JP4788455B2 - In-vehicle operation system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention includes a touch panel on which a user touches an operating finger, and a display device that displays a switch operation screen. The user's operating finger is photographed to extract a contour, and the extracted user's operating finger contour is switched. The present invention relates to an in-vehicle operation system that displays a composite image superimposed on an operation screen on a display device.

A touch panel on which the user touches the operating finger and a display device that displays the switch operation screen are provided, the user's operating finger is photographed to extract the contour, and the extracted user's operating finger contour is superimposed on the switch operation screen. There is provided an in-vehicle operation system that displays the synthesized image on a display device. In this case, since the contour of the user's operation finger is displayed superimposed on the switch operation screen, the user can see the contour of the operation finger on the switch operation screen, and without changing the line of sight or posture, The operation screen can be easily operated (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-269012

  By the way, the user selects a desired button (key) on the switch operation screen while looking at the outline of the operating finger, but the operating finger is placed on the touch panel so that the tip of the operating finger outline overlaps the desired button. In general, an operation (pressing operation) for confirming the button is performed in a state where the tip of the contour of the operating finger is moved and overlapped with a desired button.

  However, the part of the user's operating fingers that comes into contact with the touch panel is not actually the tip of the finger, but a so-called belly, and is a part slightly lowered from the tip toward the palm. Therefore, even if the user performs an operation of confirming the button with the tip of the contour of the operating finger placed on the desired button, the coordinates on the touch panel slightly deviated from the button to the palm side are selected. So, there is a problem that the user can not perform the desired button operation, or if another button is arranged on the palm side from the desired button, the wrong button unintended by the user is determined, The operability was inferior. In particular, when the user stretches the nail or wears an artificial nail, the distance difference between the tip of the contour of the user's operating finger and the part that actually touches the touch panel is large, and the influence is large.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an in-vehicle operation system that allows a user to appropriately perform a desired button operation and improve operability. .

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the relative position specifying unit is configured such that the contour of the user's operation finger is based on a photographed image photographed by the photographing unit while the user's operation finger is substantially stationary on the touch panel. Is extracted by the contour extracting means, and when the contact portion where the user's operation finger is in contact with the touch panel is detected by the contact portion detecting means, the contour of the user's operating finger extracted by the contour extracting means and the contact portion detection are detected. Based on the contact portion detected by the means, the abdomen portion that is lowered from the tip of the operation finger toward the palm is specified as the relative position of the contact portion for each finger within the contour of the operation finger of the user. The composite image creation means creates a composite image by superimposing the contour of the user's operating finger extracted by the contour extraction means on the switch operation screen. The display control means, when displaying the composite image created by the composite image creation means on the display means, the relative position specified by the relative position specification means corresponding to the display position of the contour of the user's operating finger. Is highlighted on the display means.

Thus, as the relative position of the contact portion for each finger within the outline of the user's operation finger in a state where the user's operation finger is substantially stationary on the touch panel, the abdominal portion lowered from the tip of the operation finger toward the palm When the composite image is displayed by superimposing the contour of the user's operation finger on the switch operation screen, the relative position corresponding to the display position of the contour of the user's operation finger is highlighted. Following the movement of the finger on the touch panel, the user can always be informed of the position where the user's operation finger is actually touching or touching the touch panel, so that the user can appropriately operate the desired button operation. It is possible to improve the operability.

According to the invention described in claim 2, the relative position specifying means is triggered by the fact that the operation mode is switched from the input mode to the correction mode, and the user's operating finger is substantially stationary on the touch panel, Based on the contour of the user's operation finger extracted by the contour extraction means and the contact portion detected by the contact portion detection means, the relative position of the contact portion for each finger within the contour of the user's operation finger is determined as Identify the abdominal part that descends from the tip toward the palm .

Thus, for example, when the user feels that the number of times of correction of input has increased, the operation mode is switched from the input mode to the correction mode, and the user moves the operation finger substantially stationary on the touch panel, the contour of the user's operation finger As the relative position of the contact part for each finger, the abdominal part that falls from the tip of the operation finger toward the palm is specified, so the user switches the operation mode from the input mode to the correction mode, and the user places the operation finger on the touch panel. By substantially stopping, the position where the user's operation fingers are actually in contact with the touch panel or the contact position can be specified again, and thereafter, the user can appropriately perform a desired button operation.

According to the invention described in claim 3, the relative position specifying means is in a state in which the user's operating finger is substantially stationary on the touch panel triggered by the fact that the number of times the user has corrected the input has reached the specified number. , as a relative position of the contact portion of each finger in the contour of the user's operation finger on the basis of the detected contact portions by the contour and the contact portion detecting means of the operating finger of the user extracted by the outline extraction means, operating finger Identify the abdominal part that descended from the tip of the hand toward the palm .

Thereby, when the number of times the user corrects the input reaches the specified number, for example, when a warning is displayed, the user moves the operating finger substantially stationary on the touch panel, As the relative position of the contact part for each finger, the abdominal part that descends from the tip of the operation finger toward the palm is specified, so the number of times that the user has corrected the input reaches the specified number, and the user places the operation finger on the touch panel. By substantially stopping, the position where the user's operation fingers are actually in contact with the touch panel or the contact position can be specified again, and thereafter, the user can appropriately perform a desired button operation.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The in-vehicle operation system 1 includes a touch switch device 2, a photographing camera 3 (photographing means according to the present invention), a control device 4 (contour extracting means, contact portion detecting means, relative position specifying means, composite image creating means, Display control means), display device 5 (display means in the present invention), and navigation device 6.

  The touch switch device 2 is configured to include a touch panel 7 on which a user touches an operation finger and a backlight 8 that irradiates the touch panel 7. For example, in the case of a right-hand drive vehicle, the user holds the steering wheel with the right hand. A contact position representing the contact position when the user's operation finger is in contact with the touch panel 7, for example, so that the left hand can be placed (contacted) without changing the posture. The coordinates are output to the control device 4.

  The photographing camera 3 is composed of a CCD camera or a CMOS camera, and is arranged on the roof of the vehicle interior, the instrument panel, or the back of the backlight 8 so that the entire touch panel 7 can be photographed. Is output to the control device 4. The photographing camera 3 is not limited to an optical camera such as a CCD camera or a CMOS camera, but may be an infrared camera.

  The display device 5 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display, and is arranged at a position where the user can visually recognize the vehicle without changing his / her line of sight. When the composite image is input from the control device 4, the input composite image Is displayed. The size of the touch panel 7 and the size of the display device 5 are preferably substantially the same. The navigation device 6 outputs a switch operation screen (for example, a menu screen, a destination setting screen, a search screen, etc.) to the control device 4 and inputs a switch control signal from the control device 4, based on the input switch control signal. Implement the process.

  The control device 4 includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like, and executes an outline extraction module, a contact portion detection module, a relative position specifying module, a composite image creation module, and a display control module for each function, and the in-vehicle operation system 1 Control the overall operation of. Specifically, when the captured image is input from the imaging camera 3, the control device 4 executes the contour extraction module, thereby performing the user's operation finger based on the captured image of the user's operation finger captured by the imaging camera 3. Extract the outline of. As an image processing method for processing an image of a user's operation finger, for example, chroma key processing is performed. In this case, the influence of disturbance light is reduced by using blue, which is a flesh-colored color, as the surface color of the touch panel 7 and the backlight 8 irradiates the touch panel 7.

  In addition, when the contact position coordinates are input from the touch switch 7, the control device 4 detects the contact portion where the user's operating finger is in contact with the touch panel 7 by executing the contact portion detection module. Then, the control device 4 inputs a photographed image in a state where the user's operation finger is substantially stationary on the touch panel 7 from the photographing camera 3, and a state where the user's operation finger is substantially stationary on the touch panel 7. When the contact position coordinates at the touch panel 7 are input from the touch panel 7, a contact within the contour of the user's operation finger is performed based on the extracted contour of the user's operation finger and the detected contact portion by executing a relative position specifying module. Specify the relative position of the part.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the control device 4 does not cause the user to touch the touch panel 7 with the tip of the operating finger, but the user slightly lowers the tip from the so-called belly toward the palm. In the case where the touch panel 7 is touched at the part, the part slightly lowered from the tip of the operating finger toward the palm is specified as the relative position instead of the tip of the operating finger.

  In addition, the control device 4 executes the composite image creation module to create a composite image by superimposing the extracted contours of the user's operating fingers on the switch operation screen input from the navigation device 6. Then, when the composite image is output and displayed on the display device 5 by executing the display control module, the control device 4 corresponds to the display position of the contour of the user's operating finger as shown in FIG. Then, the relative position of the contact portion specified earlier is output to the display device 5 to be highlighted. The highlighted display in this case is, for example, a colored display or a blinking display.

  By the way, in the above-described configuration, the timing at which the control device 4 specifies the relative position of the contact portion within the contour of the user's operating finger is, for example, the timing at which the user switches the system operation mode from the input mode to the correction mode. This is the timing when the number of times the user corrects the input reaches the specified number.

  That is, when the user switches the operation mode of the system from the input mode to the correction mode and the user stops the operation finger on the touch panel 7, the control device 4 outlines the user's operation finger from the photographed image input from the photographing camera 3. And the contact position coordinates input from the touch panel 7 are determined to detect the contact portion, and the contour of the user's operation finger is detected based on the extracted contour of the user's operation finger and the detected contact portion. Identify the relative position of the contact area.

  In addition, when the number of times the user corrects the input reaches the specified number, the control device 4 displays a warning, for example, “There are many erroneous operations, please perform correction processing”, and receives a notification that the warning has been displayed. When the user rests the operation finger on the touch panel 7, the contour of the user's operation finger is extracted from the captured image input from the imaging camera 3, and the contact position coordinates input from the touch panel 7 are determined to determine the contact portion. The relative position of the contact portion in the contour of the user's operation finger is specified based on the detected contour of the user's operation finger and the detected contact portion.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the in-vehicle operation system 1, the relative position of the contact portion within the contour of the user's operation finger is determined while the user's operation finger is substantially stationary on the touch panel 7. Since it is configured to highlight the relative position corresponding to the display position of the contour of the user's operation finger when the composite image is displayed by superimposing the contour of the user's operation finger on the switch operation screen, Following the movement of the operating finger on the touch panel 7 by the user, the user can always be informed of the position at which the user's operating finger is actually in contact with the touch panel 7 or the position of the touch. Button operation can be performed appropriately, and operability can be improved. In particular, for example, a great effect can be achieved for a switch operation screen such as a 50-sound input screen with a small button size and a narrow interval between buttons.

  In addition, if the size of the touch panel 7 and the size of the display device 5 are configured to be substantially the same, the amount of movement by which the user moves the operating finger on the touch panel 7 and the contour of the user's operating finger displayed on the display device 5 will be described. The amount of movement can be made substantially the same, and it can be avoided that a sense of incongruity (displacement) in the operation feeling occurs.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified or expanded as follows.
The control device, the display device, and the navigation device may be integrated as a navigation system.
The warning is not limited to the display, but may be a warning by voice output, or the warning by display and the warning by voice output may be used in combination.
A relative position for each user may be registered in advance, and the user may input a user ID before using the system so that the relative position corresponding to the user ID is highlighted. With this configuration, even when one vehicle (one system) is shared by a plurality of people, the user's operating fingers are actually in contact with the touch panel or the position where they are in contact with each other. be able to.

Functional block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention The figure which shows schematically the aspect in which a user's operation finger is contacting the touch panel The figure which shows schematically the aspect in which the relative position corresponding to the contact part of the user's operation finger is highlighted, and the aspect in which the user moves the operation finger on the touch panel

Explanation of symbols

  In the drawings, 1 is an in-vehicle operation system, 3 is a photographic camera (photographing means), 4 is a control device (contour extracting means, contact portion detecting means, relative position specifying means, composite image creating means, display control means), and 5 is a display. A device (display means) 7 is a touch panel.

Claims (3)

A touch panel with which the user's operation fingers come into contact;
Photographing means for photographing the touch panel;
Contour extracting means for extracting the contour of the user's operating finger based on the photographed image photographed by the photographing means;
Contact part detecting means for detecting a contact part where a user's operation finger is in contact with the touch panel;
The user's operation based on the contour of the user's operation finger extracted by the contour extraction means and the contact portion detected by the contact portion detection means when the user's operation finger is substantially stationary on the touch panel Relative position specifying means for specifying the abdominal part that descends from the tip of the operating finger toward the palm as the relative position of the contact part for each finger within the contour of the finger;
A composite image creation means for creating a composite image by superimposing a contour of the user's operation finger extracted by the contour extraction means on a switch operation screen;
When displaying the composite image created by the composite image creation means on the display means, the relative position specified by the relative position specification means corresponding to the display position of the contour of the user's operation finger is displayed on the display means. An in-vehicle operation system comprising display control means for highlighting. In the in-vehicle operation system according to claim 1,
The operation mode is configured to execute at least the input mode and the correction mode,
The relative position specifying means is triggered by the fact that the operation mode has been switched from the input mode to the correction mode, and the user extracted by the contour extracting means in a state where the user's operating finger is substantially stationary on the touch panel The relative position of the contact portion for each finger within the contour of the user's operation finger is lowered from the tip of the operation finger toward the palm based on the contour of the operation finger and the contact portion detected by the contact portion detecting means. An in-vehicle operation system characterized by identifying an abdominal part . In the in-vehicle operation system according to claim 1,
The relative position specifying means is extracted by the contour extracting means in a state in which the user's operation finger is substantially stationary on the touch panel, triggered by the fact that the number of times the user has corrected the input has reached the specified number of times. Based on the contour of the user's operation finger and the contact portion detected by the contact portion detecting means, the relative position of the contact portion for each finger within the contour of the user's operation finger is from the tip of the operation finger toward the palm. An in-vehicle operation system characterized by specifying a lowered abdominal part .

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