JPH09258896A - Information display operating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information display operating device having superior operation environment. SOLUTION: A transparent protection cover 22 and transparent switch operating means CSW1 are arranged in an operating part 2 being rotation possible along an arrow A, the displaying of a display DP1 is made to be visible and also a touch switch which is provided in the display DP1 detects an input when the switch operating means CSW1 is depressed. The switch operating means CW1 are arranged in the peripheral parts of the displaying of the display DP1 so that an opaque material is arranged at the outside of the display DP1 and only a transparent material exists in the display DP1. By the configuration, a switch operation with an operating feeling is enabled while viewing the displaying of the display DP1. In result, the normal input by using the touch switch is executed in a state where an operating part 2 is open and superior operation environment where the sure switch operation is executed is obtained in the state where the operating part 2 is closed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a display such as a cathode ray tube or a liquid crystal display panel and an operation input associated therewith, such as a computerized notebook equipped with an arithmetic processing mechanism and a terminal used for information communication having a display. And an information display operation device having means.

[0002]

BACKGROUND ART Information display operation in which a user selectively inputs information based on the display of a display such as a cathode ray tube or a liquid crystal display panel such as an electronic notebook equipped with an arithmetic processing mechanism or a terminal for information communication. As a device, there are many devices in which a switch operation means is arranged outside a display. In such a device, the user can display desired information on the display or send an operation instruction signal to another device by selecting and pressing these switch operating means. It has become.

However, in the apparatus having such a form, since the display seen by the user and the switch operating means to be operated are apart from each other, the user can determine which switch operating means is desired. Must be searched for one by one, and in some cases, an incorrect operation may occur. In addition, it can be said that the operating environment is likely to cause an erroneous operation because the tendency to perform a tracing operation is increased.

Therefore, in order to clarify the correspondence between the display on the display and the switch operating means, a transparent touch switch is provided on the display and the user touches the display of the switch operating means on the display with a finger. There is an information display operation device which is detected by the touch switch and an appropriate input is given. An example of such an information display operation device is an automatic teller machine.

FIG. 14 shows such an information display operating device CP.
It is the figure which showed 101. A display ISW101 imitating a switch operating means is displayed on the display DP101, and the user presses the display ISW101 of this switch operating means with his / her finger FG as if it is a switch operating means having a mechanical mechanism. Device CP10
Input to 1 is performed.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a cross section of the device CP101 at the position of the display DP101. Transparent touch switch TP10 on display DP101
1 is provided so that the user can display DP101.
When the user tries to touch the display ISW101 of the switch operating means displayed in, the touch switch TP101 is actually touched, and as a result, the touch switch TP101.
Are designed to generate switching signals.

As described above, in the information display operation device CP101 using the touch switch TP101, the user presses the display of the desired switch operation means with his finger while watching the display ISW101 of the switch operation means displayed on the display DP101. Since the operation can be easily performed, erroneous operation can be reduced.

Further, by using a touch switch having a high resolution, not only a method of inputting an operation based on the display of the switch operating means but also a pen or the like to touch the touch switch to draw a figure or a character There is also a system that can be used in combination with a method of inputting operations.

[0009]

As described above, in the information display operating device in which the touch switch is provided on the display, the user can operate the switch while looking at the switch operating means. You can easily understand the relationship. Therefore, erroneous operations can be reduced. However, unlike a switch operating means that has a mechanical mechanism, a touch switch does not have the element of "pushing" in the switch operation, so there is no operation feeling of the switch operation. It has a problem of confirming. Further, since the touch switch is operated by directly touching the display with a finger or the like, there is also a problem that the display is immediately soiled.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides the switch operating means with a feeling of operation without impairing the operating environment using the touch switch, and as a result, information that enables reliable switch operation. An object is to provide a display operation device.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information display operation device having an information display function and an operation input function, wherein a transparent touch switch is provided on a display for displaying predetermined information. And a main body portion in which the display of the display is switched in response to the switching in the touch switch, and is arranged on the main body portion,
And an operating portion provided with a switch operating means for performing an operation on the touch switch by being displaced by a pressing force from the outside, wherein the switch operating means is on the peripheral portion of the display of the touch switch. And a portion overlapping with the display is transparent, and the operation portion is freely detachable from the surface of the main body portion.

The term "separable / separable" means that the operating portion and the main body portion are opposed to and are in contact with each other with the surface as a boundary reference, and from other states (for example, separation or a line or point is a boundary reference). It is possible to move to a state where they are in contact with each other).

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the information display operation device according to the first aspect, wherein the operation portion is hinged to an end portion of the main body portion.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided the information display operating device according to the first aspect, wherein the operating portion is detachable from the main body portion.

The term "detachable" means that the state in which the operating portion and the main body portion are in contact with each other can be changed to the completely separated state.

The invention according to claim 4 is the information display operating device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the switch operating means is provided in a portion of the operating portion which overlaps the display. The part that is not covered is a transparent protective cover.

[0017]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the outer appearance of an information display operating device CP1 which is an embodiment of the present invention. This device CP1 is composed of a main body 1 provided with a display DP1 formed of a liquid crystal panel, and an operation unit 2 arranged so as to cover the display DP1, and the display on the display DP1 is the operation unit 2
It can be seen through the transparent protective cover 22 and the transparent switch operating means CSW1 provided on the.

The operation unit 2 is provided with a plurality of switch operating means CSW1 one row each on the left and right, and an input is made by pressing the switch operating means CSW1. Further, the operation portion 2 is rotatable about the axis S, and when rotated in the direction of the arrow A, the operation portion 2 is opened as shown by a chain double-dashed line. When the operation unit 2 is opened,
As shown in FIG. 2, the display DP1 appears on the surface of the main body 1, but a resistive film type touch switch TP1 is provided on the display DP1 so that input can be performed using the pen P or the like. There is.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the switch operating means CSW1 taken in the direction of arrow BB when the operating portion 2 shown in FIG. 1 is closed. Display DP provided on main body 1
A touch switch TP1 is provided on the touch panel 1, and an operation unit 2 is arranged so as to cover the touch switch TP1.

The operation section 2 is provided with a switch operation means CSW1 so as to be held by the operation section body 21 and the transparent protective cover 22. Switch operating means CSW
1 is a transparent switch operation body 3 which is pressed by a finger FG.
1, a magnet 32 attached to the switch operation body 31,
And the magnetic metal plate 3 attached to the operation section body 21
3 is comprised. Further, in the normal unpressed state, as shown in FIG. 3A, the magnet 32 and the magnetic metal plate 33 are attracted by the magnetic interaction, and the switch operation body 31 is in a raised state. ing.

When the switch operating body 31 is pushed by the finger FG, the attracted magnet 32 and the magnetic metal plate 33 are separated from each other, and the switch operating body 31 rotates about the hinge portion H as shown in FIG. It is pushed down as shown in b). As a result, the switch operation body 31 comes into contact with the touch switch TP1 and the switching operation is detected.

At this time, the magnetic attraction force is large until the switch operating body 31 is pushed and starts to descend, and the attraction force is sharply reduced when the magnet 32 and the magnetic metal plate 33 are separated to some extent. By the action, the user can obtain a snap action or a click feeling that the switch operation body 31 cannot be stopped at a halfway position when the switch operation body 31 starts to descend, and a good operation feeling can be obtained.

Next, when the finger FG is released from the switch operating body 31, the switch operating body 31 is lifted by the attraction force of the magnet 32 and the magnetic metal plate 33, and the state shown in FIG.

As described above, the configuration of the device CP1 according to the present invention,
Having described the configuration and operating principle of the switch operating means CSW1, the usage pattern of the device CP1 will now be described.

Switch operation means CS in the device CP1
When inputting using W1, the switch operation is performed with the operation unit 2 closed. At this time, since the protective cover 22 and the switch operating body 31 are made of a transparent material, the user can see the display on the display DP1 through these transparent members. Further, the magnet 32 and the magnetic metal plate 33, which are opaque members constituting the switch operating means CSW1, are arranged so as to be hidden in the region E of the operation portion main body 21 shown in FIG. Switch operation means CSW is provided in the area where the display can be seen.
Only the transparent portion 1 is displayed, and the display on the display DP1 does not become hard to see. In order to simplify the following description, the outside of the display visible area of the display DP1 is referred to as the outside of the display DP1 and the display DP1.
The area on which the display of 1 is visible is referred to as the display DP1.

On the display DP1, predetermined information is displayed in the central portion, that is, in the area covered by the protective cover 22, and in the left and right peripheral portions of the display DP1, that is, in the area covered by the switch operating means CSW1,
A selection menu showing the function of each switch operating means CSW1 is displayed. An example of this display form is illustrated in FIG.
The user presses the switch operating means CSW1 which displays a desired function based on the displayed information, and inputs.

In such a switch operation, the user operates the switch operating means C while watching the display on the display DP1.
Since SW1 can be pushed, the correspondence between the display of the selection menu and the switch operating means CSW1 is clear,
It is possible to prevent erroneous operation.

Further, since the switch operating means CSW1 has a mechanical mechanism, it has a pushing amount, and has a feeling of operation as compared with an input system using only a touch switch, and reliable input is possible.

Furthermore, since the finger does not directly touch the touch switch TP1 on the display DP1, there is no problem that the touch switch TP1 becomes dirty.

When the switch operating means CSW1 is pressed,
The switch operation body 31 touches the touch switch TP1,
A switching signal is generated from the touch switch TP1. This signal is used to execute the function of the selection menu displayed at the position of the pressed switch operating means CSW1. For example, it is sent as a control signal to an external device, or used to switch the display of the display DP1 to another display including the display of the selection menu. FIG. 5 shows this state.

First, when the switch operating means CSW1 is pressed, a switching signal is sent from the touch switch TP1 to the input control means 41. The input control means 41 sends to the screen switching means 42 a signal indicating which switch operating means CSW1 has been pressed. If necessary, the screen switching unit 42 uses the other constituent elements inside the device such as a memory or image information from other devices outside the device to display control unit 4
The screen and the display of the display DP1 are changed via 3. Further, the screen switching means 42 outputs a signal to other components or devices as needed.

Further, by utilizing the fact that only the transparent member is present in the operation section 2 on the display DP1,
It is also possible to provide a menu called "screen enlargement" in the selection menu as shown in FIG. 4 and disregard the existence of the switch operating means CSW1 so as to enlarge and display the information on the entire screen as shown in FIG. This allows the display DP
The information display capability of 1 can be effectively used.

When the switch is not operated, the switch operating means CSW1 is opened by opening the operation unit 2 as shown in FIG.
Is separated from the display DP1 together with the operation unit 2, so that the touch switch TP1 on the display DP1 can be input using a pen P or the like in the same manner as an input using a normal touch switch. Therefore, the input using the touch switch TP1 is the switch operation means CSW.
It can be performed without being affected by the existence of 1.

As described above, in this device CP1, the transparent switch operating means CSW is provided on the peripheral portion of the display DP1.
By providing 1, the correspondence between the function display of the switch operating means and the switch operating means CSW1 can be clearly grasped, and the switch operating means CSW1 has a feeling of operation, which prevents erroneous operation and is reliable. Input becomes possible. Further, since there is no opaque member on the display DP1, the display is easy to see and the screen can be effectively used. Furthermore, since the switch operating means CSW1 is separated from the display together with the operating section 2, the operability of input using a pen or the like is not impaired.

Although the embodiment of the information display operation device according to the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and the following modifications are possible.

In the above embodiment, the display DP1
Although the switch operating means CSW1 is arranged on the left and right peripheral portions of the display DP1, the switch operating means CSW1 is not limited to the left and right peripheral portions, and if it is the peripheral portion of the display DP1, as shown in FIGS. May be placed in

The switch operating means CSW1 may have a structure in which a magnetic metal plate is attached to the switch operating body 31 and a magnet is attached to the operating portion body 21, or a magnet is attached instead of the magnetic metal plate. The return force may be obtained by utilizing the magnetic attraction force between the magnets.

Further, the switch operating means CSW1 does not have to be a switch operating means using a magnet, but may be any switch operating means having a mechanism having a feeling of operation. For example, the switch operating means C shown in FIG.
Like SW2, the switch operating body 3 is formed by using the leaf spring 34.
The configuration may be such that a return force of 1 is obtained.

The display is not limited to the liquid crystal panel, and may be a CRT display, an EL display, a plasma display or the like.

The touch switch is not limited to the resistance film type, and may be a capacitance type, photoelectric type, ultrasonic type or the like.

Further, the switch operating means CSW1 is not limited to the form having the hinge portion H, and the switch operating body 3
It may be a direct-acting type that moves up and down while holding the upper surface of 1 horizontally.

The opening / closing angle of the operating portion 2 is not limited to 180 °, but may be 90 °, and the operating portion 2 is connected to the main body portion by a mechanism using two links as shown in FIG. You may make it possible to rotate 360 degrees to the back of 1.

The operating section 2 does not always have to be integrated with the main body section 1, and may take any form as long as the switch operating means CSW1 is separated from the display. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the operation unit 2 may be vertically attachable / detachable, or as shown in FIG. 11, it may be configured to be slidably attached / detached.

Further, the operation section 2 may be rotated and separated from the main body section 1. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of this form. The main body 1 is provided with an axis SF, and the axis SF and the groove SL provided in the operating section 2 are linked. From the state ST1 in which the operation unit 2 is closed to the state ST
State ST4 when transitioning to the opened state ST3 via 2
The operation unit 2 can be separated from the main body 1 as shown in FIG.

Further, the switch operating means CSW1 does not have to be integrated with the operating portion 2, and for example, only the portion where the switch operating means CSW1 is arranged and the protective cover 22 are operated with the operating portion 2 closed. It may have a form in which it is detachable from 2.

Further, the operation section 2 may be opened and closed, and the central portion of the protective cover 22 may have a double opening / closing structure capable of being further opened and closed. In this case, it is effective in the case of using both the switch operating means and the input system such as a pen.

If the attraction force between the magnet 32 and the magnetic metal plate 33 in the switch operating means CSW1 is sufficiently large, the switch operating body 31 is provided with the hinge portion H formed on the touch switch TP as shown in FIG. It may have a hinge mechanism that rotates around the center.

Further, the device CP1 may be used alone such as a computerized notebook, or can communicate with an external device by radio using electric waves or light or by wire using a cable. It may be one that does. When communication is possible, the screen switching means 42 shown in FIG. 5 does not necessarily need to be stored in the device main body, and for example, the device CP1 is connected to a server which is the main information processing device to provide a screen switching function. You may leave it to the server.

[0049]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the invention, since the switch operating means is arranged on the peripheral portion of the display, an opaque member constituting the switch operating means can be arranged outside the display. Yes, only transparent members may be present on the display. Therefore, the switch operation can be performed while watching the selection menu showing the function of the switch operation means displayed at the position where the switch operation means is present, and it is possible to prevent an erroneous operation due to a tracing operation, etc. It is possible to have a certain configuration, and a reliable switch operation can be performed.

Further, since the switch operating means is transparent, the existence of the switch operating means can be ignored and the entire display can be effectively used.

Further, there is no possibility that the touch switch is directly touched by a finger and is contaminated.

Further, by making the operation section having the switch operation means detachable from the surface of the main body section, other input methods using a touch switch such as a pen input can be used together, and as a result, the touch switch. It is possible to obtain an excellent operating environment in which reliable switch operation can be performed without impairing the characteristics of.

Further, in the invention described in claim 2, since the operation part is hinged to the main body part, as in the invention described in claim 1, an excellent operating environment in which a reliable switch operation can be performed can be obtained. .

Further, in the invention according to claim 3, since the operating portion is detachable from the main body portion, as in the invention according to claim 1, an excellent operating environment in which a reliable switch operation can be performed. Is obtained.

Further, in the invention according to claim 4, since the transparent protective cover is provided in the operating portion, it is not necessary to separately provide a protective cover, and the protective cover and the switch operating means can be handled as one unit. In addition to the effect of the invention of claim 1, a better operating environment can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of an information display operating device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external view of an information display operation device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a switch operating means.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a display on a display.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an internal configuration of an information display operating device according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a display on a display.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of arrangement of switch operating means.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a switch operating means using a leaf spring.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing another opening / closing mode of the operation unit.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of how the operation unit is attached and detached.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of how the operation unit is attached and detached.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of how the operating unit is attached and detached.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of a switch operating means.

FIG. 14 is an external view of an information display operation device using only touch switches.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of a display and a touch switch.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Main Body 2 Operation Part 22 Protective Cover CP1 Information Display Operation Device CSW1 Switch Operation Means DP1 Display TP1 Touch Switch

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Toshihiro Fujita 1-31-3, Nishimiyahara, Yodogawa-ku, Osaka Izumi Electric Co., Ltd. Electric Co., Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An information display operation device having an information display function and an operation input function, comprising: a) a transparent touch switch provided on a display for displaying predetermined information, and the switching in the touch switch. And a switch operating means for arranging the display of the display in response to the touch switch, and b) being arranged on the main body and being displaced by an external pressing force to operate the touch switch. An operation section, wherein the switch operation means is arranged so as to overlap with a portion of the touch switch existing on a peripheral portion of the display, and a portion overlapping with the display is transparent, and An information display operating device, wherein the operating portion is freely detachable from and in contact with the surface of the main body portion. 2. The information display operation device according to claim 1, wherein the operation portion is hinged to an end portion of the main body portion. 3. The information display operation device according to claim 1, wherein the operation portion is detachable from the main body portion. 4. The information display operation device according to claim 1, wherein a part of the operation part that overlaps the display and is not provided with the switch operation means is transparent. An information display operation device, which is a protective cover of.