JP2007287015A - Input device for selecting item described in a hierarchical structure, character input device, and input program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an input device capable of selecting and inputting an item described in a hierarchical structure quickly and by an easy operation, a character input device, and an input program. <P>SOLUTION: An input part 100 receives a contact operation from a user, and detects whether or not there is a contact and a coordinate of the contact point. A higher hierarchical level item selection part 230 detects an instruction of higher hierarchical level item selection when the inputted contact operation is the predetermined contact operation of the higher hierarchical level, and selects one of the items that belong to the same hierarchical level. A hierarchical level changing part 270 detects an instruction of a hierarchical level change based on a change in the movement of the inputted contact operation, and changes the hierarchical level to a lower hierarchical level. A lower hierarchical level item selection part 230 detects an instruction of lower hierarchical level item selection when the inputted contact operation is the predetermined contact operation of the lower hierarchical level, and selects one of the items that belong to the same hierarchical level. An item determination part 260 determines the item selected when the input part has detected that there is no contact as an input item. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an input device, and more particularly to an input device in which a user selects and inputs an item using a finger or a pen.

  In recent years, computerization of household electric appliances such as TV devices and car navigation devices has been progressing, and opportunities for performing complicated operations such as character input have increased. In general, in a personal computer, a user can input characters relatively easily using a hardware keyboard. However, in a television device or a car navigation device, a hardware keyboard is installed because of the extra space and installation location. The environment is difficult.

  As an alternative to such a conventional hardware keyboard, for example, an input method using a software keyboard or user handwriting recognition has been proposed. In character input using a software keyboard, a touch pad or a touch panel is used as an input device, and a GUI (Graphical User Interface) imitating a hardware keyboard is displayed on the monitor screen. The user can execute input of characters and commands (for example, backspace and conversion) by bringing a finger or a pen into contact with each key of the simulated keyboard displayed on the monitor screen.

  Further, in character input using handwriting recognition, a touch pad or a touch panel is used as an input device, and a user inputs characters by handwriting using a finger or a pen on a predetermined portion on the operation screen. Inside the device, pattern matching is performed between a handwritten input trajectory and a standard handwritten pattern stored in advance, and a plurality of character candidates that approximate the handwritten input character are displayed on the monitor screen. Then, the user selects a desired character from the displayed character candidates and determines a character to be input.

Furthermore, as an input method other than the above, there has been proposed an input device that can be installed in a small space and can input characters and the like with ease and at high speed (Patent Document 1). The input device of Patent Document 1 includes an operation unit and a speaker unit on a rectangular casing-shaped main body, and the operation unit is provided with three input lines each formed by a linear touch pad. Each input line is assigned an input area corresponding to the kana characters “row”, “column”, and “number”, and the user operates the slider of each input line to specify the row and column. Then, a desired kana character can be input.
JP-A-2005-135101

  However, the conventional input device has the following problems. That is, in character input using a software keyboard, the user visually confirms the arrangement of keys on the simulated keyboard displayed on the monitor screen and inputs characters. Therefore, the input speed cannot be increased as compared with the case of inputting using a hardware keyboard. Even if the user remembers the arrangement of each key, unlike the hardware keyboard, the software keyboard has no protrusions that give tactile features to the user. ) Is difficult to determine. Further, since it is necessary to display a simulated keyboard on the monitor screen, there is a problem that the amount of information that can be displayed on the monitor screen is limited, which is inconvenient for the user.

  An input device using handwriting recognition needs to input using a finger or a pen for each character, increasing the burden on the user. Further, an input device using handwriting recognition has a problem that input efficiency is poor because it is necessary to perform pattern matching to display a plurality of character candidates and a user needs to select a desired character.

  Furthermore, unlike the general-purpose devices such as a touch panel and a touch pad, the input device disclosed in Patent Document 1 requires the use of an input device dedicated to character input, which increases the cost of the entire device. In addition, since the input device of Patent Document 1 requires the user to operate the input line slider to designate “line” and “stage”, it has not been possible to input characters quickly. In addition, each input line is provided in parallel on the main body, and the user needs to slide each slider in the same direction to specify “row” and “column”, so “row” and “column” There has been a problem that confusion is likely to occur in the operation for designating and input errors are likely to occur.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an input device, a character input device, and an input program capable of quickly selecting and inputting a desired item from items classified into a plurality of hierarchies with an easy operation.

  The object of the present invention is achieved by an input device having the following configuration. The input device is an input device that selects and inputs one item from an item storage unit that stores items belonging to an upper hierarchy and items belonging to a lower hierarchy corresponding to each item, and accepts a contact operation from a user, An input unit for detecting presence / absence of contact and coordinates of a contact point, and an upper layer item selection command is detected when the contact operation input to the input unit is a predetermined upper layer contact operation, and an upper layer item is detected. An upper hierarchy item selection unit that selects one of the items belonging to the same hierarchy stored in the item storage unit according to the selection command, and a hierarchy change command is detected based on a change in movement of a touch operation input to the input unit The hierarchy change unit that changes the hierarchy of the item selection target from the upper hierarchy to the lower hierarchy in accordance with the hierarchy change command, and the contact operation input to the input section is a predetermined contact operation of the lower hierarchy The lower-level item selection command is detected, and the lower-level item selection unit that selects one of the items belonging to the same level stored in the item storage unit in accordance with the lower-level item selection command, and the input unit is contactless An item determination unit that determines an item selected when detected as an input item.

  The object of the present invention is achieved by a character input device having the following configuration. A character input device that selects and inputs one kana character from a character storage unit that stores representative kana characters for each line of the Japanese syllabary and kana characters for each row corresponding to each line, and accepts a touch operation from the user An input unit for detecting the presence / absence of contact and the coordinates of the contact point, and an item selection command when the contact operation input to the input unit is a predetermined contact operation, and a character storage unit according to the item selection command A representative kana character selection unit for selecting one of the representative kana characters stored in each row, and detecting a hierarchy change command based on a change in movement of a touch operation input to the input unit, and according to the hierarchy change command A hierarchy changing unit that changes the selection target from the representative character of each line to the kana character of the stage corresponding to the representative kana character, and a kana character selection command when the contact operation input to the input unit is a predetermined contact operation Detect , A kana character selection unit that selects one of the kana characters in the stage stored in the character storage unit according to the kana character selection command, and a kana selected by the kana character selection unit when the detection unit detects non-contact An input character determining unit that determines a character as an input character.

  The object of the present invention is achieved by an input program having the following configuration. An input program is a computer that can select and input one item from an item storage unit that stores items belonging to a higher hierarchy and items belonging to a lower hierarchy corresponding to each item. The item selection command is detected when the contact operation input to the input unit is a predetermined contact operation of each layer, and the item storage unit is detected according to the item selection command. A second step of selecting one of the stored items belonging to the same hierarchy, and a hierarchy change command is detected based on the change in the movement of the touch operation input to the input unit, and the item is selected according to the hierarchy change command A third step of changing the instruction selection target from the upper hierarchy to the lower hierarchy, and a fourth step of sequentially performing the first to third steps for each hierarchy from the upper hierarchy to the lower hierarchy; To execute a fifth step of determining a selected item upon detection of non-contact to the input section as the input fields.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an input device, a character input device, and an input program capable of quickly selecting and inputting a desired item from items classified into a plurality of hierarchies with an easy operation.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the input device according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, the input device 1 includes a coordinate input unit 100, a control unit 200, a display unit 300, and an audio output unit 400.

  The coordinate input unit 100 is, for example, a touch panel, a touch pad, a digitizer, or a pen tab red that accepts contact of a user's fingertip, pen, or the like (hereinafter simply referred to as a finger). The coordinate input unit 100 detects the presence or absence of finger contact and the coordinates of the contact point. Various detection methods such as a pressure-sensitive method, a capacitance method, an elastic ultrasonic method, an optical method, and an electromagnetic induction method have been proposed. Any detection method may be used in this embodiment. .

  The control unit 200 includes a contact information input unit 210, a contact history storage unit 220, a selection item determination unit 230, an information output unit 240, an overall control unit 250, a ROM 260, and a hierarchy change unit 270. The overall control unit 250 is, for example, a CPU that controls the entire input device 1.

  The ROM 260 stores a plurality of items to be selected and input. Each item is classified into a plurality of hierarchies, and items belonging to the upper hierarchy and items belonging to the lower hierarchy are stored in association with each other. As an example, an item stored in the ROM 260 is a Japanese kana syllabary character. In such a case, the ROM 260 stores the representative characters of each row in the upper layer (first layer), and the kana characters in each row corresponding to each row in the lower layer (second layer). Here, the representative character of each line is, for example, “a, ka, sa, ta, na, hama, ra, wa”. In addition, in the case of “A line”, the kana characters at each level corresponding to each line are “A, I, U, E, O”, and each level from “A line” to “Wa line”. The kana character. Hereinafter, in the present embodiment, a case where an item to be selected and input is a kana character will be described as an example.

  The contact information input unit 210 receives information indicating the presence or absence of a finger contact detected by the coordinate input unit 100 and the coordinates of the contact point (hereinafter simply referred to as contact information). The contact history storage unit 220 stores the contact information input to the contact information input unit 210 as a history for each predetermined sampling time. Furthermore, the overall control unit 250 identifies an operation pattern based on the user's contact operation from the contact information and the contact information history.

  The selection item determination unit 230 receives an item selection command based on the user's contact operation, and selects a predetermined item from items belonging to the same hierarchy among the items stored in the ROM 260. Here, the item selection command is detected when the operation pattern of the contact operation input by the user matches a predetermined operation pattern. Details of the relationship between the item selection command and the operation pattern will be described later.

  In response to the hierarchy change command based on the movement change of the user's touch operation, the hierarchy change unit 270 changes the selection target of the selection item determination unit 230 from the upper hierarchy to the lower hierarchy. Here, the hierarchy change command is detected when the operation pattern identified by the overall control unit 250 changes. The relationship between the hierarchy change command and the operation pattern change will be described later.

  The information output unit 240 includes information indicating the item selected by the selection item determination unit 230 (hereinafter referred to as selection item information) and information indicating that the hierarchy has been changed by the hierarchy changing unit 270 (hereinafter referred to as hierarchy change information). ) Are converted into display information and audio output information, respectively, and then output to the display unit 300 and the audio output unit 400.

  The display unit 300 is various displays such as CRT, liquid crystal, plasma, and organic EL that receive the display information output from the information output unit 240 and display it as a visible image. The audio output unit 400 is, for example, a speaker that receives the audio output information output from the information output unit 240 and outputs it as audio.

  Next, a detailed configuration of the coordinate input unit 100 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2, the coordinate input unit 100 is provided with a frame 101, a grid 102, and a character selection start determination area 103. The character selection start determination area 103 is an area for receiving a character input start instruction, and input processing is started when the user touches the character selection start determination area 103 with a finger.

  The grids 102 are installed at equal intervals in the upper area of the coordinate input unit 100. Since the grid 102 has an uneven shape, the user can tactilely recognize that a finger has touched the grid 102. Each grid 102 corresponds to representative characters “a” to “wa”, which are items belonging to the first hierarchy in order from the right.

  Next, input processing of the input device according to the present embodiment will be described. First, the outline of the processing will be described with reference to FIG. When the user slides from the character selection start determination area 103 in the direction of arrow A in the figure with the finger in contact, the selection item determination unit 230 detects such an operation pattern as an item selection command in the first hierarchy. And the selection item determination part 230 selects one item from the items which belong to a 1st hierarchy according to the coordinate of a contact point. Next, when the direction in which the user slides his / her finger is changed from arrow A to arrow B in the figure, the hierarchy changing unit 270 detects such an operation pattern as a hierarchy change instruction, and selects a hierarchy as an item selection target. Change from the first layer to the second layer. When the user further slides his / her finger in the direction of arrow B, the selection item determination unit 230 detects such an operation pattern as an item selection command in the second layer, and selects items belonging to the second layer according to the coordinates of the contact point. Select one item from the list. When the user removes the finger from the coordinate input unit 100, the item selected at that time is determined as the input item. Thus, the character to be input is determined by the user sliding his / her finger on the coordinate input unit 100.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the input process. The process shown in FIG. 3 starts after the input device 1 is turned on and the initialization process is performed, for example. First, in step S100, the coordinate input unit 100 detects the presence or absence of a finger contact, and detects the coordinates of the contact point when the finger is in contact. The contact information including the presence / absence of the detected contact and the coordinates of the contact point is input to the contact information input unit 210 and stored as a history in the contact history storage unit 220 every predetermined time.

  Next, in step S <b> 101, the overall control unit 250 determines an input mode indicating in which level the character selection process is currently being performed. That is, the overall control unit 250 determines which input mode is selected from the three types of modes of “first layer selection mode”, “second layer selection mode”, and “pre-input start mode”. When the input mode is determined, the process of the input device 1 proceeds to each process of step S102, step S103, and step S104 according to the determination result.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the pre-input start process performed in the pre-input start mode. First, in step S200, the overall control unit 250 performs an input start command detection process. Thereafter, in step S201, it is determined whether or not an input start command is detected. If an input start command is detected, the process proceeds to step S202 to start the input process. On the other hand, when the input start command is not detected, the pre-input start process and the character input process are ended.

  In step S202, the overall control unit 250 changes the input mode from the pre-input start mode to the first hierarchy selection mode. Subsequently, by the process of step S203, the information output unit 240 outputs display information or audio information indicating that the input mode has been changed to the first hierarchy selection mode. For example, the audio output unit 400 outputs a sound effect indicating that the mode has been changed to the first hierarchy selection mode. The user can recognize that the input mode has been changed by an image or sound.

  Here, the input start command detection process performed in step S200 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, in step S <b> 300, the overall control unit 250 acquires the latest contact information from the contact history storage unit 220. Subsequently, in step S <b> 301, the overall control unit 250 determines whether the coordinates of the contact point are within the character selection start determination area 103 from the acquired contact information. If the coordinates of the latest contact point are within the character selection start determination area 103, it is determined that the user has input a character input start command, and the process proceeds to step S302. On the other hand, if the coordinates of the latest contact point are not in the character selection start determination area 103, the process proceeds to step S304.

  In step S302, it is determined whether or not the in-region start time is set. Here, the intra-region start time indicates the time when the user's finger enters the character selection start determination region 103. The in-region start time is not limited to the time, and may be the time that has elapsed since the user's finger entered the character selection start determination region 103. If the in-region start time is set, the input start command detection process is terminated, and the process proceeds to step S201 in FIG. On the other hand, if the in-region start time has not been set, the time when the coordinates of the latest contact point entered the character selection start determination region 103 is set as the in-region start time, and the input start command detection process ends.

  If it is determined in step S301 that the coordinates of the contact point are not in the character selection start determination area 103, the processing in steps S304 to S307 is performed. First, in step S304, it is determined whether or not the in-region start time is set. If the in-region start time is not set, the input start command detection process is terminated. On the other hand, if the in-region start time has already been set, the process of step S305 is performed. That is, the overall control unit 250 refers to the current time and determines whether or not a certain time (for example, 0.2 seconds) has elapsed from the set in-region start time. As a result of the determination, if a certain period of time has elapsed, it is possible that the user has touched the finger in the character selection start determination area 103 and then left the character selection start determination area 103. Then, the process proceeds to step S306. Subsequently, in step S306, the overall control unit 250 determines that the input mode is already the first hierarchy selection mode.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S305 that a predetermined time has not elapsed since the set in-region start time, it is determined that the user has not input a character input start command, and the process proceeds to step S307. That is, when a certain time has not elapsed since the start time in the area, it is considered that the user's finger touched the character selection start determination area 103 for a very short time or a noise signal was generated. These are recognized as malfunctions. Thereafter, the process clears the in-region start time set in step S307, and ends the input start command detection process.

  As described above, in the input start command detection process, when the user's finger is in the character selection start determination area 103, the input start command is detected. On the other hand, (1) the user's finger is outside the character selection start determination area 103 and the start time in the area is not set, and (2) the user's finger is outside the character selection start determination area 103, The input start command is not detected when the predetermined time has not elapsed from the in-region start time. Further, when the user's finger is outside the character selection start determination area 103 and the current time has passed a certain time from the in-area start time, it is determined that the input mode is already the first hierarchy selection mode, An input start command is not detected.

  Next, processing when the input mode is determined to be the first hierarchy selection mode in step S101 in FIG. 3 will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the first hierarchy selection process. First, in step S <b> 400, the overall control unit 250 acquires the latest contact information from the contact history storage unit 220. In step S401, a representative character corresponding to the coordinates of the contact point is selected. Here, the item selection command in the first hierarchy selection mode is associated with an operation pattern in which the user slides his / her finger from the + X direction to the −X direction. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7A, when the user slides his / her finger from the + X direction to the −X direction, the selection item determination unit 230 detects the operation pattern as an item selection command in the first hierarchy. When the item selection command is detected, the selection item determination unit 230 selects a representative character on the line according to the coordinates of the contact point. Note that each grid 102 formed in the upper region of the coordinate input unit 100 may be associated with the representative characters “a” to “wa” of each line to be selected, and the selection item determination unit 230 is in contact with the grid A representative character may be selected according to 102. In the example of FIG. 7A, the selection item determination unit 230 selects “ha line” as a representative character. In step S <b> 402, the information output unit 240 sequentially outputs information indicating the items selected by the selection item determination unit 230 to the display unit 300 or the audio output unit 400. For example, the selected representative characters may be sequentially displayed on the display unit 300, and the voice output unit 400 may inform the user of the selected representative characters by voice.

  Next, in step S <b> 403, the overall control unit 250 determines whether the user's finger has left the coordinate input unit 100 based on the detection result of the coordinate input unit 100. If the user's finger is in continuous contact with the coordinate input unit 100, the process proceeds to step S404. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no contact, the process proceeds to step S407, and the representative character currently selected by the item selection determination unit 230 is determined as a character to be input. For example, in FIG. 7A, when the user's finger is separated from the coordinate input unit 100, the representative character “ha” of “ha line” is determined as the character to be input. When the character to be input is determined, the integrated control unit 250 ends the input process.

  If the user's finger is in continuous contact with the coordinate input unit 100 in step S403, it is determined in step S404 whether a hierarchy change command has been detected. Here, the hierarchy change command is detected when the user changes the direction in which the user slides his / her finger from the X direction to the Y direction, for example, as shown in FIGS. When the hierarchy change command is not detected, the process returns to step S400 again, and the processes of steps S400 to S403 are sequentially performed.

  If a hierarchy change command is detected, the process proceeds to step S405, and the hierarchy change unit 270 changes the input mode from the first hierarchy selection mode to the second hierarchy selection mode. Furthermore, in the process of step S406, the information output unit 240 outputs information indicating that the input mode has shifted to the second hierarchy selection mode to the display unit 300 or the audio output unit 400. Thereby, the user can recognize that the input mode has been changed. Thus, the first tier selection process ends.

  Next, processing when the input mode is determined to be the second hierarchy selection mode in step S101 in FIG. 3 will be described. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the second hierarchy selection process. First, in step S <b> 500, the overall control unit 250 acquires the latest contact information from the contact history storage unit 220. Subsequently, in step S501, characters in a column corresponding to the coordinates of the contact point are selected. Here, the item selection command in the second hierarchy selection mode is associated with an operation pattern in which the user slides his / her finger from the + Y direction to the −Y direction. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 7B, when the user slides his / her finger from the + Y direction to the −Y direction, the selection item determination unit 230 detects the operation pattern as an item selection command in the second hierarchy. When the item selection command is detected, the selection item determination unit 230 selects a character in the column according to the coordinates of the contact point. In the example of FIG. 7B, the selection item determination unit 230 selects the character “F”, which is “Udan” of “Ha”. In step S502, the information output unit 240 outputs information indicating the selected character to the display unit 300 or the audio output unit 400.

  In step S <b> 503, the overall control unit 250 determines whether the user's finger has left the coordinate input unit 100 based on the detection result of the coordinate input unit 100. When the user's finger is continuously in contact with the coordinate input unit 100, the process returns to the process of step S500 again, and the processes of steps S500 to S502 are sequentially performed.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S503 that there is no contact, the process proceeds to step S504, and the overall control unit 250 determines the character currently selected by the item selection determination unit 230 as a character to be input. Information indicating the confirmed character is output to the display unit 300 or the voice output unit 400 by the information output unit 240. Thereby, the user can recognize that the character which should be input with an image or an audio | voice was determined (step S505). When the character to be input is determined as described above, the second hierarchy selection process and the character input process of FIG. 3 are finished.

  As described above, in the input device according to the present embodiment, the user selects an item according to the coordinates of the contact point with which the finger contacts by sliding the finger on the coordinate input unit. In addition, by changing the direction in which the user slides his / her finger, the hierarchy that is the target of item selection is changed from the upper hierarchy to the lower hierarchy. As described above, the user can select and input characters to be input from the items classified into a plurality of items by a touch operation of sliding a finger on the coordinate input unit. Therefore, the input device according to the present embodiment does not require a complicated operation, can input characters by an intuitive operation, and can input characters quickly.

  In the input device according to the present embodiment, the direction in which the finger is slid to select “row” and the direction in which the finger is slid to select “column” are orthogonal to each other. And “stage” are not easily confused, and input errors can be prevented.

  In addition, since the input device according to the present embodiment includes the display unit or the audio output unit, it can visually or audibly recognize that the selected item or hierarchy has been changed, and the input status Can be confirmed one by one.

  In the present embodiment, the selection item determination unit selects an item based on the coordinates of the contact point, but is not limited thereto. The selection item determination unit may select an item according to the moving distance from the initial position of the contact point.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, an input device according to Embodiment 2 will be described. The input device of the present embodiment has a configuration substantially similar to that of the first embodiment, but differs in the following points. That is, the operation pattern associated with the hierarchy change command is different from the operation pattern associated with the item selection command in the second hierarchy selection mode. Hereinafter, a description will be given focusing on differences from the first embodiment. Note that components similar to those in the first embodiment will be described with the same reference numerals.

  First, the relationship between the item selection command and the operation pattern in the second hierarchy selection mode will be described. In the first embodiment, the selection item determination unit 230 detects the item selection command when the user slides his / her finger from the + Y direction to the −Y direction. When the finger is slid so that the shape of the item becomes a circle, an item selection command is detected. That is, as shown in the input example of FIG. 9, when the user slides his / her finger so that the movement locus becomes a circle according to the arrow B, the selection item determination unit 230 detects an item selection command. When an item selection command is detected, the selection item determination unit 230 selects an item according to the rotation angle of the contact point when the center point of the circle is the center. FIG. 10 shows the relationship between the rotation angle of the contact point and the selected item. In the figure, when the user slides his / her finger between the rotation angles of 0 ° and 45 °, “A” is selected from the representative characters of each line, and when the user slides between 45 ° and 90 °, “I” is displayed. Selected. Hereinafter, “dan” is selected in order according to the rotation angle. Further, when the rotation angle of the contact point is 225 ° or later, the selection is made again from “A”.

  As described above, in the second hierarchy selection mode, an item is selected according to the rotation angle of the contact point, so that even if the area of the coordinate input unit 100 is small, a character to be input can be selected and input.

  The item selection command detected in the first hierarchy selection mode is the same as in the first embodiment. That is, as shown in FIG. 9, the selection item determination unit 230 detects an item selection command when the user moves his / her finger from the + X direction to the −X direction, and when the user slides according to the arrow A, the selection item determination unit 230 Select.

  Next, the relationship between the hierarchy change command and the operation pattern will be described. In the first embodiment, the hierarchy change command is detected when the user changes the direction in which the user slides his / her finger from the X direction to the Y direction. However, in the present embodiment, the shape of the movement locus of the contact point changes. Detected. That is, as shown in FIG. 9, when the user slides his / her finger so that the shape of the movement trajectory changes from a straight line to a circle, the hierarchy changing unit 270 causes the movement locus of the contact point to change from a straight line (arrow A in the figure) to a circle ( At point P1 changing to arrow B), a hierarchy change command is detected. When the hierarchy change command is detected, the hierarchy change unit 270 changes the hierarchy to be selected by the selection item determination unit 230 from the first hierarchy to the second hierarchy.

  As described above, the input device according to the present embodiment selects items according to the rotation angle of the contact point. Thereby, since the area of a coordinate detection part can be made further smaller, the input device reduced in size can be provided. Moreover, since the range in which the user moves his / her finger when selecting an item can be reduced, fatigue due to finger movement can be reduced. Furthermore, since the input device according to the present embodiment selects items according to the rotation angle of the contact point, even when the number of items belonging to each layer is large, it is possible to cope without increasing the area of the coordinate detection unit. So convenient.

  In addition, the input device according to the present embodiment changes the hierarchy that is the target of item selection when the shape of the movement locus of the contact point changes. Thereby, the user can change a hierarchy by more intuitive operation.

  In the input device according to the present embodiment, the hierarchy is changed when the movement locus of the contact point changes from a straight line to a circle, but the present invention is not limited to this. The hierarchy changing unit may change the hierarchy when the shape of the movement locus of the contact point changes, and may be other shapes such as an ellipse and a wavy line as well as a circle and a straight line. Further, the movement locus of the contact point in the first hierarchy selection mode may be a circle, and the movement locus of the contact point in the second hierarchy selection mode may be a straight line.

(Embodiment 3)
Next, an input device according to Embodiment 3 will be described. The input device of the present embodiment has substantially the same configuration as the input devices of the first and second embodiments, but the operation pattern associated with the item selection command is different from that of the first and second embodiments. The following description will focus on differences from the first and second embodiments.

  FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the input device according to the present embodiment. The input device further includes a contact time calculation unit 500 in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment. The contact time calculation unit 500 calculates the time during which the user's finger is continuously in contact with the coordinate input unit 100. The calculated contact time is stored as contact information in the contact history storage unit 220.

  Next, the relationship between the item selection command and the operation pattern will be described. In the first and second embodiments, when the user slides his / her finger on the coordinate input unit 100, the item selection command is detected, and the item is selected according to the coordinates and the rotation angle of the contact point. The selection item determination unit 230 selects an item according to the contact time stored in the contact history storage unit 220. FIG. 12 shows the relationship between the contact time and the selected item. As shown in FIG. 12, for example, when the user touches the coordinate input unit 100 with the finger for 7.5 seconds, the selection item determination unit 230 selects “na row” in the first hierarchy selection mode. In the second hierarchy selection mode, the selection item determination unit 230 selects “dan”. As in the first embodiment, the hierarchy changing unit 270 changes the hierarchy instruction when the user slides his / her finger from the X direction to the Y direction or when the shape of the movement locus of the contact point is changed. Is detected, and the hierarchy that is the target of item selection is changed.

  As described above, the input device according to the present embodiment detects the item selection command based on the time for which the user makes the finger touch the coordinate input unit. Therefore, since it is not necessary to slide a finger, the burden on the user can be reduced. In addition, since the user can select an item without paying attention to the hand, a highly convenient input device can be provided.

  In the present embodiment, the selection item determination unit selects an item based on the contact time in each layer, but is not limited thereto. In the first hierarchy selection mode, an item may be selected according to the coordinates of the contact point and the movement distance, and in the second hierarchy selection mode, an item may be selected based on the contact time. I can't.

(Embodiment 4)
Next, an input device according to Embodiment 4 will be described. The input device of the present embodiment has substantially the same configuration as the input devices of the first to third embodiments, but the operation pattern associated with the hierarchy change command is different from that of the first to third embodiments.

  As described above, the contact history storage unit 220 stores contact information for each predetermined sampling time. The overall control unit 250 uses the coordinates of the contact points at each time point stored in the contact history storage unit 220 to calculate an angle formed by a line connecting the contact points. The hierarchy changing unit 270 detects a hierarchy changing instruction if the angle calculated by the overall control unit 250 is 90 degrees or less. FIGS. 13A and 13B are input examples input to the coordinate input unit 100. In FIG. 13A, since the angle formed by the line connecting the front and rear contact points is 90 degrees or more at the point P2, the hierarchy change command is not detected. On the other hand, at point P3, the angle formed by the line connecting the front and back contact points is 90 degrees or less, so the hierarchy changing unit 270 detects the hierarchy change command and changes the hierarchy from the upper hierarchy to the lower hierarchy.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 13B, the overall control unit 250 extracts the coordinates of the contact points from the contact information stored in the contact history storage unit 220, for example, at intervals of 50 milliseconds, and extracts the contact points. You may calculate the angle which the line | wire which connects is formed. Thereby, the hierarchy changing unit 270 does not detect the hierarchy change command even when the user moves the finger within a minute range, so that the hierarchy is not changed by mistake.

  As described above, the input device according to the present embodiment changes the hierarchy based on the angle formed by the lines connecting the contact points. Thereby, the user can change a hierarchy by intuitive operation. In addition, since the calculated angle formed by the line connecting the contact points is used, the integrated control unit can easily detect that the user has input a hierarchy change command.

  In the present embodiment, the hierarchy is changed when the angle formed by the lines connecting the contact points is 90 degrees or less, but the angle is not limited to this.

(Embodiment 5)
Next, an input device according to Embodiment 5 will be described. The input device according to the present embodiment has substantially the same configuration as the input devices according to the first to fourth embodiments, but differs in that a plurality of items are stored in the ROM 260 by being classified into three layers.

  The ROM 260 stores a plurality of items to be selected and input. In the present embodiment, each item is classified and stored in the first to third hierarchies. FIG. 14 shows an example of items stored in the ROM 260. “Representative characters of a row” are stored in the first hierarchy, and “representative characters of each level” corresponding to the representative characters of each row of the first hierarchy are stored in the second hierarchy. "Character" is stored. Further, “kanji candidates” corresponding to the characters in the second layer are stored in the third layer.

  Similar to the first to fourth embodiments, the selection item determination unit 230 detects an item selection command based on the user's contact operation, and determines the contact point coordinates, the contact point movement distance, the rotation angle of the movement locus, and the contact time. Select an item accordingly. For example, as shown in FIG. 15, when the user slides his / her finger according to the arrow A in the first hierarchy selection mode, an item selection command is detected, and the selection item determination unit 230 selects the representative character of each line based on the coordinates of the contact point. select. When the direction in which the user slides his / her finger is changed from the X direction to the Y direction (point P4), a hierarchy change command is detected, and the hierarchy change unit 270 changes the hierarchy from which the item selection is performed from the first hierarchy to the second hierarchy. Change to Subsequently, in the second hierarchy selection mode, when the user slides his / her finger along the arrow B, an item selection command is detected, and the selection item determination unit 230 selects a character at each level based on the coordinates of the contact point. Thereafter, when the finger is slid so as to change the shape of the movement locus of the contact point from a straight line to a circle (point P5), a hierarchy change command is detected, and the hierarchy change unit 270 selects the second hierarchy for item selection. Change from hierarchy to 3rd hierarchy. In the third hierarchy selection mode, when the finger is slid in accordance with the arrow C so that the movement locus of the contact point is a circle, an item selection command is detected, and the selection item determination unit 230 determines the Chinese character candidate based on the rotation angle of the contact point. Select. When the user removes his / her finger from the coordinate input unit 100 and makes no contact, the selected kanji candidate is determined as a character to be input. If it is desired to input a hiragana character instead of a kanji character, the finger may be separated from the coordinate input unit 100 in the second hierarchy selection mode to be non-contact.

  As described above, the input device according to the present embodiment can be easily performed by the user sliding his / her finger even when items to be selected are classified and stored in two or more layers. In addition, it is possible to select and input characters to be input quickly.

  In addition, although each item is classified and stored in the three layers in the ROM 260 of the present embodiment, the same effect can be obtained even when the items are further classified into multiple layers.

  In the present embodiment, “kanji candidates” corresponding to items in the second hierarchy are stored in the third hierarchy, but the present invention is not limited to this. The item stored in the third layer may be a word including the item of the second layer. For example, in contrast to the character “A” stored in the second hierarchy, words including “A” such as “Thank you”, “Tomorrow”, and “Rain” may be stored in the third hierarchy.

  In the first to fifth embodiments, the input device for inputting Japanese has been described as an example, but the present invention can also be applied when inputting a foreign language such as an alphabet.

  In addition, although the input apparatus of Embodiment 1-5 showed only about the case where a character is input, it is not restricted to this. A desired command may be selected from menu commands classified into a plurality of layers. For example, the present invention may be applied to an input device such as an audio player. In this case, as shown in FIG. 16, items indicating media types such as “CD”, “radio”, and “MD” are stored in the first layer, and “volume”, “playback”, “ An item indicating a command for the medium selected in the first hierarchy, such as “Stop”, is stored. Furthermore, an item indicating a detailed setting command for the command selected in the second hierarchy is stored in the third hierarchy. For example, by associating the command for adjusting the volume with the contact operation in which the movement locus of the contact point is a circle in the third hierarchy, the user can easily set the desired volume by sliding the finger.

  In the first to fifth embodiments, the case where the present invention is applied to an input device has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. It may be a computer program that realizes the method described above. Such a program may be recorded in the ROM 260, for example.

  In addition, although the input device of Embodiment 1-5 was provided with the coordinate input part, the display part, the audio | voice output part, and the control part, it is not restricted to this. For example, a plurality of coordinate input devices including the coordinate input unit 100 and a server device including the control unit 200 may be connected via the Internet. Each coordinate input device receives a contact operation from the user, and transmits information indicating the contact operation input by the user to the server device. And a server apparatus determines the character which should be selected and input based on the received information which shows contact operation, and transmits to each coordinate input device. Thereby, a coordinate input device can be made into a simpler structure.

  In addition, although the input device of Embodiments 1-5 demonstrated the case where one type of character input was performed, you may input two or more types of characters. In such a case, a character input start determination area is provided according to the type of character to be input. For example, as shown in FIG. 17, when inputting two types of characters, kana character input and number input, the coordinate input unit 100 includes a kana character input start determination area 600 for detecting a kana character input start command. A number selection start determination area 650 for detecting a number input start command is provided. The user can select a desired representative character by sliding the finger from the kana character input start determination area 600 according to the arrow A1. On the other hand, the user can select a desired number by sliding the finger from the number selection start determination area 650 according to the arrow A2.

  In the input devices of the first to fifth embodiments, the item selection command is detected based on the contact operation input to the inner edge of the coordinate input unit 100 in the first hierarchy selection mode and the second hierarchy selection mode. Not limited to this. For example, in the first hierarchy selection mode, an item selection command is detected based on the contact operation input to the frame 101 of the coordinate input unit 100. Then, the user slides his / her finger from the frame 101 to the inner edge and a hierarchy change command is detected. With this configuration, the user can easily recognize which level of the selection process is currently being performed based on the input position, and input errors can be prevented.

  The present invention is suitable for a television device, a car navigation device, a personal computer, a DVD, a mobile phone, a PDA and the like that require quick input of characters with an easy operation.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an input device according to a first embodiment. The figure which shows the detailed structure of the coordinate input part of Embodiment 1. FIG. Flowchart showing input processing according to the first embodiment. Flow chart showing pre-selection start processing of the first embodiment Flowchart showing the input start command detection process of the first embodiment Flowchart showing the first layer selection process of the first embodiment The figure which shows the example of input in Embodiment 1 Flowchart showing the second hierarchy selection process of the first embodiment The figure which shows the example of input in Embodiment 2 The figure which shows the relationship between the rotation angle of the locus | trajectory of Embodiment 2, and the item selected. The block diagram which shows the structure of the input device which concerns on Embodiment 3. The figure which shows the relationship between the contact time in Embodiment 3, and the item selected. The figure which shows an example of the hierarchy change command input into a coordinate input part in Embodiment 3 The figure which shows an example of the item stored in ROM of Embodiment 4 The figure which shows the example of input in Embodiment 5 The figure which shows the other example of the item stored in ROM The figure which shows the other structural example of a coordinate input part.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Coordinate input part 101 Frame 102 Grid 103 Character selection start determination area 200 Control part 210 Contact information input part 220 Contact history storage part 230 Selection item determination part 240 Information output part 250 General control part 260 ROM
270 Hierarchy change unit 300 Display unit 400 Audio output unit 500 Contact time calculation unit 600 Character selection start determination region 650 Number selection start determination region

Claims (20)

An input device for selecting and inputting one item from an item storage unit storing items belonging to an upper hierarchy and items belonging to a lower hierarchy corresponding to each of the items,
An input unit that receives a contact operation from the user and detects the presence or absence of contact and the coordinates of the contact point;
The same hierarchy stored in the item storage unit according to the upper layer item selection command, when an upper layer item selection command is detected when the touch operation input to the input unit is a predetermined contact operation of a higher layer An upper layer item selection section for selecting one of the items belonging to
A hierarchy change unit that detects a hierarchy change command based on a change in movement of the touch operation input to the input unit, and changes a hierarchy to be selected for an item from an upper hierarchy to a lower hierarchy according to the hierarchy change command;
The same hierarchy stored in the item storage unit according to the lower hierarchy item selection command, when a lower hierarchy item selection command is detected when the contact operation input to the input unit is a predetermined lower level contact operation A lower hierarchy item selection section for selecting one of the items belonging to
An input device comprising: an item determining unit that determines the selected item as an input item when the input unit detects non-contact.   The input device according to claim 1, further comprising a selection item output unit that sequentially outputs information indicating the item each time an item is selected by the upper layer item selection unit and the lower layer item selection unit.   The input device according to claim 2, wherein the selection item output unit outputs information indicating the selected item as sound or an image.   The input device according to claim 1, further comprising: a hierarchy change output unit that sequentially outputs information indicating that the hierarchy has been changed each time the hierarchy is changed from an upper hierarchy to a lower hierarchy by the hierarchy change unit.   The input device according to claim 4, wherein the hierarchy changing unit outputs information indicating that the hierarchy is changed as sound or an image.   The upper layer item selection unit and / or the lower layer item selection unit selects one of items belonging to the same layer stored in the item storage unit according to the coordinates of the detected contact point. The input device according to 1.   The upper hierarchy item selection unit and / or the lower hierarchy item selection unit calculates a movement amount of the contact point based on the detected coordinates, and stores the same hierarchy stored in the item storage unit according to the movement amount The input device according to claim 1, wherein one of items belonging to is selected. A contact time calculation unit that calculates a time during which a contact point is continuously in contact with the input unit;
The upper hierarchy item selection unit and / or the lower hierarchy item selection unit selects one of items belonging to the same hierarchy stored in the item storage unit according to the calculated contact time. The input device described. The input unit detects coordinates of a contact point touched by a user every predetermined time,
The upper layer item selection unit and / or the lower layer item selection unit is configured such that the upper layer item is selected when the contact operation input to the input unit is a contact operation in which the shape of the movement locus of each contact point is a substantially straight line. The input device according to claim 6, wherein a selection command and / or a lower layer item selection command is detected. The input unit detects coordinates of a contact point touched by a user every predetermined time,
The upper layer item selection unit and / or the lower layer item selection unit is configured to display the upper layer item when the contact operation input to the input unit is a contact operation in which the shape of the movement locus of each contact point is a substantially arc. When a selection command and / or a lower layer item selection command is detected and the center point of the substantially arc is the center, one of the items belonging to the same layer stored in the item storage unit according to the rotation angle of the contact point The input device according to claim 1, wherein one is selected. The input unit corresponds to each item belonging to the same hierarchy and includes a plurality of recesses or projections that can be identified by the user by touch, and detects the presence or absence of contact with each of the recesses or projections.
The upper hierarchy item selection unit and / or the lower hierarchy item selection unit selects an item corresponding to the contacted concave portion or convex portion among items belonging to the same hierarchy stored in the item storage unit. The input device according to 1. The input unit detects coordinates of a contact point touched by a user every predetermined time,
The hierarchy changing unit calculates an angle formed by a line connecting the contact points based on the detected coordinates, and a contact operation input to the input unit makes the angle equal to or less than a predetermined angle. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the input device detects a hierarchy change command when it is an operation. The input unit detects coordinates of a contact point touched by a user every predetermined time,
The input device according to claim 1, wherein the hierarchy change unit detects a contact operation that changes a shape of a movement locus of each contact point as a hierarchy change command. The input unit detects coordinates of a contact point touched by a user every predetermined time,
The hierarchy change unit detects a hierarchy change command when the contact operation input to the input unit is a contact operation that changes the shape of the movement locus of each contact point from a substantially straight line to a substantially arc. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the touch operation is detected as a hierarchy change command. The input unit has an inner edge area and an outer edge area, and detects the coordinates of a point touched by the user every predetermined time;
The hierarchy changing unit is configured to move the contact point from the contacted region to a different region after the contact operation input to the input unit brings the contact point into contact with the outer edge region or the inner edge region. The input device according to claim 1, wherein a hierarchy change command is detected when   The upper layer item selection unit detects a touch operation input to the outer edge region of the input unit as an upper layer item selection command, and determines an item belonging to the upper layer stored in the storage unit according to the coordinates of the contact point. The input device according to claim 15, wherein one of them is selected. A character input device for selecting and inputting one kana character from a character storage unit storing representative kana characters of each line of the Japanese syllabary and kana characters of each stage corresponding to each line,
An input unit that accepts a contact operation from the user and detects the presence or absence of contact and the coordinates of the contact point;
An item selection command is detected when the contact operation input to the input unit is a predetermined contact operation, and one of the representative kana characters in each row stored in the character storage unit according to the item selection command A representative kana character selector for selecting
A hierarchy change command is detected based on a change in the movement of the touch operation input to the input unit, and a target to be selected in accordance with the hierarchy change command is selected from a representative character of each row to a representative kana character corresponding to the representative kana character. A hierarchy change part to be changed to,
The kana character selection command is detected when the contact operation input to the input unit is a predetermined contact operation, and the kana characters of the stage stored in the character storage unit according to the kana character selection command A kana character selector for selecting one;
A character input device comprising: an input character determination unit that determines a kana character selected by the kana character selection unit as an input character when the detection unit detects non-contact. The character storage unit further stores words corresponding to the kana characters,
The hierarchy change unit detects a hierarchy change command based on a change in the movement of the input touch operation, and changes a selection target from the kana character of the stage to a word corresponding to the kana character according to the hierarchy change command. change,
The character input device detects a word conversion command when the contact operation input to the input unit is a predetermined contact operation, and stores the word stored in the character storage unit according to the word conversion command A word selection section for selecting one of them,
The character input device according to claim 17, wherein the input character determination unit determines the selected word as an input word when the detection unit detects non-contact.   The character input device according to claim 18, wherein a word corresponding to each kana character stored in the word storage unit is at least one of a kanji character, an alphabet, and a character string including the kana character. To a computer capable of selecting and inputting one item from an item storage unit storing items belonging to an upper hierarchy and items belonging to a lower hierarchy corresponding to each of the items,
A first step of detecting the presence or absence of contact with the input unit and the coordinates of the contact point;
An item selection command is detected when the contact operation input to the input unit is a predetermined contact operation of each layer, and items belonging to the same layer stored in the item storage unit according to the item selection command are detected. A second step of selecting one of them;
A third step of detecting a hierarchy change command based on a change in the movement of the touch operation input to the input unit, and changing a selection target of the item selection command from an upper hierarchy to a lower hierarchy according to the hierarchy change instruction; ,
A fourth step of sequentially performing the first to third steps for each layer from the upper layer to the lower layer;
An input program for executing a fifth step of determining the selected item as an input item when non-contact with the input unit is detected.

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