JP2018156534A - Input device and control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an input device and a control device, capable of improving resposiveness in a touch sensor.SOLUTION: The input device includes a sensing unit 2 in which a plurality of electrodes 22 are arranged along a first direction, a camera 3 as an imaging apparatus which uses at least the operation surface 21 of the sensing unit 2 as an imaging area, and a control part 4 which detects the contact or close position of an indication object 10 with or to the operation surface 21 in the first direction on the basis of a detection result in the electrodes 22 of the sensing unit 2 and detects the contact or close position of the indication object 10 in a second direction crossing the first direction on the basis of an image captured by the camera 3.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an input device and a control device that detect contact or proximity of a pointing object such as a finger.

  As a conventional input device, a capacitive touch sensor is known. A capacitive touch sensor has a plurality of electrodes arranged two-dimensionally in the vertical and horizontal directions, and sequentially drives (scans) the plurality of electrodes, and the self-capacitance of each electrode or between adjacent electrodes. The touch position of a finger or the like is detected by detecting a change in mutual capacitance (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2014-127017 A

  However, a touch sensor in which electrodes are arranged two-dimensionally vertically and horizontally has a large number of electrodes and a long scanning time. Therefore, there exists a subject that responsiveness will fall.

  In the touch sensor described above, since the electrodes are arranged two-dimensionally vertically and horizontally, there is a problem that the structure is complicated and the cost is increased.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an input device and a control device that improve the responsiveness of a touch sensor.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention provides a sensing unit in which a plurality of electrodes are arranged along a first direction, an imaging device having at least the operation surface of the sensing unit as an imaging region, Based on the detection result at the electrode of the sensing unit, the contact or proximity position of the pointing object in the first direction to the operation surface is detected, and based on the image captured by the imaging device, the first And a control unit that detects a contact or proximity position of the pointing object in a second direction that intersects the direction.

  In addition, for the purpose of solving the above problems, the present invention provides a signal acquisition unit that acquires detection signals detected by the plurality of electrodes from a sensing unit in which the plurality of electrodes are arranged along the first direction. An object to be pointed in the first direction based on an image acquisition unit that acquires an image signal from an imaging device that uses at least the operation surface of the sensing unit as an imaging region, and a detection signal acquired by the signal acquisition unit The contact or proximity position of the pointing object in the second direction intersecting the first direction is detected based on the image signal acquired by the image acquisition unit. And a control unit for detecting the control device.

  According to the present invention, the responsiveness of the touch sensor can be improved.

(A) is a schematic block diagram of the input device which concerns on this Embodiment, (b) is a side view of the camera and sensing unit with which an input device is provided. (A) is a schematic block diagram of a sensing module, (b) is a schematic block diagram of the drive detection part with which a sensing module is provided. It is a figure which shows an example of the captured image of a camera. It is a flowchart which shows the control flow of an input device.

[Embodiment]
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  As illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the input device 1 includes a sensing unit 2, a camera 3 as an imaging device, and a control unit 4.

  The input device 1 is mounted on a vehicle, for example, and is used to operate a navigation device, an air conditioner, a music and video playback device, and the like.

(Explanation of sensing unit 2)
The sensing unit 2 is a capacitive touch pad that detects contact or proximity of the pointing object 10 to the operation surface 21. In the present embodiment, in the sensing unit 2, a plurality of electrodes 22 are arranged along a first direction parallel to the operation surface 21, and the self-capacitance of each electrode 22 or the mutual electrostatic capacity between adjacent electrodes 22. The capacity can be detected.

  In the present embodiment, as an example, a case where the self-capacitance (hereinafter referred to as self-capacitance) of each electrode 22 is detected will be described. In the following description, the first direction (the direction in which the electrodes 22 are arranged) is referred to as the Y direction, and the second direction parallel to the operation surface 22 and orthogonal to the first direction is referred to as the X direction. A third direction perpendicular to the operation surface 22 is referred to as a Z direction.

  The instruction target 10 is, for example, a part of a body such as an operator's finger or a dedicated pen. Here, as an example, a case where the pointing object 10 is an operator's finger will be described.

  The electrodes 22 of the sensing unit 2 are arranged at equal intervals along the Y direction. Each electrode 22 is formed in a long shape (band shape) extending in the Y direction. The electrode 22 is configured as an electrode using, for example, ITO (tin-doped indium oxide), copper, or the like.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, each electrode 22 of the sensing unit 2 is connected to the drive detection unit 23. As shown in FIG. 2B, the drive detection unit 23 includes a capacitance detection unit 23a and a switching unit 23b.

  The capacitance detection unit 23a is controlled by the drive detection signal output from the control unit 4 to supply charges to the electrode 22, and outputs the detected self-capacitance to the control unit 4 as a capacitance signal.

  The switching unit 23b is controlled by a switching signal from the capacitance detection unit 23a, and performs an operation of switching the connection between the electrode 22 and the capacitance detection unit 23a. The switching unit 23b is configured by a switching element such as a transistor, for example, and one electrode 22 and the capacitance detection unit 23a among the plurality of electrodes 22 can be switched in connection via the switching element. The electrode 22 is connected to the capacitance detector 23a during driving, and is connected to the ground GND when not driving. In the present embodiment, the switching unit 23b performs an operation of sequentially switching the connection between the electrode 22 and the capacitance detection unit 23a.

(Explanation of camera 3)
The camera 3 is arranged so that at least the operation surface 21 of the sensing unit 2 is an imaging region. Although details will be described later, in the present embodiment, a three-dimensional camera (3D camera) is used as the camera 3 in order to obtain the distance along the Z direction between the pointing object 10 and the operation surface 21 based on the captured image of the camera 3. ) Is desirable. The camera 3 is disposed on a central axis passing through the central position in the X direction of the operation surface 21 when viewed from the Z direction, and is disposed at a position separated from the sensing unit 2 in the Y direction and the Z direction. Yes.

  When the input device 1 is mounted on a vehicle, it is desirable to use a camera 3 that can capture images at night, and can generate an image according to the brightness of light including near infrared rays. Use a good one. Moreover, you may provide the illuminator which irradiates near infrared rays in the vicinity of the camera 3. FIG.

(Description of control unit 4)
The control unit 4 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that performs calculation and processing on acquired data in accordance with a stored program, a RAM (Random Access Memory) that is a semiconductor memory, a ROM (Read Only Memory), and the like. Microcomputer. For example, a program for operating the control unit 4 is stored in the ROM. For example, the RAM is used as a storage area for temporarily storing calculation results and the like. Further, the control unit 4 has means for generating a clock signal therein, and operates based on this clock signal.

  Based on the detection result at the electrode 22 of the sensing unit 2 (here, the capacitance detected by the sensing unit 2), the control unit 4 moves to the operation surface 21 of the pointing object 10 in the first direction (Y direction). The contact position in the second direction (here, the X direction) that intersects the first direction is detected based on the image captured by the camera 3. Thus, the coordinates (x, y) of the contact position are detected. Note that the coordinates here represent position information in the X, Y, and Z directions with reference to a predetermined position such as a corner of the operation surface 21, for example. Further, as the coordinates of the contact position, since the pointing object 10 is in contact with (or close to) the operation surface 21, only the position information in the X and Y directions is handled without handling the position information in the Z direction. .

  The control device 100 on which the control unit 4 is mounted includes a signal acquisition unit 101 that acquires detection signals detected by the plurality of electrodes 22 from the sensing unit 2, and an image acquisition unit 102 that acquires image signals from the camera 3. Have. Based on the detection signal acquired by the signal acquisition unit 101, the control unit 4 detects the contact position of the pointing target 2 with respect to the operation surface 21 in the first direction and uses the image signal acquired by the image acquisition unit 102. In addition, the contact or proximity position of the pointing object 2 in the second direction intersecting the first direction is detected.

  The control unit 4 includes a capacitance detection unit 41, an image processing unit 42, a first direction position detection unit 43, a second direction position detection unit 44, and a drive determination unit 45.

  The electrostatic capacity detection unit 41 performs drive control of the sensing unit 2 and detects the self-capacitance of each electrode 22. The capacitance detection unit 41 outputs a drive detection signal to the drive detection unit 23, causes the drive detection unit 23 to drive the electrode 22 and detect the self-capacitance, and the capacitance signal from the drive detection unit 23. Based on this, the self-capacitance of each electrode 22 is detected.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the capacitance detection unit 41 drives the electrode 22 only when the drive determination unit 45 permits the drive of the electrode 22. The drive determination unit 45 will be described later.

  The image processing unit 42 performs image processing such as noise removal of the captured image of the camera 3, and detects the tip position (coordinates) of the finger that is the pointing object 10 by a pattern matching method that is a known technique.

  The first direction position detection unit 43 detects the contact position y in the Y direction based on the self-capacitance (distribution of self-capacitance in the Y direction) of each electrode 22 detected by the capacitance detection unit 41. The second direction position detection unit 44 detects (extracts) the contact position x in the X direction from information on the tip position (coordinates) of the finger detected by the image processing unit 42.

  The coordinate information (x, y) of the contact position obtained by the first direction position detection unit 43 and the second direction position detection unit 44 is output to a device such as a navigation device. Note that the control unit 4 not only outputs the coordinate information (x, y), but also specifies, for example, a gesture by the pointing object 10 from the change in the coordinate information (x, y) of the contact position, and the specified gesture. A corresponding control signal may be output to the device.

  Although not shown, the control unit 4 is an aerial gesture determination unit that determines a gesture of the pointing object 10 in a space (in the air) separated from the operation surface 21 in the Z direction based on the captured image of the camera 3. You may have. That is, the camera 3 may be used for determining a gesture in the air.

  The drive determination unit 45 detects the distance dz along the Z direction between the operation surface 21 and the pointing object 10 based on the information on the tip position (coordinates) of the finger that is the pointing object 10, and the distance dz is defined. Only when the distance is less than or equal to the distance, driving of the electrode 22 is permitted. This is because if the electrode 22 is driven in a state where the pointing object 10 is not in close proximity, useless power is consumed and emission noise also increases. The drive determination unit 45 outputs control information indicating whether or not the drive of the electrode 22 is permitted to the capacitance detection unit 41.

  As described above, by using a three-dimensional camera as the camera 3, the distance dz along the Z direction between the operation surface 21 and the pointing object 10 can be detected. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, only when a general two-dimensional camera is used as the camera 3 and the pointing object 10 is reflected in the captured image of the camera 3 (or a predetermined position of the image). The drive determination unit 45 may be configured to permit the drive of the electrode 22 only when the pointing object 10 is present below. Thereby, an inexpensive two-dimensional camera 3 can be used, and the cost of the input device 1 can be reduced. The reflection of the pointing object 10 can be detected by taking a difference from the background image stored in advance.

(Explanation of control flow)
Next, the control flow of the input device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. For example, the input device 1 repeatedly executes the control flow shown in FIG. 4 when in a key-on state.

  As shown in FIG. 4, first, in step S <b> 1, the image processing unit 42 acquires a captured image from the camera 3 and performs image processing, and information on the tip position (coordinates) of the finger that is the pointing object 10. get. Thereafter, in step S2, the drive determination unit 45 detects the distance dz along the Z direction between the operation surface 21 and the pointing object 10 based on the information on the tip position (coordinates) of the finger, and in step S3. It is determined whether the distance dz is less than a specified distance. If NO is determined in step S3, the process returns to step S1.

  If YES is determined in step S3, the drive determination unit 45 outputs control information permitting driving of the electrode 22 to the capacitance detection unit 41 in step S4, and the capacitance detection unit 41 outputs the electrode 22 in step S3. Are sequentially driven to detect the self-capacitance of each electrode 22, and in step S5, the first direction position detector 43 detects the contact position y in the Y direction based on the detection result in step S4.

  In parallel with steps S4 and S5, in step S6, the second direction position detector 44 extracts the contact position x in the X direction from the information on the tip position (coordinates) of the finger acquired in step S1. In the present embodiment, the processes of steps S4 and S5 and the process of step S6 are performed in parallel, but these processes may be performed sequentially.

  In step S5, the contact position y in the Y direction is detected, and in step S6, the contact position x in the X direction is detected. Then, in step S7, the control unit 4 determines the coordinates (x, y) of the contact position as a navigation device or the like. Output to other devices.

(Operation and effect of the embodiment)
As described above, in the input device 1 according to the present embodiment, based on the detection result at the electrode 2 of the sensing unit 2, the operation object 21 on the operation target 21 in the first direction (Y direction) is detected. The contact or proximity position is detected, and the contact or proximity position of the pointing object 10 in the second direction (X direction) intersecting the first direction is detected based on the image captured by the camera 3.

  By detecting the contact position in the X direction based on the captured image of the camera 3, it is not necessary to arrange the electrodes 22 in the X direction in the sensing unit 2, and the number of electrodes can be reduced. As a result, the time (scanning time) for detecting the self-capacitance by sequentially driving the electrodes 22 can be shortened, and the responsiveness can be improved. Further, by omitting the electrode 22 in the X direction, the structure of the sensing unit 2 can be simplified and the cost can be reduced.

  In recent years, a sensing unit 2 having a large operation surface 21 has been developed. According to the present embodiment, the sensing unit 2 having such a large operation surface 21 has a particularly remarkable improvement in responsiveness. And the effect of cost reduction can be obtained.

  Note that when a three-dimensional camera is used as the camera 3, information on the contact position y in the Y direction can also be acquired from the captured image, and therefore the coordinates (x, y) of the contact position are obtained only from the image information of the camera 3. Is also possible. However, in this case, there may be a problem that the responsiveness at the time of touching deteriorates or the detection of the tap becomes difficult. Therefore, in order to suppress such inconveniences, in the present embodiment, the contact position information in the Y direction that is the depth direction in the captured image is configured to be acquired by the capacitive sensing unit 2. Yes.

  Further, since the input device 1 permits the driving of the electrode 22 only when the distance along the third direction (Z direction) between the operation surface 21 and the pointing object 10 is equal to or less than the specified distance, When the object 10 is far away from the operation surface 21, it is possible to reduce power consumption without driving the electrode 22, and it is also possible to reduce the emission noise level.

(Modification)
In the above embodiment, a capacitive touch pad is used as the sensing unit 2, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a resistive touch pad may be used as the sensing unit 2.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the first direction and the second direction are orthogonal to each other has been described. However, it is not essential that the first direction and the second direction are orthogonal, It is sufficient that the first direction and the second direction intersect at a predetermined angle.

  The embodiment and the modification of the present invention have been described above. However, the embodiment and the modification are merely examples, and do not limit the invention according to the claims. These novel embodiments and modifications can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, changes, and the like can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. In addition, not all combinations of features described in these embodiments and modifications are necessarily essential to the means for solving the problems of the invention. Further, these embodiments and modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Input device, 2 ... Sensing unit, 21 ... Operation surface, 22 ... Electrode, 23 ... Drive detection part, 23a ... Capacitance detection part, 23b ... Switching part, 3 ... Camera, 30 ... Image, 4 ... Control part 41 ... Capacitance detection unit, 42 ... Image processing unit, 43 ... First direction position detection unit, 44 ... Second direction position detection unit, 45 ... Drive determination unit, 10 ... Target object

Claims (4)

A sensing unit in which a plurality of electrodes are arranged along a first direction;
An imaging device having at least the operation surface of the sensing unit as an imaging region;
Based on the detection result at the electrodes of the sensing unit, the contact or proximity position of the pointing object in the first direction to the operation surface is detected, and based on the image captured by the imaging device, the first A controller that detects contact or proximity position of the pointing object in a second direction that intersects the direction of
Input device. The electrode is formed in an elongated shape extending in the second direction,
The input device according to claim 1. The control unit detects a distance between the operation surface and the pointing object in a third direction orthogonal to the operation surface based on an image captured by the imaging device, and the distance is equal to or less than a specified distance. A drive determination unit that permits driving of the electrode,
The input device according to claim 1 or 2. From a sensing unit in which a plurality of electrodes are arranged along the first direction, a signal acquisition unit that acquires detection signals detected by the plurality of electrodes;
An image acquisition unit for acquiring an image signal from an imaging device having at least the operation surface of the sensing unit as an imaging region;
Based on the detection signal acquired by the signal acquisition unit, the contact or proximity position of the pointing object in the first direction to the operation surface is detected, and based on the image signal acquired by the image acquisition unit, A control unit that detects contact or proximity position of the pointing object in a second direction intersecting with the first direction,
Control device.

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