JP2018148389A - Electronic device and control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic device with a touch panel configured to prevent operation error due to unintended touch input.SOLUTION: An electronic device includes: first approach detection means which detects approaching a finder; second approach detection means which detects approaching a touch panel; touch detection means; and area calculation means which calculates the area of an approaching area detected by the second approach detection means. When the first approach detection means detects an object approaching the finder within a predetermined distance and the area of the approaching area detected by the second approach detection means is equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold, a touch operation detected in the approach detection area is disabled, and other touch operations are enabled. Setting means sets the threshold to a first value when a distance to the object by the first approach detection means is larger than a predetermined distance, and sets the threshold to a second value larger than the first value when the distance to the object is smaller than the predetermined distance.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device having a touch position detection function using a touch panel.

  In recent years, a touch panel is one of input devices that have been attracting attention. As a detection method of the touch panel, there are several methods such as a resistance film method, a capacitance method, and an optical method. In particular, in mobile devices such as smartphones, digital video cameras, and digital still cameras, models equipped with a touch panel are widely used because of the convenience of intuitive operation while displaying an operation screen or an imaging screen. As the screen size of mobile devices increases, it is possible to delete the button space, which has a great advantage.

  On the other hand, some digital cameras and video cameras shoot while checking the composition of an image through an optical viewfinder or an electronic viewfinder. However, in a camera with a finder, when taking a picture while looking through the finder, a part of the face (such as the nose) comes into contact with the display surface of the rear display. In this case, if the touch panel operation is enabled on almost the entire surface of the rear display, a process unintended by the user may be performed due to an unintended operation.

  With respect to this problem, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228620 proposes a method in which a user registers information on effectiveness in advance and sets an inputable area of the touch panel according to the main registration information. It is possible to prevent malfunction by disabling touch input outside the input enabled area.

JP 2009-260681 A

  However, in the prior art disclosed in the above-mentioned patent document, the input possible area of the touch panel is limited, so that the operability is lowered. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device with a touch panel that can prevent an erroneous operation due to an unintended touch input without limiting the input possible area of the touch panel.

In order to achieve the above object, an electronic apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes first approach detection means for detecting approach to a finder,
Second approach detecting means for detecting approach to the touch panel;
Touch detection means capable of detecting touch operations at a plurality of locations on the touch panel;
An area calculating means for calculating the area of the proximity region detected by the second approach detecting means;
In a period in which the first approach detection means detects that an object is approaching the finder within a predetermined distance,
When the area of the proximity region detected by the second approach detection means is a predetermined threshold or more,
A means for invalidating the touch operation detected in the proximity region by the touch detection means, and validating other touch operations;
When the distance to the detection object by the first approach detection means is longer than a predetermined distance, the threshold value is set to a first value, and the distance to the detection object is closer than the predetermined distance Comprises setting means for setting the threshold value to a second value larger than the first value.

  According to the present invention, it is determined that a touch on the touch panel that is not intended by the user is an invalid touch operation, so that a malfunction according to the touch does not occur. On the other hand, a touch operation that can be determined as an operation intended by the user is determined as an effective operation, and a process corresponding to the contact is performed. This makes it possible to perform a touch operation using the entire touch panel while preventing malfunctions, thereby improving user convenience.

It is a flowchart which shows the processing operation of the digital camera which concerns on the Example of this invention. 1 is an external view of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the digital camera which concerns on the Example of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the valid / invalid determination method of the touch performed with the digital camera which concerns on the Example of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the correlation of the eyepiece distance in the digital camera which concerns on the Example of this invention, and the proximity area area to a touchscreen. It is explanatory drawing which shows the change operation of the imaging | photography setting performed with the digital camera which concerns on the Example of this invention.

  Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 2A and 2B are external views of a digital camera as an example of the imaging apparatus of the present invention. 2A is a front perspective view of the digital camera 100, and FIG. 2B is a rear perspective view of the digital camera 100. In FIG. 2, a display unit 28 is a display unit provided on the back of the camera for displaying images and various types of information. The display unit 28 is configured integrally with the touch panel 27. The shutter button 61 is an operation unit for issuing a shooting instruction. The mode switch 60 is an operation unit for switching various modes.

  The terminal cover 40 is a cover that protects a connector (not shown) such as a connection cable for connecting the connection cable to the device and the digital camera 100. The main electronic dial 71 is a rotation operation member. By turning the main electronic dial 71, setting values such as a shutter speed and an aperture can be changed. The power switch 72 is an operation member that switches the power of the digital camera 100 on and off. The cross key 74 is a cross key (four-way key) capable of pushing in the upper, lower, left, and right portions. An operation corresponding to the pressed portion of the cross key 74 is possible.

  The SET button 75 is an operation button mainly used for determining a selection item. The LV button 76 is a button for switching ON / OFF of a live view (hereinafter referred to as LV) in the menu button. In the moving image shooting mode, it is used to start and stop moving image shooting (recording). The enlargement button 77 is an operation button for turning on and off the enlargement mode and changing the enlargement ratio during the enlargement mode in the live view display in the shooting mode. In the reproduction mode, it functions as an enlargement button for enlarging the reproduction image and increasing the enlargement ratio.

  The reduction button 78 is an operation button for reducing the enlargement ratio of the enlarged reproduction image and reducing the displayed image. The playback button 79 is an operation button for switching between the shooting mode and the playback mode. When the playback button 79 is pressed during the shooting mode, the mode is switched to the playback mode, and the latest image among the images recorded on the recording medium 200 can be displayed on the display unit 28. The quick return mirror 12 is instructed by the system control unit 50 and is raised and lowered by an actuator (not shown). The communication terminal 10 is a communication terminal for the digital camera 100 to communicate with the lens side (detachable).

  The viewfinder 16 is a view-type viewfinder for observing the focusing screen 13 to confirm the focus and composition of the optical image of the subject obtained through the lens unit 150. An eyepiece detection unit (55) is mounted around the viewfinder 16 so that the presence or absence of an eyepiece on the viewfinder 16 can be detected. A lid 202 is a slot lid for storing the recording medium 200. The grip portion 90 is a holding portion that is shaped to be easily gripped with the right hand when the user holds the digital camera 100.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the digital camera 100 according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 3, a lens unit 150 is a lens unit on which a replaceable photographic lens is mounted.

  The lens 103 is usually composed of a plurality of lenses, but here, only a single lens is shown for simplicity. The communication terminal 6 is a communication terminal for the lens unit 150 to communicate with the digital camera 100 side, and the communication terminal 10 is a communication terminal for the digital camera 100 to communicate with the lens unit 150 side. The lens unit 150 communicates with the system control unit 50 through the communication terminals 6 and 10, controls the diaphragm 1 through the diaphragm driving circuit 2 by the internal lens system control circuit 4, and passes through the AF driving circuit 3. The focus is adjusted by displacing the position of the lens 103.

  The AE sensor 17 measures the luminance of the subject that has passed through the lens unit 150. The focus detection unit 11 outputs defocus amount information to the system control unit 50. Based on this, the system control unit 50 controls the lens unit 150 to perform phase difference AF.

  The quick return mirror 12 (hereinafter, mirror 12) is instructed by the system control unit 50 during exposure, live view shooting, and moving image shooting, and is moved up and down by an actuator (not shown). The mirror 12 is a mirror for switching the light beam incident from the lens 103 between the viewfinder 16 side and the imaging unit 22 side. The mirror 12 is normally arranged so as to reflect the light beam to the viewfinder 16, but in the case of shooting or live view display, the mirror 12 is directed upward to guide the light beam to the imaging unit 22. Retreat from the bounced light flux (mirror up). Further, the mirror 12 is a half mirror so that the central part can transmit part of the light, and part of the light beam is transmitted so as to enter the focus detection part 11 for performing focus detection.

  By observing the focusing screen 13 via the pentaprism 14 and the finder 16, the user can check the focus and composition of the optical image of the subject obtained through the lens unit 150. The shutter 101 is a focal plane shutter that can freely control the exposure time of the imaging unit 22 under the control of the system control unit 50. The imaging unit 22 is an imaging device configured with a CCD, a CMOS device, or the like that converts an optical image into an electrical signal. The A / D converter 23 converts an analog signal into a digital signal. The A / D converter 23 is used to convert an analog signal output from the imaging unit 22 into a digital signal.

  The image processing unit 24 performs resizing processing such as predetermined pixel interpolation and reduction and color conversion processing on the data from the A / D converter 23 or the data from the memory control unit 15. The image processing unit 24 performs predetermined calculation processing using the captured image data, and the system control unit 50 performs exposure control and distance measurement control based on the obtained calculation result. Thereby, AF (autofocus) processing, AE (automatic exposure) processing, and EF (flash pre-emission) processing of the TTL (through-the-lens) method are performed. The image processing unit 24 further performs predetermined calculation processing using the captured image data, and also performs TTL AWB (auto white balance) processing based on the obtained calculation result.

  Output data from the A / D converter 23 is directly written into the system memory 52 via the image processing unit 24 and the memory control unit 15 or via the memory control unit 15. The system memory 52 stores image data obtained by the imaging unit 22 and converted into digital data by the A / D converter 23 and image data to be displayed on the display unit 28. The memory 32 has a storage capacity sufficient to store a predetermined number of still images, a moving image and sound for a predetermined time.

  The memory 32 also serves as an image display memory (video memory). The D / A converter 19 converts the image display data stored in the memory 32 into an analog signal and supplies the analog signal to the display unit 28. Thus, the display image data written in the memory 32 is displayed on the display unit 28 via the D / A converter 19. The display unit 28 performs display according to the analog signal from the D / A converter 19 on a display such as an LCD. A digital signal once A / D converted by the A / D converter 23 and stored in the memory 32 is converted into an analog signal by the D / A converter 19 and sequentially transferred to the display unit 28 for display. Live view display).

  On the in-finder liquid crystal display unit 41, a frame (AF frame) indicating a focus point currently being auto-focused, an icon indicating a camera setting state, and the like are displayed via the in-finder display unit driving circuit 42. Is done. By operating the operation unit 70, the point where the focus is to be focused can be changed by moving the cursor position indicating the selected Nakano AF frame while looking through the viewfinder.

  The nonvolatile memory 56 is an electrically erasable / recordable memory, and for example, an EEPROM or the like is used. The nonvolatile memory 56 stores constants, programs, and the like for operating the system control unit 50. Here, the program is a program for executing various flowcharts described later in the present embodiment.

  The system control unit 50 controls the entire digital camera 100. By executing the program recorded in the non-volatile memory 56 described above, each process of the present embodiment to be described later is realized. A system memory 52 is a RAM. In the system memory 52, constants and variables for operation of the system control unit 50, programs read from the nonvolatile memory 56, and the like are expanded. The system control unit also performs display control by controlling the memory 32, the D / A converter 19, the display unit 28, and the like.

  The system timer 53 is a time measuring unit that measures the time used for various controls and the time of a built-in clock. The mode switch 60, the first shutter switch 62, the second shutter switch 64, and the operation unit 70 are operation means for inputting various operation instructions to the system control unit 50. The mode switch 60 switches the operation mode of the system control unit 50 to any one of a still image recording mode, a moving image shooting mode, a reproduction mode, and the like.

  Modes included in the still image recording mode include an auto shooting mode, an auto scene discrimination mode, a manual mode, an aperture priority mode (Av mode), and a shutter speed priority mode (Tv mode). In addition, there are various scene modes, program AE modes, custom modes, and the like which are shooting settings for each shooting scene. The mode changeover switch 60 can directly switch to one of these modes included in the menu button. Or after switching to a menu button once with the mode switch 60, you may make it switch to either of these modes contained in a menu button using another operation member. Similarly, the moving image shooting mode may include a plurality of modes.

  The first shutter switch 62 is turned on when the shutter button 61 provided in the digital camera 100 is being operated, so-called half-press (shooting preparation instruction), and generates a first shutter switch signal SW1. In response to the first shutter switch signal SW1, operations such as AF (autofocus) processing, AE (automatic exposure) processing, AWB (auto white balance) processing, and EF (flash pre-emission) processing are started.

  The second shutter switch 64 is turned ON when the operation of the shutter button 61 is completed, that is, when it is fully pressed (shooting instruction), and generates a second shutter switch signal SW2. In response to the second shutter switch signal SW2, the system control unit 50 starts a series of shooting processing operations from reading a signal from the imaging unit 22 to writing image data on the recording medium 200.

  Each operation member of the operation unit 70 is appropriately assigned a function for each scene by selecting and operating various function icons displayed on the display unit 28, and functions as various function buttons. Examples of the function buttons include an end button, a return button, an image advance button, a jump button, a narrowing button, and an attribute change button. For example, when a menu button is pressed, various setting menu screens are displayed on the display unit 28. The user can make various settings intuitively using the menu screen displayed on the display unit 28, and the four-way button and the SET button.

  The operation unit 70 is various operation members as an input unit that receives an operation from a user. The operation unit 70 includes at least the following operation units. A shutter button 61, a main electronic dial 71, a power switch 72, a cross key 74, a SET button 75, an LV button 76, an enlarge button 77, a reduce button 78, and a play button 79.

  In addition to the operation unit 70, the touch panel 27 capable of detecting contact with the display unit 28 is provided. The touch panel 27 and the display unit 28 can be configured integrally. For example, the touch panel 27 is configured such that the light transmittance does not hinder the display of the display unit 28, and is attached to the upper layer of the display surface of the display unit 28. Then, the input coordinates on the touch panel 27 are associated with the display coordinates on the display unit 28.

  Thereby, it is possible to configure a GUI (graphical user interface) as if the user can directly operate the screen displayed on the display unit 28. The touch panel 27 notifies the system control unit 50 of the detected touch position coordinates via the touch panel control unit 26. The system control unit 50 can detect the following operation or state on the touch panel 27 via the touch panel drive unit 26.

  -A finger or the like that has not touched the touch panel 27 touched the touch panel 27 anew. That is, the start of touch (hereinafter referred to as touch-down).

  The touch panel 27 is being touched with a finger or the like (hereinafter referred to as touch-on).

  The touch panel 27 is moved while being touched with a finger or the like (hereinafter referred to as “Touch-Move”).

  -The finger touching the touch panel 27 is released. That is, the end of touch (hereinafter referred to as touch-up).

  A state in which nothing is touched on the touch panel 27 (hereinafter referred to as touch-off).

  -A finger or the like is not touching the touch panel 27 but is close to within a predetermined distance (hereinafter referred to as a hover).

  A state where the area of a finger or the like in a touch-on or hover state is greater than or equal to a predetermined area (hereinafter referred to as large-object-detect)

  When touchdown is detected, it is also detected that touch-on is performed at the same time. After touch-down, unless touch-up is detected, normally touch-on continues to be detected. The touch move is detected in a state where touch-on is detected. Even if the touch-on is detected, the touch move is not detected unless the touch position is moved. After it is detected that all the touched fingers have been touched up, the touch is turned off. Also, since a finger or the like approaches the touch panel and comes into contact with it, the hover is always detected before touch-on.

  The touch panel control unit 26 can assign an identification number to each of the plurality of touches for which the touchdown is detected. For example, the touch panel control unit 26 assigns numbers in a time series from the youngest number among the unassigned numbers to touches for which touchdown is newly detected. However, the order of numbers assigned in time series may be either ascending order or descending order. The touch panel control unit 26 assigns the same identification number to the touch during the touch-on.

  Whether or not the detected touch is being touched on depends on whether or not the position coordinates of the touch detected in the next frame are within a certain range from the position coordinates of the touch with the identification number assigned in the previous frame. to decide. If within the certain range, it is determined that the same identification number is touched. With this identification number, touchdown, touch-on, touch-move, touch-up, and touch-off can be determined.

  These operations / states and touch position coordinates are associated with the identification number and notified to the system control unit 50 through the internal bus. The system control unit 50 determines what operation has been performed on the touch panel 27 based on the notified information. The system control unit 50 can also determine the movement amount, movement speed, and movement direction of a finger or the like moving on the touch panel 27 based on the change in position coordinates.

  Furthermore, the system control unit 50 can determine whether or not the touch move is greater than or equal to a predetermined movement amount or movement speed. Further, it is assumed that a stroke is drawn when touch-up is performed on the touch panel 27 through a certain touch move from touch-down. The operation of drawing a stroke quickly is called a flick. The flick is an operation of quickly moving a certain distance while touching the finger on the touch panel 27 and releasing it, in other words, an operation of quickly tracing the touch panel 27 with a finger. When it is detected that a touch move is performed at a predetermined speed or more over a predetermined distance and a touch-up is detected as it is, it can be determined that a flick has been performed.

  Further, the touch panel control unit 26 can calculate the area of the touch input area where the touchdown is detected. This can be determined by calculating the number of sensors on the touch panel 27 that exceeds the predetermined effective threshold for touch detection. The detected touch area is associated with the touch position coordinates and the identification number, and is notified to the system control unit 50.

  The power control unit 80 includes a battery detection circuit, a DC-DC converter, a switch circuit that switches a block to be energized, and the like, and detects whether or not a battery is installed, the type of battery, and the remaining battery level. Further, the power control unit 80 controls the DC-DC converter based on the detection result and an instruction from the system control unit 50, and supplies a necessary voltage to each unit including the recording medium 200 for a necessary period.

  The power supply unit 30 includes a primary battery such as an alkaline battery or a lithium battery, a secondary battery such as a NiCd battery, a NiMH battery, or a Li-ion battery, an AC adapter, or the like. The recording medium I / F 18 is an interface with the recording medium 200 such as a memory card or a hard disk. The recording medium 200 is a recording medium such as a memory card for recording a captured image, and includes a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, or the like.

  The communication unit 54 is connected by wireless or wired cable, and transmits and receives video signals and audio signals. The communication unit 54 can be connected to a wireless local area network (LAN) or the Internet. The communication unit 54 can transmit an image captured by the imaging unit 22 (including a through image) and an image recorded on the recording medium 200, and can receive image data and other various types of information from an external device. it can.

  The eyepiece detection unit 55 includes an infrared light emitter and a light receiving circuit, emits infrared light at regular intervals, measures the amount of light reflected by the object, and calculates the distance from the measured light amount to the object. Thus, it is detected whether or not the object is close to the predetermined position. Thus, it can be determined whether or not the user has eyeed.

[Example]
Hereinafter, a digital camera control method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the present embodiment, a procedure is shown in which the user moves the cursor position indicating the AF frame displayed on the in-finder liquid crystal display unit 41 by using the touch panel 27 installed on the display unit 28 while looking through the finder 16 of the digital camera 100. .

  FIG. 1 is a flowchart of the AF frame moving process of the digital camera 100. Each process in this flowchart is realized by the system control unit 50 expanding and executing a program stored in the nonvolatile memory 56 in the system memory 52. In step S101, the eyepiece detection unit 55 calculates the distance to the object. The distance is periodically calculated at predetermined time intervals, and the calculated distance information is stored in the memory 52 for a predetermined period.

  In step S <b> 102, the eyepiece detection unit 55 detects whether or not the object is close to the predetermined position, and notifies the system control unit 50 of the detection result. The system control unit 50 receives the detection result and determines whether or not the user has touched the finder 16. If it is determined that the eye is in contact, the process proceeds to step S103. In step S103, the system control unit 50 shifts the operation mode of the digital camera 100 to the AF frame selection mode. The system control unit 50 drives the in-finder display circuit 42 to display the AF frame on the in-finder liquid crystal display unit 41. When step S103 is completed, the process proceeds to step S104.

  In step S104, the system control unit 50 sets a threshold value for surface detection by the hover area according to the distance calculated in step S101. In this case, the surface detection is a state in which a region in which the conductive object is in a hover state within a predetermined distance with respect to the touch panel 27 occupies a predetermined area or more with respect to the total area of the operation effective region of the touch panel 27. It is detecting that it is. When step S104 is completed, the process proceeds to step S105.

  In step S105, the touch panel control unit 26 notifies the system control unit 50 of the hover detection result. The system control unit 50 receives the hover detection notification and determines hover according to the notification. If it is determined that it is in the hover state, the process proceeds to step S106. In step S106, the area of the region in the hover state is calculated periodically at the same time interval as the distance calculation by the eyepiece detection unit 55 in step S101. The calculated area is stored in the memory 52 for a predetermined period.

  In step S <b> 107, the touch panel control unit 26 notifies the system control unit 50 of the touchdown detection result. The system control unit 50 receives the touchdown detection notification and determines whether there is a touchdown. If it is determined that touchdown has occurred, the process proceeds to step S108. If it is determined that there is no touchdown, the process proceeds to step S114.

  In step S108, identification numbers are assigned to a plurality of touches for which touchdown has been detected. The identification number is given from a young number in chronological order in the detected order. Each touch position coordinate corresponding to the assigned identification number is notified from the touch panel control unit 26 to the system control unit 50. When step S108 is completed, the process proceeds to step S109. In step S109, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not the area of each hover region at the time point when the touchdown is detected in step S107 exceeds the threshold set in step S104. If it exceeds the threshold, the process proceeds to step S110.

  In step S110, the system control unit 50 uses the distance information to the finder and the area information of the hover area stored in the memory 52 to correlate how the distance changes and how the area changes during a predetermined period. It is calculated whether there is. Here, the predetermined period is a period from when the hover is detected at step S105 until the touchdown is detected at step S107. If it is determined that there is a correlation, the process proceeds to step S111. If it is determined that there is no correlation, the process proceeds to step S112.

  In step S111, the system control unit 50 determines that the touch in the hover area determined to have a correlation in step S110 is an invalid operation. Further, the invalid operation flag indicating the invalid operation is associated with the identification number and stored in the system memory 52. In step S112, the system control unit 50 determines that the touch in the hover area determined to have no correlation in step S109 is an effective operation. Further, a valid operation flag indicating a valid operation is associated with the identification number and stored in the system memory 52. When step S112 is completed, the process proceeds to step S113.

  In step S <b> 113, the system control unit 50 executes a process of moving the cursor position indicating the AF frame being selected displayed on the in-finder liquid crystal display unit 41 by the touch move of the touch determined to be an effective operation. At this time, processing corresponding to the touch operation determined to be invalid is not executed. In step S114, the touch panel control unit 26 notifies the system control unit 50 of the detection result of hover release. The system control unit 50 receives the notification from the touch panel control unit 26 and determines whether or not the hover is released. If hover release is detected, the process proceeds to step S115.

  In step S115, the eyepiece detection unit 55 detects whether or not the object has moved away from the specified position, and notifies the system control unit 50 of the detection result. The system control unit 50 receives the detection result and determines whether or not the user has moved his / her face away from the viewfinder 16. When it is away, the valid / invalid flag of each touch is released.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 4, a method for determining validity / invalidity of touch executed in the flow shown in FIG. 1 will be described. FIG. 4A is a diagram of the digital camera 100 viewed from the back side. A touch panel 27 is arranged on the entire surface of the display unit 28. In addition, an in-viewfinder liquid crystal display 41 inside the viewfinder 16 is shown at an upper portion of the digital camera 100 as an enlarged view. In the example, 35 AF frames are displayed in the finder liquid crystal display 41, and the user can select an arbitrary point by a touch operation. In the figure, the cursor frame 410 representing the AF frame being selected is indicated by a bold line.

  In FIG. 4A, 301 indicates a touch position where it is detected that a part of the user's face 401 (such as the nose) has touched the touch panel 27. Reference numeral 302 denotes a touch position where the user's right thumb 402 touches the touch panel 27. Reference numeral 303 denotes a hover area around the touch point 301, and 304 denotes a hover area around the touch point 302. The hover state is a state in which a conductor such as a finger or nose is close to the touch panel, so that the area around the touch point is in a hover state. A nose touch has a larger hover state area around the touch point than a finger touch. In the present invention, the touch by the finger and the touch by the nose are discriminated using the difference in the size of the hover area detected before the occurrence of the touch.

  After the eyepiece detection in step S101, the digital camera 100 shifts to the AF frame selection mode in step S102. When the AF frame selection mode is first shifted to after the digital camera 100 is activated, the center AF frame is selected as shown in FIG. In step S104, an area threshold value used for determining whether or not the finger is touched in step S109 is set according to the distance measured by the eyepiece detection unit 55. In the case of a user who looks into the finder 16 at the time of shooting, the distance from the touch panel to the face is shortened as shown in FIG. 4B, so the hover area 303 around the nose touch 301 becomes large. For this reason, the area threshold is set larger.

  However, in the case of a user who wears glasses, such as a user who does not bring his face close to the finder 16 at the time of shooting, as shown in FIG. Since the distance also increases, if the area threshold value remains large, the threshold value is not exceeded in the hover region in the nose portion, and the approach of the nose may not be detected. Therefore, when the detection distance in the eyepiece detection unit 55 is far, the area threshold is reduced.

  When the touch panel control unit 26 detects the touchdown of the touches 301 and 302 in step S107, the detection result is notified to the system control unit 50. In step S10 8, touch panel control unit 26 assigns identification number 1 to touch 301 and identification number 2 to touch 302. The identification numbers are given in chronological order from the smallest number in the order in which the touchdown is detected.

  In step S110, it is determined whether or not there is a correlation between the detection distance by the eyepiece detection unit 55 and the manner in which the area of the hover region changes. As shown in FIG. 4D, this is a process assuming that a touch with a finger occurs while the user looks into the finder 16 at such a distance that the nose does not touch the touch panel 27. In such a case, since the distance detected by the eyepiece detection unit 55 is far, the area threshold is set to be small in step S104. If there is a touchdown with the finger 402 in this state, it is desired to make it an effective touch. However, since the area threshold is small, the hover area 304 by the finger 402 may exceed the threshold and be determined as an invalid touch. There is sex.

  Since the nose is a part of the face 401, the change in the distance to the face 401 detected by the eyepiece detection unit 55 and the change in the area of the hover region 303 due to the approach of the nose part detected by the touch panel 27 during the same period. There is a correlation in the way. On the other hand, the touch with the finger 402 occurs regardless of the movement of the face 401. FIG. 5 shows an example of changes in the detection distance and hover area by the eyepiece detection unit 55. Assuming that the time when the eyepiece to the finder 16 is detected is t1, and the time when the user stops the movement of the face is t2, the operation of moving the face 401 toward the finder 16 from t1 to t2, The hover area by the face 401 increases in synchronization with the detection distance at the eyepiece detection unit 55 becoming smaller.

  However, the hover area by the finger 402 increases regardless of the detection distance in the eyepiece detection unit 55, and reaches the touch (time t3). In this manner, the touch with the finger 402 when the nose is not in contact with the touch panel 27 is determined using the history of the detection distance information and the area information of the hover area in the eyepiece detection unit 55 stored in the memory 52. To do.

  The validity / invalidity of the touch is determined according to the determination result of the size of the hover area in step S109 and the determination result of the correlation between the change in the detection distance and the change in the hover area by the eyepiece detection unit in step S110. Make a decision. It is determined that the touch 302 by the nose is invalid and the touch 301 by the finger 402 is a valid operation, and the valid and invalid operation flags are associated with the respective identification numbers and stored in the system memory 52. Thereby, in step S114, the system control unit 50 moves the cursor 410 indicating the AF frame being selected displayed on the in-finder liquid crystal display unit 41 in accordance with the moving direction and moving amount of the position of the touch 302. To control.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, in a digital camera with a finder, when taking a picture while looking through the finder, a part of the user's face (such as the nose) mistakenly contacts the display surface of the rear display unit. It is possible to prevent an erroneous operation caused by touch. For example, the position of the cursor 410 indicating the AF frame moves according to the amount of movement of the touch position determined to be an effective operation. Therefore, the movement of the cursor 410 does not occur only by detecting the touchdown. Thereby, it is possible to prevent an erroneous operation due to an unintentional touchdown.

  In this embodiment, the touch panel control unit 26 can easily manage the effective operation and the invalid operation by assigning an identification number to each touch detected by touchdown. By managing the identification number and the determination result of the valid operation or the invalid operation in the system memory 52, the determination can be continued while the touch-on is detected. Further, even if a touch determined to be an effective operation is touched up, a touch determined to be an invalid operation can be continued and the invalid operation determination can be continued, so that malfunction can be prevented continuously.

  Furthermore, even if an additional touchdown occurs, it is efficient in that it is only necessary to make a determination only for a touch that has been additionally detected without performing a determination of an effective operation or an invalid operation for a touch with an identification number. Is. While it is possible to prevent erroneous operations due to unintended touches as described above, it is possible to receive touch operations without narrowing the touch detection area, and thus comfortable operations are possible. Furthermore, in this embodiment, eyepiece detection is a condition for shifting to the AF frame selection mode. Since the mode can be changed without going through other operation means, there is a feature that operability is good.

  The control of the system control unit 50 may be performed by one piece of hardware, or the entire apparatus may be controlled by a plurality of pieces of hardware sharing the processing. In this embodiment, the area for the hover area is used as a condition for determining that the operation is valid. When touching with the nose, it is considered that the hover region is generated in a shape like a triangle extending from the touch point to the left and right and above. On the other hand, when touching with a finger, it is considered that a hover region is generated on the ellipse in the direction in which the finger extends from the touch point. It is also possible to discriminate between the nose and the finger by utilizing such a difference in shape.

  In this embodiment, the process executed by the touch operation is the AF frame selection operation. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and can be applied to any operation. For example, you may apply to operation which changes the imaging | photography setting of a digital camera. FIG. 6 shows some examples. In FIG. 6, a finder configuration capable of various graphic displays superimposed on an optical image by the transmission type finder liquid crystal unit 41 will be described as an example. FIG. 6A shows an example in which the aperture setting value displayed on the finder liquid crystal display unit 41 is changed by operating the touch panel 27.

  When touchdown is detected after eye contact detection, the mode shifts to an aperture setting value change mode, and a scale indicating a band-shaped aperture setting value indicated by 601 is displayed superimposed on the optical image. A scale setting value corresponding to the scale is described on the scale, and the entire display of the band-shaped portion 601 can be scrolled to the left and right in accordance with the amount of movement of the touch position determined to be an effective operation. A scale indicated by a thick frame in the center of the 601 portion indicates the currently set aperture value. In addition, the currently set aperture value is displayed as a numerical value at the top of 601.

  Similarly, FIG. 6B shows a shutter speed, FIG. 6C shows an ISO sensitivity setting value, and FIG. 6D shows a display example for changing the exposure setting value by the same operation. Similar to the operation shown in FIG. 6A, the setting value can be changed by scrolling the scale displayed on the strip portion to the left and right according to the movement amount of the touch position determined to be an effective operation. I can do it. FIG. 6E shows an example in which the WB setting value displayed on the in-finder liquid crystal display unit 41 is changed by the touch panel 27. B represents Blue, A represents Amber, G represents Green, and M represents Magenta. A cursor 610 indicated by a bold frame can be moved to the center of the frame indicated by 605 in accordance with the amount of movement of the touch position determined to be an effective operation. At this time, the WB set value can be changed in each color direction by moving the cursor 610 in each of the B, A, G, and M axis directions.

  Further, FIG. 6F shows an example in which the reproduced image displayed on the finder liquid crystal display unit 41 is changed by an operation on the touch panel 27. A portion denoted by reference numeral 606 represents a graphic display in which reproduced images are overlapped, and an image displayed in the center can be reproduced. Depending on the amount of movement of the touch position determined as an effective operation, it is possible to scroll the image and select a reproduced image. The present embodiment is effective in that the shooting setting can be comfortably changed without malfunction by a touch operation while excluding the viewfinder.

  Although the example of the shooting setting and the reproduction image change as described above has been shown, the present embodiment can be applied to various other setting changes. In this embodiment, the finder 16 has an optical configuration, but it may have a liquid crystal type or organic EL type electronic viewfinder configuration. In addition to being able to display a fine graphic, there is an advantage that a photographed image to which a photographing setting is applied can be confirmed as a through image.

  Moreover, each embodiment mentioned above only shows one Embodiment of this invention, It is also possible to combine each embodiment suitably.

26: touch panel control unit, 27: touch panel, 41: liquid crystal display unit in viewfinder, 50: system control unit, 55: eyepiece detection unit, 100: digital camera, 410: AF frame selection cursor, 601: aperture value setting scroll bar, 602: Shutter speed setting scroll bar, 603: ISO sensitivity value setting scroll bar, 604: Exposure value setting scroll bar, 606: Image scroll selection display, 610: WB setting selection cursor

Claims (8)

First approach detection means for detecting approach to the viewfinder;
Second approach detecting means for detecting approach to the touch panel;
Touch detection means capable of detecting touch operations at a plurality of locations on the touch panel;
An area calculating means for calculating the area of the proximity region detected by the second approach detecting means;
In a period in which the first approach detection means detects that an object is approaching the finder within a predetermined distance,
When the area of the proximity region detected by the second approach detection means is a predetermined threshold or more,
The touch detection means invalidates the touch operation detected in the proximity area, and enables other touch operations,
When the distance to the object detected by the first approach detection unit is longer than a predetermined distance, the threshold is set to a first value, and the object detected by the first approach detection unit is reached. An electronic device comprising: setting means for setting the threshold value to a second value larger than the first value when the distance is shorter than the predetermined distance. Even after the touch of the valid touch operation is released, the processing corresponding to the invalid touch operation is detected until the first approach detection unit detects that the detected object has moved away from the finder. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit that performs control so as not to execute. The first approach detection means has a means for storing a distance detected by the first approach detection means and a history of the area of the area detected by the second approach detection means, and the first approach in a predetermined period from the history. 3. The presence or absence of correlation between a method of changing the distance detected by the detecting means and a method of changing the area of the area detected by the second approach detecting means is determined. The electronic device described. First approach detection means for detecting approach to the viewfinder;
Second approach detecting means for detecting approach to the touch panel;
Touch detection means capable of detecting touch operations at a plurality of locations on the touch panel;
Having a shape determining means for determining the shape of the proximity region detected by the second approach detecting means;
In a period in which the first approach detection means detects that an object is approaching the finder within a predetermined distance,
When the shape of the detection area in the second approach detection means is a predetermined shape,
An electronic apparatus comprising: control means for controlling the touch operation detected in the detection area to be invalidated and valid for other touch operations by the touch detection means. A first approach detection step for detecting approach to the viewfinder;
A second approach detecting step for detecting approach to the touch panel;
A touch detection step capable of detecting touch operations at a plurality of locations on the touch panel;
An area calculating step of calculating the area of the proximity region detected in the second approach detecting step;
In the period in which it is detected in the first approach detection step that the object is approaching the finder within a predetermined distance,
When the area of the proximity region detected in the second approach detection step is a predetermined threshold or more,
In the touch detection step, the touch operation detected in the proximity region is invalidated, and other touch operations are validated.
When the distance to the object detected in the first approach detection step is longer than a predetermined distance, the threshold is set to a first value, and the object detected by the first approach detection means is reached. And a setting step of setting the threshold value to a second value larger than the first value when the distance is shorter than the predetermined distance. A first approach detection step for detecting approach to the viewfinder;
A second approach detecting step for detecting approach to the touch panel;
A touch detection step capable of detecting touch operations at a plurality of locations on the touch panel;
Having a shape determining step of determining the shape of the proximity region detected in the second approach detecting step;
In the period in which it is detected in the first approach detection step that the object is approaching the finder within a predetermined distance,
When the shape of the detection region in the second approach detection step is a predetermined shape,
The electronic device control method according to claim 1, further comprising: a control step in which the touch operation detected in the detection area is invalidated and the other touch operations are validated in the touch detection step.   The program for functioning a computer as each means of the electronic device of any one of Claims 1 thru | or 6. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to function as each unit of the electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.