JP5392864B2 - Touch panel input device, measurement method, measurement device, and measurement program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to measurement of touches received by a touch panel.

  In recent years, a touch panel type input device is often used in a display of a portable terminal or a personal computer, a terminal installed in a facility, or the like. The operation using the touch panel type input device has an advantage that it can be performed intuitively compared with the operation using the physical keys. For this reason, it is considered that the range in which touch panel type input devices are used will be expanded.

  However, it is inevitable that the touch panel type input device physically fails due to the structure that the user directly touches. In other words, the touch panel type input device has durability (life) as a component, although it varies depending on the method and material to be mounted. When the component reaches the end of its life, the touch panel may not operate at an unexpected timing, or abnormal operation may occur. It may cause.

  Therefore, it is conceivable to avoid an unexpected failure by predicting the life of the touch panel and performing preventive maintenance in which the touch panel is replaced in advance.

  Examples of such a touch panel type input device relating to the touch panel life prediction are described in Patent Documents 1 to 6.

  Specifically, in Patent Documents 1 to 4, the number of touches is measured for each button displayed on the touch panel, and when a certain number of times is reached, it is determined that the life is approaching and the button position is switched. A method for extending the life of the touch panel has been proposed.

  Patent Document 5 proposes a method for predicting the lifetime of each area by dividing the touch panel surface into a matrix and measuring the number of touches for each divided area.

  Further, Patent Document 6 proposes a method of managing the number of touches by dividing the touch panel surface into a plurality of regions as a method similar to Patent Document 2.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-010734 Japanese Patent No. 3000887 JP-A-10-177458 Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 01-284817 JP 2002-073278 A JP 2008-299582 A

  As described above, each patent document presents a technique for moving the touch position in order to extend the life in consideration of the life of the touch panel, a method for measuring the number of touches by dividing the touch panel surface into a matrix, and the like. Yes.

  However, the method of switching the button positions described in Patent Documents 1 to 4 is a mechanism that depends on the button position of the application, and has a drawback that it is not versatile.

  Further, the method for dividing the touch panel surface described in Patent Document 5 into a matrix and measuring it also has the following problems. This method is considered to be able to predict the lifetime of the touch panel without depending on the application, but on the other hand, the problem is how to determine the density of the matrix. The finer the matrix, the more precise the number of touches that can be focused on a specific location on the touch panel. However, it is necessary to record the number of touches for each eye of the matrix. This increases the memory area required for measurement. On the other hand, when the matrix is coarse, the memory area is small, but the target range to be measured is widened, so the accuracy is lowered and the prediction is made earlier than the original lifetime.

  For example, the paragraphs [0017] to [0019] of Patent Document 2 describe a matrix determination method depending on an application menu, but an appropriate proposal for a matrix determination method that does not depend on a specific application. Has not been made.

  Furthermore, Patent Document 6 also presents a method for managing the number of touches by dividing the touch panel surface into a plurality of areas as a method similar to Patent Document 2, but this document also has the same problems as Patent Document 2. Yes.

  In this way, in general technology, it is possible to avoid unexpected failures by performing preventive maintenance by predicting the life of the touch panel and replacing the touch panel in advance, but accurately predicting the degree of wear at the operation stage It was difficult to determine the replacement time. Although it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a failure by estimating the replacement time shortly, replacing it while it is still usable has the disadvantage of increasing the repair cost.

  Accordingly, the present invention provides a touch panel type input device, a measurement method, a measurement device, and a measurement program capable of reducing repair costs and preventing unexpected failures by appropriately predicting the life of touch panel components. The purpose is to do.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a measuring device that is connected to a touch panel and performs life prediction of the touch panel, and each time the touch panel accepts a touch, Count means for storing coordinates and counting and storing the total number of touches received by the touch panel; and when the total number of touches is a constant value N (an integer of 1 or more), the touch For each coordinate of the location where the coordinates are received, and a determination means for determining the number of times the touch has been received, and determining a coordinate having the highest number of touches as a target area as a result of the statistics. After the operations of the counting unit and the determining unit are finished, the total number of touches on the target area is measured, and the counter Measuring device characterized in that it does not measure the total number of touch is provided for the region other than the region.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an input device including a touch panel and a measuring device connected to the touch panel and performing life prediction of the touch panel,
An input device is provided, wherein the touch panel receives a touch, and the measurement device is a measurement device provided according to the first aspect of the present invention.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a measurement program that is connected to a touch panel and is incorporated in a measurement device for predicting the life of the touch panel, and each time the touch panel accepts a touch, the touch on the touch panel And the counting means for counting and storing the total number of touches received by the touch panel, and the total number of touches is a constant value N (an integer of 1 or more). In this case, for each coordinate of the location where the touch is received, a statistic is taken of how many times each coordinate has received the touch, and as a result of the statistic, a determination is made to determine a coordinate having the highest number of touches as a target region. And after the operations of the counting means and the judging means are terminated, the touch on the target area is performed. The total number of measured, measurement program for the region other than the target region for causing a computer to function as a measuring apparatus which does not measure the total number of touch is provided.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a measurement method performed by an input device including a touch panel and a measurement device that is connected to the touch panel and performs life prediction of the touch panel.
When the touch panel accepts a touch, and each time the touch panel accepts a touch, the measurement device stores the coordinates of the place where the touch is accepted on the touch panel and counts the total number of touches accepted by the touch panel. When the total number of touches is N (an integer greater than or equal to 1), the coordinates are stored for each coordinate of the location where the touch is received. And taking a statistic of how many times the touch has been received, and determining a coordinate as a target area that has the highest number of touches received as a result of the statistic, and ending the counting step and the determining step After that, the total number of touches on the target area is measured, and areas other than the target area are measured. For measuring method characterized in that it does not measure the total number of touch is provided.

  According to the present invention, as a result of statistics on how many times each coordinate has received the touch, the coordinate with the highest number of touches is set as the target area, and the total number of touches is not measured for areas other than the target area. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately predict the life of the touch panel component, reduce the repair cost, and prevent an unexpected failure.

It is a figure showing the basic composition of the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure showing an example of the computer for implement | achieving embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart showing the basic operation | movement of embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart showing the basic operation | movement in the training mode of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure showing an example of the determination method of the measurement area | region in embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart showing the basic operation | movement in the normal operation mode of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure showing the touch coordinate storage table in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure showing the touch coordinate statistics table in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure showing the touch coordinate correction table in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure showing the measurement area | region registration table in embodiment of this invention.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  First, the configuration of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the functional block diagram of FIG. Referring to FIG. 1, the present embodiment includes a measuring device 100 and a touch panel 200. The measuring apparatus 100 includes a determination unit 101, a count unit 102, a table storage unit 103, and a correction unit 104.

  In the present embodiment, an operation received by the touch panel 200 from the user is referred to as “touch”. The coordinates on the touch panel 200 that received the touch are referred to as “touch coordinates”.

  The determination unit 101 receives a notification about the number of touches on the touch panel 200 and the touched coordinates from the counting unit 102. In addition, the determination unit 101 creates various tables based on the notification result from the count unit 102 and stores the created tables in the table storage unit 103. Further, the determination unit 101 uses the correction unit 104 to correct the counted number of touches. Specific contents of various tables and the correction of the number of touches will be described later.

  Count unit 102 is connected to touch panel 200. Then, the number of touches received by the touch panel 200 is measured, and the touched coordinates are also measured. Then, the count unit 102 notifies the determination unit 101 of the measured content.

  The table storage unit 103 is a storage device that stores various tables.

  The correction unit 104 receives a notification about the number of touches on the touch panel 200 and the touched coordinates via the determination unit 101, and corrects the number of touches.

  The touch panel 200 is a device that combines a display device and an input device, and is operated by a user applying pressure or the like with a hand or a pen-type instrument. In addition, what kind of method and material the touch panel 200 is specifically realized is not the gist of the present embodiment, but can be realized by any method and material.

  Since a specific method for realizing the touch panel 200 is well known to those skilled in the art, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  In the present embodiment, a certain training period is provided at the start of use of the measurement apparatus 100 and the touch panel 200, and a plurality of coordinate areas that are frequently touched are specified during the training period. After the training period, the number of times that the coordinate area is touched is accumulated to perform a life prediction with high accuracy from the number of times of touching at the place where the wear is the fastest on the touch panel surface.

  In the above description, the functional block of this embodiment was demonstrated with reference to FIG. 1 which is a functional block diagram. Subsequently, in the following description, a hardware configuration for specifically realizing the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 2 illustrates a main part of a circuit configuration when the measurement apparatus 100 and the touch panel 200 of the present embodiment are realized by the computer 10. The measurement apparatus 100 and the touch panel 200 described above can be realized by the computer 10.

  Referring to FIG. 2, the computer 10 includes a CPU 11, a bus 12, a ROM 13, a RAM 14, a nonvolatile memory 15, an input reception device control unit 16, an input reception device input reception unit 17, a display device control unit 18, and a display device display unit 19. Including.

  The CPU 11 is a central processing unit that performs calculations based on a program. The CPU 11 is connected to each unit in the apparatus via the bus 12.

  The ROM 13 is a read-only memory that stores various control programs to be executed by the CPU 11.

  The RAM 14 is a memory for storing data temporarily required for the CPU 11 to execute the program.

  The non-volatile memory 15 is a memory that can hold data even when power is not supplied to the apparatus, and stores the number of touches in a specific area of the touch panel.

  The input reception device control unit 16 is connected to the input reception device input reception unit 17 and controls the input reception device input reception unit 17. The display device control unit 18 is connected to the display device display unit 19 and controls the display device display unit 19. Then, the input reception device and the display device are integrated, and the touch panel 200 is realized.

  Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. This time, an example using M measurement areas will be described.

  Referring to FIG. 3, the present embodiment has two modes: a training mode (step S301-1 to step S302-M) and a normal operation mode (step S400).

  In this regard, first, the initial state of the portable terminal or the like on which the measuring apparatus 100 is mounted is set to the training mode. And in training mode, the process which determines the measurement area | region used for measurement of the frequency | count of a touch in normal operation mode is performed. It is assumed that the number of measurement areas to be determined is M (an integer greater than or equal to 1).

  The measurement area is determined from the first to the Mth in order, and then the training mode is terminated and the normal operation mode is entered.

  The measurement area determination process is performed by a process of determining one measurement area (step S302) from the result of sampling the touch coordinates N (an integer of 1 or more) times (step S301).

  Then, M measurement areas are determined by repeating the process M times (steps S301-1 to S302-M). Therefore, sampling of touch coordinates at most M × N times is required in the training mode.

  M and N need only be integers of 1 or more, and can be any number. Specifically, depending on the number of coordinates of the touch panel 200 to be connected when implementing the present embodiment, the size of the measurement area, the type of application software used on the touch panel, the required life prediction accuracy, etc. Any number may be set. Note that N may be a constant number, but the number may be changed every time the determination process is performed. For example, N may be set smaller during the first measurement area determination process, and N may be set larger during the next measurement area determination process.

  Moreover, when the measuring apparatus 100 is incorporated in the portable terminal etc. from which it is mounted from the beginning, as described above, the initial state of the portable terminal is in the training mode. However, when the function of the measuring device 100 is incorporated into a portable terminal or the like as software at a later date, the training mode is set when the function is incorporated.

  Next, the operation in the training mode will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation when one touch panel input is performed in the training mode.

  When the touch panel 200 is touched, the count unit 102 and the determination unit 101 store the touch coordinates in the table storage unit 103 as a touch coordinate recording table 701 as illustrated in FIG. 7 as an example (step S501). Referring to FIG. 7, in the touch coordinate recording table 701, a number is assigned for each touch, and an X coordinate and a Y coordinate that are touch coordinates are associated with each number and stored.

  Next, the count unit 102 counts up the number of touches (step S502).

  Then, the determination unit 101 determines whether or not the number of touches after the count-up in step S502 has reached a predetermined sampling number upper limit N times (step S503). If the number of touches has not reached the predetermined number of samplings N (No in step S503), further sampling is necessary, and the touch input process for the current touch is terminated without further processing. .

  On the other hand, when the number of touches has reached N (Yes in step S503), the determination unit 101 uses the touch coordinate statistics table 702 as illustrated in FIG. 8 as an example based on the touch coordinate recording table 701. create. Then, the correcting unit 104 corrects the number of touches with reference to the touch coordinate statistics table 702 (step S504).

  Here, the touch coordinate statistics table 702 is a table of coordinates that have been touched even once, and a number is assigned to each coordinate that has been touched even once, and the total number of times touched for each coordinate. Is tied.

  In the above description, the touch coordinates and the number of touches are recorded using the touch coordinate storage table 701 and the touch coordinate statistics table 702. However, only the touch coordinate statistics table 702 is used without using the touch coordinate storage table 701. The touch coordinates and the number of touches may be recorded. That is, instead of using two tables, processing may be performed using one table. In this case, every time a touch is performed, it is confirmed whether or not the touched coordinate exists in the touch coordinate storage table, and if it already exists, the number of touches is set to +1. On the other hand, if it does not exist, the newly touched coordinates are registered in the touch coordinate storage table, and the operation of setting the number of touches to 1 is repeated. Needless to say, the first touch does not exist in the touch coordinate storage table, so it is newly registered in the touch coordinate storage table, and the number of touches is set to 1.

  In addition, the correction of the number of touches refers to a range in which the touch positions are pressed down by absorbing variations in touch positions by considering touch coordinates recorded in the touch coordinate statistics table 702 that are located in the vicinity of each other. This is the process to identify.

  Specifically, the correction is performed by adding a number proportional to the number of touches of the nearby touch coordinates (for example, the product of the reciprocal of the distance between two points) to the number of touches for each touch coordinate. Do. That is, the number of touches is leveled between touch coordinates located in the vicinity. For example, the coordinate (100, 120) has a touch count of 4, but the touch count 15 of the coordinates (102, 119) located in the vicinity and the distance (about 2.23) between the two points are considered.

  Then, 4+ (15 ÷ 2.23) ≈11 is the number of corrections.

  Similarly, the number of touches at the coordinates (102, 119) is 15, but the number of touches 4 at the nearby coordinates (100, 120) and the distance between the two points (about 2.23) are taken into account, 15+ (4 ÷ 2.23) ≈ 17 is the number of corrections.

  This calculation is performed for all combinations of touch coordinates recorded in the touch coordinate statistics table 702. Thereby, the number of corrections is obtained from the number of touches. Then, a touch coordinate correction table 703 including the number of corrections is created. Referring to FIG. 9, in the touch coordinate correction table 703, in addition to the touch coordinate statistics table 702, it is understood that the number of touches that have been corrected (shown as “correction frequency” in the figure) is added.

  Next, the determination unit 101 obtains measurement area candidates to be measured in the normal operation mode based on the corrected number of touches obtained by correcting the sampled touch coordinates (step S505). Here, the measurement region is a region within a certain range centered on a certain touch coordinate. In addition, as a method of determining the measurement region, a perfect circle shape or a rectangular shape is generally used. A specific example will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5A shows an example in which the measurement region is defined in a rectangular shape having a size of 3 in the vertical and horizontal directions with the center coordinates as the center. On the other hand, FIG. 5B is an example in the case where the measurement region is defined in a perfect circle shape having a radius of 3 with the center coordinate as the center. Note that these are merely examples, and the method of determining the measurement region is not limited to this example. Its shape and size can be arbitrary. For example, it is possible to use a rectangle instead of a square, or a radius of 4.

  Subsequently, the determination unit 101 determines a measurement region centered on the coordinate with the largest number of corrected touches from the measurement region candidates (step S506).

  Then, it is confirmed whether or not the area determined in step S506 does not overlap with the already registered measurement area (step S507). If there is no overlap (No in step S507), the measurement area determined in step S506 is newly registered as a measurement area to be measured in the normal operation mode (step S514).

  On the other hand, when the measurement area determined in step S506 overlaps with the already registered measurement area (Yes in step S507), the measurement area having the second most corrected number of touches is determined (step S508). In the same manner as in step S507, it is confirmed whether or not it overlaps with the registered measurement area (step S509). If there is no overlap, the process proceeds to step S514 (No in step S509).

  On the other hand, if it overlaps with the measurement area already registered in step S509 (Yes in step S509), the area with the third highest corrected touch count is determined (step S510) and registered in the same manner as in step S509. It is confirmed whether or not the measurement area has already been overlapped (step S511). If there is no overlap, the process proceeds to step S514 (No in step S511).

  On the other hand, if the measurement area cannot be determined in step S511 (Yes in step S511), the number of failures is counted up (step S512).

  Subsequently, in step S512, it is determined whether or not the number of failures after counting up has reached a predetermined F number (step S513). Here, F can be an arbitrary integer. If the number of failures after counting up has reached the predetermined number of times F in step S512 (Yes in step S513), the training mode is terminated (step S516).

  In this regard, as a case where the number of failures reaches the predetermined F times, there may be a case where the number of frequently touched regions is smaller than M regions assumed in advance. In this case, no matter how many times the determination process is repeated, the M areas cannot be determined and the training mode may not be exited. Therefore, when the number of failures reaches the predetermined F times, the training mode is ended in an area smaller than M. If the number of failures has not reached the predetermined number of times F (No in step S513), the pressed coordinates and the count are cleared (step S517), and the touch input process for the current touch is terminated.

  When a measurement area that does not overlap with the measurement areas registered in steps S506 to S511 is found and newly registered as a measurement area to be measured in the normal operation mode (step S514), the number of registration areas is M. If not reached (No in step S515), the pressed coordinates and count are cleared (step S517), and the touch input process for the current touch is terminated.

  If the number of registered areas reaches M (Yes in step S515) or the number of failures reaches F times (Yes in step S513), the training mode is terminated (step S516).

  When the training mode ends, the normal operation mode is started.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation when a touch panel input is performed once in the normal operation mode.

  When the touch panel 200 receives a touch, it is checked whether the pressed coordinate is within any one of the registered measurement areas as exemplified in FIG. 10 (step S601). If the pressed coordinate is within any measurement area (Yes in step S601), the number of touches in the measurement area is counted up (step S602). If the pressed coordinate does not fall within any measurement region (No in step S601), and if the touch panel 200 receives a touch next time, the processing from step S601 is performed again.

  Above, the measurement process of this embodiment is complete | finished. In the present embodiment, the number of touches is measured for a plurality of measurement areas with high touch frequency determined in the training mode as described above. By this operation, it is possible to measure the number of touches at a location where the touch panel surface is most likely to be deteriorated and likely to break down. Therefore, it is possible to predict the life of the touch panel with high accuracy, and it is possible to reduce unnecessary preventive repair costs and improve the reliability of the device by performing preventive repair at an appropriate timing before the failure occurs. .

  As a modification of the above-described embodiment, it is conceivable to modify steps S506 to S511. In the above description, it is verified whether or not the measurement region with the second corrected number of touches (step S508) and the measurement region with the third corrected number of touches (step S510) are also set as the measurement regions ( Step S509 and Step S511). In this respect, the number of steps may be further increased. That is, the same processing as in steps S506 to S511 may be performed on the fourth and fifth areas with the highest number of corrected touches. By doing so, it is expected that the period of the training mode can be further shortened.

  On the other hand, only the region with the highest number of touches may be targeted. That is, step S508 to step S511 may be omitted, and if the result is No in step S507, the process may proceed to step S512. Depending on the environment after mounting, it is expected that an appropriate result can be obtained when only the region with the highest number of touches is used.

  Further, the present embodiment can be combined with the measurement of the number of touches in a rectangular area using a matrix table as proposed in Patent Document 2. In this case, it is possible to measure the number of touches in a region with a lower touch frequency using a matrix table in a manner that compensates for the number of touches in a region with a high touch frequency according to the present embodiment.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, the touch panel and the measuring device were demonstrated as what was implement | achieved by the single computer. However, the touch panel and the measurement device may be realized as separate computers, and may be connected using means such as a bus, a cable conforming to the USB standard, or an arbitrary connector. The connection may be a wired connection, but part or all of the connection may be a wireless connection.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the program for realizing the touch panel and the measurement device has been described as being stored in advance in the computer. However, a program for operating a computer as all or part of a touch panel and a measurement device or executing the above-described processing is stored on a flexible disk, a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read-Only Memory), a DVD (Digital Versatile). Disc), MO (Magneto Optical Disk (Disc)) BD (Blu-ray Disc), etc., stored and distributed on a computer-readable recording medium, installed on another computer, and operated as the above-mentioned means, Or you may perform the above-mentioned process.

  Furthermore, the program may be stored in a disk device or the like included in a server device on the Internet, and the program may be executed by, for example, superimposing the program on a carrier wave and downloading it to a computer.

  In addition, the measurement method according to the embodiment of the present invention can be realized by hardware, but is also realized by reading and executing a program for causing a computer to execute the method from a computer-readable recording medium. can do.

  Moreover, although the above-described embodiment is a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the scope of the present invention is not limited only to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Implementation in the form is possible.

  The embodiment of the present invention described above has many effects as described below.

  The first effect is that the lifetime of the touch panel can be predicted with high accuracy.

  The reason for this is to identify an area where the touch frequency is high in the training mode in advance and is most likely to fail.

  The second effect is that it does not depend on the application.

  This is because the operation in the training mode does not depend on the screen design of the application, and an arbitrary operation can be performed.

  A part or all of the above-described embodiment can be described as in the following supplementary notes, but is not limited thereto.

(Supplementary note 1) A measuring device connected to a touch panel for predicting the life of the touch panel,
Each time the touch panel accepts a touch, the counting means stores the coordinates of the location where the touch on the touch panel is accepted and counts and stores the total number of touches accepted by the touch panel;
When the total number of touches is a constant value N (an integer greater than or equal to 1), for each coordinate of the location where the touch is received, the statistics of how many times the touch has been received are taken, As a result of statistics, it is provided with a determination means for determining a coordinate having the highest number of touches as a target area,
After finishing the operations of the counting unit and the determining unit, the total number of touches on the target area is measured, and the total number of touches is not measured for areas other than the target area. Measuring device.

(Additional remark 2) It is a measuring device of Additional remark 1,
When a certain area is determined as the target area, the count unit stores the coordinates of the location where the touch is received and the total number of touches, and the count unit and the determination unit are operated again. If the number of areas determined as the target area is M (an integer greater than or equal to 1), the area other than the certain area is further determined as the target area. A measuring device characterized in that the operation of the counting means and the judging means is terminated.

(Additional remark 3) It is a measuring device of Additional remark 2, Comprising:
If the M or more target areas cannot be determined even if the counting means and the judging means are repeatedly operated, the number of times of the repeating operation becomes a constant value F (an integer of 1 or more). A measuring apparatus characterized in that the operations of the counting means and the judging means are terminated.

(Supplementary note 4) The measurement apparatus according to any one of supplementary notes 1 to 3,
The coordinates with the highest number of accepted touches are set as center coordinates, and an area including coordinates around the coordinates set as the center is selected as one candidate area,
A measuring apparatus characterized in that the selected candidate area is determined as a target area instead of determining a coordinate having the highest number of touches as a target area.

(Supplementary note 5) The measuring apparatus according to any one of supplementary notes 1 to 4,
After taking statistics of the number of touches received by each coordinate, level the number of touches received between neighboring coordinates in consideration of the number of touches accepted between neighboring coordinates, and leveling A measuring apparatus, wherein the number of touches received by each coordinate is corrected to a later value.

(Supplementary note 6) The measurement apparatus according to any one of supplementary notes 1 to 5,
As a result of the statistics, when trying to determine a coordinate or candidate area having the highest number of touches as the target area, if the coordinate or candidate area has already been determined as the target area, the statistics As a result, a coordinate or a candidate area where the number of times touches are received next is determined as the target area.

(Supplementary note 7) A measurement program connected to a touch panel and incorporated in a measurement device for predicting the life of the touch panel,
Each time the touch panel accepts a touch, the counting means stores the coordinates of the location where the touch on the touch panel is accepted and counts and stores the total number of touches accepted by the touch panel;
When the total number of touches is a constant value N (an integer greater than or equal to 1), for each coordinate of the location where the touch is received, the statistics of how many times the touch has been received are taken, As a result of statistics, a determination means for determining a coordinate having the highest number of touches as a target area,
With
After finishing the operations of the counting means and the determining means, the computer measures the total number of touches on the target area and does not measure the total number of touches for areas other than the target area. A measurement program characterized by functioning.

(Supplementary Note 8) A terminal input device including a touch panel and a measurement device connected to the touch panel and performing life prediction of the touch panel,
The touch panel accepts a touch;
An input device, wherein the measuring device is the measuring device according to any one of appendices 1 to 6.

(Supplementary Note 9) A measurement method performed by an input device including a touch panel and a measurement device that is connected to the touch panel and performs life prediction of the touch panel,
The touch panel accepting a touch;
Each time the touch panel receives a touch, the measuring device stores the coordinates of the location where the touch on the touch panel is received and counts and stores the total number of touches received by the touch panel;
When the total number of touches is N (an integer equal to or greater than 1), the measurement device determines how many times each coordinate has received the touch for each coordinate of the location where the touch has been received. Taking a statistic, and determining a coordinate as a target area, the coordinates having the highest number of times of receiving touches as a result of the statistic,
After finishing the counting step and the determining step, the total number of touches on the target area is measured, and the total number of touches is not measured for areas other than the target area. Method.

  The present invention is suitable for any input device equipped with a touch panel.

10 Computer 11 CPU
12 bus 13 ROM
14 RAM
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 15 Nonvolatile memory 16 Input reception apparatus control part 17 Input reception apparatus input reception part 18 Display apparatus control part 19 Display apparatus display part 100 Measuring apparatus 101 Judgment part 102 Count part 103 Table storage part 104 Correction | amendment part 200 Touch panel

Claims (9)

A measuring device connected to a touch panel for predicting the life of the touch panel,
Each time the touch panel accepts a touch, the counting means stores the coordinates of the location where the touch on the touch panel is accepted and counts and stores the total number of touches accepted by the touch panel;
When the total number of touches is a constant value N (an integer greater than or equal to 1), for each coordinate of the location where the touch is received, the statistics of how many times the touch has been received are taken, As a result of statistics, it is provided with a determination means for determining a coordinate having the highest number of touches as a target area,
After finishing the operations of the counting unit and the determining unit, the total number of touches on the target area is measured, and the total number of touches is not measured for areas other than the target area. Measuring device. The measuring device according to claim 1,
When a certain area is determined as the target area, the count unit stores the coordinates of the location where the touch is received and the total number of touches, and the count unit and the determination unit are operated again. If the number of areas determined as the target area is M (an integer greater than or equal to 1), the area other than the certain area is further determined as the target area. A measuring device characterized in that the operation of the counting means and the judging means is terminated. The measuring device according to claim 2,
If the M or more target areas cannot be determined even if the counting means and the judging means are repeatedly operated, the number of times of the repeating operation becomes a constant value F (an integer of 1 or more). A measuring apparatus characterized in that the operations of the counting means and the judging means are terminated. It is a measuring device given in any 1 paragraph of Claims 1 thru / or 3,
The coordinates with the highest number of accepted touches are set as center coordinates, and an area including coordinates around the coordinates set as the center is selected as one candidate area,
A measuring apparatus characterized in that the selected candidate area is determined as a target area instead of determining a coordinate having the highest number of touches as a target area. A measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
After taking statistics of the number of touches received by each coordinate, level the number of touches received between neighboring coordinates in consideration of the number of touches accepted between neighboring coordinates, and leveling A measuring apparatus, wherein the number of touches received by each coordinate is corrected to a later value. It is a measuring device given in any 1 paragraph of Claims 1 thru / or 5,
As a result of the statistics, when trying to determine a coordinate or candidate area having the highest number of touches as the target area, if the coordinate or candidate area has already been determined as the target area, the statistics As a result, a coordinate or a candidate area where the number of times touches are received next is determined as the target area. A measurement program connected to a touch panel and incorporated in a measurement device for predicting the life of the touch panel,
Each time the touch panel accepts a touch, the counting means stores the coordinates of the location where the touch on the touch panel is accepted and counts and stores the total number of touches accepted by the touch panel;
When the total number of touches is a constant value N (an integer greater than or equal to 1), for each coordinate of the location where the touch is received, the statistics of how many times the touch has been received are taken, As a result of statistics, a determination means for determining a coordinate having the highest number of touches as a target area,
With
After finishing the operations of the counting means and the determining means, the computer measures the total number of touches on the target area and does not measure the total number of touches for areas other than the target area. A measurement program characterized by functioning. A terminal input device including a touch panel and a measuring device connected to the touch panel for predicting the life of the touch panel,
The touch panel accepts a touch;
The input device according to claim 1, wherein the measuring device is the measuring device according to claim 1. A measurement method performed by an input device including a touch panel and a measurement device connected to the touch panel and performing life prediction of the touch panel,
The touch panel accepting a touch;
Each time the touch panel receives a touch, the measuring device stores the coordinates of the location where the touch on the touch panel is received and counts and stores the total number of touches received by the touch panel;
When the total number of touches is N (an integer equal to or greater than 1), the measurement device determines how many times each coordinate has received the touch for each coordinate of the location where the touch has been received. Taking a statistic, and determining a coordinate as a target area, the coordinates having the highest number of times of receiving touches as a result of the statistic,
After finishing the counting step and the determining step, the total number of touches on the target area is measured, and the total number of touches is not measured for areas other than the target area. Method.

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