JPH10105332A - Touch panel device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To vary a pressure feeling in the case that an operator touches by counting time that the operator keeps touching a touch panel and selecting the time to be counted in the case of responding to the operator that the touch panel is touched. SOLUTION: A touch panel driving device 2 drives the touch panel 1 not provided with a pressure detector. A touch data detector 3 detects a touched state. A touch coordinate information measurement device 4 obtains a coordinate in the case that the operator touches by combining respective signals from the touch panel driving device 2 and the touch data detector 3 and measuring a coordinate position. Also, a touch continuation counting device 5 counts and measures a time period that the operator touches. Then, a touch detection output device 6 compares the duration of touching and the time set beforehand and outputs to a touch detection output terminal 9 that touching is performed in the case of exceeding the set time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a touch panel device, and more particularly to a touch panel device operated by using a touch-type input device capable of directly indicating coordinates on a display.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to operate a conventional touch panel device, a push button that opens and closes mechanical or electrical contacts by applying mechanical pressure has been used. However, recently, an input operation device capable of directly indicating coordinates on a display has been increasingly used. In particular, the touch panel has a small visual difference between the operation status display portion and the operation buttons, and can provide a complicated and detailed operation status display, an input operation portion with a switch display, and the like. The spread is remarkable because it can be replaced.

[0003] The types of structural principles of this touch panel device are roughly classified into the following three types, and it is impossible to dynamically change the touch detection pressure in any of these types.
The detectable pressure value is fixed depending on the characteristics of the device. Depending on the type, it is possible to set the pressure value to the target value by using a paranuter in the manufacturing process.
It cannot be dynamically changed by the operator.

[0006] Resistive film type: As shown in FIG. 6, between two opposing first and second films 20 and 21,
It has a configuration in which dots 22 are arranged at regular intervals so that the films do not normally contact each other.
And the second resistive films 20 and 21 are in contact with each other, and the touch position is detected by measuring the resistance value of the contact portion.

LED type: As shown in FIG.
It has a configuration in which 31, 32 and light receiving photodiodes 33, 34 are arranged in the X and Y axis directions, and detects that light has been blocked by an operator's finger in a state where light scanning has been performed, thereby detecting that a touch has been made.

Acoustic type: As shown in FIG. 8, an ultrasonic oscillator 41 and an acoustic sensor 42 are arranged on a transparent acoustic wave resonance plate 43, and a change in resonance frequency due to a touch on the resonance plate 43 is detected. The touch position is detected by measuring.

FIG. 9 shows a remote control device for operating the turntable 91 by the control unit 92 using the touch panel 93. FIG. 10 is a design diagram of the operation surface displayed on the screen of the touch panel 93 of the remote control device shown in FIG.

In FIG. 10, a display unit 101 is a three-dimensional graphic display of the current state of the turntable 91, and indicates that the display unit 101 is located at the origin of a rotation angle of 0 degrees. The graphic display is very effective in intuitively recognizing in which direction the turntable 91 is facing and how much, but it is necessary to know physical absolute angle information when working. The display unit 102 displays the current rotation angle of the turntable numerically.
Indicates that it is currently 0 degrees. Next, the display units 103, 1
The rotation direction button 03 ′ is a button display for operating the turntable 91. By pressing the button, the rotation direction button can be turned to the left and right, respectively, to start rotation. The display unit 104
This is a button display for stopping the operation of the turntable 91.

At this time, according to the rotation angle of the turntable 91,
The graphic turntable shown on the display unit 101 is displayed in a rotated form. On the other display unit 102, the rotated angle is displayed as a numerical value. In this apparatus, there is another method of rotating the turntable 91, in which an absolute value of the rotation angle is further designated. The display unit 105 has a numerical button for inputting a numerical value of the rotation angle, and is generally called a numeric keypad. The display unit 106 displays a numerical value input from the numeric keypad. The display unit 107 is a button for clearing the input numerical value at a stroke, and is used for canceling an erroneous input or the like. The display unit 108 is a button for activating the turntable 91 based on the data input with the angle using this numerical value.
The turntable 91 up to the angle specified by the instruction of the control unit 92
There is a function to rotate and stop.

Considering the priority of the buttons operated on the surface of the touch panel 93 in this embodiment based on the importance of general operations and comfortable operability, the start button of the numerical turntable of the display unit 108> display The stop button of the turntable of the unit 104-the right and left start button of the turntable of the display unit 103-the numerical value clear button of the display unit 107-the display unit 10
This is the order of the 5 numeric buttons. Numerical values are frequently pressed quickly, and when starting the rotation start, the operation is carefully and carefully determined, and then the operation is heavy, slow, and reliable. In the sense of evoking the weight of these operations,
It is common practice to properly use the size, color, shape, and the like of the displayed button depending on the button.

However, as described above, in the case of a touch panel having no mechanism for detecting the touched pressure, the pressure detected by touching is always a fixed value. Operation becomes slower, and the burden on the operator's finger also increases.
On the other hand, when the detection pressure is made smaller, it is conceivable that the turntable start button or the like may be easily operated and erroneously operated. As a configuration for preventing this erroneous operation, a button to be activated is separately provided other than the touch panel, and a method of simultaneously pressing two places and a method of inputting an operation and operating the operation are described.
Although there is a method of performing two behavior operations divided into times, both methods have poor operability as compared with an operation plate manufactured by mechanical push buttons.

The coordinate input confirming method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 62-233823 counts the directly instructed duration, for example, if the count value exceeds one second, validates the input, In the case of less than one second, it is determined that the operation has been invalidated or canceled, and the determination of the two-behavior operation is determined based on the time of continuing to touch, so that only one behavior is completed. The degree of improvement in operability does not reach that of conventional push buttons.

On the other hand, a touch panel device to which a pressure detecting mechanism is added is also disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 07-064725, in which a touch force is detected from a capacitance value between two opposing conductive panels. I do.

In a resistive tablet disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 06-139004, a touch force is detected by determining a contact resistance value at which opposing resistive films are in contact with each other.

Further, in the touch panel control system disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 02-050217, a pressure detector is added.

The touch panel disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-257824 has a pressure sensing element added to a touch panel plate.

[0017] Since each of these devices has a physical pressure detecting mechanism, there is a disadvantage in that it is generally more expensive than the above-mentioned touch panel device having no pressure detector.

A method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-233823 as a method of confirming the coordinate input of a CRT device is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-233823. In a CRT device that performs operations while interacting with each other, the input device counts a one-second duration in which coordinates on the display are directly instructed, and the coordinate input by the input device is enabled or disabled according to the count value. In particular, the coordinates read by an instruction from the input device are displayed as flicker.

However, in such a configuration, the pressing time with the finger must be longer than one second, and if the finger is released within one second, the canceling process is performed. Is not possible.

[0020]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to make it possible to appropriately adjust the above-mentioned cancellation processing, to solve the problem of individual differences, and to provide a pressure sensor without a pressure detector. It is an object of the present invention to provide a touch panel device which can be controlled and can be supplied at a low cost.

[0021]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a touch panel device according to the present invention is a touch panel device operated using input means for touching coordinates on a display. Count the duration that indicates the coordinates of
According to the counted value, the pressure sense is equivalently controlled.

Here, the count value of the duration can be controlled from the outside, the count value of the duration is made different depending on the coordinates touched, and the touch time of the operator is made variable. The sense of pressure can be made variable, and a means for counting the touch time can be provided.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a touch panel device having no pressure detector, a touch panel driving device for driving the touch panel,
A touch data detecting device for detecting a touch state, a touch coordinate information measuring device for obtaining coordinates touched by an operator based on signals obtained by the touch panel driving device and the touch data detecting device, and a touch time of the operator Touch continuation counting device that measures the touch continuation time obtained by the touch continuation counting device and a preset time, and a touch detection device that determines that a touch has been made when the set time is exceeded. It is configured with.

[0024]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First Embodiment of Touch Panel Device of the Invention
Is shown in FIG. In FIG. 1, a first embodiment of a touch panel device of the present invention includes a touch panel 1 having no pressure detector, a touch panel driving device 2 for driving the touch panel 1, and touch data for detecting a touched state. A touch coordinate information measuring device 4 for measuring a coordinate position obtained by combining a signal from the touch panel driving device 2 and the touch data detecting device 3 with a coordinate when the operator touches the detecting device 3;
A touch continuation counting device 5 that counts and counts a period touched by the operator, compares the touched continuation time with a preset time, and touches when the touched time is exceeded. A touch detection output device for outputting to the detection output terminal 9.

Here, the touch panel 1 may be any of the above-described resistive type, LED type, and acoustic type. The touch coordinate information measuring device 4 outputs the touched X-axis coordinate data, the touched Y-axis coordinate data, and the touching time. A voltage for detecting touch coordinates is output to the touch panel 1 in the case of the resistive film type, an LED drive current is output in the case of the LED type, and an ultrasonic excitation current is output in the case of the acoustic type. In the touch continuation counting device 5, a count value f1 is set in advance. If the count value f1 is set to a large value, the operator recognizes that the user must press hard.

In the above-described first embodiment, the external adjuster 7, the set count value generator 8, and the like are unnecessary, and are required in the embodiment described later.

FIG. 2 shows a first example of the touch panel device of the present invention.
Are sequentially shown. In FIG.
The operation of the first embodiment of the touch panel device of the present invention
First, after waiting for an operator's touch input in step S1, it is determined in step S2 whether or not there is a touch input. If there is no touch input, the counter is cleared in step S3, and the loop for waiting for the touch input in step S1 is looped again. At this time, on the touch screen, if the operator touches the button "8" with a finger to select, for example, the button "8", it is determined in step S2 that there is a touch input, and the process proceeds to step S4. The count starts.

Next, in step S5, the count value is compared with a preset designated count value f1, and if the count value is less than the designated count value f1, the process returns to step S1 to wait for a touch input.

When the operator keeps pressing the touch surface,
The operation in the flowchart of FIG. 2 proceeds from step S1 to step S2 to step S4 to step S5, and the counter is continuously counted up. On the other hand,
If the operator releases his / her finger while the count value is less than the designated count value f1, the movement in the flowchart of FIG. 2 is step S1, step S2, step S3, and step S1, and the counter is cleared to zero on the way. Is canceled.

Returning to the case where the operator keeps pressing the touch surface, the specified count value f is determined in step S5.
If it exceeds 1, the process proceeds to step S6, where the operator is notified for the first time from the touch detection output device 6 that the touch surface has been pressed. That is, from the viewpoint of the operator, it can be interpreted that the machine has responded to the operation by the user at this point and has started the operation. If the designated count value is large, the operator feels that the response of the machine is slow, and the touch surface is strongly pushed. In addition, if a mistake is made, and the finger is released due to a mistake before the specified count value is reached, the operation is cancelled, and the operator interprets that the button did not move because the operator still pressed lightly. be able to.

On the other hand, if the designated count value is small, the operator immediately receives a response from the machine, so that the operator feels that the touch pressure is small. The specific value of the count value f1 is 10 to 20 per second when the operator needs the lightness of a conventional keyboard such as a numeric keypad.
Assuming that it is possible to press
An appropriate time is from m seconds to 40 ms. Further, the count value f1 when the pressure sensation is increased is 500 msec at the maximum, and if the count value is longer than this, the operation becomes dull, which is different from the purpose of changing the pressure sensation.

Note that the correspondence between the count value and the actual pressure value is set as a numerical value because the first embodiment of the present invention utilizes a sensation close to the illusion of a human and has individual differences. Can not do it.

In step S6 shown in FIG. 2, the operator is notified from the touch detection output device 6 that the touch surface has been pressed. As a specific configuration, the color of lead is changed. Objects that indicate a response to the display, such as when the contents of the screen change to another screen, a warning sound such as a `` beep, '' or touch the touch panel itself with a tapper and vibrate to feel the touched finger. Various configurations are conceivable, such as those that give.

In the first embodiment of the present invention,
A touch screen of a screen menu having ten-key buttons as described later with reference to FIG. 5 is displayed.

In the first embodiment shown in the flowchart of FIG. 2, the set count value f1 is a case where it is fixedly set in advance, and once set, the sense of pressure cannot be changed. Therefore, in the flowchart of FIG. 3, the count value f1 is set by the external adjuster 7 shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 3 showing a second embodiment of the touch panel device of the present invention, the time set in step S7 is read, and the set count value f1 is set. Others are common with the first embodiment described above. According to this operation, the touch pressure sensation can be adjusted from the outside, and when the operator feels heavy, the operator sets the count value from the outside to a small value to make it lighter, and conversely, the pressure sensation is too small If the user feels that there is an advantage that the count value can be adjusted to a large value to adjust the count value to the operator's preference.

Referring to the flowchart of FIG. 4 showing the third embodiment of the touch panel device of the present invention, in step S8, the touched coordinates are determined by the touch coordinate information measuring device 4, and in step S9, the coordinates are converted to the coordinates. The corresponding designated count value f1 is set. Others are common with the first embodiment described above. When the operator touches the numeric keypad shown in FIG. 5, the coordinates touched at the time of input in step S7 of the flowchart of FIG.
If the coordinate value is within the range from X10 to X11 and from Y10 to Y11 displayed on the numeric keypad, the count value f1 to be set is set to a small value, and a response is made in step S6. Assume that the time is reduced and the coordinates when the turntable start button shown in FIG. 5 is touched are X2 and Y2, and the coordinate values are X20 to X21 displayed on the turntable start button, and Y20.
If the value falls within the range from to Y21, the count value f1 to be set is set to a large value, and the reaction time is increased in step S6. In this way, by setting the count value corresponding to the touched coordinates in advance and making it variable, it is possible to change the sense of pressure depending on the touched location even when using a touch panel having the same performance.

If the number of screens exceeds the set screen type and the number of screens is increased, the external adjuster 7 shown in FIG. By setting the count value by the value generator 8, a more varied pressure sensation can be obtained.

The set count value generator 8 is different from the external adjuster 7 and is applied from a personal computer to the external situation input terminal 10 and input.
Also, according to the program information, the external status input terminal 10
To change the touch detection delay timing amount in accordance with the situation, a function of varying the touch pressure sensation corresponding to the situation can be provided.

Although the display device is not shown in FIG. 1, it is connected to a touch detection output terminal 9 which is an output of the touch detection output device 6.

As described above, according to the first, second, and third embodiments of the touch panel device of the present invention, the operator may have the illusion that the response pressure has changed due to the setting of the count value. Since it is used, even if there is no button pressure changing means for changing the pressure, the operator will recognize that the pressing force has changed, and there is an advantage that it can be provided to the operator at low cost.

[0042]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When responding to the operator that the touch panel has been touched, the time during which the operator keeps touching the touch panel is counted, and by appropriately selecting the counting time, the pressure sensation when the operator touches is variable. There is an effect that can be made.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a first, second, and third embodiments of a touch panel device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation of the first embodiment of the touch panel device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation of the second embodiment of the touch panel device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of the third embodiment of the touch panel device according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a display screen of a touch panel in a touch panel device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a first conventional resistive film type touch panel.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a second conventional LED type touch panel.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a third conventional acoustic touch panel.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a fourth conventional remote control device.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a screen of the touch panel in FIG. 9;

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 93 touch panel 2 touch panel driving device 3 touch data detecting device 4 touch coordinate information measuring device 5 touch continuation counting device 6 touch detection output device 7 external adjuster 8 setting count generator 9 touch detection output terminal 10 external status input terminal 11 rotation Stand start display unit 12 Numeric keypad display unit 20, 21 Resistive film 22 Dot 23, 24 Light receiving photodiode 25, 26 Light emitting LED 27 X axis 28 Y axis 29 Acoustic sensor 30 Ultrasonic oscillator 31 Sound wave resonance plate 91 Turntable 92 Control unit 101 to 108 display unit

Claims (6)

[Claims] In a touch panel device operated using input means for touching coordinates on a display, a duration of pointing the coordinates on the display by the input means is counted, and the time corresponding to the counted value is counted. And a touch panel device for equivalently controlling the sense of pressure. 2. The touch panel device according to claim 1, wherein the count value of the duration can be externally controlled. 3. The touch panel device according to claim 1, wherein the count value of the continuation time is made different depending on a coordinate touched. 4. A touch panel device wherein the pressure sensation is equivalently variable by making the operator's touch time variable. 5. The touch panel device according to claim 4, further comprising means for counting the touch time. 6. A touch panel without a pressure detector, a touch panel driving device for driving said touch panel, a touch data detecting device for detecting a touch state, and a touch panel driving device for displaying coordinates touched by an operator. And a touch coordinate information measuring device that calculates based on a signal obtained by the touch data detecting device, a touch continuation counting device that measures the touch time of the operator, and a touch continuation time obtained by the touch continuation counting device. A touch panel device comprising: a touch detection device that compares a set time and determines that a touch has been made when the set time is exceeded.