JP3158513B2 - Touch panel - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a touch panel capable of inputting position information by touching with a fingertip.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, as shown in FIG. 4, a touch panel is provided on a transparent fixed substrate 1 made of a thick film plate or a glass plate having a transparent electrode 1a formed on an upper surface, and a hard coat layer 2a and a transparent electrode The flexible panel 2 made of a thin film plate on which 2b is formed is overlapped with a plurality of dot spacers 3 interposed therebetween.

Each of the transparent electrodes 1a and 2b is etched in the form of a stripe. As shown in FIG. 5, the stripes are orthogonal to each other so that their intersecting portions constitute a touch switch. The control unit is connected to the control unit to detect which switch is turned on by the fingertip or the touch pressure of the touch pen by the scanning operation. In addition,
In addition to the digital type touch panel, there is an analog type touch panel using a transparent electrode as a resistor.

Various characters, marks, symbols, etc. are printed on this type of touch panel, or an LCD screen or the like is provided on the lower surface of the touch panel. By touching the panel surface with your fingertips, you can select rhythms such as waltz and ballads, tones such as clarinet and piano, sound effects such as vibrato and attack, and multi-level volume according to the area touched. It becomes possible to do.

[0005]

However, in such a conventional touch panel, although the operation position and the display match, the input operation is easy. Since the surface is smooth over the entire surface, it is impossible to select a required function unless characters and symbols displayed on the touch panel, images on the LCD on the lower surface of the touch panel, and the like are visually recognized each time the touch is performed.

Therefore, when such a touch panel is used in a display device of an electronic musical instrument as described above, the operability is very good when operating various parameters while looking at the panel before the performance. In such a case, it is often necessary to divert the line of sight from the musical score to the touch panel, resulting in a problem that the playability is significantly impaired.
In addition, in the case of a blind person or the like, there is a problem in that it is impossible to select or change necessary parameters.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has as its object to provide a touch panel capable of selecting functions only by touching a fingertip without looking at the touch panel.

[0008]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, a pattern of concavities and convexities which can be specified by touching with a fingertip is formed on a panel surface corresponding to each functional area. a filter touch panel, the panel
Form a ridge with a height difference on the surface, and use a high ridge
Appropriate for the large division line, and separate the low ridges from the
It is intended to provide a touch panel which is assigned to a dividing line in an area indicating an active area .

[0009]

With the touch panel according to the present invention configured as described above, each functional area on the panel surface can be specified in an instant by touching the panel surface with a fingertip. It is possible to easily and quickly specify a region corresponding to a required function even in the case of a blind person without visually recognizing the information.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view of an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to the touch panel shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line SS of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is line TT of FIG. FIG.

The touch panel 10 has the same structure as that of FIG. 4, and its panel surface 10a has large area dividing lines 11a and 11b composed of vertical and horizontal ridges and a lower area dividing line. 12a and 12b, different functional areas (hereinafter referred to as "areas") A, B,
C, D, E, and F are divided into six. On the side of the fixed substrate 1 (FIG. 4) located below, characters, symbols, figures, and the like for displaying those functions are printed or displayed.

In the area A, an oblique ridge 13, in the area C, a hemispherical projection 14, and in the area D, a lateral ridge 15,
A vertical ridge 16 is formed on the surface of the region F, and the surfaces of the regions B and E are smooth surfaces. The height of each of the ridges 13, 15, 16 and the protrusion 14 is Large area dividing lines 11a, 11b and medium area dividing lines 12a, 1
It is set lower than 2b.

Since this embodiment has the above-described configuration, the touch panel 10 can be operated with a fingertip without looking at the display on the panel.
By simply touching the surface, the approximate position on the touch panel 10 can be known by the area large division lines 11a and 11b and the middle division lines 12a and 12b, and the rough position is determined by the shape and size of the pattern provided in each area. Can be specified.

Therefore, when the above touch panel is used for a parameter selection display device of an electronic musical instrument, for example, it is possible to easily change musical tone control parameters with the other hand while playing the musical instrument with one hand. Becomes possible,
The operability can be greatly improved as compared with the conventional touch panel in which the display is visually checked and pressed each time.

In the above embodiment, the pattern formed on the touch panel 10 is a ridge or a projection. However, the pattern may be a groove or a hole, and the shape may be an arbitrary curve instead of a straight line. It is also possible to form it by stamping or the like instead of by integral molding. Also, the area is not limited to six, and can be set freely according to the number of functions that can be selected.

[0016]

As described above, in the touch panel according to the present invention , the tall ridge formed on the panel surface is formed in the area.
Appropriate for the large division line, and separate the low ridges from the
Since it is applied to the dividing line in the area indicating the active area, it is possible to instantaneously specify an area where various functions can be selected only by the touch of the fingertip touching the touch panel.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line SS in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line TT in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a configuration of a touch panel embodying the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an overall plan view of the same.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Fixed substrate, 1a, 2b ... Transparent electrode, 2 ... Panel, 2
a hard coat layer, 3 dot spacers, 10 touch panel, 10a panel surface, 11a, 11b area large dividing line, 12a, 12b area middle dividing line, 13, 15,
16 ... ridge, 14 ... protrusion, A, B, C, D, E, F ... functional area

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 3/033-3/037 G06F 3/02-3/027 G06F 3/03 G06F 3/00 601-680

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] To 1. A on the panel surface corresponding to each functional area, a respective form to a filter touch panel patterns of irregularities that may be identified by contacting a fingertip, a height difference on the panel surface Forming ridges, high
Allot the ridges to the large area dividing line, and divide the low ridges
That it has been assigned to the division line in the area indicating the separate functional areas.
Characteristic touch panel.