JP6697991B2 - Input device, control method of input device, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an input device, a control method for the input device, and a program.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is an input device that informs a user that an input has been received by giving a tactile sensation to the user. In such an input device, a drive waveform applied to an element that vibrates an operation surface such as a touch pad is adjusted, and a tactile sensation given to a user is switched (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP, 2005-267080, A

  However, in the conventional input device, a high-performance microcomputer is required in order to precisely control the drive waveform, but the input device becomes expensive if such a microcomputer is mounted.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide an input device, a control method of the input device, and a program that can precisely control a drive waveform with an inexpensive configuration.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the present invention includes an oscillating element, a plurality of PWM circuits, an instruction section, and a waveform generation section in an input device. The vibrating element vibrates the operation surface. The instruction unit distributes the output of the PWM signal to each of the plurality of PWM circuits and gives an instruction. The waveform generation unit synthesizes the PWM signals output by the plurality of PWM circuits to generate a drive waveform to be applied to the vibrating element.

  According to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide an input device control method and program capable of precisely controlling a drive waveform with an inexpensive configuration.

FIG. 1A is a diagram showing an outline of an input device. FIG. 1B is a diagram showing an outline of a drive waveform generation method. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of mounting the input device. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the input device. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a relationship between a desired output pattern, an output cycle, and a duty ratio. FIG. 5A is a diagram (No. 1) showing a method of setting the start timing of the PWM circuit. FIG. 5B is a diagram (No. 2) showing the method of setting the start timing of the PWM circuit. FIG. 5C is a diagram (part 3) illustrating the method for setting the activation timing of the PWM circuit. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an arrangement example of the vibration elements of the input device. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of frequency correction. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure executed by the input device.

  Hereinafter, an input device, a control method of the input device, and a program disclosed in the present application will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below.

  First, the outline of the input device 1 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1A. FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating an outline of the input device 1. The input device 1 has an input device function such as a touch pad or a smartphone.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, the input device 1 includes an operation surface P and vibrating elements 31a to 31d. The vibrating elements 31a to 31d are, for example, piezoelectric elements and are fixed to the operation surface P with an adhesive or the like. The input device 1 can vibrate the operation surface P by driving the vibrating elements 31a to 31d to give vibration to the user's finger.

  Specifically, the input device 1 applies a drive waveform having a frequency in the ultrasonic range to the vibrating elements 31a to 31d, and vibrates the vibrating elements 31a to 31d to vibrate the operation surface P. In the following, the vibrating elements 31a to 31d may be collectively referred to as the vibrating element 31. The number and arrangement of the vibration elements 31 shown in FIG. 1A are examples, and the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the number of vibrating elements 31 may be three or less or five or more.

  When the input device 1 vibrates the vibrating element 31 in a state where the user's finger is in contact with the operation surface P, for example, the input device 1 can change the frictional force between the user's finger and the operation surface P.

  Then, by changing the frictional force, different tactile sensations can be given to the user's finger according to the frictional force. Note that the input device 1 can give the user a rough tactile feel, a slippery tactile feel, a click feel, and the like as such tactile feel.

  Here, the input device 1 adjusts the frequency of the drive waveform by controlling the output of a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) signal. In order to precisely adjust the frequency of such a drive waveform with an accuracy of 100 kHz, for example, a microcomputer having a high clock frequency is conventionally required. However, since such a microcomputer is expensive, if the microcomputer is mounted on the input device 1, the input device 1 also becomes expensive.

  Therefore, the input device 1 according to the present embodiment is configured to precisely control the drive waveform with an inexpensive configuration. The outline of the drive waveform generation method according to the present embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. 1B. The horizontal axis in FIG. 1B represents the passage of time.

  As shown in FIG. 1B, the input device 1 includes a first PWM circuit and a second PWM circuit. The same PWM circuit is used for the first PWM circuit and the second PWM circuit, and both PWM circuits have the same output cycle T1.

  Then, the input device 1 distributes the output instruction of the PWM signal to the first PWM circuit and the second PWM circuit. Specifically, for example, the input device 1 controls the first PWM circuit and the second PWM circuit to alternately output the PWM signals at different timings. In the figure, the period in which the first PWM circuit and the second PWM circuit output the PWM signal is hatched.

  Then, the input device 1 synthesizes the PWM signals output from the first PWM circuit and the second PWM circuit. As a result, the input device 1 obtains the combined PWM signal shown in FIG. Then, the input device 1 generates a drive waveform from the combined PWM signal and drives the vibration element 31 shown in FIG. 1A.

  Here, the output period T2 of the PWM signal after the combination can be set to half the time of the output period T1 before the combination. That is, since the input device 1 shares and outputs the PWM signals by the plurality of PWM circuits, the apparent output cycle T2 can be shortened. Therefore, the accuracy of adjusting the frequency of the drive waveform can be improved by the amount of the shortened output cycle.

  Specifically, as shown in the figure, the adjustable frequency width f1 of the drive waveform W1 generated by the input device 1 is generated when the number of PWM circuits (for example, the first PWM circuit) is one. It can be made shorter than the adjustable frequency width f2 of the drive waveform W2.

  In the example shown in the figure, the output cycle T2 is ½ of the output cycle T1, so the width f1 adjustable by the input device 1 is ½ of the width f2. That is, the input device 1 according to the present embodiment does not require an expensive microcomputer having a high clock frequency and can precisely control the frequency of the drive waveform.

  Therefore, the input device 1 according to the present embodiment can precisely control the drive waveform with an inexpensive configuration.

  In the above example, the number of PWM circuits is two, but the number of PWM circuits may be three or more. In such a case, the frequency of the drive waveform can be adjusted more precisely in proportion to the number of PWM circuits. Further, in the above-described example, the case where the input device 1 generates a sinusoidal drive waveform has been described, but the drive waveform may be a triangular wave or a pulse.

  Further, the input device 1 according to the present embodiment can activate each PWM signal at a desired timing even if the microcomputer has a low clock frequency. Details of this point will be described later with reference to FIGS. 5A to 5C.

  Further, in the input device 1, the optimum frequency of the drive waveform changes for each tactile sensation due to deterioration over time, temperature characteristics, or the like. Therefore, in the input device 1 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to suppress the deterioration due to aging, the change due to the temperature characteristic, and the like by correcting the drive waveform for each tactile sensation. Details of this point will be described later with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

  Next, an example of mounting the input device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a mounting example of the input device 1 according to the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, the input device 1 is mounted on a vehicle 100. Further, the input device 1 is connected to a navigation device 50 described later in FIG. 3 and functions as an input device of the navigation device 50.

  Further, the input device 1 is arranged such that the operation surface P is easily operated by the driver, for example, near the shift lever S of the center console. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the operation surface P is arranged between the armrest R and the shift lever S.

  By arranging the operation surface P in this way, the driver can easily operate the input device 1 without changing the posture. The navigation device 50 also includes, for example, a display unit 51 on the instrument panel. The display image displayed on the display unit 51 is, for example, a map showing a route to a destination, a moving image of a television, or the like.

  Although FIG. 2 shows the case where the operation surface P and the display unit 51 are separate bodies, the input device 1 may be a smartphone or a tablet terminal in which the operation surface P and the display unit 51 are integrally formed. it can.

  Next, the configuration of the input device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the input device 1. Note that FIG. 3 also shows the navigation device 50.

  As shown in the figure, the input device 1 includes a control unit 10, a storage unit 20, a vibration unit 30, and an operation surface P.

  The control unit 10 includes an operation detection unit 11, an instruction unit 12, a PWM circuit unit 13, a waveform generation unit 14, a voltage detection unit 15, and a selection unit 16. The storage unit 20 also stores a frequency correction program 21 and tactile frequency information 22.

  The control unit 10 includes, for example, a computer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), an HDD (Hard Desk Drive), an input/output port, and various circuits.

  The CPU of the computer, for example, reads out and executes the program stored in the ROM to operate the operation detection unit 11, the instruction unit 12, the PWM circuit unit 13, the waveform generation unit 14, the voltage detection unit 15, and the selection unit. Functions as the unit 16.

  Further, at least one or all of the operation detection unit 11, the instruction unit 12, the PWM circuit unit 13, the waveform generation unit 14, the voltage detection unit 15, and the selection unit 16 of the control unit 10 may be an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or FPGA ( It can also be configured with hardware such as Field Programmable Gate Array).

  The storage unit 20 corresponds to, for example, a ROM, a RAM, and an HDD. The ROM, RAM and HDD can store the frequency correction program 21 and the tactile frequency information 22. The control unit 10 may acquire various information via another computer or a portable recording medium connected by a wired or wireless network.

  The operation detection unit 11 of the control unit 10 detects a user operation based on a sensor value corresponding to the contact position input from the operation surface P, and outputs the detection result to the navigation device 50.

  The navigation device 50 changes the display image of the display unit 51 shown in FIG. 2, for example, based on the detection result. The navigation device 50 also outputs a vibration request to the instruction unit 12 of the input device 1 in response to a change in the display image, for example. The vibration request is, for example, an instruction to turn on/off the vibration of the vibrating element 31 and a tactile sensation given to the user.

  When the vibration request is input from the navigation device 50, the instruction unit 12 distributes and outputs the PWM signal output to each of the plurality of PWM circuits.

  Specifically, first, when the vibration request is input, the instruction unit 12 refers to the tactile frequency information 22 stored in the storage unit 20, and refers to the frequency of the drive waveform corresponding to the tactile feeling requested by the vibration request. Select.

  Then, the instruction unit 12 extracts the output pattern corresponding to the selected frequency from the tactile frequency information 22 and instructs the PWM circuit unit 13 to output the PWM signal with the output pattern.

  Here, conventionally, the microcomputer (corresponding to the control unit 10) needs to calculate the duty ratio every time the frequency of the drive waveform is changed. The calculation processing of the duty ratio needs to be performed in an extremely short time, and the processing load is high. For this reason, in the past, when trying to precisely control the drive waveform, a high-performance microcomputer capable of withstanding such arithmetic processing was required.

  Therefore, in the input device 1 according to the present embodiment, the duty ratio pattern for generating the drive waveform is fixed, and the output cycle of the first PWM circuit 13a and the second PWM circuit 13b is adjusted, whereby the frequency of the drive waveform is changed. I am going to adjust it.

  Specifically, the instruction unit 12 outputs the PWM signal with the duty ratio pattern based on the tactile frequency information 22 and the output cycle corresponding to the frequency of the desired drive waveform, and the first PWM circuit 13a and the second PWM circuit 13a. Instruct 13b.

  It is assumed that the tactile frequency information 22 stores relationship information indicating the relationship between the duty ratio pattern of the PWM signal for generating the drive waveform and the frequency of the drive waveform and the output cycle of the PWM circuit.

  By doing so, the control unit 10 does not have to calculate the duty ratio each time the output cycle is changed. Therefore, a high-performance microcomputer as described above is not required, and an inexpensive microcomputer (corresponding to the control unit 10) can precisely control the drive waveform.

  The output cycle of the PWM signal to be set in the first PWM circuit 13a and the second PWM circuit 13b and the duty ratio pattern (hereinafter referred to as the desired output pattern) are set to different values according to the number of PWM circuits of the input device 1. To be done. Details of this point will be described later with reference to FIG.

  In addition, the instruction unit 12 can correct the drive waveform for each tactile sensation by reading and executing the frequency correction program 21 stored in the storage unit 20 when the power of the input device 1 is turned on, for example. .. Details of this point will be described later with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

  The PWM circuit unit 13 includes a plurality of PWM circuits, generates a PWM signal according to an instruction from the instruction unit 12, and outputs the PWM signal to the waveform generation unit 14. In the example illustrated in FIG. 3, the PWM circuit unit 13 includes the first PWM circuit 13a and the second PWM circuit 13b.

  The waveform generation unit 14 synthesizes the PWM signals input from the PWM circuit unit 13 and generates a drive waveform to be applied to the vibrating element 31. Further, the waveform generation unit 14 outputs the generated drive waveform to the vibration unit 30.

  Specifically, the waveform generation unit 14 includes an OR synthesis circuit 14a and a sampling unit 14b. The OR synthesizing circuit 14a performs an OR synthesizing on the PWM signals sequentially output from the PWM circuit unit 13 and outputs the result to the sampling unit 14b.

  The sampling unit 14b performs AD conversion (sampling) on the PWM signal input from the OR synthesis circuit 14a and then smoothes the PWM signal to generate a drive waveform. In addition, the waveform generation unit 14 outputs the generated drive waveform to the vibration unit 30. In addition, in the input device 1, the sampling unit 14b performs sampling in accordance with the output cycle.

  The vibrating section 30 includes a first vibrating element 31a, a second vibrating element 31b, a third vibrating element 31c, and a fourth vibrating element 31d. Then, the vibrating element 31 vibrates the operation surface P by being driven by the drive waveform applied from the waveform generating unit 14.

  The vibrating element 31 also generates a voltage according to the vibration intensity of the operation surface P and outputs the voltage to the voltage detection unit 15. The voltage detection unit 15 detects the voltage value generated in the vibration element 31 and outputs it to the selection unit 16.

  The selection unit 16 selects the drive waveform having the highest voltage value detected by the voltage detection unit 15, and updates the tactile frequency information 22 in the storage unit 20. The details of the processing by the voltage detection unit 15 and the selection unit 16 will be described later with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

  Next, the correlation between the desired output pattern, the output cycle, and the duty ratio will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the correlation between the desired output pattern, the output cycle, and the duty ratio.

  As described above, in the input device 1, since the PWM signal is distributed and output by the plurality of PWM circuits, the output cycle and the duty ratio of each PWM circuit are set to different values according to the number of PWM circuits.

  Specifically, when there are two PWM circuits, the output cycle T1 is set to be twice as long as the output cycle T2 of the desired output pattern, as shown in FIG. Along with this, the duty ratio to be output by the first PWM circuit 13a and the second PWM circuit 13b is set to a value obtained by dividing each duty ratio of the desired output pattern into 1/2. In this case, the maximum value of the set duty ratio is 50%.

  In this way, by setting the output cycle T1 to a time twice as long as the output cycle T2, there is no deviation between the output cycle T1 and the output cycle T2. Therefore, the desired output pattern can be accurately reproduced by the PWM signals output from the first PWM circuit 13a and the second PWM circuit 13b.

  Further, FIG. 4 shows the case where there are two PMW circuits, but the output cycle and the duty ratio are set to different values according to the number of PWM circuits. Specifically, when the number of PWM circuits is n (n is an integer of 2 or more), the output cycle is n times the output cycle T2 of the desired output pattern, and the duty ratio is 1 of the duty ratio of the desired output pattern. It is set as a value divided into /n.

  Thus, in the input device 1, the output cycle and the duty ratio of each PWM circuit can be easily set according to the number of PWM circuits. This makes it possible to easily set the output cycle and the duty ratio when manufacturing the input device 1 having different numbers of PWM circuits.

  Next, a method of setting the start timing of the PWM circuit will be described with reference to FIGS. 5A to 5C. 5A to 5C are diagrams showing a method of setting the start timing of the output cycle of the PWM circuit. The input device 1 can activate the PWM circuit by using any of the following methods.

  First, with reference to FIG. 5A, a case where the output period of each PWM circuit is delayed by the delay activation unit 17 will be described. As shown in FIG. 5A, the input device 1 further includes a delay starting unit 17 in the path between the instruction unit 12 and the second PWM circuit 13b. The delay activation unit 17 includes, for example, a delay circuit.

  Here, the delay activation unit 17 is set so as to delay the instruction input from the instruction unit 12 by half the output period and output the instruction to the second PWM circuit 13b.

  Therefore, as shown in the figure, the second PWM circuit 13b is activated later than the first PWM circuit 13a by half the output cycle. Thereby, the instruction unit 12 can instruct the first PWM circuit 13a and the second PWM circuit 13b at the same timing.

  Then, the second PWM circuit 13b outputs the PWM signal delayed by 1/2 of the output cycle from the output of the PWM signal of the first PWM circuit 13a, so that the desired output pattern shown in FIG. 4 is reproducible. It can output well.

  When the number of PWM circuits is three or more, the delay starting unit 17 is provided in each of the paths between the instruction unit 12 and the PWM circuit, and the delay starting unit 17 sets the output cycle of each PWM circuit to 1/of the output cycle. Delay activation may be performed by n (n is the number of PWM circuits).

  Next, with reference to FIG. 5B, a case where each PWM circuit is delayed and activated without the delay activation unit 17 shown in FIG. 5A will be described. In the example shown in FIG. 5B, the instruction unit 12 instructs the PWM circuit unit 13 to output the PWM signal separately for the timing adjustment mode and the generation mode.

  Specifically, in the timing adjustment mode, the instructing unit 12 instructs the first PWM circuit 13a to output the PWM signal with ½ of the output cycle of the PWM circuit, that is, the duty ratio of 50% as the initial duty ratio.

  At this time, the instruction unit 12 instructs the second PWM circuit 13b to detect the falling edge of the edge of the PWM signal of the first PWM circuit 13a and activate it. Further, the instruction unit 12 gives an instruction with the initial duty ratio of the second PWM circuit 13b set to 0%.

  By doing so, the second PWM circuit 13b is activated with a delay of half the output period from the first PWM circuit 13a. After that, the mode shifts to the generation mode, and the first PWM circuit 13a and the second PWM circuit 13b output the desired PWM signal.

  As described above, in the example shown in FIG. 5B, the trailing edge of the PWM signal output from the first PWM circuit 13a is detected, and the output cycle of the second PWM circuit 13b is activated. As a result, each PWM circuit can be started accurately at a desired timing.

  By setting the initial value to a different value depending on the number of PWM circuits, each PWM circuit can be delayed and activated even when the number of PWM circuits is three or more. Specifically, when the number of PWM circuits is n, the value obtained by dividing the output cycle by n is set as the initial duty ratio.

  Then, the instruction unit 12 sequentially instructs each PWM circuit to detect the falling edge of the edge of the PWM signal output by the previous PWM circuit at the initial duty ratio and activate the PWM signal. As a result, each PMW circuit can be activated by shifting the output cycle by 1/n.

  In FIG. 5B, the case where the falling edge of the edge is detected and the delayed activation is performed has been described, but the rising edge of the edge may be detected and the output cycle of the next PWM circuit may be activated. In this case, the pulse of the PWM signal may be output at the end of the output cycle, and the initial duty ratio may be set so that the PWM signal is output from the time of 1/n of the output cycle.

  Next, a case where the first PWM circuit 13a and the second PWM circuit 13b are simultaneously activated will be described with reference to FIG. 5C.

  As shown in the figure, the instruction unit 12 simultaneously activates the first PWM circuit 13a and the second PWM circuit 13b. Then, the instructing unit 12 instructs the first PWM circuit 13a to output the pulse at the front end of the output cycle and the second PWM circuit 13b to output the pulse at the rear end of the output cycle.

  In this case, immediately after the second PWM circuit 13b stops outputting the PWM signal, the first PWM circuit 13a starts outputting the PWM signal. Therefore, the PWM signal synthesized by the OR synthesizing circuit 14a deviates from the desired output pattern.

  However, since the instruction unit 12 can instruct each PWM circuit at the same timing, the timing at which each PWM circuit is activated can be accurately set.

  Further, in the example shown in FIGS. 5B and 5C, as shown in FIG. 5A, the delay starting unit 17 and the like are not separately required. Therefore, the development cost and the manufacturing cost can be suppressed by the amount of the delayed activation unit 17.

  Next, an application example of the drive waveform generation method will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a driving state of the vibration element 31. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a selection process performed by the selection unit 16.

  Further, the operation described below is executed by the control unit 10 reading the frequency correction program 21 shown in FIG. 3 at an arbitrary timing, for example, at the time of manufacture, at the time of shipment, and at the time of starting the power supply of the input device 1.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 10 applies, for example, a drive waveform to the first vibrating element 31a and the fourth vibrating element 31d, and controls the voltage generated in the second vibrating element 31b and the third vibrating element 31c. To detect.

  That is, the control unit 10 detects the voltage generated in the second vibrating element 31b and the third vibrating element 31c while the operation surface P is vibrated by the first vibrating element 31a and the fourth vibrating element 31d.

  In this case, a voltage is generated in the second vibrating element 31b and the third vibrating element 31c according to the vibration intensity of the operation surface P. Further, in the input device 1, the higher the vibration intensity of the operation surface P in the predetermined frequency range, the more the user can feel the desired tactile sensation.

  Therefore, the control unit 10 generates a drive waveform for each predetermined frequency in a frequency region that differs for each tactile sensation and vibrates the vibration element 31. Then, the voltage value corresponding to the frequency of the drive waveform is detected, and the frequency having such a high voltage value is selected.

  Specifically, the frequency range that gives a slippery feel is, for example, 20 to 40 KHz (hereinafter, referred to as a first frequency range), and the frequency range that gives a click feeling is, for example, 100 to 200 kHz (hereinafter, the second frequency range). Area).

  Then, the control unit 10 executes the frequency correction program 21 to generate a drive waveform for each predetermined frequency in the first frequency region and the second frequency region, and applies the drive waveform to the first vibrating element 31a and the fourth vibrating element 31d. . Then, the voltage detection unit 15 detects the voltage generated in the second vibrating element 31b and the third vibrating element 31c, and outputs the voltage to the selection unit 16.

  The upper diagram of FIG. 7 schematically shows the drive waveform generated by the input device 1, and the lower diagram of FIG. 7 schematically shows the correlation between the frequency and the voltage value detected by the voltage detection unit 15. There is.

  In the example shown in the lower diagram of FIG. 7, the voltage value is highest at the frequency f4 Hz. Therefore, in this case, the selection unit 16 selects the frequency f4 Hz as the optimum frequency.

  After that, the selection unit 16 compares the selected frequency with the frequency set in the tactile frequency information 22. As a result of the comparison, when both frequencies are different, the frequency of the tactile frequency information 22 is corrected to the selected frequency.

  As a result, in the input device 1, it is possible to set the optimum drive waveform frequency for each tactile sensation. Further, as described above, since the input device 1 can precisely adjust the frequency of the drive waveform, the frequency of the drive waveform can be finely scrutinized. Therefore, the optimum frequency for the tactile sensation can be accurately corrected.

  Next, a processing procedure executed by the input device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure executed by the input device 1 according to the present embodiment. The processing procedure shown in FIG. 8 is executed by the control unit 10.

  As shown in FIG. 8, first, the control unit 10 of the input device 1 determines whether it is the execution timing of the frequency correction program 21 (step S101). In this determination, if it is the timing to execute the frequency correction program 21 (step S101, Yes), the instruction unit 12 changes the output cycle of the PWM circuit with respect to the PWM circuit unit 13, and performs PWM with a duty ratio of a fixed pattern. The output of the signal is instructed (step S102).

  On the other hand, in the determination of step S101, when it is not the timing to execute the frequency correction program 21 (step S101, No), the control unit 10 ends the process.

  After step S102, the PWM circuit unit 13 outputs the PWM signal based on the instruction from the instruction unit 12, and the OR synthesizing circuit 14a synthesizes the PWM signals (step S103). Subsequently, the sampling unit 14b generates a drive waveform from the combined PWM signal and applies it to the vibrating element 31 (step S104).

  Subsequently, the voltage detection unit 15 detects the voltage value generated in the vibrating element 31 according to the vibration of the operation surface P (step S105). Then, the control unit 10 determines whether or not the voltage detection process in the predetermined frequency region has been completed (step S106).

  When the voltage detection process is completed in this determination (Yes in step S106), the selection unit 16 selects the frequency having the highest voltage value in the predetermined frequency region (step S107).

  Then, the selection unit 16 corrects the tactile frequency information 22 based on the selected frequency (step S108), and ends the process. In addition, in the determination of step S106, when the voltage detection process is not completed (step S106, No), the control unit 10 repeats the process of step S102 and the subsequent steps.

  As described above, the input device 1 according to the present embodiment includes the vibration element 31 that vibrates the operation surface P, a plurality of PWM circuits, the instruction unit 12, and the waveform generation unit 14. The vibrating element 31 vibrates the operation surface P. The instruction unit 12 distributes the output of the PWM signal to each of the plurality of PWM circuits and gives an instruction. The waveform generation unit 14 synthesizes the PWM signals output by each of the plurality of PWM circuits to generate a drive waveform to be applied to the vibrating element 31. Therefore, according to the input device 1 according to the present embodiment, the drive waveform can be precisely controlled with an inexpensive configuration.

  Further effects and modifications can be easily derived by those skilled in the art. Therefore, the broader aspects of the present invention are not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments shown and described above. Accordingly, various changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Input device 10 Control part 11 Operation detection part 12 Instruction part 13 PWM circuit part 13a 1st PWM circuit 13b 2nd PWM circuit 14 Waveform generation part 14a OR synthesis circuit 14b Sampling part 15 Voltage detection part 16 Selection part 31 Oscillating element P Operation surface

Claims (9)

A vibration element that vibrates the operation surface,
A plurality of PWM circuits,
An instructing unit for distributing and instructing the output of the PWM signal to each of the plurality of PWM circuits;
A waveform generation unit that synthesizes the PWM signals respectively output by the plurality of PWM circuits and generates a drive waveform to be applied to the vibrating element. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the output cycle of the PWM circuit is set to a time obtained by multiplying a desired cycle by the number of the PWM circuits. A duty ratio pattern of the PWM signal for generating the drive waveform; and a storage unit that stores relationship information indicating a relationship between the frequency of the drive waveform and the output cycle of the PWM circuit,
The instruction unit is
3. The PWM circuit is instructed to output the PWM signal with the output cycle determined based on the relation information and the frequency of the drive waveform and the duty ratio pattern. Input device. The input device according to claim 3, further comprising a delay starter that delays the output cycle of the PWM circuit by a time period divided by the number of the PWM circuits and sequentially starts the plurality of PWM circuits. The instruction unit is
The output cycle is set to a value corresponding to the number of the PWM circuits as an initial duty ratio to start one of the PWM circuits, and a rise or a fall of the PWM signal output from the PWM circuit at the initial duty ratio is detected. The input device according to claim 3, wherein another instruction to activate the other PWM circuit is sequentially repeated. The instruction unit is
When the number of the PWM circuits is two, the output cycles of the PWM circuits are simultaneously activated, one of the PWM circuits outputs a pulse at the front end of the output cycle, and the other PWM circuit outputs the pulse. The input device according to claim 3, wherein the instruction is made to output the pulse at the end of the cycle. The vibrating element is
At least two or more,
A voltage detection unit that detects a voltage value output from the remaining vibrating element in a state where a part of the vibrating element vibrates the operation surface by the drive waveform generated by the waveform generating unit,
The input device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising: a selection unit that selects the drive waveform having the highest voltage value detected by the voltage detection unit. An instructing step of distributing the output of the PWM signal to each of the plurality of PWM circuits and instructing;
A waveform generating step of synthesizing the PWM signals respectively output by the plurality of PWM circuits and generating a drive waveform to be applied to a vibrating element that vibrates the operation surface. An instruction procedure for distributing and instructing the output of the PWM signal to each of the plurality of PWM circuits;
A program for causing a computer to execute a waveform generation procedure of synthesizing the PWM signals respectively output by the plurality of PWM circuits and generating a drive waveform to be applied to a vibrating element that vibrates the operation surface.

Images