JPS63181022A - Touch panel input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the display definition of a display device in the backward of an operating panel from being lowered, by constituting a device in such a way that the operating panel, a means which detects a position on the operating panel optically, and a means which detects the motion of the operating panel generated by the operation of an operating body are provided, and plural kinds of inputs are performed at plural positions on the operating panel. CONSTITUTION:The timing of an operating input is detected by the travel of the operating panel 4 detected at a microswitch 6, and an operating input position is detected by an optical scan system consisting of light emitting elements 1x and 1y and light receiving elements 2x and 2y. Since the operating panel 4 is constituted of a transparent material, it is possible to visualize the display of a display device 7 through the operating panel 4. When the operating panel 4 is operated, since the operating panel 4 is moved, and the microswitch 6 is operated via the operating panel 4, it is possible to give an appropriate timing on an operation, thereby, a comfortable input operation can be obtained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a touch panel input device, and particularly to a touch panel input device that performs operation input by directly operating an operation panel.

[Prior Art] Touch panel input devices using transparent keyboard devices have been known. Such a device is placed in front of a CRT display or the like, and is directly operated by an operator's finger or the like. In such a configuration, the input coordinates are detected by the touch panel device, and the input function is displayed on the display, so that operation input can be performed as if directly operating the display with a finger. Further, in such a configuration, by changing the display on the display and changing the input coordinates of the touch panel device, it is possible to set a large number of input functions using the same operation area.

FIG. 5 shows the structure of a conventional touch panel device.

As shown in the figure, in this type of equipment, the input is made of a polyester sheet, etc., on which transparent electrodes Wx and Wy (partially enlarged) are arranged in a matrix so that the display placed at the rear can be viewed easily. The boards PS are arranged to face each other, and by pressing down the input board PS on one side with a finger or the like, the transparent electrodes of the input boards are brought into contact with each other, and the coordinates of the input point are detected.

Since the two input boards must face each other with a predetermined ratio of 116, they are connected to each other by a scallop-shaped support S.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the structure of the touch panel as described above, a large number of scallop-shaped supports S are embedded between two input boards made of transparent materials. There was a problem in that the display quality of the display placed at the rear was significantly degraded.

In addition, the optical scanning method does not require an input board that covers the display, so the display quality does not deteriorate as described above, but it does not require any keystrokes during input operations and lacks moderation. There is also the problem that operators who are used to keyboard devices with keystrokes feel very uncomfortable.

Means for Solving Problem E] In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the touch panel input device of the present invention includes an operation panel operated by an operation body, and an optical system that measures the order of the operation body on the operation panel. The present invention employs a configuration in which a plurality of types of inputs are performed at a plurality of positions on the operation panel by providing a means for detecting the movement of the operation panel and a means for detecting the movement of the operation panel caused by the operation of the operation body.

[Function] According to the above configuration, the position of the operator's finger or other operating body on the operation panel is detected by optical scanning, and input operations are performed by moving the operation panel during operation. Appropriate moderation can be given to

[Example] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on the example shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the structure of a touch panel device adopting the present invention. In FIG. Panel 4
is placed. A frame 3 made of a suitable material such as plastic or metal is attached to the front surface of the operation panel 4, surrounding an area approximately equivalent to the display surface of the display device 7. A light emitting element lx, ly consisting of the like, and a light receiving element 2x consisting of a phototransistor.

2y is provided.

As shown in the figure, the light-emitting element and the light-receiving element are attached to opposite sides of the frame 3, and when the light-emitting elements 1x and ly are turned on, their respective lights are directed to the light-receiving elements 2x and 2y at opposing positions. The optical axis is set to point towards the target.

As shown in the side view of FIG. 2, the operation panel 4 is movably supported by a spring 5, and the other end of the spring 5 is fixed to a frame of an apparatus (not shown) or the like. An appropriate distance is provided between the operation panel 4 and the display surface of the display 7.

Therefore, when the operator presses the operation panel 4 with his finger or other suitable operating body, the entire operation panel 4 can be displaced in the direction of the arrow in the figure. This displacement of the operation panel 4 is detected by a microswitch 6 whose actuator is brought into contact with the operation panel 4.

In this embodiment, the timing of the operation input is detected by the movement of the operation panel 4 detected by the microswitch 6, and the position of the operation input is detected by an optical scanning system consisting of the light emitting elements 1x, ly and the light receiving elements 2x, 2y. Since the operation panel 4 is made of a transparent material as described above, the display on the display device 217 can be visually recognized through the operation panel 4.

The detection operation by the microswitch 6 and the optical scanning system is controlled by the input control section 8.

FIG. 3 shows the structure of the input control system in this embodiment. As mentioned above, the light emitting elements 1x, ly, the light receiving elements 2x,
2y and the microswitch 6 are connected to the input control unit 8 via a circuit such as an input/output board (not shown). The input control unit 8 includes a microprocessor, ROM8A, and RAM.
8B. The input control unit 8 controls the light receiving element 2x according to a program described below stored in the ROM 8A.

2y and the detection signal from the microswitch 6, and transfers input information to the main control unit 9 of the information processing device including the touch panel device of this embodiment via an input/output board (not shown) or the like.

FIG. 4 shows an input control procedure performed by the input control section 8 of FIG. 3. The procedure shown in FIG. 4 is stored in the ROM 8A as a control program for the input control section 8. The input control unit 8 waits for the microswitch 6 to be actuated in step S1 of FIG. 4, and executes the procedure from step S2 onwards when the microswitch 6 is operated. When the operator presses a desired position on the operation panel 4, the operation panel 4 is pressed toward the display device 7, and when the microswitch 6 is operated, the process moves to step S2.
Operation in the X-axis direction is performed sequentially using the light emitting element lx and the light receiving element 2x. When the operator presses down the operation panel 4 with his or her finger, the light emitting element lx and the light receiving element 2 are
The optical axis between x is blocked, and a light detection signal cannot be obtained from any of the light receiving elements. Therefore, the position of the light receiving element 2x from which no detection signal was obtained is detected as the input X coordinate. The detected X coordinate is buffered in RAM8B. (Or it may be transferred directly to the main control unit 9).

In step S3, the light emitting element 1y and the light receiving element 2y are used in exactly the same way as in step S2.
Detects input coordinates in the axial direction. The detected input coordinates in the y-axis direction are buffered in the RAM 8B.

In step S4, the input X and Y coordinates buffered in the RAM 8B are transferred to the main control section 9.

According to the above configuration, the operation panel 4 can be constructed from a single plate such as an acrylic plate, and has lower transparency than a conventional touch panel having a scallop-shaped support as shown in FIG. It is possible to always display high-quality information without interfering with the visibility of the display on the display device 7.

In addition, when operating the operation panel 4, the operation panel 4 moves and the microswitch 6 is operated via the operation panel 4, so it is possible to give appropriate moderation to the operation, compared to the conventional type. Comfortable operation input can be performed without causing any discomfort with the keyboard device. The above embodiment shows the simplest configuration in which the operation panel 4 is supported by a spring 5 and its movement is detected by a microswitch 6, but in addition to this, the movement stroke of the operation panel 4 can be controlled, By providing a mechanism that generates , it is possible to provide optimal operating moderation depending on the application.

Furthermore, according to the above configuration, the optical scanning system does not scan until the detection timing is given by the microswitch 6, so there is no wasted power consumption during standby compared to a conventional optical scanning type touch panel. A touch panel input device with extremely low power consumption can be provided.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, an operation panel operated by an operation body, means for optically detecting the position of the operation body on the operation panel, and an operation panel operated by an operation body are provided. A means for detecting interlocking of the operation panel caused by body operations is provided, and a configuration is adopted in which multiple types of input can be performed at multiple positions on the operation panel, so when a display device or the like is installed behind the operation panel. Accordingly, it is possible to provide an excellent touch panel input device that does not degrade its display quality, has appropriate operation moderation, and consumes little power.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the structure of a touch panel input device adopting the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of the device in FIG. 1, and FIG.
Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the structure of the input control system of the device shown in Figure 1, Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the control procedure of the input control unit in Figure 3, and Figure 5 shows the structure of the conventional touch panel device. FIG. lx, ly...Light emitting element 2x, 2y...Light receiving element 3...Frame 4...Operation panel 5...
Spring 6...Micro switch 7...Display unit 8...Input control section

Claims (1)

[Claims] An operation panel operated by an operation body, means for optically detecting the position of the operation body on the operation panel, and means for detecting movement of the operation panel caused by operation of the operation body are provided, A touch panel input device characterized by performing multiple types of input at multiple positions.