JP7118271B2 - Input control device, input device, and input control method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an input control device, an input device, and an input control method.

Since the driver of the vehicle cannot look at the screen of the display device while driving, the operation of the navigation device, etc., is performed by voice recognition or remote controller (hereinafter referred to as "remote control"). Restricted to operations that do not require attention. However, operations based on voice recognition have the problem of erroneously recognizing music being played in the vehicle or conversations with fellow passengers as utterances by the driver. In addition, there is a problem that the number of parts increases when using the remote control.

Therefore, in recent years, a touch sensor has been used as a means for the driver to operate the in-vehicle equipment without paying attention to the screen (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The touch sensor includes a touch panel integrated with a display device, a touch pad without a display device, and the like. The touch panel is installed on a dashboard or the like. A touch pad is installed on a steering wheel, an armrest, or the like.

WO2014/097499

In the haptic input/output device described in Patent Document 1, when three fingers of the driver are touched on the touch sensor, the video content that is installed in the vehicle is played at the first touched position. Assign the operation item "rewind" of the device, assign the operation item "play/pause" to the second touch position, and assign the operation item "fast forward" to the third touch position. assign. When the driver performs a "playback/pause" operation, the driver temporarily removes the second finger from the touch sensor while keeping the finger that touched the first and the finger that touched the third on the touch sensor. Tap input is performed by releasing and touching again within a predetermined time. The haptic input/output device determines that the touch position of the tap input corresponds to the second touch position, based on the relative positional relationship between the touch position of the tap input and the two touch positions that remain touched. is determined, and the operation item "play/pause" assigned to the second touch position is instructed to the video content playback device.

A conventional input control device such as that described in Patent Document 1 is configured to determine an operation item based on the relative positional relationship of a plurality of touch positions. If there is a large deviation from the touch position of the tap input, the relative positional relationship between the touch position of the tap input and the remaining two touch positions changes, and an erroneous determination of the operation item occurs. Also, when the driver taps the second finger and then taps the third finger, the relative positional relationship between the three touch positions changes. erroneous determination of operation items.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to prevent erroneous determination of operation items in an input device using a touch sensor.

An input control device according to the present invention includes a position acquisition unit that acquires information indicating a touch position detected by a touch sensor; A vibrating mechanism provided integrally with a touch sensor by switching a predetermined vibration pattern corresponding to each of the operation items on the first hierarchy of and different vibration patterns for each operation item on the first hierarchy. A vibration control unit that vibrates, a pressure acquisition unit that acquires information indicating the pressure detected by the pressure sensor integrated with the touch sensor, and a vibration mechanism that vibrates based on the information indicating the pressure acquired by the pressure acquisition unit. When the pressure on the first touch position is detected in this case, the vibration pattern corresponding to the vibration pattern of the vibrating mechanism when the pressure on the first touch position is detected is selected from among the operation items of the first hierarchy . a first determination unit that determines the operation item of the first layer; after the operation item of the first layer is determined by the first determination unit, the first touch is performed by the position acquisition unit while the first touch position is touched; When information indicating a second touch position different from the position is acquired, two regions are set with reference to the first touch position, and the determined first touch position is set for each of the two set regions. a second determination unit that associates an operation item of a second layer related to the operation item of the layer, and determines the operation item of the second layer associated with the area including the second touch position of the two areas; is provided.

According to the present invention, since the operation item of the second layer is determined based on the two areas set with the first touch position as a reference and the second touch position, the input device using the touch sensor It is possible to prevent erroneous determination of the operation item in.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an input device according to Embodiment 1; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing examples of operation items on the first layer and operation items on the second layer according to the first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state in which the middle finger, which is the first finger, touches the touch operation area of the touch sensor; FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a middle finger, which is the first finger, touches the touch operation area of the touch sensor and performs a pressing operation; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a method of dividing a touch operation area by a second finalizing unit according to Embodiment 1; FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating another example of a method of dividing the touch operation area by the second determining unit according to Embodiment 1; 4 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the input control device according to Embodiment 1; 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an input device according to Embodiment 1; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another example of the hardware configuration of the input device according to Embodiment 1; FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example in which the middle finger, which is the first finger, is slid in the arrow direction; FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a modification of the method of dividing the left side area and the right side area in FIG. 5; FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a modification of the method of dividing the left side region and the right side region in FIG. 6;

Hereinafter, in order to describe the present invention in more detail, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Embodiment 1.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an input device 1 according to Embodiment 1. As shown in FIG. The input device 1 includes a touch sensor 2 , a pressure sensor 3 , a vibration mechanism 4 and an input control device 10 . The input device 1 is mounted on a vehicle and connected to various in-vehicle equipment 20 mounted on the vehicle. A passenger's touch operation for operating the in-vehicle equipment 20 is input to the input device 1 . Below, a driver is assumed as an example of a passenger.

The touch sensor 2 is, for example, a touch panel integrated with a display device installed on the dashboard of the vehicle. Alternatively, the touch sensor 2 may be a touch pad or the like installed on the driver's armrest or steering wheel. The touch sensor 2 detects the position touched by the driver's finger.

The pressure sensor 3 is provided integrally with the touch sensor 2 . The pressure sensor 3 detects pressure applied to the touch sensor 2 .

The vibration mechanism 4 is provided integrally with the touch sensor 2 and the pressure sensor 3 . The vibration mechanism 4 vibrates the touch sensor 2 to provide information to the driver's finger touching the touch sensor 2 through the sense of touch. In the first embodiment, the information provided by the vibrating mechanism 4 is, for example, a first hierarchical operation item and a second hierarchical operation item for operating the in-vehicle equipment 20 . The operation items of the first hierarchy and the operation items of the second hierarchy will be described in detail in FIG.

The in-vehicle equipment 20 is equipment installed in the vehicle, such as an audio device, a roof controller, an air conditioner, or a navigation device.

The input control device 10 includes a position acquisition section 11 , a vibration control section 12 , a pressure acquisition section 13 , a first determination section 14 and a second determination section 15 .

The position acquisition unit 11 acquires information indicating the touch position detected by the touch sensor 2 from the touch sensor 2 . In Embodiment 1, it is assumed that the driver performs a touch operation using three fingers, and the position of the first finger (for example, the middle finger) that the driver first touches the touch sensor 2, that is, 1 The touch position detected by the touch sensor 2 for the first time is referred to as a "first touch position". Also, the position of the second finger (for example, either the index finger or the ring finger) that touched the touch sensor 2 second by the driver, that is, the second touch sensor 2 at a position different from the first touch position. The detected touch position is called a "second touch position". The position acquisition unit 11 outputs information indicating the first touch position to the vibration control unit 12 and outputs information indicating the second touch position to the second determination unit 15 . Information indicating the touch position is represented by an X-axis and Y-axis orthogonal coordinate system defined for the touch operation area configured by the touch sensor 2 . Below, the X-axis is the horizontal direction of the touch operation area, and the Y-axis is the vertical direction of the touch operation area. Further, in Embodiment 1, the position acquisition unit 11 includes not only the touch position but also the content of the touch operation such as the tap operation, the long press operation, and the flick operation in the information indicating the touch position.

When the vibration control unit 12 receives the information indicating the first touch position from the position acquisition unit 11, the vibration control unit 12 controls the vibration mechanism 4 to vibrate in a vibration pattern corresponding to the operation item on the first layer. Further, the vibration control unit 12 outputs information indicating the operation item of the first layer corresponding to the vibration pattern instructed to the vibration mechanism 4 and information indicating the first touch position to the first determination unit 14 .

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing examples of operation items on the first layer and operation items on the second layer according to the first embodiment. In the example of FIG. 2, the operation items in the first layer include music selection operation, volume operation and audio source operation of the audio device, roof opening/closing operation of the roof controller, temperature and air volume operation of the air conditioner, and display tilt adjustment of the navigation device. Includes operations. Further, each operation item on the first layer is associated with an operation item on the second layer. For example, four items of next track playback, fast-forward, previous track playback, and fast-rewind are associated with the music selection operation, which is the operation item of the first hierarchy, as the operation items of the second hierarchy.

The vibration control unit 12 stores in advance vibration patterns corresponding to the operation items of the first layer. For example, the vibration pattern corresponding to the "music selection operation" is one short vibration "bull". Further, for example, the vibration pattern corresponding to "volume operation" is two short vibrations of "blur". Further, for example, the vibration pattern corresponding to "audio source operation" is three short vibrations of "blur". Further, for example, the vibration pattern corresponding to the "roof opening/closing operation" is a combination of one long vibration and one short vibration called "bubble".

For example, when the vibration control unit 12 receives information indicating the first touch position from the position acquisition unit 11, the vibration control unit 12 switches the vibration pattern every predetermined time (for example, every second) to vibrate the vibration mechanism 4. Let When the in-vehicle equipment 20 is only an audio device, while the driver touches the touch sensor 2 with the first finger, the vibration control unit 12 controls the vibration mechanism 4 to vibrate the touch sensor 2 "blurring". 1 second after that, vibrate with "bubble", and after 1 second, vibrate with "bubble". The vibration control unit 12 may instruct the vibration mechanism 4 to repeat the vibration pattern of "bull", "bull-bull", and "bull-bull-bull".
When the driver recognizes the vibration of the vibration pattern corresponding to the desired operation item of the first layer, the driver moves the first finger touching the touch sensor 2 before the vibration of the next vibration pattern starts. An operation of pushing toward the touch sensor 2 is performed. By performing this pressing operation, the driver can select and confirm a desired operation item of the first hierarchy by the action of the pressure acquiring unit 13 and the first confirming unit 14, which will be described later.

Alternatively, when the vibration control unit 12 receives information indicating the first touch position from the position acquisition unit 11, each time the first touch position moves a predetermined distance, that is, the driver performs a flick operation. You may switch a vibration pattern each time.

Alternatively, when the vibration control unit 12 receives information indicating the first touch position from the position acquisition unit 11, the vibration control unit 12 may control the vibration mechanism 4 to vibrate in a vibration pattern corresponding to the first touch position. good. In this case, the touch operation area of the touch sensor 2 is divided into a plurality of areas, and one operation item of the first hierarchy and its vibration pattern are associated with one divided area. The vibration control unit 12 instructs the vibration mechanism 4 about the vibration pattern of the operation item of the first layer associated with the divided area including the first touch position.

The pressure acquisition unit 13 acquires information indicating the pressure detected by the pressure sensor 3 on the touch sensor 2 from the pressure sensor 3 and outputs the information to the first determination unit 14 . Note that the pressure acquisition unit 13 outputs information indicating the pressure to the first determination unit 14 when the pressure detected by the pressure sensor 3 is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold. The predetermined threshold value is a value for determining whether or not the driver has performed an operation of pushing his/her finger.

The first determination unit 14 receives, from the vibration control unit 12, information indicating the operation item of the first layer corresponding to the current vibration pattern and information indicating the first touch position. The first determination unit 14 also receives information indicating the pressure corresponding to the pressing operation at the first touch position from the pressure acquisition unit 13 . When receiving information indicating the pressure corresponding to the pressing operation from the vibration control unit 12, the first determination unit 14 determines the operation item of the first layer corresponding to the vibration pattern when the pressing operation is performed. First confirmation unit 14 outputs information indicating the confirmed operation item of the first layer and information indicating the first touch position to second confirmation unit 15 .

Note that the first determination unit 14 may vibrate the vibration mechanism 4 via the vibration control unit 12 in order to notify the driver that the operation item of the first hierarchy has been determined. In addition, in order to inform the driver that the operation item of the first hierarchy has been confirmed, the first confirmation unit 14 may display the name of the operation item of the first hierarchy that has been confirmed on a head-up display (not shown). Alternatively, a speaker (not shown) may output the name of the confirmed operation item of the first layer by voice.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state in which the middle finger 41, which is the first finger, touches the touch operation area 30 of the touch sensor 2. As shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which the middle finger 41, which is the first finger, touches the touch operation area 30 of the touch sensor 2 and performs a pressing operation. As shown in FIG. 3, when the driver touches the touch sensor 2 with the middle finger 41 and the vibrating mechanism 4 vibrates in a vibration pattern of "bull", as shown in FIG. Suppose that the middle finger 41 is pushed in order to confirm the operation item of the first hierarchy. In this case, the first determination unit 14 receives from the vibration control unit 12 information indicating the operation item “music selection operation” on the first layer corresponding to the vibration pattern “bull”. The first determination unit 14 also receives information indicating the pressure corresponding to the pressing operation at the first touch position from the pressure acquisition unit 13 . Then, the first confirming unit 14 confirms "music selection operation" as the operation item of the first layer.

Second confirmation unit 15 receives information indicating the confirmed operation item of the first layer and information indicating the first touch position from first confirmation unit 14 . Also, the second determination unit 15 receives information indicating the second touch position from the position acquisition unit 11 . Based on the information indicating the first touch position, the second determination unit 15 divides the touch operation area 30 of the touch sensor 2 into two areas with the first touch position as a reference. Then, the second determination unit 15 associates the operation items of the second layer as shown in FIG. 2 with each of the divided areas.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a method of dividing the touch operation area 30 by the second finalizing unit 15 according to the first embodiment. The second determination unit 15 sets the touch operation area 30 to the right side of the first touch position with reference to the Y-axis coordinate position (indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 5) included in the information indicating the first touch position. It is divided into an area 30R and a left area 30L on the left side of the first touch position. For example, when the operation item of the first hierarchy confirmed by the first confirmation unit 14 is "music selection operation", the second confirmation unit 15 selects the operation item "play next track" of the second hierarchy for the right area 30R. ' and 'Fast Forward' are associated with each other, and the operation items 'Previous Track Playback' and 'Fast Rewind' in the second hierarchy are associated with the left area 30L. "Play next track" associated with the right area 30R and "Play previous track" associated with the left area 30L are opposite operation contents. Similarly, "fast forward" associated with the right area 30R and "fast reverse" associated with the left area 30L are opposite operation contents.

When receiving the information indicating the second touch position from the position acquisition unit 11, the second determination unit 15, if the second touch position is the right region 30R, the second layer of the second layer associated with the right region 30R. Confirm the operation item. On the other hand, if the second touch position is in the left area 30L, the second confirming unit 15 confirms the operation item of the second layer associated with the left area 30L. In addition, when the operation item of the second layer changes according to the content of the touch operation as shown in FIG. It is sufficient to confirm the operation items of . The second determination unit 15 outputs information indicating the determined operation item of the second layer to the in-vehicle equipment 20 . When the in-vehicle equipment 20 receives the information indicating the operation item of the second hierarchy from the second determination unit 15, the in-vehicle equipment 20 executes the operation corresponding to the operation item of the second hierarchy.

As shown in FIG. 5, after the driver confirms the "music selection operation" as the operation item of the first layer, the middle finger 41, which is the first finger, is pressed (or touched) on the touch sensor 2. , the index finger 42 which is the second finger is tapped on the touch sensor 2 . In this case, since the second touch position is the right area 30R and the touch operation of the index finger 42, which is the second finger, is "tap", the second confirmation unit 15 determines "select music "Play next track" is determined as an operation item of the second hierarchy related to "Operation".

After the driver confirms the "music selection operation" as the operation item of the first layer, while pressing (or touching) the middle finger 41 as the first finger to the touch sensor 2, the ring finger as the second finger is pressed. Assume that 43 is long pressed on the touch sensor 2 . The ring finger 43 is indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. In this case, since the second touch position is the left region 30L and the touch operation of the ring finger 43, which is the second finger, is "long press", the second confirmation unit 15 determines " "Rewind" is determined as the operation item of the second hierarchy related to "music selection operation".

In addition, the second determination unit 15 may vibrate the vibration mechanism 4 via the vibration control unit 12 in order to notify the driver that the operation item of the second hierarchy has been determined. In addition, in order to inform the driver that the operation item of the second hierarchy has been confirmed, the second confirmation unit 15 may display the name of the operation item of the second hierarchy that has been confirmed on a head-up display (not shown). Alternatively, the name of the confirmed operation item of the second layer may be output by voice from a speaker (not shown).

The method of dividing the touch operation area 30 based on the first touch position is not limited to the method shown in FIG.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing another example of the method of dividing the touch operation area 30 by the second finalizing unit 15 according to the first embodiment. The example of FIG. 6 is based on the premise that the touch sensor 2 has the function of recognizing fingerprints. Second determination unit 15 acquires information indicating the touch position and fingerprint of middle finger 41 , which is the first finger, from touch sensor 2 via position acquisition unit 11 . Second determination unit 15 estimates the orientation of middle finger 41 based on the fingerprint of middle finger 41, and defines touch operation region 30 as left region 30L based on the estimated orientation of middle finger 41 (indicated by a dashed line in FIG. 6). It is divided into a right side area 30R.

Further, for example, the second determination unit 15 may acquire information indicating the touch position and touch area of the middle finger 41 that is the first finger from the touch sensor 2 via the position acquisition unit 11 . In this case, the second determination unit 15 estimates the touch shape 41a (indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 6) based on the touch area of the middle finger 41, and sets the longitudinal direction of the estimated touch shape 41a as the orientation of the middle finger 41. . Then, the second determination unit 15 divides the touch operation area 30 into the left area 30L and the right area 30R based on the direction of the middle finger 41 (indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 6).

Next, the operation of the input control device 10 will be described.
FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing an operation example of the input control device 10 according to the first embodiment. The input control device 10 repeats the operation shown in the flowchart of FIG.

In step ST<b>1 , the position acquisition section 11 acquires the first touch position from the touch sensor 2 . When the position acquisition unit 11 acquires the first touch position from the touch sensor 2, that is, when the driver's first finger touches the touch sensor 2 (step ST1 "YES"), the processing of the input control device 10 goes to step ST2. On the other hand, when the position acquisition unit 11 does not acquire the first touch position from the touch sensor 2, that is, when the driver's first finger does not touch the touch sensor 2 (step ST1 "NO"), The processing of the input control device 10 returns to step ST1.

In step ST2, the vibration control section 12 vibrates the vibrating mechanism 4 while switching the vibration pattern corresponding to the operation item of the first layer every predetermined time, for example.

In step ST<b>3 , the pressure acquisition unit 13 acquires the pressure at the first touch position from the pressure sensor 3 . When the pressure acquisition unit 13 acquires a pressure equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value from the pressure sensor 3, that is, when the driver presses the first finger (step ST3 "YES"), the processing of the input control device 10 is Go to step ST4. On the other hand, when the pressure acquisition unit 13 acquires a pressure less than the predetermined threshold from the pressure sensor 3, that is, when the driver does not press the first finger (step ST3 "NO"), the input control device 10 returns to step ST2. In this case, in step ST2, the vibration control unit 12 causes the vibration mechanism 4 to vibrate in a vibration pattern corresponding to the next operation item in the first hierarchy when the predetermined time has elapsed since the previous step ST2. .

In step ST4, the first determination unit 14, when receiving the information indicating the pressure from the pressure acquisition unit 13, selects the operation item of the first layer corresponding to the vibration pattern that the vibration control unit 12 instructs the vibration mechanism 4. confirm.
Also, at this time, the second determining unit 15 uses the information indicating the first touch position received from the first determining unit 14 to determine the left area 30L and the right area 30R based on the first touch position. , is set for the touch operation area 30 of the touch sensor 2 . Furthermore, the second confirming unit 15 associates the second hierarchical operation item related to the first hierarchical operation item confirmed by the first confirming unit 14 with the left area 30L and the right area 30R.

In step ST<b>5 , the position acquisition section 11 acquires the second touch position from the touch sensor 2 . When the position acquisition unit 11 acquires the second touch position from the touch sensor 2, that is, when the driver's second finger touches the touch sensor 2 (step ST5 "YES"), the processing of the input control device 10 goes to step ST6. On the other hand, if the position acquisition unit 11 does not acquire the second touch position from the touch sensor 2, that is, if the driver's second finger does not touch the touch sensor 2 (step ST5 "NO"), The processing of the input control device 10 proceeds to step ST7.

In step ST6, the second determination unit 15 receives information indicating the second touch position from the position acquisition unit 11, and associates it with the area including the second touch position in the left area 30L and the right area 30R. Confirm the operation items of the second layer. The second determination unit 15 outputs information indicating the determined operation item of the second layer to the in-vehicle equipment 20 .

In step ST7, the position acquisition unit 11 determines whether or not the touch of the first finger on the first touch position has ended. When the position acquisition unit 11 determines that the touch of the first finger on the first touch position has ended, that is, when the driver's first finger has left the touch sensor 2 (step ST7 "YES"). , the driver does not intend to operate the in-vehicle equipment 20 any more, so the processing of the input control device 10 ends.

On the other hand, when the position acquisition unit 11 determines that the first finger continues to touch the first touch position, that is, when the driver's first finger continues to touch the touch sensor 2 ("NO" in step ST7) Since the driver intends to continue operating the in-vehicle equipment 20, the processing of the input control device 10 returns to step ST5. In this case, in step ST5, the second determination unit 15 selects the operation item of the second layer corresponding to the second touch position newly acquired by the position acquisition unit 11 as the left area 30L set in step ST4. It is determined using the right area 30R. For example, when the driver wants to reproduce a track five songs ahead, the driver needs to repeat the tap operation with the second finger five times in the right region 30R. In this case, the second determination unit 15 uses the left region 30L and the right region 30R, which have been set with reference to the first tap position, every time the tap operation is performed with the second finger. Confirm “Play Track”. Therefore, even if tap operations are performed continuously, and even if the touch positions of those tap operations are displaced each time, the second touch position is within the right area 30R. A correct second-hierarchy operation item can be determined.

Next, the hardware configuration of the input device 1 according to Embodiment 1 will be described.
8 and 9 are diagrams showing hardware configuration examples of the input device 1 according to the first embodiment. The touch sensor 2, the pressure sensor 3, the vibration mechanism 4, and the input control device 10 that configure the input device 1 are connected by a bus 103 or the like. Functions of the position acquisition unit 11, the vibration control unit 12, the pressure acquisition unit 13, the first determination unit 14, and the second determination unit 15 in the input control device 10 are realized by a processing circuit. That is, the input control device 10 has a processing circuit for realizing the above functions. The processing circuit may be the processing circuit 100 as dedicated hardware, or the processor 101 that executes a program stored in the memory 102 .

As shown in FIG. 8, when the processing circuit is dedicated hardware, the processing circuit 100 may be, for example, a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). ), FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or a combination thereof. The functions of the position acquisition unit 11, the vibration control unit 12, the pressure acquisition unit 13, the first determination unit 14, and the second determination unit 15 may be realized by a plurality of processing circuits 100, or the functions of each unit may be combined into one. may be realized by one processing circuit 100. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 9, when the processing circuit is the processor 101, the functions of the position acquisition unit 11, the vibration control unit 12, the pressure acquisition unit 13, the first determination unit 14, and the second determination unit 15 are software, It is implemented by firmware or a combination of software and firmware. Software or firmware is written as a program and stored in memory 102 . The processor 101 reads out and executes programs stored in the memory 102 to achieve the functions of each unit. That is, the input control device 10 comprises a memory 102 for storing a program which, when executed by the processor 101, results in the steps shown in the flow chart of FIG. It can also be said that this program causes a computer to execute the procedures or methods of the position acquisition unit 11 , the vibration control unit 12 , the pressure acquisition unit 13 , the first determination unit 14 and the second determination unit 15 .

Here, the processor 101 is a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a processing device, an arithmetic device, a microprocessor, or the like.
The memory 102 may be a nonvolatile or volatile semiconductor memory such as RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), or flash memory, or a hard disk or flexible disk. or an optical disc such as a CD (Compact Disc) or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc).

Note that the functions of the position acquisition unit 11, the vibration control unit 12, the pressure acquisition unit 13, the first determination unit 14, and the second determination unit 15 are partly realized by dedicated hardware and partly by software or firmware. It may be realized by Thus, the processing circuitry in the input control device 10 can implement the above-described functions by hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof.

As described above, the input control device 10 according to Embodiment 1 includes the position acquisition unit 11, the vibration control unit 12, the pressure acquisition unit 13, the first determination unit 14, and the second determination unit 15. The position acquisition unit 11 acquires information indicating the touch position detected by the touch sensor 2 . When the position acquisition unit 11 acquires the information indicating the first touch position, the vibration control unit 12 operates the touch sensor 2 with a predetermined vibration pattern corresponding to a predetermined operation item on the first layer. vibrating the vibration mechanism 4 provided integrally with the . The pressure acquisition unit 13 acquires information indicating the pressure detected by the pressure sensor 3 provided integrally with the touch sensor 2 . Based on the information indicating the pressure acquired by the pressure acquisition unit 13, the first determination unit 14 detects the pressure on the first touch position when the vibration mechanism 4 vibrates. Confirm the corresponding operation item of the first layer. After the operation item of the first layer is confirmed by the first confirmation unit 14, the second confirmation unit 15 obtains the information indicating the second touch position different from the first touch position by the position acquisition unit 11. In this case, two areas are set with reference to the first touch position, and the second layer operation item related to the confirmed first layer operation item is associated with each of the two set areas. . Then, the second confirming unit 15 confirms the operation item of the second layer associated with the area including the second touch position of the two areas. In this way, the input control device 10 determines the operation item of the second layer based on the second touch position and the two areas set based on the first touch position. When the middle finger 41 of the left hand is touched and the right side thereof is touched with the index finger 42, the operation item of the second layer associated with the right region 30R is confirmed. The operation item of the second layer associated with the area 30L can be confirmed. Therefore, the input control device 10 can prevent erroneous determination of operation items in the input device 1 using the touch sensor 2 . In addition, since the driver can confirm the operation item of the first layer based on the vibration pattern of the finger, the driver can perform the touch operation without looking at the hand.

In Embodiment 1, an example is shown in which the middle finger 41 of the left hand is the first finger, and the index finger 42 and the ring finger 43 are the second fingers. is not limited to For example, the index finger of the left hand may be the first finger, and the thumb and middle finger may be the second fingers. Also, the hand that performs the touch operation may be the left hand or the right hand.

Further, the second determination unit 15 according to the first embodiment determines the contents of the operation items of the second layer associated with one of the left region 30L and the right region 30R, which are set based on the first touch position, and the operation items of the second hierarchy. , and the contents of the operation items of the second layer associated with the other right area 30R are reversed. The operation item of the second hierarchy determined by the touch operation of the finger adjacent to the right of the first finger and the touch operation of the finger adjacent to the left of the first finger is opposite such as "fast forward" and "fast reverse". The contents allow the driver to intuitively grasp the contents of the operation items of the second layer.

Further, the second determination unit 15 of Embodiment 1 may set the left area 30L and the right area 30R based on the direction of the first finger touching the first touch position. As a result, when the driver touches the touch sensor 2 obliquely or laterally, the input control device 10 displays the left region 30L and the right region 30L corresponding to the positional relationship between the first finger and the second finger. 30R can be set. Therefore, the input control device 10 can prevent erroneous determination of the operation item even when the driver touches the touch sensor 2 obliquely or laterally. In addition, since the driver does not have to worry about the positional relationship between the touch sensor 2 and his/her own hand, the driver can perform the touch operation without looking at the hand.

Further, the vibration control unit 12 of Embodiment 1 has information indicating a different vibration pattern for each operation item on the first layer, and vibrates the vibration mechanism 4 by switching the vibration pattern at predetermined time intervals. Alternatively, when the first touch position moves a predetermined distance, that is, when a flick operation is performed, the vibration control unit 12 switches the vibration pattern to vibrate the vibration mechanism 4 . With these configurations, the input control device 10 can provide the driver with information about the definable operation items of the first hierarchy according to the vibration pattern. Therefore, the driver can perform the touch operation without looking at his hand.

Next, a modified example of the input control device 10 according to Embodiment 1 will be described.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example in which the middle finger 41, which is the first finger, slides in the direction of the arrow. If the position where the middle finger 41, which is the first finger, is first touched at the end of the touch operation area 30, it is difficult to perform the touch operation with the second finger. Therefore, it is preferable that the middle finger 41, which is the first finger, can be slid to a position (the position of the middle finger 41A in FIG. 10) where the touch operation of the second finger is easy. In order to implement this configuration, the position acquisition unit 11 acquires information indicating the touch position of the middle finger 41</b>A after movement from the touch sensor 2 and outputs the information to the second determination unit 15 . The second determination unit 15 resets the left region 30L and the right region 30R based on the touch position of the middle finger 41A after movement. Thus, the second determining unit 15 always sets the left area 30L and the right area 30R based on the latest first touch position. Thereby, the driver can move the first finger to a position where it is easy to perform a touch operation with the second finger.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a modification of the method of dividing the left region 30L and the right region 30R in FIG. As shown in FIG. 11 , the second determination unit 15 sets the touch operation area 30 to the right side of the first touch position with reference to the Y-axis coordinate position included in the information indicating the first touch position. It is divided into an area 30R and a left area 30L on the left side of the first touch position. Further, the second determination unit 15 divides the left region 30L into a first region 30L-1 on the upper side and a second region 30L-1 on the lower side with reference to the X-axis coordinate position included in the information indicating the first touch position. 30L-2. Further, the second determination unit 15 divides the right region 30R into the upper third region 30R-1 and the lower fourth region with reference to the X-axis coordinate position included in the information indicating the first touch position. 30R-2. Subsequently, the second determination unit 15 assigns a large operation amount of the operation item of the second layer to the first area 30L-1 and the third area 30R-1, and the second area 30L-2 and the fourth area 30R -2 is assigned a small operation amount of the operation item of the second layer.

For example, the operation item on the first layer is "volume operation", the operation item on the second layer corresponding to the left area 30L is "volume down", and the operation item on the second layer corresponding to the right area 30R is " volume up". In this case, the second determination unit 15 allocates “two levels of volume down” to the first region 30L-1, and allocates “two levels of volume up” to the third region 30R-1. Further, the second determination unit 15 assigns “volume down by one step” to the second region 30L-2, and assigns “volume up by one step” to the fourth region 30R-2. As a result, when the driver touches the second finger above the first finger, the in-vehicle equipment 20 can perform an operation with a larger amount of operation, and the second finger touches the second finger below the first finger. When the finger is touched, the in-vehicle equipment 20 can be caused to perform an operation with a smaller amount of operation. In this example, the second determination unit 15 allocates a large amount of operation to the area above the first finger and allocates a small amount of operation to the area below the first finger. Conversely, a small operation amount may be assigned to the area above the first finger, and a large operation amount may be assigned to the area below the first finger.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a modification of the method of dividing the left region 30L and the right region 30R in FIG. As shown in FIG. 12 , the second determination unit 15 sets the touch operation region 30 to a right region 30R on the right side of the first touch position, based on the orientation of the first finger corresponding to the first touch position. and a left area 30L on the left side of the first touch position. Further, the second determination unit 15 divides the left region 30L into the upper first region 30L-1 and the lower second region 30L-2 with reference to the axis perpendicular to the direction of the first finger. split into In addition, the second determination unit 15 divides the right region 30R into the upper third region 30R-1 and the lower fourth region 30R-2 with reference to the axis orthogonal to the direction of the first finger. split into Subsequently, as in the example of FIG. 11, the second determination unit 15 assigns a large operation amount of the operation item of the second layer to the first region 30L-1 and the third region 30R-1, and 30L-2 and the fourth area 30R-2 are assigned small operation amounts of operation items of the second layer.

In the case of the division method shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the driver can see not only the operation items of the second hierarchy for executing the operation of the in-vehicle equipment 20 but also the operation amounts of the operation items of the second hierarchy. It can be easily touch operated. In addition, since the second determination unit 15 sets the first area 30L-1, the second area 30L-2, the third area 30R-1, and the fourth area 30R-2 based on the first touch position, The input control device 10 can prevent erroneous determination of operation items in the input device 1 using the touch sensor 2 .

It should be noted that, within the scope of the invention, any component of the embodiment can be modified, or any component of the embodiment can be omitted.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The input device according to the present invention enables a user to perform a touch operation without looking at his or her hand. Suitable for input devices such as touch pads installed on armrests or steering wheels.

1 input device,
2 touch sensor, 3 pressure sensor, 4 vibration mechanism, 10 input control device, 11 position acquisition unit, 12 vibration control unit, 13 pressure acquisition unit, 14 first determination unit, 15 second determination unit, 20 in-vehicle equipment, 30 touch Operation area 30L left area 30L-1 first area 30L-2 second area 30R right area 30R-1 third area 20R-2 fourth area 41, 41A middle finger 41a touch shape 42 index finger , 43 ring finger, 100 processing circuit, 101 processor, 102 memory, 103 bus.

Claims (9)

a position acquisition unit that acquires information indicating a touch position detected by the touch sensor;
When the information indicating the first touch position is acquired by the position acquisition unit, the vibration patterns are predetermined vibration patterns respectively corresponding to a plurality of predetermined operation items of the first hierarchy , and a vibration control unit that switches between different vibration patterns for each hierarchical operation item and vibrates a vibration mechanism provided integrally with the touch sensor;
a pressure acquisition unit that acquires information indicating the pressure detected by the pressure sensor provided integrally with the touch sensor;
When the pressure on the first touch position is detected when the vibration mechanism vibrates based on the information indicating the pressure acquired by the pressure acquisition unit , among the plurality of operation items of the first layer, a first determination unit that determines the operation item of the first hierarchy corresponding to the vibration pattern of the vibration mechanism when the pressure on the first touch position is detected ;
After the operation item of the first layer is confirmed by the first confirmation unit, a second touch position different from the first touch position is obtained by the position acquisition unit while the first touch position is touched. is obtained, two areas are set with reference to the first touch position, and each of the two set areas is related to the confirmed operation item of the first layer. a second determination unit that associates an operation item of a second hierarchy with the second touch position, and confirms the operation item of the second hierarchy that is associated with the area including the second touch position of the two areas. Device. The second determination unit determines the content of the operation item of the second hierarchy associated with one of the two areas set with reference to the first touch position, and the content of the operation item of the second hierarchy associated with the other area. 2. The input control device according to claim 1, wherein the contents of the operation items are opposite to those of the operation items. 2. The input control device according to claim 1, wherein the second determination unit sets the two areas based on the direction of a finger touching the first touch position. The vibration control unit has information indicating the vibration pattern that differs for each operation item of the first hierarchy, and switches the vibration pattern at predetermined time intervals to vibrate the vibration mechanism. The input control device according to claim 1. The vibration control unit has information indicating the vibration pattern that differs for each operation item on the first layer, and switches the vibration pattern to operate the vibration mechanism when the first touch position moves a predetermined distance. 2. An input control device according to claim 1, characterized in that it vibrates. 2. The input control according to claim 1, wherein when the first touch position moves, the second determination unit resets the two areas based on the first touch position after movement. Device. The second determination unit divides one of the two areas set with the first touch position as a reference into a first area and a second area with the first touch position as a reference. and assigning a large operation amount of the operation item of the second hierarchy associated with the one area to the first area and assigning a small operation amount to the second area, and assigning the other area to the first area. The touch position is divided into a third area and a fourth area, and a large operation amount of the operation item of the second layer associated with the other area is assigned to the third area, and a small operation amount is assigned to the third area. 3. The input control device according to claim 2, wherein the input control is assigned to the fourth area. a touch sensor;
a pressure sensor integrated with the touch sensor;
a vibration mechanism provided integrally with the touch sensor;
An input device comprising the input control device according to claim 1 . A position acquisition unit acquires information indicating a touch position detected by the touch sensor,
When the position acquisition unit acquires the information indicating the first touch position, the vibration control unit provides predetermined vibration patterns respectively corresponding to a plurality of predetermined operation items of the first hierarchy , and switching between different vibration patterns for each operation item of the first hierarchy to vibrate a vibration mechanism provided integrally with the touch sensor;
A pressure acquisition unit acquires information indicating a pressure detected by a pressure sensor provided integrally with the touch sensor,
When the first determination unit detects the pressure on the first touch position when the vibration mechanism vibrates based on the information indicating the pressure acquired by the pressure acquisition unit, a plurality of the first hierarchy determining, from among the operation items, the operation item of the first layer corresponding to the vibration pattern of the vibration mechanism when pressure is detected on the first touch position ;
After the operation item of the first layer is confirmed by the first confirmation unit, the second confirmation unit detects the first touch position by the position acquisition unit in a state where the first touch position is touched. When information indicating a different second touch position is acquired, two regions are set with reference to the first touch position, and the determined first touch position is set for each of the two set regions. An input control method for associating a second-layer operation item related to a hierarchical operation item, and determining the second-layer operation item associated with an area including the second touch position of the two areas. .

Images