JP5591646B2 - Electronic information equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic information device including a touch sensor.

  In recent years, in mobile terminals such as mobile phones, electronic information devices including a touch sensor such as a touch panel or a touch switch are increasing as a member for detecting an operation by an operator. In addition to portable terminals, electronic information devices equipped with touch sensors, such as devices such as calculators and ticket machines, household appliances such as microwave ovens, televisions, lighting fixtures, and industrial devices (FA devices) are widely used. .

  As such a touch sensor, various systems such as a resistive film system, a capacitance system, and an optical system are known. Both types of touch sensors detect contact with an operator's finger or stylus pen. An electronic information device including a touch sensor generally displays an image (hereinafter, referred to as “object”) such as operation keys and buttons on a display screen of a display unit disposed on the back surface of the touch sensor. When an operator presses an object displayed on the display screen, the touch sensor detects contact at the pressed position.

  By the way, recent electronic information devices can detect a contact operation in a plurality of modes when an operator detects an operation of touching an object such as an operation key, a button, or an icon (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3). ).

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a representative one of a plurality of modes of contact operations that can be detected by an electronic information device including a touch panel. Such an electronic information device normally displays an object on a display unit, and a touch sensor detects an operator's contact with the position of the object.

  FIG. 10A schematically shows a state in which an object 200 such as an icon is displayed on the display unit of the electronic information device, and the touch sensor 100 detects an operator's contact with the position of the object 200. FIG. 10A shows a state in which the operator operates the touch panel 100 by moving a finger in a sequence of operations in the order shown in (1), (2), and (3). In this way, when a contact that the operator touches the object 200 only once is detected for a short time, such an operation is called “tap” or “single tap”. This often corresponds to a click (single click) operation in a desktop environment provided by a general personal computer (PC) operating system (OS).

  Also, in FIG. 10A, at the time of (2), when detecting a contact that the operator touches the object quickly and continuously twice, such an operation is “double tap”. Called. This often corresponds to a double-click operation in the desktop environment described above.

  As described above, when a touch in a manner such as a tap or a double tap is detected, the electronic information device is defined by application software (hereinafter simply referred to as “application”) that is activated according to the contact manner. The predetermined operation is started. For example, in FIG. 10A, when a single tap contact with the icon object 200 is detected, the electronic information device selects the object 200. For example, when a double-tap contact with the object 200 of an icon is detected, the electronic information device starts executing an application associated with the object 200.

  In addition to the contact described above, there is also an electronic information device that can detect a contact caused by a slide operation, for example, as shown in FIG. 10B, an object 200 such as an icon is displayed on the display unit of the electronic information device, and the touch sensor 100 detects contact when the operator performs a slide operation on the position of the object 200. The situation is shown schematically. Also in FIG. 10B, a state in which the operator operates the touch panel 100 by moving a finger in a sequence of operations in the order shown in (1), (2), (3), and (4). Represents. That is, the operator who starts moving his / her finger from the time point (1) contacts the touch sensor 100 at the time point (2), moves the position of the contact to the time point (3) while maintaining the contact, At the time of 3), the contact is released and the process reaches (4).

  In this way, after the contact by the operator is detected on the touch sensor, when the position of the contact moves while the contact is maintained, the operation in this manner is called “slide”. FIG. 10B shows that the icon object 200 at the position where the operator's finger is in contact at the time of (2) is released from the contact of the operator's finger at the time of (3) by the above-described slide operation. It shows a state of moving to the position. This often corresponds to an operation of dragging an object such as an icon in the desktop environment described above.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 10C, for example, there is an electronic information device that can detect a flick operation as one of the modes of the slide operation performed on the touch sensor. The flick operation is an operation in which the operator quickly touches the finger (or flicks the finger) on the touch sensor, that is, after a contact by the operator is detected on the touch sensor, This is an operation in which a slide operation is performed with the momentum. FIG. 10C schematically shows how the touch sensor 100 detects a contact when a list of items is displayed on the display unit of the electronic information device and the operator performs a flick operation on the display. Show. That is, the operator who starts moving his / her finger from the time point (1) touches the touch sensor 100 at the time point (2), and keeps the contact and quickly touches with momentum until the time point (3). The position is moved, the contact is released at the time of (3), and the process reaches (4).

  By prescribing the action according to the flick operation by the running application, the electronic information device can perform the action specific to the flick operation according to the detection of the contact by the flick operation of the operator on the touch sensor. It can be performed. That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 10C, when the list is displayed on the display unit, the electronic information device detects the distance of the movement of the contact position detected between (2) and (3) and Depending on the speed or the like, the scrolling of the list display is continued to some extent even after no contact is detected after (3).

  For example, when the position of the contact between (2) and (3) moves very slowly, the electronic information device performs almost the same process as in the case of the drag by the slide operation described above, and the scroll after (3) Control to stop immediately. That is, in this case, the list display also moves (scrolls) from the top to the bottom following the movement of the contact position from (2) to (3), and the list display immediately moves at the time of (3). (Scrolling) stops.

  On the other hand, for example, when the position of the contact between (2) and (3) moves very quickly, the electronic information device performs a process different from that in the case of the drag by the slide operation described above. Control so that scrolling does not stop for a short time. That is, in this case, the list display also moves (scrolls) from the top to the bottom following the movement of the contact position from the position (2) to the position (3). (Scroll) stops after moving to some extent without stopping. In this way, a characteristic operation that mimics the behavior in accordance with the law of inertia is realized as if the display on the display unit has mass.

  Furthermore, some touch sensors of electronic information devices can simultaneously detect contact at a plurality of locations. Taking advantage of such features, for example, an electronic information device that can detect an operation (pinch-in) that moves the position of a contact so that the distance between the two points is reduced while the two fingers are in contact with each other There is also. Similarly, there is also an electronic information device that can detect a contact operation such as an operation (pinch out) of moving the contact position so as to increase the distance between two points.

JP 2009-266236 A Special table 2009-525538 Special table 2010-517197

  Since an electronic information device including the touch sensor as described above can associate different processes depending on the detected contact state, it is possible to distinguish and execute a plurality of processes depending on the detection of the different forms of contact. it can.

  However, in the electronic information device provided with the conventional touch sensor, the contact by the tap operation described above and the contact by the slide operation or the flick operation may not be appropriately determined. In other words, the electronic information device may determine that the detected contact is a slide operation or a flick operation even though the operator performs a contact operation on the touch sensor with the intention of a tap operation. Similarly, the electronic information device may determine that the detected contact is a tap operation even though the operator performs a contact operation on the touch sensor with the intention of a slide operation or a flick operation.

  This is because, in many cases, an electronic information device equipped with a conventional touch sensor has a distance between a position where contact detection is started and a position where the contact is released is less than a predetermined value (that is, approximately the same). In the case of (position), it is determined that the operation is a tap operation.

  Accordingly, the distance between the position where the contact is started and the position where the contact is released is a predetermined value even though the operator has made contact with the intention of flicking in an attempt to scroll the screen display of the display unit. If it is smaller than this, this operation is determined to be a tap operation. In this case, the operator performs the operation with the intention of scrolling the display on the display unit, but the operator does not intend, for example, the application associated with the icon at the position where the contact is started is executed. There are often cases where actions are performed.

  In order to make it difficult for such a case to occur, the predetermined value may be set to a small value, for example, close to zero. However, if the user performs a tap operation this time and the position where the contact is started is slightly shifted from the position where the contact is released, this operation is performed as a flick operation or a slide. It will be judged. In this case, the operator performed a contact operation with the intention of performing a tap operation on the icon, for example, the screen display of the display unit scrolls, or the icon moves by dragging, etc. There still occurs a case where an operation not intended by the operator is executed.

  Therefore, the objective of this invention made | formed in view of this situation is providing the electronic information apparatus which can discriminate | determine exactly the operation of the several aspect with respect to a touch sensor so that an operator's intent may be met.

The invention of the electronic information device according to the first aspect of achieving the above object is as follows:
A touch sensor for detecting contact;
A load detection unit for detecting a pressing load on the touch surface of the touch sensor;
A tactile sensation providing unit that vibrates the touch surface of the touch sensor;
When the load detection unit detects a pressing load that satisfies a predetermined reference while the touch sensor detects a contact in a predetermined region, a predetermined first operation is performed, and the pressing load detected by the load detection unit satisfies the reference. A control unit that controls to perform a predetermined second operation different from the first operation without depending on the pressing load when the position of the contact detected in the predetermined region by the touch sensor moves without satisfying the condition; ,
The control unit presents a tactile sensation to a pressing target pressing the touch surface when the load detection unit detects a pressing load that satisfies the reference while the touch sensor detects a contact in a predetermined region. To control the tactile sensation presentation unit,
A display unit that displays an icon in an area corresponding to the predetermined area,
The control unit performs an operation of executing a function assigned to the icon as the predetermined first operation, and performs an operation of executing a function not assigned to the icon as the predetermined second operation. To control.

The invention according to the second aspect is the invention of the electronic information device according to the first aspect,
The control unit controls the screen display displayed on the display unit to be scrolled as an operation for executing a function not assigned to the icon .

  According to the present invention, the operation intended by the operator can be accurately determined by detecting the pressing load on the touch sensor as an element when determining the type of operation performed by the operator on the touch sensor. It becomes possible. Therefore, the occurrence of an operation unintended by the operator is remarkably suppressed, so that a user interface with improved operability can be realized.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electronic information device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the mounting structure of the electronic information device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining the operation | movement by the electronic information device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the specific example of operation | movement at the time of the electronic information device by embodiment of this invention detecting operation of an operator. It is a figure explaining the specific example of operation | movement at the time of the electronic information device by embodiment of this invention detecting operation of an operator. It is a figure explaining the specific example of operation | movement at the time of the electronic information device by embodiment of this invention detecting operation of an operator. It is a figure explaining the specific example of operation | movement at the time of the electronic information device by embodiment of this invention detecting operation of an operator. It is a figure explaining the specific example of operation | movement at the time of the electronic information device by embodiment of this invention detecting operation of an operator. It is a figure explaining the specific example of operation | movement at the time of the electronic information device by embodiment of this invention detecting operation of an operator. It is a figure explaining the mode of operation by the contact detected by a touch sensor.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electronic information device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The electronic information device according to the present embodiment can be an electronic information device used when performing an operation of inputting characters or numbers, such as a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone or a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). In addition, the electronic information device according to the present embodiment is not limited to the portable terminal, but the operator of the touch sensor such as an ATM installed in a bank or an electronic information device used in a ticket vending machine installed in a station. Any device that detects contact by operation can be applied to any electronic information device.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic information device 1 according to the present embodiment includes a touch sensor 11, a load detection unit 12, a tactile sensation presentation unit 13, a display unit 14, a control unit 15, and a storage unit 16.

  The touch sensor 11 is usually disposed on the front surface of the display unit 14 and press input (touch input) by an operator's finger or the like to keys, buttons, etc. (hereinafter simply referred to as “keys”) displayed on the display unit 14. Is received by the touch surface of the corresponding touch sensor 11. The touch sensor 11 is configured by a known method such as a resistance film method, a capacitance method, and an optical method. The load detection unit 12 detects a pressing load on the touch surface of the touch sensor 11 and is configured using an element that reacts linearly to the load, such as a strain gauge sensor or a piezoelectric element. The tactile sensation providing unit 13 vibrates the touch sensor 11 and is configured using, for example, a piezoelectric vibrator. The display unit 14 displays an object such as an input button such as a push button switch (push button switch), and is configured using, for example, a liquid crystal display panel or an organic EL display panel. Further, the control unit 15 controls and manages the operation of the entire electronic information device 1.

  The storage unit 16 can be configured with a memory or the like by a known technique, and stores various applications and various input information, and also functions as a work memory. In particular, in the present embodiment, the storage unit 16 stores (installs) various applications to be executed in the terminal device 1.

  2 shows an example of the mounting structure of the electronic information device 1 shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2 (a) is a cross-sectional view of the main part, and FIG. 2 (b) is a plan view of the main part. The display unit 14 is housed and held in the housing 21. The touch sensor 11 is held on the display unit 14 via an insulator 22 made of an elastic member. In the electronic information device 1 according to the present embodiment, the display unit 14 and the touch sensor 11 are rectangular in plan view. In the present embodiment, the touch sensor 11 is held on the display unit 14 via the insulators 22 arranged at the four corners deviated from the display area A of the display unit 14 indicated by virtual lines in FIG.

  The casing 21 is provided with an upper cover 23 so as to cover the surface area of the touch sensor 11 that is out of the display area of the display unit 14, and is formed of an elastic member between the upper cover 23 and the touch sensor 11. An insulator 24 is provided.

  In the touch sensor 11 shown in FIG. 2, the surface member having the touch surface 11a is made of, for example, a transparent film or glass, and the back member is made of glass or acrylic. The touch sensor 11 has a structure in which when the touch surface 11a is pressed, the pressed portion is slightly bent (distorted) according to the pressing force, or the structure itself is bent slightly.

  On the surface of the touch sensor 11, a strain gauge sensor 31 for detecting a load (pressing force) applied to the touch sensor 11 is provided in the vicinity of each side covered with the upper cover 23 by adhesion or the like. In addition, on the back surface of the touch sensor 11, piezoelectric vibrators 32 for vibrating the touch sensor 11 are provided in the vicinity of two opposing sides by bonding or the like. That is, the electronic information device shown in FIG. 2 includes the load detection unit 12 shown in FIG. 1 using four strain gauge sensors 31 and the tactile sensation providing unit 13 using two piezoelectric vibrators 32. Yes. And the touch surface 11a is vibrated by vibrating the touch sensor 11 by the tactile sensation providing unit 13. In FIG. 2B, the casing 21, the upper cover 23, and the insulator 24 shown in FIG. 2A are not shown.

  Next, the operation of the electronic information device 1 according to this embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, the electronic information device 1 executes the first operation and the second operation separately according to the operation of the touch sensor 11 by the operator. The main feature of the present invention is to accurately determine the operation intended by the operator. For this reason, in the first operation or the second operation executed in response to the operation, an arbitrary operation can be defined in an arbitrary scene. In this embodiment, for clarity of explanation, an operation performed when an operation by an operator is detected while an application of an Internet web browser is activated will be described.

  In this embodiment, as an example, an operation of jumping to the linked web page that is performed when a tap contact with the touch sensor 11 at a position corresponding to an object including an Internet hyperlink is detected is described as “ First operation ”. Further, as another example, when a double-tap contact with the touch sensor 11 at a position corresponding to an object such as an icon is detected on the desktop displayed on the display unit 14, it is associated with the object. The operation for starting execution of the application can also be referred to as a “first operation”. In the present embodiment, an operation of moving the screen display displayed on the display unit 14 by scrolling or the like performed when a slide operation or a flick operation on the touch sensor 11 is detected is referred to as a “second operation”. And

  Further, in the present embodiment, not only the contact detected by the touch sensor 11 but also the load detected by the load detection unit 12 is considered as a condition for executing the first operation or the second operation. That is, it is considered that the tap's contact with the touch sensor 11 at a position corresponding to an object such as an icon or a link destination has the operator's intention to “press” the object. Therefore, the electronic information device 1 detects the pressing load that satisfies the predetermined standard while the contact with the touch sensor 11 at the position corresponding to the object such as the icon or the link destination is detected. 1 operation is performed.

  On the other hand, in the case of a slide operation or a flick operation, the operator moves the contact position on the touch sensor 11 by a series of operations. For this reason, it is not an operation of pressing a specific point strongly, but an operation of tracing the touch sensor 11 lightly. Therefore, in principle, the electronic information device 1 has a case where the position of the contact by the slide operation or the flick operation detected by the touch sensor 11 moves without the pressing load detected by the load detection unit 12 satisfying a predetermined standard. Then, the second operation is performed.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the electronic information device 1 according to this embodiment. When starting the operation shown in the flowchart of FIG. 3, an object such as a key is displayed on the display unit 14 of the electronic information device 1 before detecting contact with the touch surface of the touch sensor 11. The object in the present embodiment can be an image that suggests to the operator the part to be touched in the touch sensor 11. For example, as the object image, an image of an icon for starting a predetermined application, or an image representing a key or button in which numbers or characters are drawn on the key top is displayed on the display unit 14. Note that, in the following description, when simply described as “object”, it means an image that suggests to the operator a part to be touched in the touch sensor 11.

  When the operation of the electronic information device 1 according to the present embodiment starts, the control unit 15 monitors contact with the touch sensor 11 and monitors the load detected by the load detection unit 12 (step S11). In step S11, when contact with the touch sensor 11 by a pressing target (pressed object) such as an operator's finger is detected, the control unit 15 stores the position of the contact in the storage unit 16 as information such as coordinates, for example. Store (step S12).

  Next, the control unit 15 determines whether or not the pressing load detected by the load detection unit 12 satisfies a predetermined standard while increasing due to the pressing of the touch sensor 11 (step S13). In addition, the load detection part 12 detects a load from the average value of the output of the four strain gauge sensors 31, for example.

  Here, the load satisfying the predetermined standard is set in advance to a value such as 1N (Newton) based on the pressing load when the operator performs a normal pressing operation, and the setting can be changed thereafter. Is preferred. In addition, this predetermined standard is to prevent an operation that the operator has unintentionally touched the touch sensor 11 lightly, and to give the operator a pressure sensation for real touch feeling described later. In addition, an excessively low reference is not set in consideration of a load (for example, an average value) at the time of pressing based on the operator's intention.

  When a load satisfying a predetermined criterion is detected in step S13, the control unit 15 determines whether or not the position of contact detected by the touch sensor 11 is within a predetermined area (step S14). The “predetermined area” in the present embodiment is an area corresponding to a position where an object that suggests an area to be touched or pressed, such as an icon, a key, or a button, is displayed on the display unit 14 in the touch sensor 11. That is. That is, in step S14, it is determined whether or not the contact position corresponds to the displayed position of the object (position on the object). The correspondence between such positions is determined by the control unit 15 determining whether or not the contact position stored in the storage unit 16 in step S12 is included in the region of the image displayed on the display unit 14. I can grasp it.

  When the contact position corresponds to the object position in step S14, the control unit 15 drives the tactile sensation providing unit 13 with a predetermined drive signal to vibrate the touch sensor 11 with a predetermined vibration pattern set in advance. Is presented (step S15). The tactile sensation providing unit 13 drives the two piezoelectric vibrators 32 in the same phase, for example.

  The electronic information device 1 according to the present embodiment performs the following operation to stimulate the tactile sense in the state of stimulating the pressure sense of the operator, so that the operator feels real touch (the button is pushed down). A tactile sensation).

  That is, in this case, the electronic information device 1 stimulates the sense of pressure until the load applied to the touch sensor 11 detected by the load detection unit 12 satisfies the reference (eg, 1N) for presenting the tactile sensation. When the criterion is satisfied, the piezoelectric vibrator constituting the tactile sensation providing unit 12 is driven with a predetermined drive signal to vibrate the touch surface of the touch sensor to stimulate the sense of touch. Thereby, this tactile sensation providing apparatus can present to the operator a tactile sensation similar to that obtained when a button switch such as a push button switch (push button switch) is pressed. Therefore, even if the push button switch of the object drawn on (the display part of) the touch sensor, the operator obtains the tactile sensation of pushing down the real button similar to the case of operating the actual push button switch. However, since a pressing operation can be performed on the touch sensor 11, there is no sense of incongruity. Further, since the operation can be performed in conjunction with the consciousness that the touch sensor 11 is “pressed”, an operation error can be prevented.

  The driving signal for presenting the tactile sensation described above, that is, the constant frequency, period (wavelength), waveform, and amplitude for stimulating the tactile sensation can be appropriately set according to the tactile sensation to be presented. For example, when presenting a tactile sensation represented by a metal dome switch used in a mobile terminal, for example, a tactile sensation presenting unit is generated by a drive signal of a period of 1/4 to 5/4 having a constant frequency of 140 Hz or higher. 12 is driven. The tactile sensation providing unit 12 is driven by such a drive signal, and the touch surface of the touch sensor 11 is vibrated by about 15 μm with a reference pressing load applied. This makes it possible to present a realistic tactile sensation to the operator as if the actual key was pressed.

  When presenting the tactile sensation in step S15, the control unit 15 can also change the display mode of the object corresponding to the position where the contact is detected and display it on the display unit 14. The change of the display mode of the object performed here is, for example, an object drawing in which a key is depressed when a mechanical push button switch is pressed by an operator (hereinafter referred to as “key press display”). It is conceivable to change the mode to In addition, when changing the display mode of an object, a display of a mode that emphasizes that the operator's pressing operation has been properly recognized by instantaneously changing the color or brightness of the object, etc. May be performed.

  If a tactile sensation is presented in step S15, the control unit 15 determines whether or not the pressing load detected by the load detection unit 12 still satisfies a predetermined standard (step S16). If it is determined in step S16 that the pressing load no longer satisfies the predetermined standard, the control unit 15 determines whether or not the position of the contact detected by the touch sensor 11 is still within the predetermined area. (Step S17). That is, in step S <b> 17, it is determined whether or not the contact position when the pressing load does not satisfy the predetermined standard corresponds to the displayed position of the object.

  If it is determined in step S17 that the contact position is still within the predetermined area, the control unit 15 drives the tactile sensation providing unit 13 with a predetermined drive signal to vibrate the touch sensor 11 with a predetermined vibration pattern set in advance. The tactile sensation is presented (step S18).

  Note that the tactile sensation that the tactile sensation providing unit 13 presents to the pressing target in step S18 is preferably a tactile sensation corresponding to the real tactile sensation at the time of pressing described above. The drive signal for driving the tactile sensation providing unit 13 when presenting such a tactile sensation can be the same as or different from the drive signal at the time of pressing in step S15 in FIG. You can also. For example, the frequency of the drive signal (for tactile sensation at the time of pressing) when presenting the tactile sensation in step S15 can be 170 Hz, and the frequency of the drive signal at the time of releasing the pressure can be 125 Hz. Thereby, it is possible to present the operator with a realistic tactile sensation as if the actual key was released. In this way, at the time of releasing the press after presenting the tactile sensation at the time of pressing, the tactile sensation providing unit 13 is driven with a predetermined driving signal, and the touch sensor 11 vibrates with a predetermined vibration pattern set in advance as in the case of pressing. By doing so, a realistic tactile sensation like a push button switch can be presented.

  Note that when presenting a tactile sensation in step S18, as in step S15, the control unit 15 changes the display mode of the object corresponding to the position where contact is detected and displays it on the display unit 14. You can also The change in the display mode of the object performed here may be, for example, a mode in which the display mode of the object that has been pressed is returned to the display of the original object before the press display. In other words, the drawing of the pressed object displayed in step 15 can be changed to a display in which the dent of the key is restored when the operator depresses the mechanical push button switch. . Also in this case, in order to emphasize that the press of the operator has been released, that is, that the press operation has been released, display of a mode such as instantaneously changing the color or brightness of the object may be performed. .

  If tactile sensation is presented in step S18, the control unit 15 performs the first operation described above (step S19). That is, when contact with the touch sensor 11 at a position corresponding to an object including a hyperlink on the Internet is detected, the control unit 15 performs an operation of jumping to the linked web page. When contact with the touch sensor 11 at a position corresponding to an object such as an icon is detected, the control unit 15 performs an operation of starting execution of an application associated with the object. When the first operation is performed in step S19, the electronic information device 1 ends the operation according to the present embodiment.

  Note that if it is determined in step S17 that the contact position no longer exists within the predetermined area because the operator has performed a slide operation, for example, the control unit 15 performs both tactile presentation and the first operation. Instead, the operation according to the present embodiment is terminated.

  On the other hand, in step S13, when the pressing load detected by the load detection unit 12 does not satisfy a predetermined reference, that is, when the pressing force when the operator is touching the touch sensor 11 is not increased, the control unit 15 Then, it is determined whether or not the contact detected by the touch sensor 11 has been released (step S20). Here, “contact is released” means that the touch sensor 11 no longer detects contact.

  When the contact is released in step S20, the control unit 15 ends the operation according to the present embodiment. Also in this case, the control unit 15 does not present the tactile sensation or perform the first operation. Even if the pressing load detected by the load detection unit 12 in step S13 satisfies a predetermined reference, if the contact position does not correspond to the object position in step S14, the control unit 15 proceeds to step S20. Migrate and continue processing.

  If the contact is not released in step S20, the control unit 15 determines whether the position of the contact detected by the touch sensor 11 has moved (step S21). When the contact position has not moved in step S21, the control unit 15 returns to step S13 and continues the process.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S21 that the contact position has moved, the control unit 15 drives the tactile sensation providing unit 13 with a predetermined drive signal to vibrate the touch sensor 11 with a predetermined vibration pattern set in advance. To present a tactile sensation (step S22). Although the tactile sensation presented in step S22 can be in various forms, in this embodiment, since it is a tactile sensation indicating that the second operation is performed, the tactile sensation presented in step S15 or step S18 Are preferably different tactile sensations. In the present embodiment, the second operation is a tactile sensation that is presented when the operator detects a slide operation that moves the fingertip or the like in the touch sensor 11. For example, the operator's finger tracing on the touch sensor 11 or the like It is advantageous to present a tactile sensation that gives the texture a rough feel.

  If tactile sensation is presented in step S22, the control unit 15 performs the second operation described above (step S23). That is, when a slide operation or a flick operation on the touch sensor 11 at a position corresponding to an object such as a table listing the items displayed on the display unit 14 is detected, the control unit 15 scrolls the screen display or the like. Perform the movement. When a slide operation or a flick operation on the touch sensor 11 at a position corresponding to an object such as an icon has been detected, the control unit 15 performs an operation of moving (sliding) the object according to the operation.

  If 2nd operation | movement is performed in step S23, the control part 15 will determine whether the contact detected by the touch sensor 11 was cancelled | released (step S24). If the contact has not been released in step 24, the control unit 15 returns to step S21 and continues the process. On the other hand, when the contact is released in step S20, the control unit 15 ends the operation according to the present embodiment.

  As described above, according to the operation according to the present embodiment, the electronic information device 1 can execute the first operation and the second operation clearly in accordance with the operation of the touch sensor 11 by the operator. Hereinafter, the operation of the electronic information device 1 according to the present embodiment will be further described.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 3 and the following embodiment, the case where Step 15, Step 18, and Step 22 are included will be described. However, even if these steps are omitted, the first operation and The effect of the present invention can be obtained by controlling the second operation. However, in the following embodiments, an example including the above steps will be described as a more preferable example.

  Further, the order of step 13 and step 14 may be changed. In the present invention, the case where the process proceeds to Yes in both of the order of step 13 and step 14 is “a press in which the load detection unit 12 satisfies a predetermined criterion while the touch sensor 11 detects a contact in a predetermined region of the display unit 14. It shall be expressed as “detecting a load”. Then, the process proceeds to No in either Step 13 or Step 14 and further proceeds to Yes in Step 21 when “the pressing load detected by the load detection unit 12 does not satisfy the predetermined standard or the touch sensor 11 displays. The position of the contact detected by the touch sensor 11 moves while detecting the contact outside the predetermined area of the unit 14 ”.

  Further, in the flowchart of FIG. 3 and the following embodiment, a case including Steps 16 to 18 will be described, but even if these steps are omitted, the first operation and the second operation intended by the present invention are performed. Control can be implemented and the effects of the present invention can be obtained. However, in the following embodiments, examples including the above steps will be described as more preferable examples.

  Further, the order of step 16 and step 17 may be changed, and when the process proceeds to No in step 16, the process may return to step 17. In the present invention, regardless of the order of step 16 and step 17, the case where both proceed to Yes is “the pressure load detected by the load detection unit 12 while the touch sensor 11 detects contact in a predetermined area of the display unit 14. "Will not meet the predetermined criteria".

  Furthermore, instead of step 16 and step 17, a step based on the passage of a predetermined time can be provided. That is, in this case, instead of step 16 and step 17, a step such as “has a predetermined time passed?” Is provided.

  4 to 9 schematically show how various screens are displayed on the display unit 14 of the electronic information device 1 and the touch sensor 11 arranged on the front surface thereof detects an operator's contact or pressing operation. Is shown.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the electronic information device 1 when the operator makes a light contact with a pressing load that does not satisfy a predetermined reference at a position corresponding to the object in the touch sensor 11. FIG. 4A shows a state in which the electronic information device 1 starts an application such as a browser on the Internet and displays a website on which information about an artist is posted. In the image displayed on the display unit 14, the underlined character string indicates an object including an Internet hyperlink.

  When contact is detected at a position corresponding to such an object and a pressing load satisfying a predetermined standard is detected, the electronic information device 1 jumps to a linked web page corresponding to the object as a first action. To perform the operation. However, even if contact with such an object is detected, the first operation is not performed if a pressing load that satisfies a predetermined criterion is not detected. That is, even if the operator touches lightly the touch sensor 11 at the position corresponding to the object, the electronic information device 1 does not perform the first operation.

  FIG. 4B shows that the operator makes a light contact with the touch sensor 11 at a position corresponding to the object including the “profile” link displayed on the display unit 14 by a pressing load that does not satisfy a predetermined standard. It shows how it is. As described above, when the pressing load that satisfies the predetermined reference is not detected, the electronic information device 1 does not perform the first operation. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4C, even if contact is detected, the display unit 14 of the electronic information device 1 does not change. The operation shown in FIG. 4 corresponds to the process flow when the operation according to the present embodiment is completed through steps S13 to S20 in the flowchart of FIG.

  As described above, the electronic information device 1 does not perform the first operation or the second operation only by detecting an extremely light contact with the touch sensor 11 due to a pressing load that does not satisfy the predetermined standard. Therefore, according to the electronic information device 1 of the present embodiment, the operator does not intend because the corresponding operation does not start when the operator suddenly touches the touch sensor 11 unexpectedly. The operation can be avoided. In addition, in this case, since the tactile sensation by the tactile sensation providing unit 13 is not presented, the operator can easily recognize that the electronic information device 1 is not operating.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the electronic information device 1 when the operator makes contact with a position corresponding to an object on the touch sensor 11 by applying a pressing load that satisfies a predetermined standard. FIG. 5A shows a state in which the electronic information device 1 displays a certain website, as in FIG. 4A.

  In FIG. 5B, the operator presses the touch sensor 11 at a position corresponding to the object including the “profile” link displayed on the display unit 14 with a pressing load that satisfies a predetermined criterion. It represents the situation. Thus, when a pressing load that satisfies a predetermined standard is detected, the electronic information device 1 performs the first operation. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5C, the electronic information device 1 is based on the link associated with the object of the “profile” corresponding to the position where the touch is detected on the touch sensor 11. Jump to the web page. FIG. 5C shows a state in which the electronic information device 1 has displayed on the display unit 14 the result of jumping to the web page on which the artist profile described above is posted.

  The operation shown in FIG. 5 corresponds to the flow of the process when the process of step S19 is performed after steps S14 and S17 following step S13 in the flowchart of FIG. In this case, the control unit 15 performs control so as to perform a predetermined first operation when the load detection unit 12 detects a pressing load that satisfies a predetermined reference while the touch sensor 11 detects a contact in a predetermined region. In particular, the control unit 15 detects the pressure load that the load detection unit 12 satisfies the standard while the touch sensor 11 detects the contact in the predetermined region, and then detects the contact in the predetermined region while the touch sensor 11 detects the contact in the predetermined region. When the pressing load detected by 12 does not satisfy the reference, control is performed to perform the first operation.

  In addition, as described above, the control unit 15 presses the touch surface of the touch sensor 11 when the load detection unit 12 detects a pressing load that satisfies the standard while the touch sensor 11 detects a contact in a predetermined region. It is preferable to control the tactile sensation providing unit 13 so as to present a tactile sensation to the object. Further, the control unit 15 detects the pressing load that the load sensor 12 satisfies the standard while the touch sensor 11 detects the contact in the predetermined region, and then the load detection unit detects the contact in the predetermined region. It is preferable to control the tactile sensation providing unit 13 so that a tactile sensation is presented to the pressing target that is pressing the touch surface when the pressing load detected by 12 does not satisfy the reference.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the electronic information device 1 when the operator makes a contact by applying a pressing load that satisfies a predetermined reference to a position that is not a position corresponding to the object in the touch sensor 11. is there. FIG. 6A shows a state in which the electronic information device 1 is displaying a certain website, as in FIG. 4A.

  In FIG. 6B, the operator presses the touch sensor 11 at a position deviating from the position corresponding to the object including the link displayed on the display unit 14 with a pressing load that satisfies a predetermined standard. It represents the situation. As described above, even when the touch sensor 11 detects a contact at a position other than the predetermined area and the pressing load that satisfies the predetermined reference is detected by the load detection unit 12, the electronic information device 1 is shown in FIG. As shown, neither the first operation nor the second operation is performed. The operation shown in FIG. 6 corresponds to the flow of processing when the operation according to the present embodiment is completed after passing through step S13, followed by step S20 after step S13 in the flowchart of FIG. Therefore, according to the electronic information device 1 of the present embodiment, since it is determined that the operation is invalid and the screen display does not change, an operation that is not intended by the operator can be avoided. In addition, in this case, since the tactile sensation by the tactile sensation providing unit 13 is not presented, the operator can easily recognize that the electronic information device 1 is not operating by pressing.

  FIG. 7 shows the electronic information device 1 when the operator performs a light contact with a pressing load that does not satisfy a predetermined standard on the touch sensor 11 at a position corresponding to the object, and then moves the position of the contact. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of. FIG. 7A shows a state where the electronic information device 1 is displaying a certain website, as in FIG. 4A. In addition, in the image displayed on the display unit 14, the underlined character string indicates an object including an Internet hyperlink. When a contact is detected at a position corresponding to such an object, and the movement of the position of the contact is detected without detecting a pressing load that satisfies a predetermined reference, the electronic information device 1 performs the first operation described above. As a different second operation, the screen display including the object is scrolled.

  FIG. 7B shows that the operator makes contact with the touch sensor 11 at a position corresponding to the object including the “profile” link displayed on the display unit 14 by a pressing load that does not satisfy a predetermined standard. It shows how it is. Thus, even if the contact by the press load which does not satisfy | fill a predetermined reference | standard is detected, the electronic information equipment 1 does not perform 1st operation | movement.

  Thereafter, when it is detected that the position where the contact is detected on the touch sensor 11 is moved upward due to the operator moving the position of the contact upward, the electronic information device 1 Perform the action. FIG. 7C shows a screen display displayed on the display unit 14 by causing the electronic information device 1 to follow the movement of the contact position when the position where the touch sensor 11 detects the contact moves upward. It shows a state of scrolling. In FIG. 7C, the screen display displayed on the display unit 14 is scrolled as much as the contact position has moved.

  FIG. 7D shows a state where the operator has released the contact with the touch sensor 11 in the state shown in FIG. In FIG. 7D, an object including a link that has not been displayed in the stage of FIG. 7A (it was not displayed because it was below) is newly displayed by the second operation described above. Yes. By such an operation, the operator can scroll the display on the display unit 14 so that the display is easy to see.

  The operation shown in FIG. 7 corresponds to the process flow when the process of step S23 is performed through step S20 and step S21 following step S13 in the flowchart of FIG. In this case, when the position of the contact detected by the touch sensor 11 moves without the pressing load detected by the load detection unit 12 satisfying a predetermined reference, the control unit 15 performs a predetermined second different from the first operation. Control to perform the action. In particular, the control unit 15 performs the second operation when the position of the contact detected in the predetermined region by the touch sensor 11 moves without the pressing load detected by the load detection unit 12 satisfying the predetermined reference. Control. Furthermore, it is preferable that the control unit 15 controls the tactile sensation providing unit 13 so as to present a tactile sensation to the pressing target pressing the touch surface of the touch sensor 11 when detecting that the position of the contact moves. It is. Since the tactile sensation in this case is a tactile sensation indicating that the second operation is performed as described above, it is preferable that the tactile sensation is different from the tactile sensation when the first operation is performed.

  FIG. 8 shows the electronic information device 1 when the operator moves the position of the contact after touching the touch sensor 11 at the position corresponding to the object by applying a pressing load that satisfies a predetermined standard. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of. FIG. 8A shows a state where the electronic information device 1 is displaying a certain website, as in FIG. 4A.

  In FIG. 8B, the operator presses the touch sensor 11 at the position corresponding to the object including the “profile” link displayed on the display unit 14 with a pressing load that satisfies a predetermined standard. It represents the situation. The electronic information device 1 according to the present embodiment is still in the first state when the load detecting unit 12 detects a pressing load that satisfies a predetermined reference after the touch sensor 11 detects contact at a position corresponding to the object. No operation is performed (step S13 and step S14).

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 8C, the operator moves the position of the contact upward while maintaining the pressing load that satisfies the predetermined standard, and the position of the contact deviates from the position corresponding to the object. The case will be described. When the position at which contact is detected on the touch sensor 11 moves upward and the position of the contact deviates from the position corresponding to the object, the pressing load detected by the load detection unit 12 does not satisfy a predetermined standard. The electronic information device 1 does not perform the first operation or the second operation (step S16 and step S17). Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8D, even after the contact is released, the display unit 14 of the electronic information device 1 does not change. As described above, when the order of step 16 and step 17 is changed, if the contact position deviates from the position corresponding to the object, neither the first operation nor the second operation is performed.

  By such an operation, even if the operator accidentally presses the position corresponding to the object on the touch sensor 11 with a pressing load that satisfies a predetermined reference, the operator moves the position to a position other than the position corresponding to the object. The first operation can be canceled by missing the contact.

  The operation shown in FIG. 8 is completed without performing the processing of step S18 and step S19 by passing through step S14 and step S16 following step S13 and then passing through step S17 No in the flowchart of FIG. This corresponds to the process flow. In this case, the control unit 15 detects that the touch sensor 11 detects a pressing load that satisfies a predetermined standard while the touch sensor 11 detects a contact in the predetermined region, and then the touch sensor 11 makes a contact at a position other than the predetermined region. If the pressing load detected by the load detection unit 12 does not satisfy the reference while being detected, control is performed such that neither the first operation nor the second operation is performed. Further, in this case, tactile sensation is presented in step 15, but the process proceeds to No in step 17 and ends without passing through step 18, that is, the tactile sensation at the time of release is not presented. It is easy to recognize that two operations are not performed.

  FIG. 9 shows an electronic information device when the operator moves the position of the contact after applying a pressing load that satisfies a predetermined standard in addition to the position corresponding to the object in the touch sensor 11. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of 1. FIG. FIG. 9A shows a state where the electronic information device 1 is displaying a certain website, as in FIG. 4A.

  FIG. 9B shows that the operator sets a predetermined reference on the touch sensor 11 at a position slightly off to the right from the position corresponding to the object including the “profile” link displayed on the display unit 14. It shows a state in which pressing is performed by a pressing load that satisfies. In the electronic information device 1 according to the present embodiment, even if a pressure load that satisfies a predetermined standard is detected by the load detection unit 12, if the touch sensor 11 detects contact at a position other than the position corresponding to the object, the electronic information device 1 is still 1 operation is not performed (No in step S14).

  Thereafter, a case will be described in which the operator moves the contact position upward while maintaining a pressing load that satisfies a predetermined standard. When the position where contact is detected on the touch sensor 11 moves upward, the electronic information device 1 performs the second operation as shown in FIG. 9C (Yes in step S21 via step S20). Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9D, after the contact is released, the screen display displayed on the display unit 14 is scrolled as much as the position of the contact has moved.

  By such an operation, the operator can also scroll the screen display by performing a sliding operation by pressing a position other than the position corresponding to the object on the touch sensor 11 with a pressing load satisfying a predetermined reference. be able to.

  The operation shown in FIG. 9 is the flow of the process when the process of step S23 is performed by passing through No of step S14 and step S20 following step S13 and then passing through Yes of step S21 in the flowchart of FIG. Corresponding to In this case, the control unit 15 detects the pressing load detected by the load detection unit 12 after the load detection unit 12 detects a pressing load that satisfies the predetermined reference while the touch sensor 11 detects contact at a position other than the predetermined region. When the position of the contact detected by the touch sensor 11 moves while satisfying the reference, control is performed to perform the second operation. Furthermore, it is preferable that the control unit 15 controls the tactile sensation providing unit 13 so as to present a tactile sensation to the pressing target pressing the touch surface of the touch sensor 11 when detecting that the position of the contact moves. It is. Since the tactile sensation in this case is a tactile sensation indicating that the second operation is performed as described above, the tactile sensation different from the tactile sensation when the first operation is performed (the tactile sensation presented in step 15 and step 18). It is preferable to do this.

  As described above, the electronic information device 1 according to the present embodiment also detects the pressing load on the touch sensor 11 by the load detection unit 12 as an element when determining the type of operation performed by the operator on the touch sensor 11. Consider. For this reason, the electronic information device 1 according to the present embodiment can accurately determine the operations of a plurality of modes with respect to the touch sensor so as to conform to the intention of the operator. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, not only can the operations of at least two aspects be accurately distinguished and recognized, but also the occurrence of actions that are not intended by the operator is remarkably suppressed, and thus the user interface with improved operability. Can be realized.

  In addition, this invention is not limited only to the said embodiment, Many deformation | transformation or a change is possible. For example, in the above-described embodiment, there is no mention of whether or not sound is generated when the first or second operation is performed. However, the operability of the electronic information device 1 can be further improved by appropriately generating sound that is linked to the first or second operation. In this embodiment, the first operation is an operation for executing a function assigned in advance to a display area on the display unit specified based on the input coordinates, that is, an operation for selecting an icon or the like, and the second operation is scrolled. The case of operation was described. However, the second operation may be an operation that changes the display state on the display unit. In addition to the scroll operation, for example, the enlargement / reduction operation of the screen near the contact position, the movement of the predetermined area portion on the screen (for example, the image) Move on the screen) or the like.

  Moreover, the load detection part 12 in each embodiment mentioned above can be comprised using arbitrary number of strain gauge sensors. Furthermore, according to the input detection method in the touch sensor, for example, in the case of the resistive film method, the load detection unit 12 uses a strain gauge sensor if the load can be detected from the change in the output signal based on the resistance change due to the contact area. It can be configured without. Alternatively, in the case of the electrostatic capacity method, if the load can be detected from the change in the output signal based on the change in the electrostatic capacity, it can be configured without using the strain gauge sensor.

  Furthermore, the tactile sensation providing unit 13 is configured using an arbitrary number of piezoelectric vibrators, provided with a transparent piezoelectric element on the entire surface of the touch sensor, or can express vibration that presents tactile sensation. The motor may be configured to rotate once in one cycle of the drive signal. Furthermore, when the load detection unit 12 and the tactile sensation providing unit 13 are configured using piezoelectric elements, the load detection unit 12 and the tactile sensation providing unit 13 can also be configured by sharing the piezoelectric elements.

  Further, the electronic information device 1 according to the present invention drives the tactile sensation providing unit 13 when the pressing load detected by the load detecting unit 12 satisfies the load standard. However, the time when the pressure load detected by the load detection unit 12 satisfies the load standard may be the time when the pressure load detected by the load detection unit 12 reaches the standard value of the load. It may be when the pressing load detected by the detection unit 12 exceeds the reference value of the load. Alternatively, the load detection unit 12 may detect the reference value of the load. Further, the control unit 15 presents a tactile sensation so as to present a click tactile sensation in step 15, a release tactile sensation in step 18, and a tactile sensation in the case of a scroll operation in step 22. It is preferable to control the presenting unit 13. In this case, the electronic information device 1 can present a realistic tactile sensation to the operator by appropriately setting a constant frequency, period (wavelength), waveform, amplitude, and the like of vibration generated by the tactile sensation providing unit 13.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electronic information apparatus 11 Touch sensor 11a Touch surface 12 Load detection part 13 Tactile sense presentation part 14 Display part 15 Control part 16 Memory | storage part 21 Case 22 Insulator 23 Upper cover 24 Insulator 31 Strain gauge sensor 32 Piezoelectric vibrator

Claims (2)

A touch sensor for detecting contact;
A load detection unit for detecting a pressing load on the touch surface of the touch sensor;
A tactile sensation providing unit that vibrates the touch surface of the touch sensor;
When the load detection unit detects a pressing load that satisfies a predetermined reference while the touch sensor detects a contact in a predetermined region, a predetermined first operation is performed, and the pressing load detected by the load detection unit satisfies the reference. A control unit that controls to perform a predetermined second operation different from the first operation without depending on the pressing load when the position of the contact detected in the predetermined region by the touch sensor moves without satisfying the condition; ,
The control unit presents a tactile sensation to a pressing target pressing the touch surface when the load detection unit detects a pressing load that satisfies the reference while the touch sensor detects a contact in a predetermined region. To control the tactile sensation presentation unit,
A display unit that displays an icon in an area corresponding to the predetermined area,
The control unit performs an operation of executing a function assigned to the icon as the predetermined first operation, and performs an operation of executing a function not assigned to the icon as the predetermined second operation. Electronic information equipment to control.   The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the screen display displayed on the display unit to scroll as an operation of executing a function not assigned to the icon.

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