JP6434259B2 - Tactile sensation control system and tactile sensation control method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a tactile sensation control system and a tactile sensation control method for controlling a tactile sensation of a user when operating an operation surface of a touch pad provided separately from a display.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a user performs an operation on a display screen of a display device including a touch panel, there is a technique for giving a tactile sensation according to the operation to the user.

  For example, a technique for imparting a tactile sensation to a finger by irradiating the finger with ultrasonic waves is disclosed (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). In addition, a technique for imparting a tactile sensation to a user by vibrating an arbitrary area of the touch panel by ultrasonic vibration is disclosed (for example, see Non-Patent Document 1). In addition, a technique for imparting a tactile sensation by dynamically raising and lowering an arbitrary area of a touch panel is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 3).

JP 2003-29898 A International Publication No. 2012/102026 JP 2005-512241 A

"Prototype tablet equipped with touch panel that provides tactile sensation", [online], February 24, 2014, Fujitsu Limited, [May 12, 2014], Internet <URL: http: // pr. fujitsu.com/jp/news/2014/02/24.html?nw=pr>

  If the user uses the techniques of Patent Documents 1 to 3 and Non-Patent Document 1, it is considered that the user can operate with the tactile sensation without concentrating the line of sight on the display screen. However, Patent Documents 1 to 3 and Non-Patent Document 1 do not disclose any specific use and cannot provide a user interface that is easy to use. In particular, no contrivance has been made for a method of using the touch pad to grasp the state of the vehicle displayed on the meter panel provided in the vehicle (that is, the content displayed on the display). In addition, there is a problem that it is difficult to grasp the state of the vehicle displayed on the meter panel from the passenger seat side.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and a tactile sensation control system capable of intuitively recognizing the contents displayed on the display without concentrating the line of sight on the display. An object is to provide a tactile sensation control method.

In order to solve the above-described problems, a tactile sensation control system according to the present invention is a tactile sensation control system that controls a user's tactile sensation during an operation on an operation surface of a touchpad, and is a vehicle running or a device provided in the vehicle. comprising a vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires information as the vehicle information, and a tactile control module for controlling the tactile operation surface based on the vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit about the vehicle information, the speed information of the vehicle The tactile sensation control unit controls the tactile sensation so that the speed at which the tactile sensation area moves changes according to the speed of the vehicle based on the speed information, and determines the speed limit of the road on which the vehicle travels The touchpad operation surface further includes a tactile sensation region based on the speed of the vehicle and a tactile sensation region based on the speed limit, and the tactile sensation control unit is controlled by the speed limit determination unit. Depending on the speed, area tactile-based speed limit controls the tactile so that the speed of movement is constant.

A tactile sensation control method according to the present invention is a tactile sensation control method for controlling a user's tactile sensation during operation on an operation surface of a touch pad, wherein (a) information relating to travel of a vehicle or equipment provided in the vehicle is transmitted to the vehicle. And (b) a step of controlling the tactile sensation of the operation surface based on the vehicle information acquired in the step (a). The vehicle information includes vehicle speed information, and includes the step (b ) Further includes the step of controlling the tactile sensation so that the speed at which the tactile sensation area moves changes according to the speed of the vehicle based on the speed information, and (c) determining the speed limit of the road on which the vehicle travels. The operation surface of the touchpad includes a tactile sensation region based on the speed of the vehicle and a tactile sensation region based on the speed limit, and step (b) is performed according to the speed limit determined in step (c). The tactile area based on the speed limit is shifted. Rate of controls tactile so as to be constant.

According to the present invention, the tactile sensation control system is a tactile sensation control system that controls a user's tactile sensation during an operation on the operation surface of the touch pad, and acquires information related to driving of the vehicle or devices provided in the vehicle as vehicle information. Vehicle information acquisition unit, and a tactile sensation control unit that controls the tactile sensation of the operation surface based on the vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit, the vehicle information includes vehicle speed information, And a speed limit determining unit that controls the tactile sensation so that the speed at which the tactile sensation area moves changes according to the speed of the vehicle based on the speed information, and determines the speed limit of the road on which the vehicle travels. The operation surface of the pad includes a tactile sensation region based on the speed of the vehicle and a tactile sensation region based on the speed limit, and the tactile sensation control unit determines the speed limit according to the speed limit determined by the speed limit determination unit. Since the rate at which the area of the touch-based moves to control the tactile so as to be constant, it is possible to intuitively recognize without the content displayed on the display unit concentrates the gaze on the display.

Further, the tactile sensation control method is a tactile sensation control method for controlling the tactile sensation of the user at the time of operation on the operation surface of the touch pad, and (a) obtains information related to vehicle running or equipment provided in the vehicle as vehicle information. And (b) controlling the tactile sensation of the operation surface based on the vehicle information acquired in step (a), wherein the vehicle information includes vehicle speed information, and step (b) Further comprising the step of controlling the tactile sensation so that the speed at which the tactile sensation area moves changes according to the speed of the vehicle based on the speed information, and (c) determining the speed limit of the road on which the vehicle travels, The operation surface includes a tactile sensation region based on the speed of the vehicle and a tactile sensation region based on the speed limit, and the step (b) is performed at the speed limit according to the speed limit determined in the step (c). Speed of tactile area based on To control the tactile so that constant, it is possible to intuitively recognize without the content displayed on the display unit concentrates the gaze on the display.

It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the tactile sensation control apparatus by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the tactile sensation by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the tactile sensation by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the tactile sensation by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the tactile sensation by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the tactile sensation by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows another example of a structure of the tactile sensation control apparatus by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of operation | movement of the tactile sensation control apparatus by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of operation | movement of the tactile sensation control apparatus by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of operation | movement of the tactile sensation control apparatus by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of operation | movement of the tactile sensation control apparatus by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of operation | movement of the tactile sensation control apparatus by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of operation | movement of the tactile sensation control apparatus by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of a structure of the tactile sensation control apparatus by Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of operation | movement of the tactile sensation control apparatus by Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of operation | movement of the tactile sensation control apparatus by Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of operation | movement of the tactile sensation control apparatus by Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of operation | movement of the tactile sensation control apparatus by Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of operation | movement of the tactile sensation control apparatus by Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of operation | movement of the tactile sensation control apparatus by Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of operation | movement of the tactile sensation control apparatus by Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of operation | movement of the tactile sensation control apparatus by Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of operation | movement of the tactile sensation control apparatus by Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of operation | movement of the tactile sensation control apparatus by Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of operation | movement of the tactile sensation control apparatus by Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of operation | movement of the tactile sensation control apparatus by Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of operation | movement of the tactile sensation control apparatus by Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of operation | movement of the tactile sensation control apparatus by Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the tactile sensation control system by embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows another example of a structure of the tactile sensation control system by embodiment of this invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<Embodiment 1>
First, the structure of the tactile sensation control system according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the present embodiment and the following embodiments, a case where the tactile sensation control system is realized by a single tactile sensation control device will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a tactile sensation control apparatus 1 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows the minimum necessary components constituting the tactile sensation control device 1.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the tactile sensation control device 1 includes at least a vehicle information acquisition unit 2 and a tactile sensation control unit 3.

  The vehicle information acquisition part 2 acquires the information regarding driving | running | working of a vehicle or the apparatus provided in the vehicle as vehicle information.

  Based on the vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit 2, the tactile sensation control unit 3 determines the user's tactile sensation when operating the operation surface of the touch pad provided separately from the display device according to the state of the vehicle. Control.

  Here, the tactile sensation controlled by the tactile sensation control unit 3 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of three tactile sensations of “smooth”, “half-gritty”, and “gritty”.

  In FIG. 2, the horizontal axis indicates the strength of the tactile sensation, the leftmost column indicates “smooth”, the middle two columns indicate “half rough”, and the rightmost column indicates “gritty”. Yes. Further, the tactile sensation of the entire square is expressed by vibrating the dot or line pattern portion expressed in black shown in each square by, for example, ultrasonic vibration. That is, for example, when the intensity of vibration in each square is the same, the tactile sensation of “roughness” is stronger on the right side than on the left side in FIG. Specifically, the first line in FIG. 2 indicates that the larger the dot eyes, the stronger the feel of the grain. The second line indicates that the narrower the grid interval, the stronger the feel of the grain. The third line It shows that the feel of roughness increases as the line changes from a broken line to a solid line and the line becomes thicker. Note that the texture pattern of the rough texture is not particular to FIG. 2, and there are infinite combinations.

  The example in FIG. 2 shows a method for obtaining a different rough feel by changing the pattern even if the vibration intensity is the same. However, if the vibration intensity is changed even if the pattern is the same, A tactile sensation can be obtained.

  The “smooth” tactile sensation can be expressed, for example, by not performing ultrasonic vibration.

  The “gritty” tactile sensation can be expressed by, for example, performing ultrasonic vibration with a strength equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold.

  The “half-grainy” tactile sensation can be expressed, for example, by performing ultrasonic vibration that is smaller than the threshold value.

  Further, by combining both the strength of vibration and the rough tactile sensation pattern as shown in FIG. 2, the strength of the rough tactile sensation can be expressed.

  Fig. 2 explains the rough tactile pattern and the occurrence of static rough tactile sensation where the vibration intensity does not change. However, the vibration intensity is changed temporally, or the rough tactile tactile pattern is temporally changed. Or the like (that is, by dynamically changing the vibration pattern or the texture pattern of the rough texture), the moving texture can be expressed.

  3 to 5 are diagrams illustrating an example in which a “moving rough” tactile sensation is generated by temporally changing the intensity of vibration. 3 to 5, the horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents the strength of tactile sensation.

  FIG. 3 shows a case where the tactile sensation is constant and the tactile sensation occurs at a constant period. FIG. 4 shows a case where the tactile sensation is changed and the tactile sensation occurs at a constant cycle. FIG. 5 shows a case where the tactile sensation is constant and the tactile sensation cycle changes.

  By changing the tactile sensation as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, for example, the user can obtain a tactile sensation as if the “gritty” area is moving (that is, the tactile sensation of “moving gritty”). In addition, in FIGS. 3 to 5, the feeling of “gritty” and the feeling of “smooth” are alternately switched, but the feeling of “gritty” and the feeling of “half-gritty” may be alternately switched. The texture of the “roughness” may be switched continuously instead of discretely, and a continuous change and a discrete change may be freely combined.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating another example of generating a “moving rough” tactile sensation by changing a rough tactile sensation pattern with time. In FIG. 6, the vertical axis indicates time. Moreover, the area | region a and the area | region b have a tactile feeling, for example.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the positions of the area a and the area b are moved with time. In this way, by moving the region a and the region b having a tactile sensation, the user can obtain a tactile sensation as if the “rough” region is moving (ie, a “moving rough” tactile sense). In addition, each of the area | region a and the area | region b may have a tactile sensation as shown in any of FIGS.

  Further, in FIG. 6, the “gritty” tactile sensation region and the “smooth” tactile sensation region are moved temporally, but the “gritty” tactile sensation region and the “half-gritty” tactile sensation region are It may be configured and moved in time, or an area in which the “gritty” tactile sensation changes discretely or continuously may be configured to move in time. In FIGS. 3 to 6, when a “gritty” tactile sensation that changes continuously is adopted, a smooth “growing gritty” tactile sensation can be obtained.

  Next, another configuration of the tactile sensation control device 1 including the vehicle information acquisition unit 2 and the tactile sensation control unit 3 of FIG. 1 will be described.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the tactile sensation control device 4.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the tactile sensation control device 4 includes a vehicle information acquisition unit 2, a tactile sensation control unit 3, a control unit 5, a display information generation / output unit 6, an operation information acquisition unit 7, and a speed limit determination unit. 8 and. In addition, the display information generation / output unit 6 is connected to the display 9, and the tactile sensation control unit 3 and the operation information acquisition unit 7 are connected to the tactile touch pad 10.

  The vehicle information acquisition unit 2 includes sensor information (vehicle speed pulse information, etc.) detected by various sensors provided in the vehicle via an in-vehicle LAN (Local Area Network), vehicle control information (vehicle travel control system information). Or body system information), GPS (Global Positioning System) information, or information from a device provided in the vehicle is acquired as vehicle information.

  The tactile sensation control unit 3 provides tactile sensation control information for controlling the tactile sensation of the operation surface of the tactile touch pad 10 according to the vehicle state based on the vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit 2. Output to.

  The control unit 5 controls the entire tactile sensation control device 4. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 5 controls the vehicle information acquisition unit 2, the tactile sensation control unit 3, and the display information generation / output unit 6.

  The display information generation / output unit 6 generates display information in accordance with instructions from the control unit 5. The display information generation / output unit 6 converts the generated display information into a video signal and outputs the video signal to the display unit 9.

  The operation information acquisition unit 7 acquires, from the tactile touch pad 10, information related to a user operation on the tactile touch pad 10 as operation information.

  The speed limit determining unit 8 determines the speed limit of the road on which the vehicle travels. Since the speed limit varies depending on the vehicle type (vehicle grade) of the vehicle, the vehicle type is taken into consideration. The speed limit here is the legal speed. The speed limit can be determined or estimated in various ways. For example, as a simple estimation method, (1) when the speed limit of ordinary roads other than the highway is uniformly 60 km / h and the vehicle traveling speed exceeds 80 km / h, the vehicle is traveling on the highway. And the speed limit is set to 100 km / h. (2) As a method for determining whether the vehicle is traveling on an expressway or a general road, there is a method of obtaining information from ETC (Electronic Toll Collection System (registered trademark)). (3) Based on the map information stored in a map DB (database) (not shown) and the current position information of the vehicle based on the GPS information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit 2, the road on which the vehicle is traveling Determine the speed limit. The map DB may be provided inside or outside the vehicle. Here, it is assumed that the map DB includes speed limit information for each road as a road attribute. (4) Speed limit information is acquired from road infrastructure (road-to-vehicle communication) such as a beacon in VICS (Vehicle Information and Communication System, registered trademark). (5) The vehicle information determined by the GPS information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit 2 and the information related to the traveling direction of the host vehicle is uploaded to an external server and determined based on the GPS information and the information related to the traveling direction. Get the speed from an external server. (6) The speed limit is determined by recognizing a road sign from an image taken by a camera (not shown) provided in the vehicle.

  The display 9 displays the display information input from the display information generation / output unit 6 on the display screen.

  The tactile touch pad 10 outputs information related to the touch operation by the user (information such as presence / absence of touch, touch position, operation content) to the operation information acquisition unit 7 as operation information. Further, the tactile touch pad 10 is based on the tactile sensation control information input from the tactile sensation control unit 3, and the tactile sensation at any position on the operation surface of the tactile sensation touch pad 10 ("smooth", "half rough" "Moving rough") is changed. The tactile touch pad 10 is separately provided at a location different from the display device 9, for example, in the vicinity of a shift lever between the driver's seat and the passenger seat of the vehicle. The tactile touch pad 10 may be installed at any position as long as it can be operated from the driver seat or the passenger seat. In addition, the size of the area where the tactile sensation occurs on the tactile touch pad 10 and the size of the display area on the display unit 9 may be the same, may be similar, or may not be similar.

  Next, the operation of the tactile sensation control device 4 will be described.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the tactile sensation control device 4.

  In step S11, the vehicle information acquisition unit 2 acquires vehicle information.

  In step S12, the display information generation / output unit 6 generates vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit 2 as display information in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 5, and converts the generated display information into a video signal for display. To the device 9.

  In step S <b> 13, the tactile sensation control unit 3 sets tactile sensation control information based on the vehicle information in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 5.

  In step S <b> 14, the tactile sensation control unit 3 outputs the tactile sensation control information set in step S <b> 13 to the tactile sensation touch pad 10. In the tactile sensation touch pad 10, a tactile sensation corresponding to vehicle information is generated based on the tactile sensation control information input from the tactile sensation control unit 3.

  Next, a specific operation example of the tactile sensation control device 4 will be described.

  FIG. 9 shows an example of the display 9 provided on the meter panel 11. Note that the meter panel 11 shown in FIG. 9 is provided in the instrument panel portion of the vehicle. FIG. 10 shows an example of the occurrence of tactile sensation in the tactile touch pad 10.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the meter panel 11 is provided with a display 9 and a speedometer 12. The speedometer 12 indicates the speed of the vehicle based on speed information (vehicle speed pulse information) included in the vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit 2. The display device 9 may display the speedometer 12 as an image, and the entire area of the meter panel 11 may be used as a display area of the display device 9.

  As shown in FIG. 10, on the operation surface of the tactile sensation touch pad 10, regions where the tactile sensation is “smooth” and regions where the tactile sensation is “gritty” are alternately arranged. The “smooth” region and the “gritty” region are dynamically generated based on the speed information included in the vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information acquiring unit 2 and the speed limit determined by the speed limit determining unit 8. Move to.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of the relationship between the vehicle speed and the tactile movement speed on the operation surface of the tactile touch pad 10. In FIG. 11, the horizontal axis represents the vehicle speed (v), and the vertical axis represents the tactile movement speed (speed at which the tactile sensation area moves, M) on the operation surface of the tactile touchpad 10. Vr indicates the speed limit determined by the speed limit determination unit 8.

  As shown in FIG. 11, (1) when the vehicle speed v is faster than the speed limit Vr (v> Vr), the tactile movement speed increases in the positive direction as the vehicle speed v increases (upward in FIG. 10). From the bottom to the bottom) (M> 0). (2) When the vehicle speed v is faster than 80% of the speed limit Vr and is equal to or less than the speed limit Vr (0.8 Vr <v ≦ Vr), the tactile sensation does not move regardless of the vehicle speed v (M = 0). (3) When the vehicle speed v is equal to or less than 80% of the speed limit Vr (v ≦ 0.8 Vr), the tactile movement speed also decreases in the negative direction (lower in FIG. 10). From the top to the top) (M <0). Thereby, the user can grasp | ascertain the vehicle speed v relative to the speed limit Vr by tactile sensation.

  In FIG. 11, the tactile sensation is moved when (v ≦ 0.8 Vr), but the tactile sensation may not be moved when the speed is within the speed limit. In the case of an expressway, a tactile movement of (M <0) may be generated when the vehicle travels at a speed slower than the minimum travel speed.

  In the above description, the traveling speed and the tactile movement speed are controlled so as to change linearly. However, the driving speed is not limited to a linear change, and may be a monotonically increasing curve, for example. Further, the moving speed of the tactile sensation may be changed according to a predetermined speed excess range. For example, when it exceeds 0-10 km / h, the tactile movement speed is M1, when it exceeds 10-20 km / h, the tactile movement speed is M2 (> M1), and when it exceeds 20 km / h. Not only the tactile movement but also the tactile strength may be increased.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 12, the left area of the tactile touch pad 10 may be a tactile area based on the speed limit Vr, and the right area of the tactile touch pad 10 may be a tactile area based on the vehicle speed v. At this time, the relationship between the speed of the vehicle and the tactile movement speed on the operation surface of the tactile touch pad 10 may be, for example, the relationship shown in FIG. Thereby, the user can grasp | ascertain the speed limit Vr and the speed v of a vehicle by tactile sensation. In addition, Mr shown in FIG. 12, 13 has shown the moving speed of the tactile sensation based on a speed limit. The left half of the tactile touch pad 10 moves at a constant speed Mr corresponding to the speed limit Vr, and the right half of the tactile touch pad 10 moves at a speed M corresponding to the vehicle speed v. Further, the relationship between the vehicle speed v and the speed M is not limited to a straight line as shown in FIG. 13, but may be realized by combining a curve, a discrete straight line, a logarithmic curve, or the like.

  In the above description, the case where the tactile sensation is changed according to the speed of the vehicle has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the tactile sensation may be different depending on the display contents (navigation screen, video taken by a camera, warning light, etc.) of the display 9 (equipment provided in the vehicle). In addition, when displaying a navigation screen on the display 9, the tactile sensation control device 4 needs to have a navigation function. Moreover, when displaying the image | video image | photographed with the camera on the indicator 9, it is necessary to equip a vehicle with a camera. Moreover, what is necessary is just to acquire the information regarding a warning light from the vehicle information acquisition part 2 as vehicle information, when displaying a warning light on the indicator 9. FIG. As another example, the tactile sensation may be different depending on the display state (display or non-display of information) on the display 9.

  In FIG. 7, the tactile sensation control device 4 displays information on the display unit 9 and obtains operation input information from the tactile touch pad 10. However, the tactile sensation control device 4 simply controls the tactile sensation of the tactile touch pad 10. It may be a simple configuration. That is, the tactile sensation control device 4 does not include the display information generation / output unit 6 and the operation information acquisition unit 7 but controls the tactile touch pad 10 so as to generate a tactile sensation that is simply proportional to the vehicle speed. .

  Further, the tactile sensation control device 4 acquires information displayed on the display unit 9 or display object arrangement information (state or information related to the information device) from the vehicle information acquisition unit 2 and generates a tactile sensation corresponding to the acquired information. You may make it control the tactile touchpad 10 so that it may.

  The tactile sensation control device 4 includes the operation information acquisition unit 7 as a component, and transmits the operation information acquired by the operation information acquisition unit 7 to the device that controls the display 9 via the vehicle information acquisition unit 2 by communication. You may do it. In this case, the tactile sensation control device 4 has a function of generating a tactile sensation and a function as an operation unit of a device that controls the display 9.

  Although the case where the indicator 9 is provided in the meter panel 11 was demonstrated above, it is not restricted to this. For example, the display device 9 may be a display device in AVN (Audio Visual Navigation).

  Although the case where the tactile sensation control device 4 includes the speed limit determination unit 8 has been described above, only the vehicle information (vehicle speed information) acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit 2 without the speed limit determination unit 8 is described. The tactile sensation may be controlled using. For example, the tactile sensation may be controlled so that the moving speed of the tactile sensation increases as the vehicle speed increases.

  In the above description, the case where “smooth” and “gritty” are used as the tactile sensation has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, “smooth”, “half-rough”, “rough”, and “moving rough” may be used in appropriate combination.

  From the above, according to the first embodiment, since the tactile sensation is controlled according to the vehicle information (information relating to the traveling of the vehicle, etc.), the user displays the content displayed on the display 9 with respect to the display 9 It is possible to recognize intuitively without concentrating the line of sight. That is, an operation that is convenient for the user can be performed.

<Embodiment 2>
First, the structure of the tactile sensation control device according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the tactile sensation control device 13 according to the second embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the tactile sensation control device 13 includes a communication unit 14. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment (see FIG. 7), and thus the description thereof is omitted here.

  The communication unit 14 can communicate with the outside, and acquires various information from the outside. The communication unit 14 may be communicably connected to a communication terminal (not shown), and may communicate with the outside via the communication terminal.

  Next, the operation of the tactile sensation control device 13 will be described.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the tactile sensation control device 13. Note that step S21 in FIG. 15 corresponds to step S11 in FIG. 8, and thus description thereof is omitted here.

  In step S22, the control unit 5 acquires information other than the vehicle information. Here, the information other than the vehicle information includes at least one of weather information (information on weather conditions) and road information (information on road conditions), but may be any other information (for example, map information). Good. For example, the communication unit 14 may acquire weather information and road information from the outside, and the map information may be acquired from a communication unit 14 or a map DB (not shown) provided in the vehicle.

  In step S23, the display information generation / output unit 6 uses the vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit 2 and information other than the vehicle acquired by the control unit 5 as display information in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 5. The generated display information is converted into a video signal and output to the display unit 9.

  In step S <b> 24, the tactile sensation control unit 3 sets tactile sensation control information according to the vehicle information and information other than the vehicle information in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 5.

  In step S25, the tactile sensation control unit 3 outputs the tactile sensation control information set in step S24 to the tactile sensation touch pad 10. In the tactile sensation touch pad 10, a tactile sensation according to vehicle information and information other than the vehicle information is generated based on the tactile sensation control information input from the tactile sensation control unit 3.

  Next, a specific operation example of the tactile sensation control device 13 will be described. In the following description, the position where the information is displayed on the display surface of the display device 9 corresponds to the position of the region where the tactile sensation is given on the operation surface of the tactile touch pad 10.

  FIG. 16 shows an example of display on the display 9 provided on the meter panel 11. FIG. 17 shows an example of the occurrence of tactile sensation in the tactile touch pad 10.

  As shown in FIG. 16, the meter panel 11 is provided with a display 9 and a speedometer 12, and an information screen 15 is displayed on the display 9. An operation icon 16 is displayed on the information screen 15. Note that the information displayed on the information screen 15 is the information acquired in step S22 of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 17, in the tactile touch pad 10, the left area is an area corresponding to the information screen 15, and the right area is an area corresponding to the speedometer 12. In the area corresponding to the information screen 15, the tactile sensation of the operation icon area 17 corresponding to the operation icon 16 is “gritty”, and the tactile sensation of the area other than the operation icon area 17 is “half rough”.

  In addition, the area corresponding to the speedometer 12 is alternately arranged with areas where the tactile sensation is “smooth” and areas where the tactile sensation is “grainy”, and these areas are arranged in the direction of the arrow according to the speed of the vehicle. Move at speed M. The speed M is proportional to the speed of the vehicle. By doing in this way, the user can grasp | ascertain the information displayed on the indicator 9 by tactile sensation.

  18 and 19 show a modification of FIG. As shown in FIG. 18, the shape of the region corresponding to the speedometer 12 in the tactile touch pad 10 may be circular like the shape of the speedometer 12. Further, as shown in FIG. 19, a “moving rough” tactile sensation may be generated in a boundary region between a region corresponding to the information screen 15 and a region corresponding to the speedometer 12 in the tactile touch pad 10.

  FIG. 20 shows another example of display on the display 9 provided on the meter panel 11. FIG. 21 shows another example of occurrence of tactile sensation in the tactile touch pad 10.

  As shown in FIG. 20, the meter panel 11 is provided with a display 9 (displaying an information screen 15), a speedometer 12, and a warning lamp 18. Here, examples of the warning lamp 18 include a warning lamp for notifying that the gasoline has run out, a warning lamp for notifying that a puncture has occurred, and a warning lamp for notifying that the seat belt is not attached. Information about the warning lamp 18 is acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit 2 as vehicle information. In the example of FIG. 20, the leftmost warning lamp 18 is lit. The speedometer 12 and the information screen 15 are the same as the speedometer 12 and the information screen 15 shown in FIG. Further, instead of the warning lamp 18, an indicator lamp may be used.

  As shown in FIG. 21, the tactile touch pad 10 is provided with a warning light region 19 corresponding to the warning light 18 on the upper side, and the tactile sensation of the leftmost warning light region 19 is “moving rough”. The tactile sensation is “gritty”. The tactile sensation of the background area including the warning light area 19 is “smooth”. The operation icon area 17 and the area corresponding to the speedometer 12 are the same as the operation icon area 17 and the area corresponding to the speedometer 12 shown in FIG. By doing in this way, the user can grasp | ascertain which warning lamp 18 is lit by tactile sense.

  FIG. 22 shows another example of display on the display 9 provided on the meter panel 11. 23 to 26 show another example of the occurrence of tactile sensation in the tactile touch pad 10.

  As shown in FIG. 22, the meter panel 11 is provided with a display 9 (displaying an information screen 15), a speedometer 12, and a warning lamp 18. In addition, an operation icon 16, a mode display area 20, and a mode switching operation icon 21 are displayed on the information screen 15. The mode switching operation icon 21 is an icon that receives a tactile mode switching operation on the tactile touch pad 10. The mode display area 20 is an area for displaying the current tactile sensation mode. The speedometer 12 and the information screen 15 are the same as the speedometer 12 and the information screen 15 shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 23 to 26, the tactile touchpad 10 is provided with a mode switching operation icon region 22 corresponding to the mode switching operation icon 21. When the user touches the mode switching operation icon area 22, the mode is switched to each tactile sensation mode shown in FIGS. For example, the mode shown in FIG. 23 is a “decoding mode” that generates a tactile sensation corresponding to all information displayed on the display 9, and the mode shown in FIG. 24 is a tactile sensation corresponding to information displayed on the information screen 15. 25 is a “speed mode” that generates a tactile sensation corresponding to the speedometer 12, and a mode illustrated in FIG. 26 is a “speed mode” that generates a tactile sensation corresponding to the warning light 18. "Warning lamp mode". By doing in this way, the user can switch to a desired tactile mode.

  27 and 28 show another example of the occurrence of tactile sensation in the tactile touch pad 10.

  As shown in FIG. 27, in the tactile touch pad 10, the tactile sensation in the region 23 is “half rough”, and the tactile sensation in the region 24 is “smooth”. The left side of FIG. 27 shows that there is an icy road nearby, and the region 24 expands as shown on the right side of FIG. 27 as the frozen road approaches. Note that the frozen road information (road state information) is included in the road information acquired by the communication unit 14. By doing in this way, the user can grasp | ascertain that he is approaching the frozen road with a tactile sensation.

  As shown in FIG. 28, in the tactile touch pad 10, the tactile sensation in the region 25 is “half rough” and the tactile sensation in the region 26 is “moving rough”. The left side of FIG. 28 indicates that there is a strong wind area nearby, and the area 26 expands as shown on the right side of FIG. 28 as the strong wind area approaches. It is assumed that the strong wind area information is included in the weather information (weather condition information) acquired by the communication unit 14. Further, whether or not the wind is strong may be determined using a preset wind speed as a threshold value. In FIG. 28, when the wind is blowing from the right side (or left side) with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle, the region 26 moves from the right to the left (or from left to right) of the tactile touch pad 10. It may be. Further, the shape of the region 26 and the moving direction may be changed according to the wind direction. In this way, the user can grasp that he is approaching a strong wind area.

  Each tactile sensation described above may be combined with other tactile sensations as appropriate.

  From the above, according to the second embodiment, since the tactile sensation is controlled in accordance with information (weather information, road information) other than the vehicle information, the user displays the content displayed on the display unit 9 It becomes possible to recognize intuitively without concentrating the line of sight on the display device 9. That is, an operation that is convenient for the user can be performed.

  The tactile sensation control device described above is not only a vehicle navigation device, that is, a car navigation device, but also a PND (Portable Navigation Device) and a mobile communication terminal (for example, a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, etc.) that can be mounted on a vehicle. In addition, the present invention can also be applied to a navigation device constructed as a system by appropriately combining servers and the like or a device other than the navigation device. In this case, each function or each component of the tactile sensation control device is distributed and arranged in each function that constructs the system.

  Specifically, as an example, the function of the tactile sensation control device can be arranged in a server. For example, as shown in FIG. 29, a tactile sensation control system can be constructed by providing the display device 28 and the tactile touch pad 29 on the user side and providing the server 27 with at least the vehicle information acquisition unit 2 and the tactile sense control unit 3. . The functions of the vehicle information acquisition unit 2 and the tactile sensation control unit 3 are the same as the functions of the vehicle information acquisition unit 2 and the tactile sensation control unit 3 in FIG. Further, the server 27 may include each component as shown in FIGS. At this time, each component provided in the server 27 may be appropriately distributed and arranged in the server 27 and the display device 28.

  As another example, the function of the tactile sensation control device can be arranged in a server and a mobile communication terminal. For example, as shown in FIG. 30, a tactile sensation is provided by providing a display device 28 and a tactile touch pad 29 on the user side, providing the server 30 with at least the vehicle information acquisition unit 2, and providing the mobile communication terminal 31 with at least the tactile sensation control unit 3. A control system can be constructed. The functions of the vehicle information acquisition unit 2 and the tactile sensation control unit 3 are the same as the functions of the vehicle information acquisition unit 2 and the tactile sensation control unit 3 in FIG. Further, the server 30 and the mobile communication terminal 31 may include each component as shown in FIGS. At this time, each component provided in the server 30 and the mobile communication terminal 31 may be appropriately distributed and arranged in the display device 28, the server 30, and the mobile communication terminal 31.

  Even if it is a case where it is said structure, the effect similar to said embodiment is acquired.

  Further, software (tactile sensation control method) for executing the operation in the above-described embodiment may be incorporated in a server or a mobile communication terminal, for example.

  Specifically, as an example, the above-described tactile sensation control method is a tactile sensation control method for controlling the tactile sensation of the user when operating the operation surface of the touchpad, and is provided in (a) traveling of the vehicle or in the vehicle. A step of acquiring information relating to the device as vehicle information, and a step of (b) controlling the tactile sensation of the operation surface based on the vehicle information acquired in step (a).

  As described above, the same effects as those of the above-described embodiment can be obtained by operating the software that executes the operation of the above-described embodiment in a server or a mobile communication terminal.

  1, 7, 14, 29, and 30, the vehicle information acquisition unit 2, the tactile sensation control unit 3, the control unit 5, the display information generation output unit 6, the operation information acquisition unit 7, the speed limit determination unit 8, and the communication Each of the units 14 is realized by executing program processing using a CPU (Central Processing Unit) based on software. If possible, each of the vehicle information acquisition unit 2, the tactile sensation control unit 3, the control unit 5, the display information generation output unit 6, the operation information acquisition unit 7, the speed limit determination unit 8, and the communication unit 14 may be You may make it comprise as wear (For example, the arithmetic / processing circuit etc. which were comprised so that a specific calculation or process might be performed with respect to an electric signal). Further, both of the above may be mixed.

  It should be noted that the present invention can be freely combined with each other within the scope of the invention, and each embodiment can be appropriately modified or omitted.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Tactile sensation control device, 2 Vehicle information acquisition part, 3 Tactile sensation control part, 4 Tactile sensation control apparatus, 5 Control part, 6 Display information generation output part, 7 Operation information acquisition part, 8 Speed limit judgment part, 9 Display, 10 Touch Touchpad, 11 Meter panel, 12 Speedometer, 13 Touch control device, 14 Communication unit, 15 Information screen, 16 Operation icon, 17 Operation icon area, 18 Warning light, 19 Warning light area, 20 Mode display area, 21 Mode switching Operation icon, 22 Mode switching operation icon area, 23-26 area, 27 server, 28 display device, 29 tactile touchpad, 30 server, 31 mobile communication terminal.

Claims (16)

A tactile sensation control system that controls the tactile sensation of a user when operating the operation surface of the touchpad,
A vehicle information acquisition unit for acquiring, as vehicle information, information related to driving of the vehicle or equipment provided in the vehicle;
A tactile sensation control unit that controls the tactile sensation of the operation surface based on the vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit;
With
The vehicle information includes speed information of the vehicle,
The tactile sensation control unit controls the tactile sensation based on the speed information so that the speed at which the tactile sensation area moves changes according to the speed of the vehicle,
A speed limit determining unit for determining a speed limit of a road on which the vehicle travels;
The operation surface of the touchpad includes a tactile sensation region based on the speed of the vehicle, and a tactile sensation region based on the speed limit,
The tactile sensation control unit controls the tactile sensation so that a moving speed of a tactile sensation region based on the speed limit is constant according to the speed limit determined by the speed limit determination unit. A tactile sensation control system. The tactile sensation control system according to claim 1, wherein the tactile sensation control unit controls the tactile sensation so that a position of the tactile sensation changes with time. The tactile control unit, according to the speed of the vehicle becomes faster, areas of the touch based on the speed of the vehicle and controls the tactile so that the speed of movement is faster, according to claim 1 Tactile control system. The device is a display provided separately from the touchpad,
The tactile sensation control system according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle information acquisition unit acquires information displayed on the display as the vehicle information. The device is a display provided separately from the touchpad,
A display information generating unit that generates information to be displayed on the display;
The tactile sensation control unit controls the display information generation unit based on the vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit, and controls the tactile sensation based on the information displayed on the display. The tactile sensation control system according to claim 1 . An operation information acquisition unit that acquires, as operation information, information related to the user's operation on the touchpad from the touchpad;
The tactile sensation control system according to claim 5 , wherein the tactile sensation control unit controls the display information generation unit and the tactile sensation based on the operation information acquired by the operation information acquisition unit. The tactile sensation control system according to any one of claims 4 to 6 , wherein the indicator is a meter panel of the vehicle. The vehicle information includes a traveling control system information in the vehicle, and the body system information, characterized in that it comprises at least one of the state or information on the information device, any one of claims 1 7 The tactile sensation control system described in 1. The tactile sensation control system according to claim 7 , wherein the tactile sensation control unit controls the tactile sensation to be different depending on whether the indicator light or the warning light is displayed on the meter panel. Characterized in that it supported the position information on the display surface of the indicator is displayed, and the position of the area where the in the operation surface of the touch pad touch is applied, one of claims 5 to 9 The tactile sensation control system according to claim 1. The indicator is a meter panel of the vehicle;
The tactile sensation control system according to claim 10 , wherein the tactile sensation control unit controls the tactile sensation based on information displayed on the meter panel. In the case where an operation icon that accepts a switching operation of a plurality of modes with different types of information that gives the tactile sensation is displayed on the display,
The tactile sensation control system according to claim 5 or 10 , wherein the tactile sensation control unit controls the tactile sensation based on the information displayed on the display unit according to the switching of the mode. The tactile sensation control system according to claim 12 , wherein the display unit displays the current mode. A tactile sensation control method for controlling a tactile sensation of a user at the time of operation on an operation surface of a touch pad,
(A) a step of acquiring information relating to traveling of the vehicle or equipment provided in the vehicle as vehicle information;
(B) controlling the tactile sensation of the operation surface based on the vehicle information acquired in the step (a);
With
The vehicle information includes speed information of the vehicle,
The step (b) controls the tactile sensation so that the speed at which the tactile sensation region moves changes according to the speed of the vehicle based on the speed information.
(C) further comprising a step of determining a speed limit of a road on which the vehicle travels;
The operation surface of the touchpad includes a tactile sensation region based on the speed of the vehicle, and a tactile sensation region based on the speed limit,
In the step (b), the tactile sensation is controlled so that the moving speed of the tactile sensation region based on the speed limit is constant according to the speed limit determined in the step (c). And tactile sensation control method. The tactile sensation control method according to claim 14 , wherein the step (b) controls the tactile sensation so that a position of the tactile sensation changes with time. The step (b), according to the speed of the vehicle becomes faster, areas of the touch based on the speed of the vehicle and controls the tactile so that the speed of movement is faster, according to claim 14 Tactile feel control method.

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