JP2009059125A - Touch panel device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prepare buttons or the like around an end section by effectively using the area of a display. <P>SOLUTION: In this touch panel device where a pointer P is displayed at the upper left of a contact point C between a finger of a user and a display 21 on the display 21, when a distance X from the contact point C to the right end of the display 21 becomes equal to or less than a prescribed value, a screen M on the display 21 is moved to the left side, and when a distance Y from the contact point C to the lower edge of the display 21 becomes equal to or less than the prescribed value, the screen M on the display 21 is moved to the upper side. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a touch panel device including a touch panel.

  There is an input interface called a touch panel in which a touch sensor is superimposed on a display, as represented by a ticket vending machine at a station, a cash dispenser at a bank, and the like. The user can input information to the touch panel by touching a position corresponding to a button or the like displayed on the display with a finger or the like.

  However, when a finger or the like touches the display, the user's field of view is blocked by the finger or the like, and thus it may be difficult for the user to see which button is pressed. In addition, when a button or the like is small, it may be difficult to press with a finger.

Therefore, for example, as described in Patent Document 1, a touch panel device has been proposed in which a pointer is displayed at a predetermined distance from a contact position of a finger or the like and information input is received via the pointer. .
JP-A-6-51908

  However, in the conventional technique, for example, when the pointer is displayed above the contact position of a finger or the like on the display, the pointer is moved to the lower end of the display even if the contact position is moved to the lower end of the display. It cannot be moved to the lower end. Therefore, a button cannot be provided in the area near the lower end of the screen on the display, and a margin must be provided. Furthermore, considering the balance of the screen layout, it may be necessary to provide a margin so as to make a round along the outer edge of the display. Even when the pointer is displayed in the downward direction or the left or right direction with respect to the contact position, the pointer cannot be moved to the edge of the display, and therefore a margin must be provided. From the above, the conventional technique has a problem that the use area of the touch panel becomes narrow.

  In view of the above-described conventional problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a touch panel device having a wider usage area.

  In order to solve the above problems, a touch panel device according to claim 1 is a touch panel including a display for displaying a screen to a user, a sensor for detecting a contact position of the user on the display, and from the contact position to one end of the display. A screen position control unit that moves the screen in a direction from the one end of the display toward the contact position when the distance becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value.

  According to the above configuration, the screen moves when the user's contact position approaches one end of the display, and the moving direction is a direction from the one end toward the contact position. As a result, the edge of the screen is displayed at a position closer to the center of the display, and the user can more easily press the button or the like displayed at the edge of the screen. Therefore, buttons and the like can be arranged near the edge of the display, and the use area of the touch panel becomes wider.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the touch panel device according to the first aspect, it is preferable that the screen position control unit increases the amount of movement of the screen as the distance decreases.

  More specifically, as described in claim 3, the touch panel device according to claim 1 or 2 causes the display to display a pointer upward as viewed from the user with respect to the contact position. The screen position control unit may move the screen upward when viewed from the user when the distance from the contact position to the lower end of the display becomes a predetermined value or less. .

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the touch panel device according to the first or second aspect further includes a pointer control unit that causes the display to display a pointer in the left direction when viewed from the user with respect to the contact position. When the distance from the contact position to the right end of the display becomes a predetermined value or less, the position control unit may move the screen in the left direction when viewed from the user.

  In addition, as described in claim 5, the touch panel device according to claim 1 or 2 further includes a pointer control unit that causes the display to display a pointer in the upper left direction when viewed from the user with respect to the contact position, and the screen The position control unit moves the screen upward when viewed from the user when the distance from the contact position to the lower end of the display is less than or equal to a predetermined value, and the distance from the contact position to the right end of the display is When the value falls below a predetermined value, the screen may be moved to the left as viewed from the user.

  According to the touch panel device of the present invention, the screen moves when the user's contact position approaches one end of the display, and the moving direction is a direction from the one end toward the contact position. As a result, the edge of the screen is displayed at a position closer to the center of the display, and the user can more easily press the button or the like displayed at the edge of the screen. Therefore, buttons and the like can be arranged near the edge of the display, and the use area of the touch panel becomes wider.

  An input device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[1] Outline of Input Device 1 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of the input device 1 according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a data flow in the input device 1, and FIG. It is a top view which shows the example of a screen.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an input device 1 includes a touch panel 2 that receives input of information from a user, a CPU that performs various calculations and controls the operation of each unit in the input device 1 by executing a program. (Central processing unit) 31, ROM (read only memory) 32 for storing the program, RAM (random access memory) 33 for expanding the program, HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 34 for storing various information, and the like . In addition to the touch panel 2, the input device 1 may include a hard key 5 for receiving input from the user. These members are connected to each other via a bus 11.

  The touch panel 2 includes a display 21 that presents a screen to the user, a touch sensor 22 that detects a position of a user contact point (portion indicated by “C” in FIG. 3) on the display 21, and the like. The position information obtained by the touch sensor 22 is sent to the CPU 31. This position information is referred to as “absolute position information”.

  As the display 21, a conventionally known display device such as a liquid crystal display panel can be used. As shown in FIG. 3 and the like, the display 21 is disposed on an input panel 51 provided so that the input device 1 faces the user on the outer surface. The hard key 5 is also arranged on the input panel 51 together with the display 21.

  As the touch sensor 22, a touch sensor used in a conventional touch panel can be preferably used. For example, as the touch sensor 22, an analog resistance film method can be adopted.

  The analog resistive film type touch sensor includes a film and a glass plate facing the film in order from the side closer to the display, and ITO (indium) formed on the surfaces of the film and the glass plate facing each other. Tin oxide) film is formed. The film is provided with electrodes at both left and right ends, and the glass plate is provided with both upper and lower ends. In addition to these members, the touch sensor 21 includes dot spacers that prevent erroneous contact between the ITO films.

  In this analog resistive film type touch sensor, the position touched by the user on the display 21, that is, the position of the contact point (contact position) is detected as follows. First, the film is pressed when the user touches the display 21. Then, the ITO film on the film side and the ITO film on the glass plate side come into contact with each other, thereby energizing the ITO film. When a voltage is applied to the film side electrode, a potential gradient is formed in the left-right direction due to the resistance of the ITO film. Therefore, when a potential is detected through the electrode on the glass side, the energized part, that is, on the X coordinate of the contact point by the partial pressure. The position of is detected. Also, when a voltage is applied to the glass side electrode, a potential gradient is formed in the vertical direction due to the resistance of the ITO film. Therefore, when a potential is detected through the film side electrode, the position of the contact point on the Y coordinate is determined by the partial pressure. Is detected. The position of the contact point detected in this way in the X and Y directions is sent to the CPU 31 as the absolute position information described above.

  In the present embodiment, the touch sensor 22 detects a position where the user touches the display 21 with a finger. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the user touches the display 21 using an instrument such as a pen. The position may be detected. That is, the “contact position of the user on the display” means a position touched by the user regardless of whether or not the device is interposed.

  In particular, the ROM 32 stores a pointer control program 32a, a screen position control program 32b, a display control program 32c, and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the CPU 31 functions as the screen position control unit 41 by the screen position control program 32b. The CPU 31 functions as the pointer control unit 43 by the pointer control program 32a. Further, the CPU 31 functions as the display control unit 44 by the display control program 32c. In addition, the CPU 31 can function as the input receiving unit 45 or the like.

  The screen position control unit 41 moves (shifts) the screen M on the display 21 based on the absolute position information obtained from the touch sensor 22. The “screen” includes various buttons, characters, images, and the like displayed on the display 21. More specifically, the “screen” refers to the entire buttons, characters, images, and the like that are simultaneously displayed on the display 21.

  The pointer control unit 43 displays the pointer P on the display 21 based on the absolute position information obtained from the touch sensor 22 (FIG. 3). The pointer control unit 43 displays the pointer P in a certain direction from the contact point C and displays it with a certain distance from the contact point C. Specifically, the pointer P is displayed on the upper left of the contact point C with a certain distance from the contact point C. Note that “upper”, “lower”, “left”, and “right” on the display 21 indicate upper, lower, left, and right from the user, respectively.

  The display control unit 44 causes the display 21 to display various buttons, characters, images, and the like.

  The input receiving unit 45 receives user input content from pointer position information from the pointer control unit 43, information (display information) about display content from the display control unit 44, and detection results by the touch sensor 22. In particular, in this embodiment, the input receiving unit 45 receives the input content corresponding to the position of the pointer P when the finger is separated from the display 21, that is, when the touch sensor 22 no longer detects contact. Therefore, only the presence or absence of the user's contact with the display 21 needs to be transmitted from the touch sensor 22, and the absolute position information of the contact point C is not required.

  Specifically, the input receiving unit 45 refers to the shift amount of the screen M obtained from the screen position control unit 41 and the pointer position information obtained from the pointer control unit 43, and relative to the screen M with respect to the pointer P. Calculate the position. Then, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, when the relative position of the pointer P is on a certain button B1 on the screen M and the user releases his / her finger from the display 21, the input receiving unit 45 causes the button B1 to be pressed. It is recognized that the input was made via

  In the present embodiment, the input receiving unit 45 acquires the pointer position information from the pointer control unit 43. However, if the input content can be received from the position of the pointer P on the screen M, other It may be configured as follows. For example, the input receiving unit 45 obtains the relative position on the screen M of the display 21, that is, the relative position information, from the absolute position information obtained from the touch sensor 22 and the screen shift amount obtained from the screen position control unit 41. The relative position of the pointer P relative to the screen M may be obtained from the calculated relative position information and the distance and direction from the contact point C of the pointer P.

[2] Specific Operation Example Next, a more specific operation example of the input device 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6 are plan views showing examples of the screen M in the input device 1, and FIGS. 7 and 8 are graphs showing the relationship between the screen shift amount and the absolute position of the contact point C. FIG.

  In this example, as shown in FIG. 3, the pointer control unit 43 displays the pointer P at the upper left of the contact point C.

  When the contact point C is near the center of the display 21, the screen M is displayed on the entire surface of the display 21 (FIG. 3).

FIG Move 4 the user finger as shown in the right, the distance X from the display 21 to the right end of the contact point C is equal to or less than a predetermined value (shown in FIG. 7 x _1), the screen position control unit 41 screen M Shift to the left. That is, the screen position control unit 41 moves the screen M in the direction from the right end of the display 21 toward the contact point C. The leftward shift amount Lx of the screen M is set so as to increase as the distance X decreases, and is set to the maximum value m when the contact point C is closest to the right end.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the distance Y to the lower end of the display 21 of the contact point C is equal to or less than a predetermined value (shown in FIG. 8 y _1), screen position control unit 41 shifts to the top screen M . That is, the screen position control unit 41 moves the screen M in the direction from the lower end of the display 21 toward the contact point C. The upward shift amount Ly of the screen M is set so as to increase as the distance Y decreases, and is set to a maximum value n when the contact point C is closest to the lower end.

Also, as shown in FIG. 6, when the distances X and Y become x ₁ or less and y ₁ or less, respectively, the screen position control unit 41 moves the screen M in the left direction and the right direction. The shift amounts Lx and Ly at this time are as already described.

  Here, when the contact point C is at the position shown in FIG. 6, that is, when the pointer P is positioned on the button B <b> 2 on the screen M, it is assumed that the user releases the finger from the display 21. Then, the input receiving unit 45 recognizes that the pointer P is on the button B2 from the display content on the display 21, that is, the position of each button, the shift amounts Lx and Ly, and the position of the pointer P on the display 21. The button B2 is recognized as selected by the user, and the input content is confirmed.

  When the input is accepted in this way, the display control unit 44 controls the display 21 so that the user can easily recognize which button has been selected, such as changing the display color of the selected button B2. be able to.

  When the finger is removed from the display 21, the screen position control unit 41 sets the shift amount of the screen M to zero and returns the screen M to the original position (FIG. 3). However, the screen position control unit 41 does not need to immediately return the screen M to the original position when the finger is removed from the display 21, but returns the screen M to the original position several seconds after the finger is released. May be.

  As described above, when the screen M is moved by the screen position control unit 41, even if a button is provided near the end on the screen M, the user can easily select the button.

  In the example described above, the pointer P is displayed at the upper left of the contact point C from the viewpoint that the user can easily recognize the pointer P visually. Since the pointer P is displayed at the upper left of the contact point C, the contact point C is an end portion of the display 21 that is located on the opposite side of the pointer P with respect to the contact point C, that is, the right end and the lower end. When approaching, the screen M is shifted leftward and upward.

  However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the pointer P may be displayed in any of the upward direction, the downward direction, the left direction, and the right direction of the contact point C. Further, the direction in which the screen position control unit 41 moves the screen M can be changed as appropriate in accordance with the display position of the pointer P with respect to the contact point C.

  Specifically, when the pointer P is displayed below the contact point C, the screen position control unit 41 replaces “up” in FIG. 8 with “down” and “down” with “up”. It is only necessary to move the screen M along the graph. That is, the screen position control unit 41 only needs to move the screen M downward when the distance from the upper end of the display 21 to the contact point C is equal to or less than a predetermined value. When the pointer P is displayed to the right of the contact point C, the screen position control unit 41 follows the graph in FIG. 7 where “right” is replaced with “left” and “left” is replaced with “right”. Thus, it is only necessary to move the screen M. That is, the screen position control unit 41 only needs to move the screen M in the right direction when the distance from the left end of the display 21 to the contact point C is equal to or less than a predetermined value.

  Further, the present invention is not limited to the form in which the pointer is displayed. That is, in addition to displaying the pointer P and selecting the button that matches the position of the pointer P as in the above example, the button that matches the position of the contact point C itself is selected. Also good. In this case, the input receiving unit 45 calculates the relative position of the contact point C with respect to the screen M from the screen shift amount, display information, and absolute position information, and determines which button the contact point C is on. It only has to come to recognize. Also in this case, even if a button is provided near the end of the screen M by moving the screen M, an effect that the user can easily press the button or the like is realized.

  In the above example, the outer edge of the display 21 is rectangular. However, the present invention can be applied to any shape such as a rectangle with rounded corners, a circle, an ellipse, a triangle, a pentagon, and other polygons. Can be applied.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above. In other words, embodiments obtained by making various modifications within the scope described in the claims or combining further techniques are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  The touch panel device of the present invention can be suitably used as a device for accepting an instruction from a user in devices such as a cash dispenser, a ticket vending machine, a copier, and a multifunction device.

The figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the input device 1 of this embodiment. 2 is a diagram illustrating a data flow in the input device 1. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an example of a screen M on the display 21. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an example of a screen M on the display 21. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an example of a screen M on the display 21. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an example of a screen M on the display 21. The graph which shows the relationship between the distance X from the contact point C to the right end of the display 21, and the screen shift amount Lx to the left. The graph which shows the relationship between the distance Y from the contact point C to the lower end of the display 21, and the screen shift amount Ly to an upward direction.

Explanation of symbols

1 Input device (touch panel device)
2 Touch Panel 21 Display 22 Touch Sensor 41 Screen Position Control Unit 43 Pointer Control Unit 44 Display Control Unit 45 Input Accepting Unit

Claims (5)

A touch panel comprising a display for displaying a screen to the user, and a sensor for detecting a contact position of the user on the display;
A screen position control unit comprising: a screen position control unit configured to move the screen in a direction from the one end of the display toward the contact position when a distance from the contact position to the one end of the display is equal to or less than a predetermined value.   The touch panel device according to claim 1, wherein the screen position control unit increases the amount of movement of the screen as the distance decreases. The display further includes a pointer control unit that displays a pointer in an upward direction when viewed from the user with respect to the contact position,
3. The screen position control unit according to claim 1 or 2, wherein when the distance from the contact position to the lower end of the display is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the screen position is moved upward as viewed from the user. The touch panel device described. The display further includes a pointer control unit that displays a pointer in the left direction when viewed from the user with respect to the contact position,
The screen position control unit is configured to move the screen to the left as viewed from the user when the distance from the contact position to the right end of the display becomes a predetermined value or less. The touch panel device according to 1. The display further includes a pointer control unit that displays a pointer in the upper left direction when viewed from the user with respect to the contact position,
When the distance from the contact position to the lower end of the display is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the screen position control unit moves the screen upward when viewed from the user, and moves from the contact position to the right end of the display. The touch panel device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein when the distance becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value, the screen is moved in the left direction as viewed from the user.

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