JP2014056481A - Information terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To securely receive a contact input that a user intends by invalidating an erroneous input which is easily caused when a vibration occurs.SOLUTION: An information terminal includes an input part, a vibration detecting part which detects a vibration, a contact measuring part which measures contact time contacting with the input part, a storage part which stores determining time for determining whether the contact to the input part is valid, and a contact determining part which determines whether the contact to the input part is a valid contact input on the basis of a comparison of the determining time and the contact time. The determining time is changed according to magnitude of the vibration detected by the vibration detecting part.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information terminal, and more particularly to an information terminal that can accept an intended operation and reduce erroneous input when vibration occurs when a user is performing an input operation on the information terminal.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, some navigation devices and the like mounted on a vehicle use a touch panel that allows various operations with a user's finger or the like.
However, when the touch panel is operated while the vehicle is running, there is a case where an operation different from the input operation intended by the user is executed due to the vibration of the vehicle.
That is, when the vehicle is vibrating, an input operation mistake unintended by the user is likely to occur. Therefore, the following erroneous input prevention technology has been proposed.

For example, a navigation device mounted on a vehicle is equipped with a G sensor that detects acceleration, and when the detected acceleration value is within an allowable range, a user touch input process is executed, and when the detected acceleration value is not within the allowable range, an input operation is performed. An information input device for canceling has been proposed (see Patent Document 1).
In addition, when a vibration of the vehicle is detected, a chattering determination time CT is determined for determining that the unintended contact is not intended by the user and determining that the previous contact has changed to non-contact. An in-vehicle input device that avoids erroneous input due to chattering by changing the setting to a time longer than the above time has also been proposed (see Patent Document 2).

  In addition, a pressure-sensitive sensor that detects the pressing force of the touch panel is provided, and when the calculated pressing force of the touch panel exceeds a predetermined input determination threshold, the user's input operation is executed, but when it does not exceed, the input operation is executed. In addition, by changing the input determination threshold according to the magnitude of the acceleration output from the acceleration sensor, an input operation error unintended by the user when a large acceleration is detected due to vibration or the like is prevented. Electronic devices have been proposed (see Patent Document 3).

JP 2010-26605 A JP2011-192231A JP 2012-27875 A

However, when the user operates the touch panel of the device mounted on the vehicle, the input operation performed by the user due to the vibration of the vehicle may be incorrect, but it may be correct even if there is vibration.
In addition, regardless of the occurrence of vibration, the user may be strong or weak in pressing the touch panel.
Therefore, simply canceling the user's input operation when the detected acceleration value is largely outside the allowable range, it is necessary to repeat the correct input operation even if the intended input operation is performed. It ’s not easy to use.

Also, when the pressing force of the touch input of the touch panel is detected and it is determined whether the input operation is valid or invalid simply by the magnitude of the detected pressing force, correct input is made even if the pressing force is smaller than a predetermined value. In some cases, the magnitude of the pressing force and the determination of whether or not there is an erroneous input may not necessarily match.
That is, even in a state where vibration is occurring, it is desirable not to simply cancel the input but to accept the input operation and execute a corresponding process when the input operation intended by the user is performed.

  In addition, if chattering determination time is dynamically changed and vibration is occurring in an unintended state, setting a determination time longer than normal can prevent chattering of input operations. It is difficult to determine whether the input operation itself is an erroneous input.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and increases the possibility of invalidating the input when the user makes an unintended contact input during vibration generation. In the case where the user is doing, an object is to provide an information terminal that can accept the input promptly and surely.

The present invention determines an input unit, a vibration detection unit that detects vibration, a contact measurement unit that measures a contact time in contact with the input unit, and whether or not contact with the input unit is valid A storage unit that stores the determination time, and a contact determination unit that determines whether or not contact with the input unit is an effective contact input based on a comparison between the determination time and the contact time. According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information terminal characterized in that the determination time is changed in accordance with the magnitude of vibration detected by the unit.
According to the present invention, since the determination time for determining whether or not the contact with the input unit is valid is changed according to the magnitude of the vibration detected by the vibration detection unit, vibration has occurred. The possibility of invalidating an erroneous input unintended by the user due to the user is increased, and the user's intentional input can be accepted as an effective contact input quickly and reliably.

The present invention also includes an input unit, a vibration detection unit that detects vibration, a contact measurement unit that measures the time of contact with the input unit, and a vibration measurement that indicates the magnitude of the detected current vibration. A storage unit storing a value, a measured contact time, a determination time for determining whether or not contact with the input unit is valid, and a vibration reference value for determining the presence or absence of the vibration The contact between the vibration determination unit for determining whether the detected vibration measurement value is larger than the vibration reference value, and the contact with the input unit by comparing the contact time with the determination time. A contact determination unit that determines whether the input is an input, and when the vibration determination unit determines that the vibration measurement value is greater than the vibration reference value, the determination time is changed to a predetermined long time. An information terminal is provided.
According to this, when it is determined that the vibration measurement value detected by the vibration detection unit is larger than the vibration reference value, the determination time for determining whether or not the contact with the input unit is valid is a predetermined long time. Since the time is changed, it is possible to increase the possibility of invalidating an erroneous input not intended by the user.

Here, when the first determination time and the second determination time longer than the first determination time are stored in the storage unit in advance, and the vibration measurement value detected by the vibration detection unit is equal to or less than the vibration reference value The determination time is set to the first determination time, and when the vibration measurement value is larger than the vibration reference value, the determination time is set to the second determination time.
According to this, when the determination time is set to a relatively short first determination time, the vibration is in a small state, so that the user's intentional contact input can be determined quickly and reliably as an effective contact input. It is possible to quickly execute an operation corresponding to the contact input.
Moreover, when the determination time is set to a relatively long second determination time, it is possible to increase the possibility that an erroneous input with a short contact time can be determined to be invalid even if the vibration is relatively large.

Further, when the vibration determination unit determines that the vibration measurement value is continuously larger than the vibration reference value for a predetermined period or longer, the determination time is set to the second determination time. And
The contact determination unit may determine that the contact with the input unit is an effective contact input when the contact time is longer than the determination time.
According to this, when the contact time is longer than the determination time, it is determined that the contact to the input unit is an effective contact input. If a contact input operation longer than the determination time is performed, an operation corresponding to the contact input can be surely executed.

  Further, when the input unit is a touch panel, the contact measurement unit measures a time until the contact is released after starting the contact with the touch panel, and the measured time is used as the contact time. It memorize | stores in a memory | storage part, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

Moreover, a display unit is further provided, and when the determination time is changed, display information indicating that the determination time has been changed is displayed on the display unit.
The information processing apparatus may further include a notification unit that notifies the user that the determination time has been changed when the determination time is changed.
As the notification unit, means for outputting at least one of vibration, sound, and light may be used.
According to this, since the user is notified that the determination time has been changed, when the user confirms the notification when the setting time of the determination time is changed to a relatively long time, the user's intended contact input is displayed. By performing it longer than usual, the intended contact input can be surely made an effective contact input.

  An acceleration sensor can be used as the vibration detection unit.

According to the present invention, the determination time for determining whether or not the contact with the input unit is valid is changed according to the magnitude of the vibration detected by the vibration detection unit. The possibility of accepting the input and invalidating the erroneous input not intended by the user can be increased.
In particular, when it is determined that the vibration measurement value detected by the vibration detection unit is greater than the vibration reference value, the determination time is changed to a predetermined long time, so that erroneous input with a short contact time is invalidated. The possibility of determination can be increased, and when the user performs intentional contact input, effective contact input can be performed by performing contact input longer than usual.
In addition, by notifying the user that the determination time has been changed, the user can more surely make an effective contact input.

It is a block diagram of the configuration of an embodiment of the information terminal of the present invention. It is a flowchart of 1st Example of the contact detection process based on the vibration determination in the information terminal of this invention. It is a flowchart of one Example of the contact detection process in 1st Example of this invention. It is a flowchart of 2nd Example of the contact detection process based on the vibration determination in the information terminal of this invention. It is a flowchart of 3rd Example of the contact detection process based on the vibration determination in the information terminal of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of one Example of the presence determination of the contact input in this invention. It is explanatory drawing of one Example of the determination criteria of the presence or absence of vibration in this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the example of a display which alert | reports the change of the determination time of contact detection. It is explanatory drawing of the example of a display which alert | reports the change of the determination time of contact detection. It is explanatory drawing of the example of a display which alert | reports the change of the determination time of contact detection.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, this does not limit the present invention.
<Configuration of information terminal of the present invention>
FIG. 1 shows a configuration block diagram of an embodiment of an information terminal of the present invention.
The information terminal of the present invention (hereinafter simply referred to as a terminal or TE) mainly includes a control unit 11, an input unit 12, a display unit 13, a vibration detection unit 14, a vibration determination unit 15, a contact determination unit 16, and a contact. A measurement unit 17 and a storage unit 31 are provided.

The control unit 11 is a part that executes the function of the information terminal of the present invention, and is mainly realized by a microcomputer including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an I / O controller, a timer, and the like.
Further, based on a control program stored in a ROM or the like, the CPU organically operates each hardware, thereby realizing functions such as vibration determination and contact determination according to the present invention.

The input unit 12 is a part where the user inputs characters and the like and selects functions, and the touch panel 21, keyboard 22, mouse 23, and the like can be used, for example.
When the information terminal of the present invention is a small and light portable terminal or a car navigation device mounted on a vehicle, the touch panel 21 is mainly used to facilitate the user's operation. preferable.
In the following embodiments, it is assumed that the input unit 12 includes at least a touch panel 21 and performs an input operation such as function selection when the user touches the touch panel 21 at a predetermined position.

The display unit 13 is a part for displaying information necessary for executing the function of the present invention, and a CRT, PDP, LCD, organic EL display, or the like is used.
In small and light information terminals and car navigation devices, LCDs and organic EL displays are mainly used.
When the touch panel 21 is used, the input unit 12 and the display unit 13 are formed to overlap each other, or the input unit 12 and the display unit 13 are formed integrally.

The display unit 13 has a function as a notification unit.
The notification unit notifies the user that the determination time has been changed when the contact detection determination time T as will be described later is changed.
For example, when the contact detection determination time T is changed, display information indicating that the determination time has been changed may be displayed on the display unit 13.
In addition to the display unit, the notification unit may include means for outputting at least one of vibration, sound, and light. For example, the notification unit may include a vibration generator, a speaker, an LED, and the like. That's fine.

The vibration detection unit 14 is a part that detects the vibration of the information terminal, and an acceleration sensor 24 is mainly used.
When vibration is applied to the information terminal, a vibration signal is output from the acceleration sensor 24 in accordance with the magnitude of the vibration. By measuring this vibration signal, the magnitude of the vibration is detected.
The vibration determination unit 15 is a part that determines whether or not the detected magnitude of the current vibration (vibration measurement value V1) is larger than a predetermined vibration reference value Vc.
For example, when it is determined that the vibration measurement value V1 is greater than the first reference value Vc1 of vibration, it is determined that vibration has occurred, and the determination time T is set to a predetermined long time as described later. change.

  The contact measurement unit 17 is a part that measures the time during which the user is in contact with the input unit 12 (contact time), and stores the measured time in the storage unit 31 as the contact time T1 (42). The measured time is, for example, the time from when the user's finger starts touching the touch panel 21 until the contact is released.

The contact determination unit 16 is a part that determines whether or not the user's contact with the touch panel 21 is an effective contact input. The contact determination is performed by comparing the contact time T1 with a determination time T described later.
When it is detected that the touch panel 21 has been touched, a signal for identifying the touch position and the touch position is output from the touch panel, and it is determined what input operation has been performed by recognizing the touch position. .
However, in the detection determination of the presence / absence of contact, if it is determined that there is detection by only one detection, it may be determined that there is contact due to erroneous contact.
Therefore, as described later, a predetermined determination time T is set in advance, and after contact is first detected, measurement of the contact time T1 is started, contact detection processing is executed at regular intervals, and contact is continued. Is detected (T1> T), it is determined that there is an effective contact input.

As described later, the present invention is characterized in that the time (determination time T) for determining the contact input is changed in accordance with the detected magnitude of vibration of TE (vibration measurement value V1). .
For example, when the vibration measurement value V1 detected by the vibration detection unit 14 is equal to or less than a predetermined vibration reference value Vc, the determination time T is set to the first determination time Ta.
At this time, when the measured contact time T1 is longer than the first determination time Ta (for example, Ta = 0.5 seconds) (T1> Ta), it is determined that the contact with the input unit is an effective contact input. To do. That is, it is determined that the input operation by the contact is valid.

  As will be described later, when a vibration measurement value V1 larger than a predetermined vibration reference value (for example, the first reference value Vc1) is measured in a state where contact is detected (V1> Vc1), there is contact. Is set to a second determination time Tb (Tb = 1.0 seconds> Ta) longer than the first determination time Ta, and the measured contact time T1 is set to the second determination time Tb (= (T1> Tb), it is determined that there is an effective contact input, and the input operation by the contact is determined to be effective.

In addition, as a condition for changing the determination time T, the length of vibration duration may be used instead of using only the magnitude of vibration.
For example, when the vibration determination unit 15 determines that the measured vibration measurement value V1 continues for a predetermined period or longer and is greater than the vibration reference value Vc, the determination time T is set to be greater than the first determination time Ta. May be set to a long second determination time Tb.
Further, for example, when vibration greater than the vibration reference value Vc occurs and vibration exceeding a predetermined vibration reference value continues within a certain period thereafter, the determination time T is set to be greater than the first determination time Ta. May be set to a long second determination time Tb.

By changing the determination time T in this way, when the vibration occurs, the time T for determining the contact input is set to be long. Therefore, even if the contact input is not intended by the user, the time is set to be long. If the user releases the contact as soon as possible during the determined determination time T, the unintended contact input (incorrect input) can be invalidated.
That is, when vibration is occurring, it is considered that erroneous input is likely to occur. Therefore, by increasing the time T for determining contact input, it is possible to increase the possibility that invalid input that the user does not intend can be invalidated. it can.
In addition, in the case where vibration is occurring, if the user is making an intentional contact input, the user makes the intentional input by continuing the contact input exceeding the determination time T set for a long time. Therefore, it is possible to reliably determine that the contact input is an effective input.
Furthermore, when vibration does not occur, the user's intentional contact input can be quickly accepted by setting a relatively short determination time T.

The storage unit 31 stores setting information necessary for executing the function of the present invention and information generated or measured when the function is executed, and is a semiconductor such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, etc. A storage device, a storage device such as an HDD or an SSD, and other storage media are used.
The storage unit 31 stores, for example, contact relationship information 41 and vibration relationship information 51.
As the contact relation information 41, for example, information on the presence or absence of contact with the touch panel 21, time (contact time T1) 42 in which the user actually touches the touch panel as shown in FIG. There is a determination time T43 and the like.

The contact time T1 (42) is a time until the contact is released after the user starts contact with the touch panel 21.
The determination time T (43) is a setting time for determining whether or not the touch to the touch panel 21 which is one of the input units 12 is valid, and may be set in advance in a fixed manner. Settings may be changed.
Further, as will be described later, for example, three determination times (Ta44, Tb45, Tc46) are stored in advance so that the determination time T can be changed based on the vibration, and an appropriate one is determined based on a predetermined condition. The determination time (Ta, Tb, Tc) may be set to the determination time T.
In the following embodiments, the first determination time Ta44 is the shortest, the second determination time Tb45 is longer than the first determination time Ta44, and the third determination time Tc46 is the longest (Ta <Tb <Tc).

As the vibration relation information 51, for example, information on the presence or absence of vibration, a vibration measurement value V1 (52) as shown in FIG. 1, or a vibration reference value Vc (53) is stored.
As described above, the vibration measurement value V1 (52) is a value indicating the magnitude of vibration output from the acceleration sensor 24, and stores the current magnitude of vibration.
However, not only the current measurement value but also vibrations are measured several times during a predetermined period (for example, 1 second), and all the vibration measurement values V1 that are a plurality of times within the predetermined period are stored. Good.

The vibration reference value Vc53 is a reference value for determining the presence or absence of vibration. In principle, when the vibration measurement value V1 is larger than the vibration reference value Vc (V1> Vc), it is assumed that vibration has occurred. judge.
As the vibration reference value Vc, one reference value may be fixedly set in advance, but the user may be able to change the setting.
As will be described later, for example, three reference values (Vc1 (54), Vc2 (55), and Vc3 (56) are set so that the presence or absence of vibration can be determined in consideration of the magnitude and change of vibration. )) May be stored in advance.
Based on a predetermined condition, the presence or absence of vibration is determined using appropriate reference values (Vc1, Vc2, Vc3).
In the following embodiments, it is assumed that the second reference value Vc2 (55) is the smallest and the third reference value Vc3 (56) is the largest (Vc2 ≦ Vc1 ≦ Vc3).

<Determining the presence or absence of contact input>
FIG. 6 shows an explanatory diagram of one embodiment of the presence / absence determination of the contact input.
FIG. 6 shows a relationship graph between the contact state (ON) and non-contact state (OFF) of the touch panel and the contact time.
FIG. 6A shows a case where it is determined that the contact input is invalid.
Here, a case where the actually measured contact time T1 is shorter than a preset determination time T (for example, Ta) is shown. When T1 <T, the touch time T1 to the touch panel is Since it is shorter than the predetermined determination time T, it is determined that the contact input is likely to be an erroneous input, and is determined to be invalid.
FIG. 6B shows a case where it is determined that the contact input is valid.
Here, the case where the actual contact time T1 is longer than the determination time T is shown. When T1> T, the touch input time T1 to the touch panel is longer than the predetermined determination time T, so that the contact input is The user's intentional input is considered to be valid.

<Vibration presence / absence criteria>
FIG. 7 shows an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of a criterion for determining the presence or absence of vibration.
In FIG. 7A, the vertical axis indicates the magnitude of vibration, and the horizontal axis indicates some examples of vibration measurement values V1.
The vibration measurement value V1a in FIG. 7A indicates a case where it is smaller than the second reference value Vc2. V1b is Vc2 <V1b <Vc1, V1c is Vc1 <V1c <Vc3, The case of Vc3 <V1d is shown.
For example, when the first reference value Vc1 is selected as the vibration reference value Vc, and the measured current vibration measurement value V1 is V1a or V1b, it is determined that there is no current vibration. The
On the other hand, when the vibration measurement value V1 is V1c or V1d, it is determined that the current vibration is present.
Based on the determination result of the presence or absence of vibration, the set value of the contact determination time T described above is changed.

FIG. 7B shows an example of changes in vibration measurement values over time. The vertical axis indicates the magnitude of vibration, and the horizontal axis indicates time.
Here, two reference values (Vc1, Vc2) are adopted as the vibration reference value Vc.
For example, when the actual vibration measurement value V1 first becomes larger than the larger first reference value Vc1 (> Vc2) (V1> Vc1), it is determined that vibration has occurred.
Thereafter, the vibration measurement value V1 becomes smaller than the first reference value Vc1 as indicated by V1d in FIG. 7B, but the vibration state larger than the second reference value Vc2 continues for a predetermined period or longer. If the vibration measurement value V1 becomes smaller than the second reference value Vc2, as in V1e, it is determined that the vibration has disappeared.
As described above, the presence or absence of vibration may be determined by measuring not only a single vibration measurement but also a change in vibration within a certain period.

Further, as a criterion for determining the presence or absence of vibration, other criteria may be used instead of using only the magnitude of vibration as described above.
For example, when vibrations of a certain magnitude or more are detected at regular time intervals, it may be determined that vibrations have occurred.
As an example of a state in which vibration is considered to occur at such a constant time interval, for example, there is a case where there is a road joint where vibration can occur at every constant distance, and the automobile is running at a constant speed. The
The same applies to the case where there are joints on the track where vibration can occur at every constant distance and the train is running at a constant speed.
In this way, when a road or the like that is considered to generate vibration at a predetermined time interval is registered in advance and the vehicle passes through the road, the set value of the vibration reference value Vc may be automatically changed.

Further, in a navigation device that is an example of an information terminal, when it is recognized as a place where vibrations are likely to occur based on position information acquired from map information or the like, for example, around a station, a bridge, It can be determined that there is a high possibility of vibrations at positions such as railroad crossings, elevated roads, mountain roads, roads under construction, and snowy roads (in winter).
Therefore, such a position may be stored in advance as a position where vibration is likely to occur, and the vibration reference value Vc may be automatically changed to a different reference value immediately before the position is passed by an automobile or the like. Good.

  In addition, when vibration-related information is acquired from another person's information terminal, a server that manages vibration information, etc., or other emergency earthquake information is acquired via the network, the occurrence of the acquired vibration Based on the time and position information, the vibration reference value Vc may be automatically set to a different reference value by predicting the vibration position and generation time at which vibration can occur thereafter.

<Contact detection processing based on vibration determination>
Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described in which the determination time for determining the presence or absence of contact input is changed based on the determination result of the presence or absence of vibration when detecting the presence or absence of contact input to the touch panel.
FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of a first embodiment of contact detection processing based on vibration determination.
Here, as shown in FIG. 7B, when the vibration measurement value V1 becomes larger than the first reference value Vc1, the contact detection determination time T is set to be greater than the initial first determination time Ta. A case where the determination time T is changed back to the original first determination time Ta when the vibration measurement value V1 becomes equal to or less than the second reference value Vc2 after changing to the large second determination time Tb will be described.

In step S1, a contact detection determination time T is initially set to a first determination time Ta (T = Ta).
In step S2, the vibration detection unit 14 performs vibration detection processing using the acceleration sensor 24, and measures the current vibration measurement value V1.
In step S3, the vibration determination unit 15 determines whether or not the measured vibration measurement value V1 is larger than the first reference value Vc1.
If V1> Vc1, the process proceeds to step S4, and if not, the process proceeds to step S10.

In step S4, the contact detection determination time T is changed to a second determination time Tb (> Ta) (T = Tb).
In step S5, the user is notified that the determination time T has been changed.
For example, as shown in FIG. 8B, the color of the left and right end portions of the display unit 13 is changed to a specific color and displayed. By confirming such a change notification display, the user can know that the time for detecting the contact input has been changed.
In addition, it is notified by vibration, sound, light, etc., display of characters and figures indicating that it has been changed, status bar display as described later, information display with special display change status, etc. Various notification methods may be used.

In step S6, a contact detection process for determining a touch input to the touch panel by the user is performed.
The presence / absence of contact is determined by the presence / absence of an output signal from the touch panel, and when it is confirmed that the state of contact has continued for a longer time than a predetermined determination time T, the user's intention It is determined that contact input has been made.
If it is determined that there is a touch input, the touch input is set to be valid and an operation corresponding to the input is set to be possible, or a corresponding operation is executed.
On the other hand, when it is determined that there is no contact input, the contact input is invalid and the corresponding operation is not performed.
The detailed flow of this contact detection process is shown in FIG.

In step S7, the vibration detection unit 14 performs the vibration detection process again and measures the vibration measurement value V1 as in step S2. However, here, the vibration measurement value V1 within a certain period (for example, 5 seconds) after the vibration larger than the first reference value Vc1 is detected is measured.
In step S8, the vibration determination unit 15 checks whether or not the vibration measurement values V1 measured within the predetermined period are all greater than the second reference value Vc2 (≦ Vc1) (V1> Vc2). .
If V1> Vc2, the process returns to step S6, and if not, the process proceeds to step S9.

If V1> Vc2, the vibration continues after the vibration exceeding the first reference value Vc1 is detected. Therefore, the process returns to step S6, and the contact detection is performed while the determination time T is set to the second determination time Tb. Execute the process.
On the other hand, if V1> Vc2 is not satisfied, it is considered that the vibration has become small or has almost disappeared. Therefore, in step S9, the determination time T is returned to the initial first determination time Ta (T = Ta).
In step S10, with the determination time T set to the first determination time Ta, the contact detection process similar to step S6 is performed, and then the process returns to step S2.

Next, the flowchart of the contact detection process shown in FIG. 3 will be described. This is the process performed in steps S6 and S10 in FIG.
In step S31, contact detection confirmation is performed to check whether or not contact input has been made to the touch panel 21.
Here, for example, the control unit 11 confirms the presence / absence of a signal output from the touch panel 21, determines that contact input has been made when the output signal is detected, and determines contact input when no output signal has been detected. Judge that there is no.
If it is determined in step S32 that contact has been detected as a result of the detection confirmation, the process proceeds to step S33, and if not detected, the process ends.

In step S33, since the current contact input is first detected, the timer TS that counts the contact time T is activated to start counting time.
In step S34, similarly to step S32, it is checked whether or not a contact input is detected. If the contact input is continued, step S34 is looped and the count of the timer TS is continued.
On the other hand, if no contact input is detected in step S34, the process proceeds to step S35, and the contact time T1 is acquired. That is, the current timer value TS is set to the contact time T1.
This contact time T1 corresponds to the time until the user releases the contact after touching the touch panel.

In step S36, the contact time T1 is compared with the determination time T, and it is determined whether or not the contact time T1 is longer than a time at which it can be determined that there is a contact.
That is, it is checked whether T1> T. If T1> T, the process proceeds to step S37, and if not, the process proceeds to step S38.
In step S37, since the current contact time T1 is longer than the determination time T, it is determined that the contact input is valid, and the operation corresponding to the contact input is set to be acceptable. Or the operation | movement corresponding to contact input is performed.
In step S38, since the current contact time T1 is shorter than the determination time T, it is determined that the contact input is invalid, the operation corresponding to the contact input is set to be disabled, and the operation is not performed.
Thereafter, the process is terminated, and the process returns to the flowchart of FIG.

As described above, in the flow of FIG. 2, two contact detection processes are performed, but the values of the determination time T to be compared in the determination process of the contact time T1 in each step S36 are different.
That is, when the vibration exceeding the first reference value Vc1 is detected and when the subsequent vibration exceeds the second reference value Vc2, the determination time T is set longer (T = Tb), and the vibration is second. When it becomes smaller than the reference value Vc2, the determination time T is shortened (T = Ta).
Thus, first, when there is no or little vibration, the contact detection determination time T is short. Therefore, when there is a user's intentional contact input, the time for determining that the contact input is valid is also short. The operation corresponding to the user's intentional contact input can be quickly executed.

  Further, when the predetermined vibration is generated, the determination time T until the contact input is determined to be valid is relatively long, so that an erroneous input with a short contact time can be determined to be invalid. Furthermore, when the determination time T is set to a relatively long time, this is notified to the user by display, vibration, or the like. When this notification is confirmed, effective contact input can be performed by performing an operation so as to continue the contact input longer than usual.

  Further, in step S3 of FIG. 2, the vibration measurement value V1 is determined by comparing the magnitude with the vibration reference value Vc, but not only the magnitude of the vibration but also considering the duration of the vibration, The determination time T may be changed to the second determination time Tb when the vibration measurement value V1 larger than the vibration reference value Vc is continuously measured for a predetermined period or longer.

<Contact Detection Processing of Second Embodiment>
FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of the contact detection process based on the vibration determination of the second embodiment.
Here, a relatively long determination time T is set when vibration exceeding the first reference value Vc1 is detected, and a relatively short initial value determination time is detected when vibration below the first reference value Vc1 is detected. Processing for setting T will be described.

In step S51, an initial value Ta is set as the contact detection determination time T (T = Ta). Here, the first determination time Ta is initially set as the determination time T.
In step S52, detection of contact input is confirmed. Here, the time from the time (ON time) when the contact measurement unit 17 confirms the presence or absence of the output signal from the touch panel 21 and first confirms the output signal to the time when the output signal disappears (OFF time) thereafter. Measure.
Further, it is determined that there is a touch input because the output signal has changed from the ON (present) state to the OFF (none) state.
In step S53, if it is determined that there is a contact input as a result of the contact detection confirmation, the process proceeds to step S54, and if not, the process returns to step S52.

In step S54, the contact time T1 in which the contact input is actually performed is acquired. The contact time T1 is a time from when the output signal is turned on to when the output signal is changed to the off state (a time during which the on state is continued), and corresponds to the time measured in step S52.
In step S55, vibration detection processing is performed. Here, the vibration measurement value V <b> 1 is measured from the signal output from the acceleration sensor 24.
In step S56, the measured vibration measurement value V1 is compared with a predetermined vibration reference value Vc. Here, V1 is compared with the first reference value Vc1. If V1> Vc1, the process proceeds to step S57, and if not, the process proceeds to step S59.

In step S57, since vibration larger than the predetermined vibration reference value is generated, the determination time T is changed to the second determination time Tb that is larger than the initial value (Ta) (T = Tb). .
In step S58, the user is notified that the determination time T has been changed. The notification method may be performed by the same method as step S5 in FIG.

In step S59, the contact time T1 is compared with the determination time T to determine whether the contact time T1 is long enough to determine that the contact input is valid.
If T1> T, the process proceeds to step S60. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S61.
In step S60, as in step S37, the contact input is validated so that the corresponding operation can be executed.
In step S61, as in step S38, the contact input is invalidated and the corresponding operation is not performed.
Then, it returns to step S51.
In this case, the contact determination time T is simply changed based on the presence / absence of vibrations exceeding a predetermined reference value. If there is such vibration, it is possible to increase the possibility of eliminating erroneous input by extending the determination time T, and if there is no vibration, it is possible to quickly determine that the user's intentional contact input is effective. it can.

<Contact Detection Processing of Third Embodiment>
FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of the contact detection process based on the vibration determination of the third embodiment.
FIG. 2 shows an example in which two reference values are provided as reference values for determining the presence or absence of vibration. Here, a case where three vibration reference values Vc for determining the presence or absence of vibration are provided will be described.
By providing three reference values, it is possible to eliminate erroneous input as much as possible and determine that the intentional contact input is valid even when the input operation is difficult due to relatively large vibration. Four or more vibration standards may be provided.

In step S71, as in step S1, the contact detection determination time T is initially set to the first determination time Ta (T = Ta).
In step S72, as in step S2, the vibration detection unit 14 performs vibration detection processing using the acceleration sensor 24, and measures the current vibration measurement value V1.
In step S73, as in step S3, the vibration measurement value V1 is compared with the first reference value Vc1. If V1> Vc1, the process proceeds to step S74, and if not, the process proceeds to step S82.
In step S74, the vibration measurement value V1 is compared with the third reference value Vc3. Here, the third reference value Vc3 is greater than or equal to the first reference value Vc1 (Vc3 ≧ Vc1).
If V1> Vc3, the process proceeds to step S75, and if not, the process proceeds to step S76.

In the case of V1> Vc3, since a relatively large vibration is generated, the determination time T is changed to the third determination time Tc (> Tb) which is the longest time in step S75 (T = Tc). Then, the process proceeds to step S77.
If V1> Vc3 is not satisfied, the determination time T is changed to the second determination time Tb in step S76 as in step S4 (T = Tb). Here, Ta <Tb <Tc.
In step S77, the user is notified that the determination time T has been changed, as in step S5.

In step S78, a contact detection process is performed as in step S6. As the contact detection process, the same process as shown in FIG. 3 may be performed.
In step S79, as in step S7, vibration detection processing is performed, and the current vibration measurement value V1 is measured.
In step S80, as in step S8, the vibration measurement value V1 is compared with the second reference value Vc2. If V1> Vc2, the process returns to step S74 and the processes from step S74 to S79 are repeated.
On the other hand, if V1> Vc2 is not satisfied, the process proceeds to step S81, and similarly to step S9, the determination time T is returned to the initial value Ta. In step S82, the contact detection process is performed in the same manner as in step S10. Return to.

According to this, since the detection time T for contact detection is set to be longer as the detected vibration is larger, the intended contact input can be performed more reliably by intentionally making the intended contact input longer. It can be performed. In addition, it is possible to appropriately eliminate erroneous input that may occur due to vibration.
In step S74 of FIG. 5, V1> Vc3 is adopted as a condition for changing the determination time T to the third determination time Tc. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the vibration duration may be used as the condition.
For example, when vibration exceeding the first reference value Vc1 continues for a certain time (for example, 10 seconds) or longer, the setting may be changed to T = Tc in step S75.

<Notification to user that contact detection time has been changed>
FIG. 8, FIG. 9, and FIG. 10 are explanatory diagrams of embodiments in which the user is notified that the contact detection determination time has been changed.
As described above, notifying the user of the change in the determination time is useful for reliably performing the contact input intended by the user.
Further, in order for the user to easily notice that the determination time has been changed, it is preferable to notify visually or audibly.
FIG. 8A shows a display example when the initial value Ta is set for the determination time T. FIG.
FIG. 8B shows a display example in which a change notification display is performed when a second determination time Tb different from the initial value is set for the determination time T.
In FIG. 8B, the colors of the left and right end portions of the display unit are changed to colors different from those of other display areas.

FIG. 9A shows a display example when the initial value Ta is set for the determination time T. FIG.
FIG. 9B shows a display example in which a change notification display is performed when a second determination time Tb different from the initial value is set in the determination time T. Here, a status bar is used as the change notification display.
When the user touches the character portion of “I”, a status bar is displayed immediately above the character of “I” as shown in FIG. 9B. When the user performs contact input, the user can know that the contact detection determination time has been changed by confirming that the status bar is displayed in the vicinity of the contact position.

FIG. 9 (c) shows a change notification display when the user has made a contact input to the character portion of “I” and then has been in contact with the time.
Here, the contact time during which contact input is continued is displayed in a bar graph in the status bar.
Thereby, the user can know the elapsed time after contact by the length of the black graph in the left-right direction of the status bar.

FIG. 10A is the same diagram as FIG.
FIG. 10B shows a display state after the user touches the character portion of “I” when the second determination time Tb different from the initial value is set as the determination time T.
Assuming that the contact input to the character portion of “I” finally corresponds to the process of displaying a graphic as shown in FIG. 10C, FIG. 10B displays this graphic. This shows a state in the middle of screen switching until it is done.
For example, in order to notify that the determination time T has been changed, instead of suddenly changing from the display state of FIG. 10 (a) to the display state of FIG. 10 (c), as shown in FIG. 10 (b). In addition, the screen is changed from FIG. 10A to FIG. 10C so as to be gradually switched.
In FIG. 10B, the lower part of the display screen is switched to the display after the change, and the display part “A, I, Ko” in the vicinity of the position where the contact is input still has the display before the change. Is shown.

In this way, it is possible to notify that the contact determination time T has been changed by delaying the display change in the vicinity of the position input by the user and gradually switching to the screen after the change.
Since such a change in the screen is considered to be easily noticed by the user, the user can be surely notified that the determination time T has been changed.
As a notification method other than the display, as described above, the determination time T may be notified by the vibration of the information terminal itself, the sound output, the display of a warning message, the flashing of light, or the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Control part 12 Input part 13 Display part 14 Vibration detection part 15 Vibration determination part 16 Contact determination part 21 Touch panel 22 Keyboard 23 Mouse 24 Acceleration sensor 31 Storage part 41 Contact relation information 42 Contact time T1
43 Judgment time T
44 First determination time Ta
45 Second determination time Tb
46 Third determination time Tc
51 Vibration-related information 52 Vibration measurement value V1
53 Vibration reference value Vc
54 First reference value Vc1
55 Second reference value Vc2
56 Third reference value Vc3

Claims (10)

An input section;
A vibration detector for detecting vibration;
A contact measurement unit for measuring a contact time in contact with the input unit;
A storage unit storing a determination time for determining whether or not contact with the input unit is valid;
A contact determination unit that determines whether or not the contact to the input unit is an effective contact input based on a comparison between the determination time and the contact time;
An information terminal characterized in that the determination time is changed in accordance with the magnitude of vibration detected by the vibration detection unit. An input section;
A vibration detector for detecting vibration;
A contact measurement unit for measuring the time of contact with the input unit;
The vibration measurement value indicating the magnitude of the detected current vibration, the measured contact time, the determination time for determining whether or not the contact with the input unit is valid, and the presence or absence of the vibration A storage unit storing a vibration reference value for determination;
A vibration determination unit that determines whether or not the detected vibration measurement value is larger than the vibration reference value;
A contact determination unit that compares the contact time and the determination time to determine whether or not the contact to the input unit is an effective contact input;
When the vibration determination unit determines that the vibration measurement value is greater than the vibration reference value,
An information terminal characterized in that the determination time is changed to a predetermined long time. In the storage unit, a first determination time and a second determination time longer than the first determination time are stored in advance,
When the vibration measurement value detected by the vibration detection unit is equal to or less than the vibration reference value, the determination time is set to the first determination time,
The information terminal according to claim 2, wherein when the vibration measurement value is larger than the vibration reference value, the determination time is set to the second determination time.   When the vibration determination unit determines that the vibration measurement value is continuously larger than the vibration reference value for a predetermined period or longer, the determination time is set to the second determination time. The information terminal according to claim 3.   5. The contact determination unit according to claim 1, wherein the contact determination unit determines that the contact to the input unit is an effective contact input when the contact time is longer than the determination time. Information terminal. The input unit is a touch panel,
The contact measuring unit measures a time until the contact is released after starting to touch the touch panel, and stores the measured time in the storage unit as a contact time. Item 6. The information terminal according to any one of Items 1 to 5.   The display unit according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising a display unit, wherein when the determination time is changed, display information indicating that the determination time has been changed is displayed on the display unit. The described information terminal.   The information terminal according to claim 1, further comprising a notification unit that notifies a user that the determination time has been changed when the determination time is changed.   The information terminal according to claim 8, wherein the notification unit includes means for outputting at least one of vibration, sound, and light.   The information terminal according to claim 1, wherein the vibration detection unit includes an acceleration sensor.