, and the arrangement of icons is determined for each operation screen. Thus, in the present embodiment, control is performed by associating the operation screen with information on the minimum value XdL and maximum value XdH in the Xd-axis direction and the minimum value YdL and maximum value YdH in the Yd-axis direction of the icon display range of each operation screen. The information is stored in advance in the memory 50 of the device 5. Then, the control device 5 uses the values read from the memory 50 and the touch positions (Xt, Yt) detected in step S1 to input positions (Xd, Yd) on the screen based on the above formulas (1) and (2). ) Is calculated (step S3), and a series of processing ends.

On the other hand, when the touch position (Xt, Yt) cannot be detected in step S1 (step S1: NO), the control device 5 ends the series of processes.
Next, with reference to FIG.7 and FIG.8, the operation example (action | operation) of the operating device of this embodiment is demonstrated.

  When a menu screen as shown in FIG. 7B is displayed on the display 1, the minimum value XdL in the Xd-axis direction of the display range of the selectable icons A10 to A13, A40 is “Xd10”, and the maximum value XdH Becomes “Xd11”. Further, the minimum value YdL in the Yd-axis direction of the display range of the icons A10 to A13, A40 is “Yd10”, and the maximum value XdH is “Yd11”. Then, the control device 5 calculates the input position (Xd, Yd) on the screen based on the above formulas (1) and (2) from these values and the touch position (Xt, Yt). Accordingly, the range that the input position can take on the menu screen with respect to the entire operation range Rt of the touch pad 2 indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 7A is the limited range indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. Limited to Rc1. That is, the range in which the cursor C can be operated on the menu screen is limited to the display range of the icons A10 to A13 and A40. Accordingly, when the user selects each of the icons A10 to A13 and A40, the touch operation range on the touch pad 2 becomes each operation range T10 to T13 and T40 indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. The upper operating range is substantially enlarged. Therefore, the user can easily select the icons A10 to A13 and A40. Even when the user operates the touch pad 2 to trace downward with a finger, the cursor C does not move to the blank area below the icons A10 to A13, so that the selection state of each icon can be maintained.

  When the air conditioner operation screen as shown in FIG. 8B is displayed on the display 1, the minimum value XdL in the Xd-axis direction of the display range of the selectable icons A30 to A32 and A40 is “Xd20”. The maximum value XdH is “Xd21”. Further, the minimum value YdL in the Yd-axis direction of the display range of the icons A30 to A32 and A40 is “Yd20”, and the maximum value XdH is “Yd21”. Then, the control device 5 calculates the input position (Xd, Yd) on the screen based on the above formulas (1) and (2) from these values and the touch position (Xt, Yt). Accordingly, the range that the input position can take on the air conditioner operation screen with respect to the entire operation range Rt of the touch pad 2 indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 8A is indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. It is limited to the limit range Rc2. That is, the range in which the cursor C can be operated on the air conditioner operation screen is limited to the display range of the icons A30 to A32 and A40. Accordingly, when the user selects each icon A30 to A32, A40, the touch operation range on the touch pad 2 becomes each range T30 to T32, T40 indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. Expand to. For this reason, even when the user roughly touches the touch pad 2, the icons A10 to A13 and A40 can be easily selected, so that the operability is improved. Even when the user operates the touch pad 2 with his / her finger to trace downward or to the left, the cursor C does not move to the blank area below the icon A32 or to the left blank area of the icon A30. The selected state of the icon can be maintained.

As described above, according to the operating device of the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) The control device 5 uses the expressions (1) and (2) indicating the correspondence between the absolute position of the touch position (Xt, Yt) and the input position (Xd, Yd) within the limit range Rc. The input position (Xd, Yd) on the screen is determined from (Xt, Yt). Thus, when a predetermined screen is displayed on the display 1, the range that the input position can take with respect to the total operation range Rt of the touch pad 2 includes the display range of all the icons that can be selected on the predetermined screen. In addition, it is limited to a limited range Rc that is narrower than the entire range of the predetermined screen. For this reason, even when the user operates the touch pad 2 over the entire range Rt, the range that can be operated on the screen is limited to the display range of the icons, so that the user can easily select each icon. Therefore, the operability is improved.

  (2) The control device 5 uses an orthogonal biaxial coordinate system composed of the Xd axis and the Yd axis as the coordinate system of the input position on the screen. Then, setting the limit range Rc based on the minimum value XdL and maximum value XdH in the Xd-axis direction and the minimum value YdL and maximum value YdH in the Yd-axis direction in the display range of all the icons that can be selected on a predetermined screen; did. Thereby, the limit range Rc can be set easily.

  (3) In the control device 5, the range in which the image of the cursor C can move on the screen is limited within the limit range Rc. As a result, even if the user operates the touch pad 2 over the entire range Rt, the cursor moves only within the limited range Rc on the screen, so that the user can visually grasp the limit of the input position. Therefore, the operability is improved.

<Second Embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Hereinafter, a description will be given focusing on differences from the first embodiment.

  Although the control device 5 of the first embodiment determines the input position on the screen based on the absolute position of the touch position of the touch pad 2, the control device 5 of the present embodiment determines the relative position of the touch position of the touch pad 2. The input position on the screen is determined based on the position. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9A, after the user touches the finger at a position Pt3 that is further to the left than the center of the touch pad 2, the user touches the touch pad 2 with the finger in the direction of the arrow, It is assumed that the finger is moved to the position Pt4. At this time, when the user's finger contacts the position Pt3 of the touch pad 2, the control device 5 calculates a relative displacement D from the position to the position Pt4 using the position as a reference position. . 9B, when the input position on the screen at the time when the user touches the touch pad 2 is “Pd3”, the input position is the reference position and the position is the reference position. It is determined that the position has changed from Pd3 to the position Pd4 moved by the displacement D.

  On the other hand, when the control device 5 of the present embodiment displays a screen on which four icons A to D as shown in FIG. 5B are arranged on the display 1, for example, the input position (Xd, Yd) is limited to a limit range Rc set by “XdL ≦ Xd ≦ XdH” and “YdL ≦ Yd ≦ YdH”. Further, when the operation screen displayed on the display 1 is switched, the range that the input position (Xd, Yd) on the screen can take is limited based on the display range of the icon on the screen after switching. The details will be described below with reference to FIG. The process shown in FIG. 10 is executed when the operation screen displayed on the display 1 is switched.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the control device 5 firstly displays the minimum value XdL and maximum value XdH in the Xd-axis direction and the minimum value YdL and maximum value YdH in the Yd-axis direction of the display range of all icons on the operation screen after switching. Is read from the memory 50 (step S10). Then, the input position (Xd, Yd) on the screen is limited to a limit range set by “XdL ≦ Xd ≦ XdH” and “YdL ≦ Yd ≦ YdH” (step S11). The control device 5 changes the input position (Xd, Yd) to ((XdL + XdH) / 2, (YdL + YdH) / 2) (step S12), and moves the cursor C to the changed input position (Xd, Yd). Displayed (step S13).

  According to such a configuration, even when the input position on the screen is acquired based on the relative position of the touch position of the touch pad 2, the input position (Xd, Yd) on the screen with respect to the entire operation range of the touch pad 2. ) Is limited to a limit range Rc set by “XdL ≦ Xd ≦ XdH” and “YdL ≦ Yd ≦ YdH”. For this reason, the user can easily select an icon displayed on the screen.

  As described above, according to the operating device of the present embodiment, the same effects as (2) and (3) according to the first embodiment, or the effects equivalent to them can be obtained, and the effect of (1). The following effects can be obtained as an alternative to the above.

  (4) In the control device 5, when a predetermined screen is displayed on the display 1, all the icons that can be selected on the predetermined screen are ranges that the input position can take with respect to the entire operation range of the touch pad 2. In addition, the restriction range Rc is narrower than the entire range of the predetermined screen. Thus, even when the user touches the touch pad 2 over the entire range Rt, the range that can be operated on the screen is limited to the display range of the icons, and thus the user can easily select each icon. Therefore, the operability is improved.

<Other embodiments>
In addition, each said embodiment can also be implemented with the following forms which changed this suitably.
In the first embodiment, the touch is performed using the expressions (1) and (2) indicating the correspondence between the absolute position of the touch position (Xt, Yt) and the input position (Xd, Yd) within the limit range Rc. The input position (Xd, Yd) on the screen is determined from the position (Xt, Yt). Instead, for example, a map showing the correspondence between the absolute position of the touch position (Xt, Yt) and the input position (Xd, Yd) within the limit range Rc is prepared for each operation screen, and touching is performed using this map. The input position (Xd, Yd) on the screen may be obtained from the position (Xt, Yt).

In each of the above embodiments, the cursor C is displayed at the input position on the screen, but the cursor C may be hidden.
In each of the above embodiments, when any icon on the screen is selected, the outer frame 10 is displayed so as to surround the icon so that the user can visually recognize the icon in the selected state. Alternatively, the icon in the selected state may be visible to the user by changing the display color of the icon or highlighting the icon, for example.

  In the above embodiments, the minimum and maximum values in the Xd-axis direction of the icon display range are “XdL” and “XdH”, and the minimum and maximum values in the Yd-axis direction are “YdL” and “YdH”. At a certain time, the range surrounded by the coordinates (XdL, YdL), the coordinates (XdH, YdL), the coordinates (XdH, YdH), and the coordinates (XdL, YdH) was set as the restriction range Rc. Instead, a range slightly wider or slightly narrower than the range surrounded by these coordinates may be set as the limit range Rc. The point is that the limit range Rc may be set based on the minimum value XdL and maximum value XdH in the Xd-axis direction of the icon display range, and the minimum value YdL and maximum value YdH in the Yd-axis direction.

  In each of the above embodiments, as the coordinate system of the input position on the screen, an orthogonal biaxial coordinate system including the Xd axis parallel to the long side direction of the display 1 and the Yd axis parallel to the short side direction is used. Any coordinate system may be used. Also, an arbitrary coordinate system may be used for the coordinate system of the touch position.

  In each of the above embodiments, the capacitance sensor 21 is used as a detection unit that detects the touch position of the user. Instead of this, for example, a pressure sensor that detects a pressure applied to the touch pad 2 in accordance with a finger contact may be provided, and the touch position of the user may be detected based on the pressure detected by the pressure sensor.

  In each of the above embodiments, the operation unit including the touch pad 2 is used, but the configuration of the operation unit is not limited to this. For example, an operation unit including a joystick may be employed. When this operation unit is employed, a sensor that detects the operation position of the joystick becomes the detection unit.

  In each of the above embodiments, the operating device of the present invention is applied to an operating device that remotely controls the air conditioner device 7 or the car navigation device 8 of the vehicle. . For example, the present invention can be applied to devices such as a personal computer, a portable device, and a remote controller for remotely operating a television receiver.

<Appendix>
Next, a technical idea that can be grasped from each of the above embodiments and modifications thereof will be additionally described.
(A) The plurality of items include items indicating operations on various devices mounted on the vehicle, and the control unit performs the operations on the various devices mounted on the vehicle as operations according to the selection items. An operation device that performs an operation according to a selection item. According to this configuration, the user can collectively operate various devices mounted on the vehicle by selecting items on the screen through the operation of the operation unit, so that convenience is improved.

  C: Cursor, Rc, Rc1, Rc2 ... Restricted range, A to D, A10 to A13, A20 to A24, A30 to A32, A40 ... Icon, 1 ... Display (display unit), 2 ... Touchpad (operation unit), 5 ... Control device (control unit), 21 ... Capacitance sensor (detection unit).

Claims (4)

A detection unit for detecting an operation position of the operation unit;
A display unit for displaying a screen on which a plurality of items are arranged;
An input position on the screen is acquired based on the operation position detected by the detection unit, and any of the plurality of items is selected based on a comparison between the input position and a display range of each item on the screen. And a control unit that executes a process according to the selected item.
An operation device capable of performing an operation according to a selection item by selecting an item on the screen through an operation of the operation unit,
The control unit includes a display range of all items that can be selected on the predetermined screen as a range that the input position can take on the predetermined screen when a predetermined screen is displayed on the display unit. In addition, the operating device is limited to a limited range narrower than the entire range of the predetermined screen. The operating device according to claim 1,
The control unit uses an orthogonal two-axis coordinate system as a coordinate system of the input position on the screen, and when the predetermined screen is displayed on the display unit, all the selectable items on the predetermined screen are displayed. An operating device, wherein the limit range is set based on a minimum value and a maximum value in one axis direction of the orthogonal biaxial coordinate system in a display range of items, and a minimum value and a maximum value in the other axis direction. The operating device according to claim 1 or 2,
The control unit determines an input position on the predetermined screen based on an absolute position of the operation position detected by the detection unit, and includes an absolute position of the operation position and an input position within the limit range. An operation device that obtains an input position on the screen from an operation position detected by the detection unit using an arithmetic expression or a map indicating the correspondence relationship. In the operating device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The display unit displays an image of a cursor corresponding to the input position on the screen,
The control device limits the range in which the image of the cursor can move on the screen within the limit range.