JP2018063616A - Operation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an operation device with high operability without blank period during which an execution of calibration prohibits an operator from performing operation.SOLUTION: The operation device 1 includes a panel 10 having an operation surface 100 contacted for operation by an operation finger 9 being an object to be detected, a temperature sensor unit 12 for measuring a temperature of the panel 10, and a control unit 14 as a calculation unit for calculating a contact position where the object to be object has contacted based on a temperature distribution of the panel 10 detected by the temperature sensor unit 12 and outputting the operation information Swhich is information on the contact position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an operating device.

  As a conventional technique, when the mobile terminal device is activated or when the screen of the touch panel is turned on, a proximity / contact detection unit that detects whether or not an operator's finger is in contact with the area surface of the touch panel, and the touch panel If it is detected that the operator's finger is in contact with the area surface of the touch panel, as long as the detection continues, the calibration of the touch panel is changed to the capacitance distribution of the touch panel by the execution. There is known a portable terminal device including a touch panel control unit that repeatedly executes until no more is detected (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  This portable terminal device can avoid the occurrence of a portion that does not respond to the touch of the operator's finger or the like due to calibration.

JP2015-11497A

  However, in the conventional portable terminal device, since calibration is repeatedly performed until no change is detected in the capacitance distribution of the touch panel, it takes time until it can be used, and the operability is not good.

  Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an operating device with high operability without a blank period during which an operator cannot operate due to the execution of calibration.

  One embodiment of the present invention is a panel having an operation surface on which a contact operation is performed according to a detection target, a temperature sensor unit that measures the temperature of the panel, and a detection target that is in contact with the temperature distribution of the panel detected by the temperature sensor unit And a calculation unit that calculates the contact position and outputs operation information that is information on the contact position.

  According to the present invention, there is no blank period during which the operator cannot perform operation due to the execution of calibration, and operability is high.

FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an operating device according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 1B is a block diagram illustrating an example of an operating device. FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the operation surface of the panel of the operating device according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the temperature distribution on the back side of the panel. FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the controller device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the operating device according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 4B is a block diagram illustrating an example of the operating device. FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the operating device according to the third embodiment, and FIG. 5B is a block diagram illustrating an example of the operating device. FIG. 6A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a temperature distribution in the case where there is no glove wearing generated by the operating device according to the third embodiment, and FIG. It is the schematic which shows an example of temperature distribution. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the controller device according to the third embodiment.

(Summary of embodiment)
The operation device according to the embodiment includes a panel having an operation surface on which a contact operation is performed by a detection target, a temperature sensor unit that measures the temperature of the panel, and a detection target based on the temperature distribution of the panel detected by the temperature sensor unit And a calculation unit that calculates a contact position where the contact is made and outputs operation information that is information on the contact position.

  Since the operating device calculates the contact position of the detection target based on the temperature distribution of the panel, it is not necessary to perform calibration unlike a capacitive touch panel. Therefore, the operating device has no blank period during which the operator cannot operate due to the execution of calibration, and has high operability.

[First embodiment]
(Overview of operation device 1)
FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an operating device according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 1B is a block diagram illustrating an example of an operating device. FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the operation surface of the panel of the operating device according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the temperature distribution on the back side of the panel. FIG. Note that, in each drawing according to the embodiment described below, the ratio between figures may be different from the actual ratio. In FIGS. 1B, 4B, and 5B, the main information flow is indicated by arrows. Furthermore, “A to B” indicating a numerical range is used in the meaning of A or more and B or less.

  For example, the operation device 1 is mounted on a vehicle and configured to remotely operate a connected electronic device. For example, the operation device 1 detects a touch operation, a tap operation, a tracing operation, a gesture operation, or the like on the operation surface 100.

  The operating device 1 is disposed, for example, on a floor console between a driver seat and a passenger seat. The electronic device is, for example, an air conditioner, a navigation device, a music and video playback device, or the like.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 1A to 2B, the operation device 1 includes a panel 10 having an operation surface 100 on which a contact operation is performed by a detection target, and a temperature sensor unit that measures the temperature of the panel 10. 12, control of a calculating unit in which the temperature sensor unit 12 outputs the operation information S ₂ is the information of a contact position 145 detected is to calculate the contact position 145 in contact on the basis of the temperature distribution 125 of the panel 10 detected And is configured roughly.

  The detection target is, for example, an operator's finger (operation finger), but is not limited thereto, and may be another part of the body, or configured to have a temperature difference from the panel 10 to a detectable level. It may be a dedicated pen.

(Configuration of panel 10)
The panel 10 has, for example, a square plate shape as shown in FIG. The panel 10 is formed using a material having high thermal conductivity. The thermal conductivity of the panel 10, for ^example, preferably ^{10Wm -1 K} -1 or higher, ^{100Wm -1 K} -1 or more is more preferable. Panel 10 of the present embodiment is, for example, aluminum, and has a thermal conductivity of about 236 Wm ⁻¹ K ⁻¹ near room temperature.

  In this panel 10, an XY coordinate system is set with the upper left of the drawing of FIG. The horizontal direction of the panel 10 is the X axis, and the vertical direction is the Y axis. The contact position 145 is calculated as coordinates in this XY coordinate system.

(Configuration of temperature sensor unit 12)
For example, as shown in FIG. 1A, the temperature sensor unit 12 is schematically configured to include a substrate 120 and a plurality of temperature sensor elements 122. The substrate 120 is, for example, a printed wiring board.

The temperature sensor element 122 is configured using, for example, a thermal or quantum detection element, a thermistor, or the like. The temperature sensor elements 122 are arranged in a grid pattern on the substrate 120. The temperature sensor portion 12 outputs to the control unit 14 allocates the measured temperature to the arrangement position of the temperature sensor element 122 to generate the temperature distribution information S _1. Control unit 14 obtains the temperature distribution 125 from the temperature distribution information _{S 1.}

(Configuration of control unit 14)
The control unit 14 has a temperature change threshold value 140 that is a threshold value of the temperature change range, and extracts a temperature change region 127 in which the temperature changes in the temperature change threshold value 140 range from the temperature distribution 125. Then, the contact position 145 is calculated based on the extracted temperature change region 127.

  The control unit 14 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that performs calculation and processing on the acquired data according to a stored program, a RAM (Random Access Memory) that is a semiconductor memory, a ROM (Read Only Memory), and the like. It is a microcomputer configured. In this ROM, for example, a program for operating the control unit 14 and a temperature change threshold value 140 are stored. For example, the RAM is used as a storage area for temporarily storing calculation results and the like.

  The temperature change threshold 140 is a threshold related to temperature change. This temperature change threshold 140 is used to extract from the temperature distribution 125 a region where the temperature has changed from the surroundings due to the operation finger 9 touching. As an example, the human body temperature is approximately 34 to 40 ° C. in a wide range. Therefore, when the temperature of the panel 10 at room temperature is about 25 ° C., the temperature change threshold value 140 is, for example, 9 to 15 ° C. based on the difference from the body temperature. This temperature change threshold value 140 is set by, for example, experiments or simulations.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 2B, the temperature distribution 125 is mainly divided into an outer region 126 where the operation finger 9 is not in contact and a temperature change region 127 which is a region where the operation finger 9 is in contact. be able to. The control unit 14 sets a region where the temperature is changing in the range of the temperature change threshold 140 with respect to the temperature of the outer region 126 as a temperature change region 127. That is, the temperature change area 127 indicates an area of the panel 10 where the temperature has changed due to human body temperature.

Then, the control unit 14, for example, based on the most temperature change is large calculation areas 128 within the temperature change region 127 calculates a contact position 145, based on the calculated contact position 145 to generate the operation information S ₂ electrons Output to the device. The calculation area 128 indicates an area close to the area where the operation finger 9 is in contact with the panel 10. Therefore, the control unit 14 sets the center and the center of gravity of the calculation area 128 as the contact position 145. Note that the control unit 14 may calculate the contact position 145 by a weighted average based on the temperature change region 127.

  Below, an example of operation | movement of the operating device 1 which concerns on this Embodiment is demonstrated according to the flowchart of FIG.

(Operation)
Control unit 14 of the operation device 1, when the power supply of the vehicle is turned on, and acquires the temperature distribution information S ₁ from the temperature sensor unit 12 monitors whether the temperature change occurs. When “Yes” in Step 1 is established, that is, when a temperature change occurs (Step 1: Yes), the control unit 14 determines the presence or absence of the temperature change region 127 based on the temperature change threshold 140.

  When there is a temperature change region 127 in which the temperature has changed within the temperature change threshold value 140 (Step 2: Yes), the control unit 14 determines the contact position based on the calculation region 128 having the largest temperature change in the temperature change region 127. 145 is calculated (Step 3).

Control unit 14, based on the calculated contact position 145 to generate the operation information _{S 2,} and outputs to the connected electronic equipment (Step4).

  Here, in Step 2, when the temperature change region has a temperature change different from the range of the temperature change threshold 140 (Step 2: No), the control unit 14 determines that a foreign substance such as a liquid is attached ( Step 5) The process proceeds to step 1 without calculating the contact position 145.

(Effects of the first embodiment)
The operating device 1 according to the present embodiment has a high operability because there is no blank period during which the operator cannot operate the calibration. Specifically, since the controller device 1 calculates the contact position 145 of the operation finger 9 based on the temperature distribution 125 of the panel 10, it is not necessary to perform calibration as in the capacitive touch panel. Therefore, the operating device has no blank period during which the operator cannot operate due to the execution of calibration, and has high operability. The operation device 1 is less susceptible to the vibration of the vehicle as compared with a capacitive touch panel that may detect the operation finger 9 in a floating state.

[Second Embodiment]
The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the panel 10 is kept at a constant temperature.

  FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the operating device according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 4B is a block diagram illustrating an example of the operating device. In the embodiments described below, parts having the same functions and configurations as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment, and description thereof is omitted.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, the controller device 1 of the present embodiment is schematically configured to include a heater 16 that keeps the panel 10 at a substantially constant temperature. The substantially constant temperature indicates, for example, a temperature that falls within an allowable range from the target panel 10 temperature. As a modification, the controller device 1 may include a temperature adjustment unit that cools or heats the panel 10 whose temperature is not stabilized with a change in the temperature of the vehicle so as to reach a target temperature. For example, the temperature adjusting unit may be configured to send the air adjusted by the air conditioner to the panel 10, or a Peltier element for cooling may be arranged on the panel 10.

  The target temperature is preferably lower than the temperature of the operation finger 9. Since the average human body temperature is approximately 36.5 ° C., the target temperature is 30 ° C. as an example. Therefore, the temperature change threshold 140 of the present embodiment is 4 to 10 ° C. based on the difference from the body temperature as an example. This temperature change threshold value 140 is set by, for example, experiments or simulations.

  The heater 16 is a PTC (Positive Temperature Coefficient) heater, for example, and is disposed on the back surface 101 of the panel 10. The heater 16 has, for example, a heated wire that has been folded back multiple times.

  The controller 14 of the operating device 1 generates a current I and supplies it to the heater 16 when the vehicle is turned on. The heater 16 heats the panel 10 based on the current I so as to maintain a constant temperature.

(Effect of the second embodiment)
Since the operating device 1 according to the present embodiment maintains the temperature of the panel 10 at a constant temperature, the temperature of the panel 10 is less likely to be influenced by the temperature of the vehicle. Compared to the case where this configuration is not provided, the contact position 145 Detection accuracy is improved.

[Third Embodiment]
The third embodiment is different from the other embodiments in that the temperature change threshold is switched depending on whether or not the operator is wearing gloves.

  FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the operating device according to the third embodiment, and FIG. 5B is a block diagram illustrating an example of the operating device. FIG. 6A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a temperature distribution in the case where there is no glove wearing generated by the operating device according to the third embodiment, and FIG. It is the schematic which shows an example of temperature distribution.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B, the operating device 1 of the present embodiment includes whether or not the operator is wearing a glove 90 in addition to the configuration of the second embodiment. The color sensor 18 as an identification unit for identifying the above is schematically configured.

The color sensor 18 is disposed on the panel 10, for example. The color sensor 18 is configured using, for example, a photodiode and a color filter. Color sensor 18 of the present embodiment, for example, when detecting the color of the operator's hand, and outputs the identification information S ₃ to no wear gloves 90, does not detect the color of the hand, wear gloves 90 and it is configured to output the identification information S ₃ to have.

  As shown in FIG. 5B, the control unit 14 includes a first temperature change threshold value 141 that is a threshold value of a temperature change range corresponding to the operation finger 9, and a temperature corresponding to the wearing of the glove 90. A second temperature change threshold 142, which is a change range threshold, is provided.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 6A, the control unit 14 determines that the operator is not wearing the glove 90 based on the identification information S ₃ acquired from the color sensor 18. The first temperature change region 127a where the temperature is changing in the range of the first temperature change threshold 141 is extracted, and the contact position 145 is calculated based on the extracted first temperature change region 127a.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 6B, the control unit 14 determines that the operator is wearing the glove 90 based on the identification information S ₃ acquired from the color sensor 18. The second temperature change region 127b in which the temperature changes in the range of the second temperature change threshold 142 is extracted, and the contact position 145 is calculated based on the extracted second temperature change region 127b.

  As an example, the first temperature change threshold 141 is 4 to 10 ° C., similarly to the temperature change threshold 140 of the second embodiment. When the operator wears and operates the gloves 90, the temperature of the hand is difficult to be transmitted to the panel 10, and the temperature change is smaller than when the operator is not wearing the gloves. Accordingly, the second temperature change threshold 142 is 1 to 4 ° C. as an example. That is, the second temperature change threshold 142 has a range shifted to a temperature lower than the first temperature change threshold 141. The first temperature change threshold value 141 and the second temperature change threshold value 142 are set by, for example, experiments or simulations.

  Below, an example of operation | movement of the operating device 1 of this Embodiment is demonstrated according to the flowchart of FIG.

(Operation)
When the vehicle power is turned on, the controller 14 of the controller device 1 supplies the current I to the heater 16 to keep the temperature of the panel 10 constant (Step 10). Further, the control unit 14 acquires the temperature distribution information S ₁ from the temperature sensor unit 12 and monitors whether a temperature change occurs, acquires the identification information S ₃ from the color sensor 18, and monitors whether or not the glove 90 is worn. To do.

Control unit 14, when it is identified that there is no wear gloves 90 based on the identification information _{S 3} (Step11: Yes), confirms whether the temperature change has occurred. When the temperature change occurs (Step 12: Yes), the control unit 14 determines the presence or absence of the first temperature change region 127a based on the first temperature change threshold 141.

  When there is a first temperature change region 127a whose temperature has changed within the range of the first temperature change threshold 141 (Step 13: Yes), the controller 14 has the most temperature change in the first temperature change region 127a. The contact position 145 is calculated based on the large calculation area 128a (Step 14).

Control unit 14, based on the calculated contact position 145 to generate the operation information _{S 2,} and outputs to the connected electronic equipment (Step 15).

Control unit 14 in step 11 where, when identified as based on the identification information _{S 3} is gloving 90 (Step11: No), the second temperature change from the first temperature change threshold 141 The threshold value is switched to the threshold value 142 (Step 16). When the temperature change occurs (Step 12: Yes), the control unit 14 determines the presence or absence of the second temperature change region 127b based on the second temperature change threshold 142.

When there is the second temperature change region 127b whose temperature has changed within the range of the second temperature change threshold 142 (Step 13: Yes), the controller 14 has the most temperature change in the second temperature change region 127b. It calculates the contact position 145 outputs operation information _{S 2} based on the large calculation region 128b.

  In step 13, the control unit 14 determines that the temperature change is different from the range of the first temperature change threshold value 141 or the second temperature change threshold value 142 to which the temperature changed region is applied (Step 13: No). ), It is determined that a foreign substance such as a liquid is attached (Step 17), and the process proceeds to Step 11 without calculating the contact position 145.

(Effect of the third embodiment)
Since the operation device 1 according to the present embodiment can calculate the contact position 145 even if the glove 90 is worn, the operation device 1 can be operated without being aware of whether or not the glove 90 is worn, and has good operability. .

Moreover, the operating device 1 as another embodiment is configured such that the temperature sensor unit 12 includes a thermo camera. The thermo camera is arranged so that the back surface 101 of the panel 10 can be imaged. The thermo camera to the control unit 14 the information of an image captured as the temperature distribution information S _1.

  Furthermore, the operating device 1 as another embodiment is configured to detect multi-touch. That is, when there are a plurality of temperature change regions, the controller device 1 calculates the contact position 145 for each temperature change region.

  According to the operating device 1 of at least one embodiment described above, there is no blank period during which the operator cannot operate due to the execution of calibration, and operability can be improved.

  As mentioned above, although some embodiment and modification of this invention were demonstrated, these embodiment and modification are only examples, and do not limit the invention based on a claim. These novel embodiments and modifications can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, changes, and the like can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. In addition, not all combinations of features described in these embodiments and modifications are necessarily essential to the means for solving the problems of the invention. Further, these embodiments and modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Operation apparatus, 9 ... Operation finger, 10 ... Panel, 12 ... Temperature sensor part, 14 ... Control part, 16 ... Heater, 18 ... Color sensor, 90 ... Gloves, 100 ... Operation surface, 101 ... Back surface, 120 ... Substrate , 122 ... temperature sensor element, 125 ... temperature distribution, 126 ... outer region, 127, 127a, 127b ... temperature change region, 128, 128a, 128b ... calculation region, 140 ... temperature change threshold, 141 ... first temperature Change threshold, 142 ... second temperature change threshold, 145 ... contact position

Claims (6)

A panel having an operation surface on which a contact operation is performed according to a detection target;
A temperature sensor unit for measuring the temperature of the panel;
A calculation unit that calculates a contact position in contact with the detection target based on a temperature distribution of the panel detected by the temperature sensor unit, and outputs operation information that is information of the contact position;
The operating device with. With a heater to keep the panel at a substantially constant temperature;
The operating device according to claim 1. The panel is a metal plate,
The operating device according to claim 1 or 2. The temperature sensor unit has a plurality of temperature sensor elements arranged in a grid pattern.
The operating device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The calculation unit has a temperature change threshold value that is a threshold value of a temperature change range, and extracts a temperature change region in which the temperature changes in the temperature change threshold value range from the temperature distribution; Calculating the contact position based on the extracted temperature change region;
The operating device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The detection target is an operation finger of an operator, and includes an identification unit that identifies whether the operator is wearing gloves,
The calculation unit includes a first temperature change threshold value that is a temperature change range threshold value corresponding to the operation finger, and a temperature change range threshold value that corresponds to glove wear. Has a temperature change threshold,
When it is identified that the operator is not wearing gloves, the first temperature change region where the temperature is changed in the range of the first temperature change threshold is extracted from the temperature distribution and extracted. Calculating the contact position based on the first temperature change region;
When the operator is identified as wearing gloves, a second temperature change region in which the temperature changes in the range of the second temperature change threshold is extracted from the temperature distribution and extracted. Calculating the contact position based on the second temperature change region;
The operating device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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