JP6331880B2 - Capacitive operation device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a capacitive operation device that is operated by contact with an operating body (for example, a user's fingertip).

  Patent Document 1 discloses a capacitance-type operation device that includes an operation plate that forms a plurality of operation surfaces that are touched by a user's fingertips, and an electrode that is disposed on the back side of the operation plate. . This operation device acquires a detection value corresponding to the amount of change in capacitance generated between the electrode and the fingertip, and when the acquired detection value exceeds a predetermined threshold value, a contact operation is performed. And turn on.

  Conventionally, when the detected value exceeds a predetermined threshold, it is determined that the fingertip has touched the operation surface. For this reason, for example, when operating the operation plate with the fingertip swinging up and down or left and right due to vibration during vehicle travel, it is difficult to reliably touch the desired operation position of the operation plate. A fingertip touches the operation position, resulting in an erroneous operation. Therefore, conventionally, it has been proposed to set the detection value threshold value higher.

JP 2013-117900 A

  However, the fingertip is often pressed against the operation plate in order to ensure the contact of the fingertip under vibration during vehicle travel. In such a case, since the case where the detected value exceeds the threshold value is likely to occur, even if the threshold value is set higher, erroneous operation cannot be sufficiently suppressed. On the other hand, when the vehicle is stopped, the chance of making the fingertip touch the wrong operation surface decreases, so when the threshold value is set high, the lightness of touching and detecting the desired operation surface is impaired. It is desirable to set.

  As described above, it is difficult to satisfy both the suppression of erroneous operation and the lightness of operation only by setting the threshold value higher or lower.

  Therefore, the present inventor uses, in addition to whether or not the detected value exceeds the threshold value, the length of time that the state in which the detected value exceeds the threshold value continues for determining contact between the operating tool and the operating surface. The present invention was completed by discovering this fact and making the threshold value and the length of time variable.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a capacitance type operating device that can satisfy both of the suppression of erroneous operations and the lightness of operation.

  The invention disclosed herein employs the following technical means to achieve the above object. Note that the reference numerals in parentheses described in the claims and in this section indicate a corresponding relationship with specific means described in the embodiments described later as one aspect, and limit the technical scope of the invention. Not what you want.

One of the disclosed inventions is an operation plate (10) that is installed in a vehicle interior and forms a plurality of operation surfaces (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16) that are contact-operated by an operation body (F). And detection according to the amount of change in capacitance between the operation body and the electrode (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26) located on the opposite side of the operation body with respect to the operation surface Corresponding operation based on the detection means (41) for acquiring the value, the threshold value (THa, THb) for the detection value, and the threshold time (Wa, Wb) for the time when the detection value continuously exceeds the threshold value Contact determining means (42) for determining that the operating body is in contact with the surface, and changing means for changing the threshold value and the threshold time, which are determination values of the contact determining means, based on information affecting the operation of the operating body and (44,440), concerning the traveling vibration of the vehicle The distribution, the vibration information acquisition means for acquiring as information affecting the operation of the operating body (S10, S10A), comprising a change means, as travel vibration is a large circumstances, to change the threshold time to a longer time At the same time, the threshold value is changed to a large value .

  In short, the present invention includes a changing unit that changes a threshold value and a threshold time, which are determination values of the contact determination unit, based on information that affects the operation of the operating tool. By this changing means, for example, when the vehicle is running under vibration, the threshold value of the detection value is set higher than that when the vehicle is stopped, and the threshold time for the length of time during which the threshold value continues is set to be long, The effect is demonstrated. For example, even if the operating body comes into contact with the operation surface under vibration when the vehicle travels and the detected value is higher than the threshold value, if the duration is short, it is not determined that the contact has been made, and thus erroneous determination of contact detection can be suppressed. Further, when the vehicle is stopped, the following effect is exhibited by lowering the threshold value of the detection value compared to the vehicle running and shortening the threshold time with respect to the length of time during which the threshold value continues. For example, even when the operating body touches the operation surface lightly when the vehicle is stopped, the contact can be determined, so that the lightness of contact detection is not impaired.

The perspective view which shows the vehicle mounting position of the electrostatic capacitance type operating device concerning 1st Embodiment of this invention. The front view of the electrostatic capacitance type operating device shown in FIG. Sectional drawing which follows the III-III line | wire of FIG. The figure which shows the one aspect | mode of a capacitance change at the time of carrying out contact operation of the operation surface. The flowchart which shows the process sequence which determines the presence or absence of contact operation in 1st Embodiment. The flowchart which shows the process sequence which determines the presence or absence of contact operation in 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the process sequence which determines the presence or absence of contact operation in 3rd Embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the process sequence which determines the presence or absence of contact operation in 4th Embodiment of this invention. The front view of the electrostatic capacitance type operating device concerning 5th Embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the process sequence which determines the presence or absence of contact operation in 5th Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, a plurality of modes for carrying out a capacitive operation device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each embodiment, portions corresponding to the matters described in the preceding embodiment may be denoted by the same reference numerals and redundant description may be omitted. In each embodiment, when only a part of the configuration is described, the other configurations described above can be applied to other portions of the configuration.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an instrument panel (instrument panel Vi) mounted on a vehicle V as viewed from the indoor side. An electrostatic capacity type operating device Vo is assembled in the central portion of the instrument panel Vi in the left-right direction of the vehicle. This electrostatic capacity type operating device Vo is premised on being operated by a vehicle occupant, and is disposed at a position that can be operated from either the driver seat Dr or the passenger seat Pa in the passenger compartment. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the electrostatic capacitance type operating device Vo includes an operation plate 10, an electrode sheet 20, and a printed wiring board 30 described below.

  The operation plate 10 is a resin plate member and forms a decorative surface 10a that is visually recognized by the user. The decorative surface 10 a has a plurality of operation surfaces 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16. On these operation surfaces 11 to 16, characters, symbols, figures, and the like representing the setting contents of the operation target are printed. In the example illustrated in FIG. 1, the operation target is an air conditioner 50 that air-conditions the interior of the vehicle. For example, activation of the air conditioner 50, air volume setting, temperature setting, and the like can be given as specific examples of the setting contents. When the user touches the operation surfaces 11 to 16 with the fingertip F, a command signal for instructing the corresponding device to operate is output, and the air conditioner 50 operates according to the content of the contact operation.

  An electrode sheet 20 is attached to the surface of the operation plate 10 opposite to the decorative surface 10a. The electrode sheet 20 has a plurality of electrodes 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, and 26, and these electrodes 21 to 26 are held by a resin sheet 20a. Each of the electrodes 21 to 26 is disposed so as to face the corresponding operation surfaces 11 to 16.

  A printed wiring board 30 is disposed on the opposite side of the operation plate 10 with respect to the electrode sheet 20. A plurality of light sources 31, 32, and 33 are mounted on the circuit board, and these light sources 31 to 33 are arranged to face the corresponding electrodes 21 to 26. Transparent electrodes such as indium tin oxide are used for the electrodes 21 to 26. In addition, a light-transmitting resin member is employed for the operation plate 10, and portions of the operation surfaces 11 to 16 that are not printed are transmitted and illuminated by the light sources 31 to 33. In addition, the coating material which has light-shielding property is printed in parts other than the operation surfaces 11-16 among the decoration surfaces 10a.

  The electrodes 21 to 26 output voltage changes that occur according to changes in capacitance as electrical signals. The electrical signals output from the electrodes 21 to 26 are input to a microcomputer (microcomputer 40) mounted on the printed wiring board 30. The microcomputer 40 includes a storage device that stores a program and a central processing unit that executes arithmetic processing according to the stored program. The microcomputer 40 functions as a detection means 41, a contact determination means 42, an acquisition means 43, and a change means 44 described below by executing various arithmetic processes (see FIG. 2).

  The electrostatic capacitance type operating device Vo includes a circuit that repeatedly charges and discharges the coupling capacitance formed by the electrodes 21 to 26, and the detection unit 41 counts the number of times of charging and discharging until a predetermined condition is satisfied. The count value increases as the capacitance generated between the electrodes 21 to 26 and the fingertip F increases. Therefore, based on the count value, the detection means 41 calculates a “detection value” corresponding to the amount of change in capacitance that occurs between the electrodes 21 to 26 and the fingertip F. Specifically, when the count value when the fingertip F is sufficiently separated from the electrodes 21 to 26 is referred to as a reference value, the count value when the fingertip F is in the vicinity of the electrodes 21 to 26 or the contact position The difference from the reference value is calculated as the detected value.

  The contact determination unit 42 determines whether or not a contact operation is performed based on the detection value calculated by the detection unit 41. Specifically, when the state where the detected value exceeds the predetermined thresholds THa and THb continues for a predetermined time (threshold times Wa and Wb), it is determined that the corresponding operation surface is touched. . FIG. 4 shows the change over time of the detected value when a certain operation surface 11 is touched with the fingertip F.

  Specifically, in the period from time t1 to time t2, the detected value increases as the fingertip F approaches the operation surface 11. After the time point t2 when the fingertip F starts contact, the detected value increases rapidly for the reason described below.

  That is, the capacitance C generated between the electrode and the fingertip F can be approximated by a combined capacitance 1 / C = 1 / C1 + 1 / C2 of C1 and C2 connected in series. C1 is ε0 · εr1 · S / d1, and C2 is ε0 · εr2 · S / d2. ε0 is the dielectric constant of vacuum, εr1 is the relative dielectric constant of the operation plate 10 which is a substance (interelectrode medium) interposed between the electrode and the fingertip F, and S is the lap area of the electrode area and the fingertip F as a parallel plate capacitor , D1 represents the thickness of the operation plate 10. Further, εr2 represents the relative dielectric constant of air, which is a substance (interelectrode medium) interposed between the electrode and the fingertip F, and d2 represents the distance between the fingertip F and the operation plate 10.

  In the period from t2 to t5 in FIG. 4 in which the fingertip F is in contact with the operation surface, the operation plate 10 corresponds to the interelectrode medium. On the other hand, in the period t1 to t2 or the period t5 to t6 in which the fingertip F is away from the operation surface, in addition to the operation plate 10, air interposed between the operation plate 10 and the fingertip F also corresponds to the interelectrode medium.

  Therefore, when the time point t2 is exceeded, the relative dielectric constant εr increases rapidly, and when the time point t5 is exceeded, the relative dielectric constant εr decreases rapidly. Note that εr = εr1 · εr2. Further, at the time t2 when the fingertip F starts to contact, the contact area S is small because the fingertip F only touches the operation surface 11 lightly. However, after the time point t2, the fingertip F is pressed against the operation surface 11 so that the fingertip F is slightly crushed and the contact area S increases.

  Thus, with the increase in the relative permittivity εr and the contact area S after the time t2, the detected value increases rapidly after the time t2. Compared with the period from the time point t1 to the time point t2, the increase amount of the detected value per unit time is larger after the time point t2. Similarly, as the relative permittivity εr decreases and the contact area S decreases after the time point t5, the detected value rapidly decreases after the time point t5. Compared with the period from the time point t1 to the time point t2, the amount of increase in the detected value per unit time is larger after the time point t5.

  In the example of FIG. 4, the detected value exceeds the thresholds THa and THb at time t3 after time t2. Since the state where the detected values exceed the thresholds THa and THb continues from the time t3 to the time t4 when the threshold times Wa and Wb have elapsed, it is determined that the operation surface 11 is touched at the time t4. The

  Thereafter, as the fingertip F is separated from the operation surface 11, the crushed fingertip F is released, and the contact area between the fingertip F and the operation surface 11 decreases. As the contact area decreases, the detected value rapidly decreases, and thereafter, the detected value further decreases after time t5 when the fingertip F moves away from the operation surface 11, and becomes zero at time t6. Compared with the period from time t5 to time t6, the amount of decrease in the detected value per unit time is larger before time t5.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 2, the acquisition unit 43 acquires an operation state when the fingertip F is touched to the operation surfaces 11 to 16, that is, information that affects the operation of the fingertip F. Specifically, whether or not the vehicle V is traveling is acquired as the operation status. For example, the microcomputer 40 acquires vehicle speed information from an electronic control unit (engine ECU 53) that controls the operation of an internal combustion engine (engine) mounted on the vehicle V. Based on the vehicle speed information, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is traveling. If the vehicle is traveling, it can be said that it is an operation situation (unstable operation situation) in which the fingertip F is less likely to be positioned at the intended position due to running vibration of the vehicle V. On the other hand, when traveling is stopped, it can be said that there is no traveling vibration, so that the operation state (stable operation state) is easily determined at the position where the fingertip F is intended.

  The changing unit 44 changes the threshold times Wa and Wb and the thresholds THa and THb used for the determination by the contact determining unit 42 according to the operation situation acquired by the acquiring unit 43. Specifically, the threshold value THa in the unstable operation situation (traveling) is changed to a value higher than the threshold value THb in the stable operation situation (traveling stop). Further, the threshold time Wa in the unstable operation situation (running) is changed to a time longer than the threshold time Wb in the stable operation situation (running stop).

  The microcomputer 40 changes the setting content of the air conditioner 50 associated with the operation surface determined to be in contact. Specific examples of the setting include the above-described activation of the air conditioner, air volume setting, temperature setting, and the like. The microcomputer 40 outputs a command signal corresponding to the above setting to the air conditioner 50 and controls the operation of the air conditioner 50. In addition to the air conditioner 50, the electrostatic capacity type operating device Vo can also function the audio device 51 and the navigation device 52 as an operation target. In this case, the microcomputer 40 outputs a command signal corresponding to the setting content by the capacitance type operating device to the audio device 51 and the navigation device 52, and controls the operation of these devices 51 and 52.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a procedure of processing repeatedly executed by the microcomputer 40 at a predetermined cycle. First, in step S10, the acquisition means 43 acquires the traveling speed (vehicle speed) of the vehicle. The microcomputer 40 at the time of executing the process of step S10 provides “vibration information acquisition means” that acquires information related to running vibration of the vehicle V as information on the operation status.

  In subsequent step S20, it is determined whether the vehicle is traveling based on the acquired vehicle speed. That is, if the vehicle speed is not zero, it is determined that the vehicle is traveling. If it is determined that the vehicle is traveling, it is determined in step S30 whether the detected value is equal to or greater than a threshold THa for traveling. This running threshold THa is the above-described value set by the changing means 44. If it is determined that the detected value ≧ threshold value THa, it is determined in subsequent step S40 whether or not the state of detected value ≧ threshold value THa has passed the threshold time Wa for traveling. The threshold time Wa for traveling is the above-described value set by the changing means 44.

  If it is determined that the threshold time Wa or more has elapsed, in the next step S50, it is considered that the corresponding operation surface has been touched, and the input of the operation surface is confirmed and the on operation is performed. On the other hand, if it is determined that the detection value <threshold value THa, or if it is determined that the threshold time Wa has not elapsed, the process returns to step S10 without performing input confirmation in step S50.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S20 that the vehicle is not traveling, it is determined in step S60 whether or not the detected value is equal to or greater than a stop threshold THb. This stop threshold THb is the above-described value set by the changing means 44. If it is determined that the detected value ≧ the threshold value THb, in the subsequent step S70, it is determined whether or not the state of the detected value ≧ the threshold value THb has passed the threshold time Wb for stopping. This stop time threshold time Wb is the above-mentioned value set by the changing means 44.

  If it is determined that the threshold time Wb or more has elapsed, in the next step S50, it is considered that the corresponding operation surface has been touched, and the input of the operation surface is confirmed and the on operation is performed. On the other hand, if it is determined that the detection value <threshold value THb, or if it is determined that the threshold time Wb has not elapsed, the process returns to step S10 without performing input confirmation in step S50.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the threshold times Wa and Wb and the thresholds THa and THb used for determining whether or not the operation surface is touched are compared with those in the stable operation situation in the unstable operation situation. Change the value to the side where contact is difficult to determine. The effect of this change will be described below.

  The stop threshold THb used in the stable operation situation is set in consideration of a balance between suppression of erroneous determination caused by individual differences among operators and improvement in operability. That is, if the threshold value THb is set low, an ON determination can be made by lightly touching the operation surface, thereby improving operability. For example, if the state at the time t2 in FIG. 4 where the contact is started is continued for a threshold time, an ON determination is made, and it is unnecessary to press the fingertip F to increase the contact area. On the other hand, when the operator's fingertip is large or when the fingertip is wet with sweat, the detected value appears large. Therefore, if the threshold value THb is lowered as described above, it is determined to be ON only by bringing the fingertip closer to the operation surface. Incorrect determination such as that occurs. For example, the ON determination is made in a non-contact period from time t1 to time t2 in FIG.

  On the other hand, in an unstable operation situation, an erroneous operation in which the fingertip F touches an unintended operation surface is likely to occur. In this type of erroneous operation, unlike the case of the erroneous determination described above, the fingertip F actually touches the operation surface, and thus there is a high possibility that the detected value exceeds the threshold value. Therefore, it is not sufficient to increase the threshold value in order to suppress the ON determination at the time of erroneous operation. However, the contact time is likely to be shorter during an erroneous operation than during the intended operation.

  In this embodiment, which focuses on this point, in an unstable operation situation, in addition to changing the threshold value higher, the threshold time is changed longer. For this reason, it is possible to suppress the ON determination at the time of an erroneous operation without changing the threshold value extremely high. Therefore, without erroneously reducing the balance between the reduction of misjudgment caused by individual differences between operators and the improvement of operability such as turning on just by lightly touching the operation surface, it is possible to turn on at the time of an erroneous operation in an unstable operation situation. Judgment can be suppressed.

  Further, in the present embodiment, information relating to vehicle running vibration is acquired as an operation status, and the threshold value or the like is changed by the changing unit 44. It can be said that it is an operation situation (unstable operation situation) in which the fingertip F is less likely to be positioned at the intended position as the traveling vibration is larger. Therefore, the threshold value and the like can be changed with good timing when an unstable operation situation occurs.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the threshold time is changed to a longer time and the threshold value is changed to a larger value as the traveling vibration is larger. Therefore, the greater the degree that the fingertip F is less likely to be positioned at the intended position, the more the value such as the threshold value is changed to a value that is less likely to be touched. Therefore, it is possible to avoid excessive ON determination suppression during erroneous operation in unstable operation situations, and unnecessarily balance the balance between suppression of erroneous determination due to individual differences between operators and improvement in operability. Can be avoided.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the presence / absence of travel of the vehicle is acquired as information related to travel vibration, and the threshold value is changed according to the presence / absence of travel. Since there is no running vibration when the running is stopped, it can be said that the operation is stable. Therefore, according to the present embodiment in which the threshold is changed according to whether or not the vehicle is traveling, the unstable operation situation and the stable operation situation can be clearly distinguished, and the effect of changing the threshold etc. in a timely manner when the unstable operation situation occurs. Is surely demonstrated.

(Second Embodiment)
In this embodiment, the process of step S21 shown in FIG. 6 is added to the embodiment shown in FIG. That is, when it is determined that the vehicle is traveling in step S20, the threshold value THa and the threshold time Wa for traveling are changed in the next step S21 according to the vehicle speed acquired in step S10. Specifically, as the vehicle speed increases, it is considered that the driving vibration is large, and the threshold time Wa is set to a longer time and the threshold THa is set to a larger value.

  For example, if the vehicle speed is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, a threshold value THa and a threshold time Wa (for example, 50 ms) are set to preset values for high speed travel. If the vehicle speed is less than a predetermined value, a threshold value THa and a threshold time Wa (for example, 20 ms) are set to a preset value for low-speed driving. The threshold time Wb for stopping is set to a time (for example, 10 ms) shorter than the threshold time Wa for low speed driving.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the threshold time Wa and the threshold value THa are set to values on the side where the contact determination is difficult as the traveling vibration is larger. Therefore, the threshold time Wa and the threshold value THa for traveling can be adjusted in accordance with the degree of traveling vibration so that the ON determination suppression during erroneous operation in an unstable operation situation does not become excessive.

(Third embodiment)
In the present embodiment, steps S11, S22, and S23 shown in FIG. 7 are added to the embodiment shown in FIG. That is, in step S11, the humidity in the passenger compartment is acquired. For example, the humidity in the passenger compartment is acquired using a detection value of a humidity sensor used for controlling the air conditioner 50. The microcomputer 40 at the time of executing the process of step S11 provides “humidity information acquisition means” for acquiring information related to the atmospheric humidity on the operation surface as operation status information.

  And when it determines with driving | running | working in step S20, the value of threshold value THa and threshold time Wa for driving | running | working are changed in the following step S22 according to the humidity and vehicle speed which were acquired by step S11. If it is determined in step S20 that the vehicle is not traveling, the threshold value THb for stopping is changed in the next step S23 according to the humidity acquired in step S11.

  Now, since the detected value becomes higher as the atmospheric humidity on the operation surface is higher, an erroneous determination such that an ON determination is made only by bringing the fingertip close to the operation surface is likely to occur. Therefore, in steps S22 and S23, the higher the humidity, the higher the thresholds THa and THb and the longer the threshold times Wa and Wb, thereby suppressing the erroneous determination. In step S22, the threshold THa and the threshold time Wa for traveling are changed according to the vehicle speed in the same manner as in step S21 in FIG. That is, as the vehicle speed increases, the threshold time Wa and the threshold value THa are set to values on the side where contact determination is difficult.

  The threshold value THb for stopping at high humidity may be higher than the threshold value THa for traveling at low humidity. However, if the humidity is the same, the threshold value THb for stopping is set to be lower than the threshold value THa for traveling.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the threshold times Wa and Wb and the threshold values THa and THb are set to values that are less likely to be contact-determined as the atmospheric humidity on the operation surface is higher. Therefore, it is possible to suppress erroneous determination such that the ON determination is made only by bringing the fingertip close to the operation surface.

(Fourth embodiment)
In the present embodiment, steps S12, S24, and S25 shown in FIG. 8 are added to the embodiment shown in FIG. That is, in step S12, information (Dr / Pa information) indicating whether the operator of the capacitive operating device Vo is an occupant seated in the driver seat Dr or the passenger seat Pa of the vehicle V is acquired. . For example, if it is determined on which side the operator is an occupant based on the detection results of an infrared sensor or camera that detects the movement of the upper body of the occupant, seating sensors provided in the driver's seat Dr and the passenger seat Pa, etc. Good. The microcomputer 40 at the time of executing the process of step S <b> 12 acquires information as to whether the driver side passenger or the passenger side passenger of the vehicle is operating the operation surface as operation status information. "Acquisition means".

  If it is determined in step S20 that the vehicle is traveling, the values of the threshold THa and the threshold time Wa for traveling are changed in the next step S24 according to the Dr / Pa information, the humidity, and the vehicle speed. If it is determined in step S20 that the vehicle is not traveling, the threshold value THb and the threshold time Wb for stopping are changed in the next step S25 according to the Dr / Pa information and humidity.

  Now, as a specific example of the operation situation in which the fingertip F is difficult to be determined at the intended position, there is a case where it is difficult to be determined due to the poor operation posture in addition to the case where the fingertip F is difficult to be determined due to running vibration. For example, the occupant of the driver's seat Dr is limited in the degree of freedom of the operation posture as compared with the occupant of the passenger seat Pa. Therefore, the fingertip F is less likely to be set at the intended position than the occupant of the passenger seat Pa.

  Therefore, in steps S24 and S25, when the passenger on the driver's seat Dr side is operating, the thresholds THa and THb are set higher and the threshold time Wa is set than when the passenger on the passenger seat Pa side is operating. , Wb is set longer. In step S24, the threshold THa and the threshold time Wa for traveling are changed according to the vehicle speed and humidity in the same manner as in step S22 of FIG. In step S25, the stop threshold THa and the threshold time Wa are changed according to the humidity in the same manner as in step S23 of FIG.

  Here, in an erroneous operation in which the fingertip F touches an unintended operation surface due to a poor operation posture, the detection value is likely to exceed the threshold value. Therefore, it is not possible to sufficiently suppress the ON determination at the time of erroneous operation only by increasing the threshold value. However, in this type of erroneous operation, the contact time is likely to be shorter than in the intended operation.

  In the present embodiment, which focuses on this point, the threshold times Wa and Wb and the threshold values THa and THb are less likely to be contacted in the operation by the driver's seat Dr side occupant than in the operation by the passenger seat Pa side occupant. Set to the side value. For this reason, it is possible to suppress the ON determination at the time of an erroneous operation without changing the threshold value extremely high. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the ON determination at the time of an erroneous operation in an unstable operation situation without greatly degrading the balance between the reduction of the erroneous determination described above and the improvement in operability.

(Fifth embodiment)
In the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the microcomputer 40 acquires vehicle speed information. Then, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is traveling based on the acquired vehicle speed information. Consider it. In contrast, the microcomputer 40 according to the present embodiment acquires vibration information detected by the acceleration sensor (G sensor 54) as shown in FIG. Then, based on the acquired vibration information, it is determined whether or not the operation state is unstable.

  In other words, the acquisition unit 43 according to the first embodiment acquires the vehicle speed as information that affects the operation of the fingertip F. Then, the changing unit 44 according to the first embodiment changes the threshold times Wa and Wb and the thresholds THa and THb used for the determination by the contact determination unit 42 based on the acquired vehicle speed. On the other hand, the acquisition unit 430 according to the present embodiment acquires vibration information from the G sensor 54 as information that affects the operation of the fingertip F. The changing unit 440 according to the present embodiment changes the threshold times Wa and Wb and the thresholds THa and THb based on the detection signal (G detection value) of the G sensor 54.

  The G sensor 54 is attached to a body of the vehicle V that is located on the opposite side of the wheel with respect to the suspension, and detects the acceleration of the body. More specifically, the G sensor 54 that detects each of the vertical component, the vehicle V longitudinal component, and the vehicle V horizontal component of the acceleration is mounted on the vehicle V.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a procedure of processing that the microcomputer 40 according to the present embodiment repeatedly executes at a predetermined cycle. First, in step S10A, the G detection value of the G sensor 54 is acquired by the acquisition unit 430. The microcomputer 40 at the time of executing the process of step S10A provides “vibration information acquisition means” that acquires information related to the traveling vibration of the vehicle V as information on the operation status.

  In subsequent step S13, the vibration level of the body of the vehicle V is calculated based on the acquired G detection value. For example, among accelerations detected by the G sensor 54, an average value of a vertical component, a longitudinal component, and a horizontal component is calculated, and the average value is set as a vibration level.

  In a succeeding step S20A, it is determined whether or not the calculated vibration level is larger than a preset threshold value. When it is determined that the vibration level is greater than the threshold value, it is determined that the unstable operation state is present, and the process proceeds to step S30.

  In step S30, it is determined whether or not the detection value (electrostatic detection value) detected by the electrodes 21 to 26 is equal to or greater than the threshold value THa for unstable operation. This threshold value THa is set to the same value as the threshold value THa for traveling described in the first embodiment. When it is determined that the electrostatic detection value ≧ the threshold value THa, in the subsequent step S40, it is determined whether or not the state of the electrostatic detection value ≧ the threshold value THa has exceeded the threshold time Wa for unstable operation. This threshold time Wa is set to the same value as the threshold time Wa for traveling described in the first embodiment.

  If it is determined that the threshold time Wa or more has elapsed, in the next step S50, it is considered that the corresponding operation surface has been touched, and the input of the operation surface is confirmed and the on operation is performed. On the other hand, if it is determined that the electrostatic detection value <threshold value THa, or if it is determined that the threshold time Wa has not elapsed, the process returns to step S10A without performing input confirmation in step S50.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S20A that the vibration level is smaller than the threshold value and the stable operation state is determined, it is determined in step S60 whether or not the electrostatic detection value is equal to or greater than the threshold value THb for stable operation. This threshold value THb is set to the same value as the stop threshold value THb described in the first embodiment. If it is determined that the electrostatic detection value ≧ the threshold value THb, in the subsequent step S70, it is determined whether or not the state of the electrostatic detection value ≧ the threshold value THb has passed the threshold time Wb for stable operation. This threshold time Wb is set to the same value as the stop time threshold time Wb described in the first embodiment.

  If it is determined that the threshold time Wb or more has elapsed, in the next step S50, it is considered that the corresponding operation surface has been touched, and the input of the operation surface is confirmed and the on operation is performed. On the other hand, if it is determined that the electrostatic detection value <threshold value THb, or if it is determined that the threshold time Wb has not elapsed, the process returns to step S10A without performing input confirmation in step S50.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the threshold times Wa and Wb and the thresholds THa and THb used for determining whether or not the operation surface is touched are set to the threshold values in the case of an unstable operation situation with a large vibration level. In addition to changing it higher, the threshold time is changed longer. Therefore, the same effect as the first embodiment is exhibited. That is, in an unstable operation situation, it is possible to suppress the ON determination at the time of erroneous operation without changing the threshold value extremely high.

  Now, if the road surface on which the vehicle V is traveling is good, the vibration level of the body is small even during traveling, and an unstable operation situation may not occur. Also, if the road surface is bad, even if the traveling speed is very low, the vibration level of the body is large, and an unstable operation situation may occur. According to this embodiment in view of this knowledge, the vibration information acquisition unit acquires the G detection value output from the G sensor 54 that detects the vibration of the vehicle as information related to running vibration. Therefore, it can be accurately determined whether or not an unstable operation situation exists.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention is not limited to the description of the above embodiment, and may be modified as follows. Moreover, you may make it combine the characteristic structure of each embodiment arbitrarily, respectively.

  In the vibration information acquisition means in step S10 of FIG. 5, the vehicle speed is acquired as information related to the traveling vibration of the vehicle V. On the other hand, you may acquire the detected value of the acceleration sensor which detects the traveling acceleration of the vehicle V as information regarding traveling vibration. Also, paying attention to the fact that the detection values of the sensors that detect the attitude of the vehicle V, such as the pitching angle and yawing angle of the vehicle V, have a high correlation with the degree of vibration of the vehicle V, these detection values are acquired as information related to running vibration. May be.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, both the threshold time Wa and the threshold value THa are adjusted according to the traveling vibration. On the other hand, the threshold value THa may be set to a constant value regardless of the magnitude of the traveling vibration, and the threshold time Wa may be adjusted according to the magnitude of the traveling vibration. The threshold adjustment is effective for the purpose of suppressing misjudgment, whereas the threshold time adjustment is more effective than the threshold adjustment for the purpose of suppressing the on-determination during erroneous operation. It is.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, both the threshold time Wa and the threshold THa are adjusted according to the humidity. On the other hand, the threshold time Wa may be set to a constant value regardless of the humidity, and the threshold THa may be adjusted according to the humidity. The threshold time adjustment is effective for the purpose of suppressing the ON judgment at the time of erroneous operation, whereas the threshold adjustment is more effective than the threshold time adjustment for the purpose of suppressing the erroneous determination. That's why.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, when setting the threshold value THa and the threshold time Wa according to the vehicle speed, in step S21, the threshold value THa and the threshold value Wa are switched to two types of values for high speed driving and low speed driving. On the other hand, the threshold value THa and the threshold time Wa may be switched to three or more values.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 10, in setting the threshold and the threshold time according to the vibration level, the threshold and the threshold time are changed in two stages depending on whether or not the vibration level is larger than the threshold. On the other hand, it may be changed in three steps or more according to the vibration level, or may be adjusted by setting the threshold and the threshold time steplessly according to the vibration level.

  Since the relative dielectric constant of the operation plate 10 changes depending on the temperature, the detected value changes depending on the temperature. In view of this, the settings of the thresholds THa and THb and the threshold times Wa and Wb may be changed according to the temperature.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the electrodes 21 to 26 are structured to be held inside the sheet 20a. Instead of this structure, the electrodes 21 to 26 may be printed on the surface of the sheet 20a.

  In each of the above embodiments, it is assumed that the user's fingertip F is operated while being in contact with the operation surfaces 11 to 16, and the fingertip F is used as the operating body. On the other hand, for example, the user may hold a pen-shaped operation member and operate it by bringing the operation member into contact with the operation surfaces 11 to 16. In this case, an operation member other than the human body functions as the operation body. . Further, when the user performs a contact operation on the operation surfaces 11 to 16 while wearing gloves, the gloves function as an operation body.

  In the fifth embodiment, the G sensor 54 is used as a vibration sensor for detecting the vibration of the vehicle body. On the other hand, a stroke sensor for detecting the displacement of the vehicle body relative to the road surface or wheels is mounted on the vehicle V, and the acceleration is calculated by differentiating the detection value of the stroke sensor with respect to time, whereby the stroke sensor is used as a vibration sensor. It can also be used.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, it is determined whether or not the operation state (unstable operation state) is such that the fingertip F is less likely to be positioned at the intended position due to the traveling vibration of the vehicle V using vehicle speed information and vibration information. On the other hand, for example, it is determined whether or not the vehicle V is traveling on a rough road based on the current position information of the vehicle V included in the navigation device or road information acquired by communication from an external communication device, and the result of the determination Whether or not an unstable operation situation is present may be determined.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Operation plate 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 ... Operation surface 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 ... Electrode, 41 ... Detection means, 42 ... Contact determination means, 44 ... Change means, F ... fingertip (operating body), THa, THb ... threshold, Wa, Wb ... threshold time.

Claims (5)

An operation plate (10) that is installed in a vehicle interior and forms a plurality of operation surfaces (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16) that are contact-operated by an operation body (F);
Electrodes (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26) located on the opposite side of the operation body with respect to the operation surface;
Detection means (41) for acquiring a detection value corresponding to the amount of change in capacitance generated between the operating body and the electrode;
Based on a threshold value (THa, THb) for the detected value and a threshold time (Wa, Wb) for a time during which the detected value continuously exceeds the threshold value, the operating body touches the corresponding operation surface. Contact determination means (42) for determining that
Changing means (44, 440) for changing the threshold value and the threshold time, which are determination values of the contact determination means, based on information affecting the operation of the operating body;
Vibration information acquisition means (S10, S10A) for acquiring information relating to running vibration of the vehicle as information that affects the operation of the operating body;
Equipped with a,
The change means changes the threshold time to a longer time and changes the threshold to a larger value as the traveling vibration is larger . The vibration information acquisition means (S10) acquires whether or not the vehicle is traveling as information on the traveling vibration,
The changing means considers that the driving vibration is larger when the vehicle is traveling than when the vehicle is stopped, and changes the threshold time to a longer time and changes the threshold to a larger value. The capacitance-type operation device according to claim 1 . 3. The capacitance according to claim 2 , wherein the changing unit considers that the traveling vibration is larger as the traveling speed of the vehicle is higher, and changes at least the threshold time to a longer time. Type operation device. The static vibration according to claim 1 , wherein the vibration information acquisition means (S10A) acquires a detection signal output from a vibration sensor (54) for detecting vibration of the vehicle as information on the running vibration. Capacitive operation device. Operator information acquisition means (S12) is provided for acquiring information on which of the driver's seat side passenger and the passenger's side passenger is operating the operation surface as information affecting the operation of the operating body. ,
The changing means changes the threshold time to a longer time and changes the threshold value to a larger value in the case of an operation by the driver side occupant than in the case of an operation by the passenger side occupant. The capacitance type operating device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 .

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