JP2014174600A - Touch panel terminal and touch panel control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a touch panel terminal which can be operated comfortably with either of input means with large contact area like a finger and input means with small contact area like a stylus pen.SOLUTION: A touch panel terminal 10 includes: a touch panel 12; and a control part 15 which can execute first and second input modes as an input mode in which an input operation on the touch panel 12 is received, and determines that the input operation is an effective input when a movement quantity from a single touch-down to a touch-up on the touch panel 12 is equal to or larger than a first threshold in the first input mode and also determines that the input operation is an effective input when a movement quantity from a single touch-down to a touch-up on the touch panel 12 is equal to or larger than a second threshold in the second input mode, the second threshold being smaller than the first threshold.

Description

  The present invention relates to a touch panel terminal provided with a touch panel and a touch panel control method usable for the touch panel terminal.

  In recent years, terminals equipped with a touch panel, such as smartphones, tablet terminals, and game machines, are increasing. Accordingly, various methods have been proposed as a control method so that the user can comfortably operate the touch panel.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, a threshold is provided, and in the case of local movement within the range of the threshold, it is regarded as a touch with a finger, thereby preventing a drag operation unintended by the user. In addition, it has a threshold value corresponding to an operation characteristic for each user, and it is described that an operation suitable for the user's characteristics can be performed.

JP 2004-355426 A

  However, according to the method of Patent Document 1, it is necessary to increase the threshold value to some extent in order to prevent a malfunction due to a touch with a finger, so that a small amount of movement cannot be detected. For example, a fine character input with a stylus pen cannot be detected with high accuracy (with a small amount of movement). Even if the threshold value is changed for each user, it is difficult to improve the reproducibility of the contents input by the user, and it is difficult for the user to feel that the accuracy is high. Therefore, although a comfortable operation is possible with a finger, it is difficult to perform a comfortable operation with a stylus pen.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a touch panel terminal and a touch panel control method capable of comfortably operating a touch panel with both an input means having a large contact area such as a finger and an input means having a small contact area such as a stylus pen. To do.

  In order to achieve the above object, the touch panel terminal of the present invention can execute the first and second input modes as input modes for accepting an input operation to the touch panel and the touch panel. When the amount of movement from the first touchdown to the touchup is greater than or equal to the first threshold, the input operation is determined to be a valid input. In the second input mode, the touchup is performed from the first touchdown to the touch panel. And a control unit that determines that the input operation is an effective input when the amount of movement is equal to or greater than a second threshold value, wherein the second threshold value is smaller than the first threshold value.

  According to the present invention, by providing the first and second input modes as input modes for accepting an input operation to the touch panel, input means having a large contact area such as a finger and input means having a small contact area such as a stylus pen, Whichever is used, the user's intention is reflected and the user can comfortably operate the touch panel.

It is a block diagram which shows the principal part structure of the touchscreen terminal of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the touch-panel terminal in the touch-panel control method of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the touch panel terminal in the finger input mode of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the touch panel terminal in the pen input mode of one Embodiment of this invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of a touch panel terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. The touch panel terminal 10 is a device provided with a touch panel, such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal. The touch panel terminal 10 includes a display unit 11, a touch panel 12, a communication unit 13, a memory 14, and a control unit 15.

  The display unit 11 includes a liquid crystal panel, an organic EL (electroluminescence) panel, and the like, and displays various applications and figures, characters, and the like input by handwriting by the user. The touch panel 12 is provided on the display unit 11 and detects various operations such as touchdown, move, and touchup.

  The communication unit 13 is connected to a network such as the Internet by wire or wireless, and uses various applications on the server, receives updates of various applications stored in the memory 14, and communicates with other terminals. Send and receive various data. The memory 14 includes a ROM that stores a program for controlling the operation of the touch panel terminal 10, a RAM that temporarily stores data (data such as handwritten input), and the like.

  The control unit 15 controls the entire operation of the touch panel terminal 10 based on a control program stored in the memory 14. Examples of the control program include a program for operating a touch panel control method described later. The control unit 15 includes a clock control unit 15a and a timer 15b. The clock control unit 15 a performs control to change the operation clock of the touch panel 12. The timer 15b measures elapsed time used for various determinations.

  The operation state of the touch panel terminal 10 includes first and second input modes as input modes for accepting an input operation to the touch panel 12. For example, the first input mode is a mode assuming input with a finger, and the second input mode is a mode assuming input with a stylus pen. Hereinafter, a touch panel control method realized by these modes will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the touch panel terminal 10 in this touch panel control method. For example, in a state where an input mode in which a user operates the touch panel 12 to input characters, figures, and the like by handwriting is activated, the control unit 15 determines whether or not the touch panel 12 is touched down in step S10. When a touchdown is detected in step S10, it is determined that the user has started handwriting input at a desired position, and the process proceeds to step S11 to acquire the touch position on the touch panel 12 and the touch area on the touch panel 12.

  Next, it progresses to step S12 and it is discriminate | determined whether the contact area is more than a predetermined threshold value (3rd threshold value). In the present embodiment, the predetermined threshold is set as a reference value for determining whether the input is performed with a finger or the stylus pen, and an appropriate value is designed. If the contact area is greater than or equal to the predetermined threshold value in step S12, the process proceeds to step S13 to execute the finger input mode (first input mode). On the other hand, when the contact area is less than the predetermined threshold value in step S12, the process proceeds to step S13 to execute the pen input mode (second input mode). Hereinafter, each of the finger input mode and the pen input mode will be described in detail.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the touch panel terminal 10 in the finger input mode. This finger input mode is executed with the first operation clock under the control of the clock controller 15a. For example, a rated clock frequency can be used as the first operation clock.

  First, in step S20, it is determined whether or not the movement amount (move amount) from the touched-down position to the currently touched position is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold (first threshold). This amount of movement may be, for example, a linear distance from the touched-down position to the currently touched position, or may be an amount actually moved between the touched-down position and the currently touched position. . More accurate determination is possible when the amount actually moved is used. This threshold value (first threshold value) is set to be larger than a threshold value (second threshold value) in a pen input mode described later.

  If the amount of movement from the touchdown to the current time is greater than or equal to the predetermined threshold value in step S20, the process proceeds to step S21 and the input operation up to the present time is regarded as a valid input, and the movement route is displayed as a line. On the other hand, if the amount of movement from the touchdown to the current time is less than the predetermined threshold value in step S20, the process proceeds to step S22 and the input operation up to the present time is regarded as an invalid input, and the movement route is not displayed.

  From steps S21 and S22, the process proceeds to step S23 to detect whether or not the touch panel 12 is touched up. If no touch-up is detected in step S23, the process returns to step S20. On the other hand, if a touch-up is detected in step S23, the process ends. Thereby, the line is displayed when the length (movement amount) drawn by the user with a stroke is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (first threshold), and nothing is displayed when the length is less than the predetermined threshold.

  Therefore, since a fine input can be ignored by setting the first threshold value to a relatively large value, it is possible to prevent erroneous operation with a finger that is often input as a large movement amount of the user's intention, and comfortable with the finger. Operation can be realized.

  3 is simply expressed in the finger input mode, when the amount of movement from one touch-down to touch-up 12 on the touch panel 12 is greater than or equal to the first threshold value, the input operation can be performed with an effective input. It can be said that there is.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the touch panel terminal 10 in the pen input mode. In step S30, the clock controller 15a clocks up from the first operation clock to a second operation clock higher than the first operation clock. Thereby, the pen input mode is executed with the second operation clock.

  For example, when the rated clock frequency is used for the first operation clock, the same frequency as other processing operations can be obtained, and a stable operation with low power consumption is possible. At this time, the second operation clock uses a frequency higher than the rated clock frequency and is operated in an overclocked state. As a result, when the second operation clock is used, the power consumption increases, but the input detection frequency increases, and an input with a small movement amount can also be detected. Therefore, it is possible to detect fine characters and the like input with the stylus pen.

  The process proceeds from step S30 to step S31, and it is determined whether or not the movement amount (move amount) from the touched-down position to the currently touched position is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold (second threshold). The second threshold value is set smaller than the first threshold value.

  If the amount of movement from the touchdown to the current time is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold value in step S31, the process proceeds to step S32, where the input operation up to the present time is regarded as a valid input, and the movement route is displayed with a line. On the other hand, if the amount of movement from the touchdown to the current time is less than the predetermined threshold value in step S31, the process proceeds to step S33 and the input operation up to the present time is regarded as an invalid input, and the movement route is not displayed.

  From steps S32 and S33, the process proceeds to step S34 to detect whether or not the touch panel 12 is touched up. If no touch-up is detected in step S34, the process returns to step S31. On the other hand, when touch-up is detected in step S34, the process proceeds to step S35, where the clock control unit 15a changes the operation clock by clocking down from the second operation clock to the first operation clock, and ends the process. The clock down here means that the operation clock is simply lowered, and is not limited to lowering the frequency to a frequency lower than the rated clock frequency.

  Thereby, when the length (movement amount) drawn by the user with a stroke is equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold (second threshold), the line is displayed, and when the length is less than the predetermined threshold, nothing is displayed.

  Therefore, since the fine input can be detected by setting the second threshold value to a small value to some extent, even a fine character input with the stylus pen can be detected with high accuracy (with a small amount of movement), and the user The reproducibility of the contents entered by can be improved. As a result, the user can feel that the accuracy is high, and a comfortable operation with the stylus pen can be realized.

  Further, by clocking down the operation clock after touch-up, the clock is only raised when the touch panel 12 is touched with the stylus pen, so that the clock-up period can be minimized. Therefore, an increase in power consumption can be minimized while realizing highly accurate detection.

  4 is simply expressed in the pen input mode, when the movement amount from one touch-down to touch-up on the touch panel 12 is greater than or equal to the second threshold value, the input operation can be performed with an effective input. It can be said that there is.

  When the timer 15b starts counting with the start of the finger input mode and the pen input mode described above and no touch-up is detected even after a predetermined time has elapsed, it is determined that there is a false detection and the input mode is automatically terminated. You may make it do.

  According to the present embodiment, in the finger input mode, when the movement amount from one touch-down to touch-up on the touch panel is equal to or greater than the first threshold, it is determined that the input operation is an effective input, and the pen input In the mode, when the amount of movement from one touch-down to touch-up on the touch panel is greater than or equal to the second threshold, it is determined that the input operation is an effective input, and the second threshold is smaller than the first threshold Thus, the user's intention is reflected regardless of whether the input means having a large contact area such as a finger or the input means having a small contact area such as a stylus pen is used, and the user can comfortably operate the touch panel.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, when the touch area on the touch panel at the time of touchdown is equal to or greater than the third threshold, the finger input mode is executed, and when the touch area is less than the third threshold, the pen input mode is executed. The user can operate comfortably without being aware of the input mode. As described above, in addition to the configuration in which the touch panel terminal 10 automatically determines which of the finger input mode and the pen input mode is to be executed, the user can select which mode to execute during an input operation. Thus, it may be switched manually.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, it is determined whether to execute the finger input mode or the pen input mode every time a touchdown is detected. Thereby, it is possible to cope with a case where the user changes the operation means (finger or stylus pen) during the operation. When creating a memo by handwriting input, during the series of input operations from the beginning of writing to the end of writing, this determination is performed only at the first touchdown, and the same input mode is set until the series of input operations is completed. Also good.

  In addition, although said embodiment demonstrated the case where the touchscreen control method was applied to the input mode which inputs by handwriting, if this touchscreen control method is control with respect to the input operation accompanied by the movement in a touchscreen, it can apply without limitation. For example, the present invention can be applied to control for input operations such as drag for moving an icon, flick for scrolling an image, and pinch out / pinch in for enlarging / reducing an image.

  In the above embodiment, the input unit is described as a finger and a stylus pen. However, there are no particular limitations as long as the input unit has two types of contact areas with different touch areas.

  In the present invention, programs for various applications including a program for operating the touch panel control method may be stored in a terminal or a server. When stored in a terminal, there is an advantage that various programs can be used without being connected to a network. When stored in the terminal, it is possible to obtain an update of the program if it is connected to the network. On the other hand, when the program is stored in the server, since the terminal uses the program via the network, the storage capacity for storing the program in the terminal is not required, so the storage capacity is not compressed. There is an advantage.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Touch panel terminal 11 Display part 12 Touch panel 13 Communication part 14 Memory 15 Control part 15a Clock control part 15b Timer

Claims (5)

A touch panel;
First and second input modes can be executed as input modes for accepting an input operation to the touch panel. In the first input mode, a movement amount from one touch-down to touch-up on the touch panel is greater than or equal to a first threshold value. When the input operation is determined to be a valid input, and the amount of movement from one touch-down to touch-up on the touch panel is greater than or equal to a second threshold in the second input mode, the input operation is valid. A control unit for determining that the input is
A touch panel terminal, wherein the second threshold value is smaller than the first threshold value.   The control unit executes the first input mode when the contact area to the touch panel during the touchdown is equal to or greater than a third threshold value, and executes the second input mode when the touch area is less than the third threshold value. The touch panel terminal according to claim 1.   The touch panel terminal according to claim 2, wherein the control unit determines which of the first and second input modes is to be executed each time the touchdown is detected. The control unit executes a first input mode with a first operation clock, executes a second input mode with a second operation clock,
The touch panel terminal according to claim 1, wherein the second operation clock is higher than the first operation clock. First and second input modes are provided as input modes for accepting input operations on the touch panel,
In the first input mode, when the amount of movement from one touch-down to touch-up on the touch panel is greater than or equal to a first threshold, it is determined that the input operation is an effective input,
In the second input mode, when the amount of movement from one touch-down to touch-up on the touch panel is equal to or greater than a second threshold, it is determined that the input operation is an effective input,
A touch panel control method, wherein the second threshold value is smaller than the first threshold value.

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