JP2017078920A - Touch panel device - Google Patents

Abstract

A touch panel device capable of detecting a pressing operation and a gesture operation is realized. A touch panel device (1) is laminated on a first touch panel (2) for detecting a gesture operation by a capacitance method and a second touch panel (2) for detecting a pressing operation by a resistance film method. A touch panel (3) and a switching unit that switches between a gesture operation and a pressing operation depending on whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied. [Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a touch panel device.

  In recent years, touch panel devices for inputting necessary information by touching an image displayed on a display with a finger by a portable terminal, a PC (personal computer) or the like have become widespread. As a detection method of the touch panel device, a resistance film method, a capacitance method, and the like are known, and the detection method employed for the touch panel is selected according to the application.

  The resistive film type touch panel device receives an input at the coordinates of the touch position by electrically detecting a position strongly pressed (pressed) by the user. For this reason, resistive film type touch panel devices are used to operate buttons and switches displayed on a display.

  The capacitive touch panel device is a user gesture that does not require pressing such as sliding the finger on the display by monitoring the change in capacitance when the user's finger touches the surface of the touch panel device. Detect operations. For example, Non-Patent Document 1 describes a technique (capacitance type single-layer touch panel) that realizes a capacitive touch panel with a single transparent electrode. The touch panel described in Non-Patent Document 1 is a surface capacitance method, and an array is formed by arranging strip-shaped sensing electrodes in a one-dimensional shape. In addition to detecting the position of each electrode in the X direction based on the principle of the surface capacitance method, the capacitance in the Y direction is measured based on the principle of the projection capacitance method, and the position in the Y direction is detected based on the ratio thereof.

H. Hattori, “Explanation and Trends of Capacitive Touch Panel Technology”, Touch Panel Frontline 2013-2014, Nikkei Business Publications, December 27, 2012, p. 40-49

  However, it is desirable that a touch panel used for factory automation (FA) employed in a factory production line or the like has both a resistance film type and a capacitance type function depending on the situation. In detail, an erroneous operation of the touch panel in FA sometimes causes a serious problem. Therefore, for operations that may cause serious problems due to incorrect operations such as starting / stopping the rotation of production machine motors, or operations that cannot be undone, resistance that requires a reliable pressing operation to prevent erroneous operations. It is desirable to adopt a membrane type touch panel. On the other hand, for an operation that does not cause a serious problem due to an erroneous operation such as selecting a menu, or an operation that can be redone, it is desirable to adopt a capacitance method that can be operated with an intuitive gesture.

  Conventionally, in order to realize both pressing operation and gesture operation, two types (two) of a resistive touch panel and a capacitive touch panel are used, and two display devices such as liquid crystal Are provided in each touch panel separately or by dividing one display device. However, such a conventional method is costly and has a problem that it tends to be distorted in terms of device size and design design. In addition, in the conventional method, since touch panels with different functions and applications are individually mounted, it is necessary to be aware of which touch panel to operate each time an operation is performed, which is difficult for the user to handle. There is.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to realize a touch panel device capable of detecting a pressing operation and a gesture operation.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a touch panel device according to an aspect of the present invention includes a first touch panel that detects a user's gesture operation by a capacitive method, and is stacked on the first touch panel to perform a user's pressing operation. A second touch panel that is detected by a resistance film method and a switching unit that switches between the gesture operation and the pressing operation based on whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied.

  According to the above configuration, the touch panel device includes the first touch panel that detects the gesture operation by the capacitance method and the second touch panel that detects the user's pressing operation by the resistance film method, and thus, one touch panel. It has become. Further, based on whether the first touch panel or the second touch panel satisfies a predetermined condition, which of the two operations is adopted is switched by the switching unit. As a result, the touch panel device can detect both a pressing operation and an intuitive gesture operation that does not require pressing with a single touch panel.

  In the touch panel device according to the present invention, the first touch panel is formed by a first sheet, and the second touch panel is formed by the first sheet and a second sheet stacked on the first sheet. Preferably it is.

  According to the above configuration, the second touch panel is formed by the first sheet on which the first touch panel is formed and the second sheet laminated on the first sheet. Therefore, since the touch panel device can be realized with two sheets, the touch panel device can be realized with less material than a touch panel in which two touch panels are simply stacked. In addition, smooth switching between the two types of touch panels can be realized by, for example, an application or the like without making the user conscious.

  In the touch panel device according to the present invention, a first electrode is formed on a surface of the first sheet facing the second sheet, and a second electrode is formed on a surface of the second sheet facing the first sheet. Preferably, the first touch panel detects the gesture operation with the first electrode, and the second touch panel detects the pressing operation with the first electrode and the second electrode.

  According to the above configuration, the second touch panel (the touch panel for detecting a pressing operation) is formed on the surface of the first sheet that faces the second sheet and the surface of the second sheet that faces the first sheet. The second electrode is formed. That is, the first electrode is a common electrode for the first touch panel and the second touch panel. As a result, the number of necessary electrodes is reduced, and the cost can be reduced.

  In addition, the touch panel device according to the present invention further includes a contact determination unit that determines contact between the first sheet and the second sheet, and the switching unit includes the first sheet and the second sheet by the contact determination unit. When it is determined that the sheet is in contact, it is preferable to switch the operation to be adopted from the gesture operation to the pressing operation.

  According to the above configuration, when the contact determination unit determines that the first sheet and the second sheet are in contact, the operation adopted by the switching unit is switched from the gesture operation to the pressing operation. As a result, the user can perform two types of operations (gesture operation and pressing operation) on one touch panel without being particularly conscious, so that the operability is improved.

  In the touch panel device according to the present invention, a first electrode is formed on a surface of the first sheet opposite to a surface facing the second sheet, and a first electrode is formed on a surface of the first sheet facing the second sheet. Two electrodes are formed, a third electrode is formed on a surface of the second sheet facing the first sheet, the first touch panel detects the gesture operation by the first electrode, and the second touch panel Preferably, the pressing operation is detected by the second electrode and the third electrode.

  According to the said structure, the electrode of a 1st touch panel and the electrode of a 2nd touch panel are formed independently. Therefore, the first touch panel and the second touch panel can be controlled independently. For example, an intuitive gesture operation and a pressing operation can always be detected.

  In the touch panel device according to the present invention, it is preferable that the switching unit switches between the gesture operation and the pressing operation based on whether a predetermined application is activated.

  According to the above configuration, the adopted operation is switched by the application activated by the switching unit. As a result, the user can perform two types of operations (gesture operation and pressing operation) on one touch panel without being particularly conscious, so that the operability is improved.

  According to one embodiment of the present invention, a touch panel device that can detect a pressing operation and a gesture operation can be realized.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the touchscreen apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a top view which shows the structural example of the said touchscreen apparatus, and the example of a transparent electrode. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the operation detection process of each touchscreen of the said touchscreen apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the operation detection process of the said touchscreen apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the modification of a structure of the touchscreen apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the other modification of a structure of the touchscreen apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure explaining detection of pressing operation in the above-mentioned touch panel device. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the touchscreen apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the operation detection process of the said touchscreen apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the modification of a structure of the touchscreen apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the other modification of the structure of the touchscreen apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. For convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as those shown in the embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted as appropriate. In the embodiment of the present invention, a portion formed of an indium tin oxide (ITO) film or the like of the touch panel is referred to as a “transparent electrode”, and a portion of the touch panel that applies voltage or extracts a signal is referred to as a “terminal electrode”. Will be described.

Embodiment 1
Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a touch panel device 1 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 2A is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration example of the touch panel device 1, and FIG. 2B is a plan view of the second sheet 41 viewed from the first sheet 40 side. 2C to 2E are plan views illustrating examples of the transparent electrode of the touch panel device 1.

[Outline configuration of touch panel device]
As shown in FIG. 1, the touch panel device 1 includes a first touch panel 2, a second touch panel 3, and a control unit 10. The touch panel device 1 detects a pressing operation and a gesture operation by the user based on an image displayed by the display device 43 (see FIG. 2A), and executes a process corresponding to the detected operation. The pressing operation is an operation accompanied by an operation of pressing the touch panel device 1 as strongly as the first sheet 40 and the second sheet 41 (see FIG. 2A) come into contact with each other. The pressing operation includes, for example, a touch of pressing strongly so that the first sheet 40 and the second sheet 41 are in contact, and an operation of sliding while pressing strongly so that the first sheet 40 and the second sheet 41 are in contact. The gesture operation refers to touching the touch panel device 1 without pressing the touch panel device 1 as strongly as the first sheet 40 and the second sheet 41 contact each other, sliding a finger on the touch panel device 1, zooming in / out, rotating, and the like. This is an intuitive operation.

  The touch panel device 1 is used for electronic devices such as a programmable display, a mobile phone, a smartphone, a portable music player, a portable game machine, a TV, a PC, a digital camera, and a digital video. Note that the touch panel device 1 may include members such as a communication unit, a voice input unit, and a voice output unit, but the members are not shown because they are not related to the feature points of the invention.

  In addition, the touch panel device 1 includes a first sheet 40 and a second sheet 41 as shown in FIGS. The first sheet 40 and the second sheet 41 are stacked with the dot spacer 42 interposed therebetween. The dot spacer 42 is an insulator and prevents a short circuit caused by contact of the transparent electrode provided to face the first sheet 40 and the second sheet 41. A plurality of dot spacers 42 are arranged between the first sheet 40 and the second sheet 41 at an appropriate interval. The second sheet 41 is laminated on the display device 43.

  Transparent electrodes such as ITO are formed on the first sheet 40 and the second sheet 41. The pattern of the transparent electrode varies depending on the operation required to be detected. Details will be described later. As a material of the first sheet 40 and the second sheet 41, for example, glass or a film can be adopted. By using glass as the material, the transmittance is increased and the visibility is improved.

[Schematic configuration of the first touch panel]
The first touch panel 2 detects a gesture operation that does not require a user's pressing by a capacitance method. The first touch panel 2 includes an operation detection electrode H and a first touch panel control circuit 21. The first touch panel 2 has an operation detection electrode H (on the surface 40a (see FIG. 2A) opposite to the surface 40b facing the second sheet 41 (see FIG. 2A) of the first sheet 40. The first touch panel 2 detects the gesture operation by the motion detection electrode H. Although not shown, the first sheet 40 has a surface 40a covered with a cover glass or the like for protecting the transparent electrode. In order to facilitate contact between the transparent electrodes separated by the dot spacers, it is preferable that the cover glass covering the surface 40a is thin.

  Specifically, the transparent electrodes X1a and X1b to XPa · XPb (P is an arbitrary variable) that are the motion detection electrodes H are arranged on the surface 40a. The operation detection electrode H is, for example, a transparent electrode such as ITO. Transparent electrode XPa and transparent electrode XPb form a pair, and transparent electrode XPb has a shape obtained by rotating transparent electrode XPa, which is a right triangle, by 180 ° about the midpoint of the oblique side of transparent electrode XPa. The two transparent electrodes to be paired together are rectangular as a whole.

  The motion detection electrode H is disposed on the surface 40a so that the rectangles are parallel to each other. In other words, the motion detection electrode H is arranged on the surface 40a so that the transparent electrode is arranged on a predetermined surface when the capacitive touch panel is realized by a single layer of transparent electrode. Both ends of each pair of transparent electrodes in the operation detection electrode H are connected to the first touch panel control circuit 21.

  Specifically, the transparent electrodes (transparent electrode X1a to transparent electrode XPa) whose area decreases from the X direction minus side to the plus side between the paired transparent electrodes are the X direction minus side end and the first touch panel control circuit. 21 is connected. The transparent electrodes (transparent electrode X1b to transparent electrode XPb) whose area increases from the X direction minus side to the plus side between the pair of transparent electrodes are connected to the end on the X direction plus side and the first touch panel control circuit 21. Has been.

  In the present embodiment, the motion detection electrode H is a right triangle, but is not limited thereto. The pattern of the motion detection electrode H may be an isosceles triangle pattern as shown in FIG. 2C, or may be a right triangle pattern as shown in this embodiment and FIG. 2D. A rectangular pattern may be used as shown in FIG. Note that when forming the transparent electrode and the wiring, for example, a jumper process is required so that the wiring does not contact the portion where the wiring intersects as shown by a broken-line circle in FIG.

  The first touch panel control circuit 21 drives the first touch panel 2 and detects the touch position of the gesture operation by a capacitance method. When detecting the touch position, the first touch panel control circuit 21 measures, for example, the change in capacitance of each transparent electrode arranged in the Y direction of the operation detection electrode H on the principle of the projection capacitance method, and the change in capacitance is the most. The position in the Y direction of the touch is detected by specifying the position where it increases. Further, the position of the touch in the X direction is detected based on the ratio of the change in capacitance between the transparent electrode that has changed in capacitance and the transparent electrode that is paired with the transparent electrode. When the motion detection electrode H is an isosceles triangle, the ratio of change in the capacitance can be easily obtained. In addition, when the self-capacitance method is adopted among the electrostatic capacity methods, it is possible to detect a touch of one point. When the mutual capacitance method is adopted, it is possible to detect a touch of two or more points if different transparent electrodes are used. Become.

  Since the first touch panel 2 detects an operation by a capacitance method, the operation can be detected by a light touch or the like. Thereby, operation of the touch panel by intuitive gesture operation is attained. The first touch panel control circuit 21 drives the first touch panel 2 based on an instruction from the switching unit 11. The first touch panel control circuit 21 transmits a signal indicating the touch position of the gesture operation detected by the first touch panel 2 to the gesture operation acquisition unit 12.

[Schematic configuration of the second touch panel]
The second touch panel 3 detects a user's pressing operation by a resistance film method. The second touch panel 3 includes a conductive film Z, a conductive film Z1, and a second touch panel control circuit 31. A conductive film Z (second electrode) is formed on a surface 40b (see FIG. 2A) facing the second sheet 41 in the first sheet 40, and a surface facing the first sheet 40 in the second sheet 41. A conductive film Z1 (third electrode) is formed on 41a (see FIG. 2). The second touch panel 3 detects a pressing operation using the conductive film Z and the conductive film Z1.

  Specifically, the conductive film Z is disposed on the surface 40b in a region corresponding to the region where the motion detection electrode H of the surface 40a is disposed. A conductive film Z1 is disposed on the surface 41a at a position facing the conductive film Z. The conductive film Z and the conductive film Z1 are made of, for example, an ITO film. That is, in the touch panel device 1, the transparent electrode is not formed only on the surface 41 b of the second sheet 41 that faces the display device 43.

  The conductive film Z is connected to the second touch panel control circuit 31 and is a conductive film dedicated to voltage detection. A power supply VCC is connected between the conductive film Z and the second touch panel control circuit 31 via a resistor. In the conductive film Z1, terminal electrodes connected to the second touch panel control circuit 31 are provided on four sides (not shown). In other words, an electrode pattern of a 5-wire analog resistive film type touch panel is formed on the surface 40 and the surface 41a.

  The second touch panel control circuit 31 drives the second touch panel 3 based on an instruction from the switching unit 11 and detects the touch position of the pressing operation using a 5-wire analog resistance film method. For example, the second touch panel control circuit 31 alternately applies an appropriate voltage in the X direction and an appropriate voltage in the Y direction to the terminal electrodes on the four sides of the conductive film Z1. Thereby, when there is a pressing operation on the touch panel device 1 by the user, the voltage at the time of applying each voltage is detected by the conductive film Z and output to the second touch panel control circuit 31. The second touch panel control circuit 31 detects the position in the X direction and the Y direction of the pressing operation based on the detected voltage.

  Further, by changing the positions of the terminal electrodes provided on the conductive film Z and the conductive film Z1, a 4-wire analog resistive film type touch panel may be formed by the surface 40b and the surface 41a. The 5-wire system is not easily affected by the deterioration of the conductive film Z. Therefore, when a film is used as the cover glass, the 5-wire system has a longer life than the 4-wire system.

  In the present embodiment, in the touch panel device 1, the first touch panel 2 is provided on the side where the user's operation is performed. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the second touch panel 3 may be provided on the side where the user's operation is performed. By installing the first touch panel 2 on the side close to the glass on which the user's operation is performed, the position detection error at the time of the gesture operation is extremely reduced in the present embodiment. The second touch panel control circuit 31 drives the second touch panel 3 based on an instruction from the switching unit 11. The second touch panel control circuit 31 transmits a signal indicating the touch position of the pressing operation detected by the second touch panel 3 to the pressing operation acquisition unit 13.

[Details of control unit]
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the control unit 10 includes a switching unit 11, a gesture operation acquisition unit 12, a pressing operation acquisition unit 13, and an execution unit 14. The switching unit 11 switches between the gesture operation and the pressing operation depending on whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied. For example, the switching unit 11 switches between the gesture operation and the pressing operation based on whether or not a predetermined application is activated. Specifically, the switching unit 11 employs a pressing operation when the application that is transmitted from the execution unit 14 and activated by the touch panel device 1 is a predetermined application. Moreover, the switching part 11 employ | adopts gesture operation, when the application currently started is not a predetermined application. The predetermined application is an application that performs a process that may cause a serious problem due to an erroneous operation, such as starting / stopping rotation of a motor of a production machine. Further, the switching unit 11 acquires the position information of the gesture operation detected by the first touch panel 2 based on the touch position of the gesture operation transmitted from the gesture operation acquisition unit 12. Further, the switching unit 11 acquires the position information of the pressing operation detected by the second touch panel 3 based on the touch position of the pressing operation transmitted from the pressing operation acquisition unit 13.

  The gesture operation acquisition unit 12 acquires the touch position of the gesture operation from the first touch panel control circuit 21. The pressing operation acquisition unit 13 acquires the touch position of the pressing operation from the second touch panel control circuit 31. The execution unit 14 executes a process corresponding to the adopted gesture operation or pressing operation. In addition, the execution unit 14 notifies the switching unit 11 of the application currently being executed.

[Operation detection processing]
FIG. 3A is a flowchart illustrating an example of operation detection processing of the first touch panel 2 of the touch panel device 1, and FIG. 3B is an example of operation detection processing of the second touch panel 3 of the touch panel device 1. It is a flowchart which shows. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation detection process of the touch panel device 1.

  First, as shown in FIG. 3A, the first touch panel 2 is activated in a driving state (S1). When the activation is completed, the gesture operation acquisition unit 12 determines whether or not a new touch is detected on the first touch panel 2 (S2). When a new touch is detected on the first touch panel 2 (YES in S2), the gesture operation acquisition unit 12 acquires the touch position of the gesture operation from the first touch panel control circuit 21 and transmits it to the switching unit 11 (S3). ). Thereafter, the process of S2 is performed again. If no new touch is detected on the first touch panel 2 (NO in S2), the gesture operation acquisition unit 12 performs the process of S2 again.

  As shown in FIG. 3B, the second touch panel 3 is activated while being driven (S4). When the activation is completed, the pressing operation acquisition unit 13 determines whether or not a new touch is detected on the second touch panel 3 (S5). When a new touch is detected on the second touch panel 3 (YES in S5), the pressing operation acquisition unit 13 acquires the touch position of the pressing operation from the second touch panel control circuit 31, and transmits it to the switching unit 11 (S6). ). Thereafter, the process of S5 is performed again. When no new touch is detected on the second touch panel 3 (NO in S5), the pressing operation acquisition unit 13 performs the process of S5 again.

  As illustrated in FIG. 4, the switching unit 11 first determines whether or not a gesture operation touch position has been received from the gesture operation acquisition unit 12 (S <b> 11). When the touch position of the gesture operation is received from the gesture operation acquisition unit 12 (YES in S11), the switching unit 11 acquires the touch position of the gesture operation from the gesture operation acquisition unit 12 as position information (S12).

  Next, the switching unit 11 determines whether or not the touch position of the pressing operation has been received from the pressing operation acquisition unit 13 (S13). When the touch position of the pressing operation is received from the pressing operation acquisition unit 13 (YES in S13), the switching unit 11 acquires the touch position of the pressing operation from the pressing operation acquisition unit 13 as position information (S14).

  Next, the switching unit 11 determines whether a predetermined application is activated (S15). When the predetermined application is activated (YES in S15), the switching unit 11 adopts the pressing operation (S16), and transmits the position information of the pressing operation acquired in S14 to the execution unit 14. When the predetermined application is not activated (NO in S15), the switching unit 11 adopts the gesture operation (S17), and notifies the execution unit 14 of the position information of the gesture operation acquired in S12. The execution unit 14 executes a process based on the position information of the gesture operation or the pressing operation transmitted from the switching unit 11 (S18), and returns to the process of S11.

  When the touch position of the gesture operation is not received from the gesture operation acquisition unit 12 (NO in S11), the process proceeds to S13. When the touch position of the pressing operation is not received from the pressing operation acquisition unit 13 (NO in S13), the process proceeds to S15. If there is no position information of the operation adopted in S18, the process is not executed, and the process returns to S11.

  In the present embodiment, as an example of the operation detection process, the case where the operation to be adopted is switched by an application has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the above. Switching between operations to be adopted can be set as appropriate for the convenience of the user or processing.

  Further, the gesture operation acquisition unit 12 and the pressing operation acquisition unit 13 may be realized in the first touch panel 2 and the second touch panel 3 instead of the control unit 10. By independently controlling the gesture operation acquisition unit 12 and the press operation acquisition unit 13, it is possible to detect the gesture operation and the press operation in parallel on each touch panel at the same time. As a result, since the switching unit 11 can arbitrarily extract either information, the switching unit 11 can freely select which one of the gesture operation and the pressing operation has priority, and can select both operations. It becomes possible. For example, a combination of a capacitance method and an MTR type resistance film method, which will be described later, can be correctly detected as a gesture operation even when a gesture operation is strongly pressed with a finger from the middle.

[Modification 1]
Modification 1 of Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a modification of the configuration of the touch panel device 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The touch panel device 1A shown in FIG. 5 is different from the touch panel device 1 shown in FIG. 1 in that a second touch panel 3A is provided instead of the second touch panel 3, and the other configurations are the same. According to this modification, an analog circuit is not necessary, and thus the second touch panel control circuit 31A can be easily controlled. Further, since a pressing operation at two points can also be detected, an operation requiring an interlock can be handled.

[Schematic configuration of the second touch panel]
The second touch panel 3A is different from the second touch panel 3 in that the upper electrode J (second electrode) and the lower electrode K (third electrode) are replaced with the conductive film Z, the conductive film Z1, and the second touch panel control circuit 31. ) And the second touch panel control circuit 31A, and the other points are the same.

  On the surface 40b (see FIG. 2A) of the second touch panel 3A, the upper layer electrode J is disposed in a region corresponding to the region where the motion detection electrode H is disposed on the surface 40a. Each of the transparent electrodes X1, X2 to XQ (Q is an arbitrary variable), which is the upper layer electrode J, has a rectangular shape and is arranged in parallel to the X direction on the surface 40b. The end of each upper layer electrode J on the plus side in the X direction is connected to the second touch panel control circuit 31A. A power supply VCC is connected between each upper layer electrode J and the second touch panel control circuit 31A via a resistor.

  On the surface 41a (see FIG. 2A) of the second touch panel 3A, a lower layer electrode K is disposed at a position facing the upper layer electrode J. Each of the transparent electrodes Y1, Y2 to XR (R is an arbitrary variable), which is the lower layer electrode K, has a rectangular shape and is arranged in parallel to the Y direction on the surface 41a. That is, each upper layer electrode J and each lower layer electrode K are arranged to be orthogonal to each other. The end of each lower layer electrode K on the negative side in the Y direction is connected to the second touch panel control circuit 31A. A power supply VCC is connected between each lower layer electrode K and the second touch panel control circuit 31A via a resistor. In other words, the upper layer electrode J and the lower layer electrode K are formed on the surface 40b and the surface 41a so that a transparent electrode is disposed on a predetermined surface when a digital matrix type resistive film type touch panel is realized. Upper layer electrode J and lower layer electrode K are connected to second touch panel control circuit 31A. The upper layer electrode J and the lower layer electrode K are, for example, transparent electrodes such as ITO.

  The second touch panel control circuit 31A drives the second touch panel 3A and detects the touch position of the pressing operation by a digital matrix type resistive film method. For example, when the first sheet 40 is dented by the pressing operation, the upper layer electrode J and the lower layer electrode K come into contact with each other, and the contacted portion conducts. The second touch panel control circuit 31A specifies the intersecting portion of the transparent electrodes that are conductive, and detects the position in the X direction and the Y direction of the pressing operation. The second touch panel control circuit 31 </ b> A drives the second touch panel 3 </ b> A based on an instruction from the switching unit 11. The second touch panel control circuit 31A transmits to the pressing operation acquisition unit 13 a signal indicating the touch position of the pressing operation detected by the second touch panel 3A.

[Modification 2]
Modification 2 of Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating another modification of the configuration of the touch panel device 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The touch panel device 1B shown in FIG. 6 is different from the touch panel device 1A shown in FIG. 5 in that a second touch panel 3B is provided instead of the second touch panel 3A, and the other configurations are the same. According to this modification, as in the case of the second touch panel 3 (analog resistance film), it is possible to detect the fine position of the touch in the operation. Further, since a pressing operation at two points can also be detected, an operation requiring an interlock can be handled.

[Schematic configuration of the second touch panel]
The second touch panel 3B is different from the second touch panel 3A in that a second touch panel control circuit 31B is provided instead of the second touch panel control circuit 31A, and the upper layer electrode J and the second touch panel control circuit 31B are different. The connection method and the connection method between the lower layer electrode K and the second touch panel control circuit 31B, and the other points are the same.

  Similarly to the second touch panel 3A, the upper layer electrode J and the lower layer electrode K are disposed on the surface 40b and the surface 41a (see FIG. 2A) of the second touch panel 3B. Both ends of each upper layer electrode J in the X direction are connected to the second touch panel control circuit 31B. A power supply VCC is connected between both ends of each upper layer electrode J in the X direction and the second touch panel control circuit 31B via resistors. Further, both ends of the lower layer electrode K in the Y direction are respectively connected to the second touch panel control circuit 31B. A power supply VCC is connected between each end of each lower electrode K in the Y direction and the second touch panel control circuit 31B via a resistor.

  The second touch panel control circuit 31B drives the second touch panel 3B and detects the touch position of the pressing operation. Specifically, a description will be given based on FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating detection of a pressing operation on the second touch panel 3B. FIG. 7 corresponds to, for example, a view of the upper electrode J and the lower electrode K of the second touch panel 3B as viewed from the lower electrode K side.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the second touch panel 3 </ b> B includes transparent electrodes X <b> 1 to X <b> 6 that are upper layer electrodes J and transparent electrodes Y <b> 1 to Y <b> 6 that are lower layer electrodes. Suppose that a pressing operation is performed at a point α where the transparent electrode X3 and the transparent electrode Y4 intersect. At that time, for example, when both ends of the transparent electrode X3 are applied with 10V at the negative end in the X direction and 0V at the positive end, the voltage detected by the transparent electrode Y4 is the transparent electrode A position in the X direction of a rectangle composed of X3 and the transparent electrode Y4 is shown. Further, at both ends of the transparent electrode Y4, when 10V is applied to the positive end in the Y direction and 0V is applied to the negative end, the voltage detected at the transparent electrode X3 is the transparent electrode X3 and the transparent electrode. A position in the Y direction of a rectangle composed of Y4 is shown. In this way, the second touch panel 3B can detect a fine position of the operation in the same manner as the second touch panel 3 (analog resistance film). In addition, if it is on a rectangle different from the point α (a rectangle composed of the upper layer electrode J and the lower layer electrode K), for example, two pressing operations such as the point α and the point β can be detected. Such a touch panel is referred to as an MTR (Multi Touch Registive) type resistive touch panel. In other words, the upper layer electrode J and the lower layer electrode K are formed on the surface 40b and the surface 41a so that a transparent electrode is disposed on a predetermined surface when an MTR type resistive film type touch panel is realized. J and the lower layer electrode K are connected to the second touch panel control circuit 31B. The second touch panel control circuit 31B drives the second touch panel 3B and detects the touch position of the pressing operation by the MTR type resistive film method.

〔effect〕
When a reliable operation is required for FA applications, it is difficult to distinguish between a user's intentional operation and an erroneous operation that is not an intentional operation. As countermeasures, for example, a user may perform complicated operations such as pressing and holding a certain range for a certain period of time (long pressing), and tapping twice within a certain range within a certain time (double tap). A method of discriminating between a user's intentional operation and an erroneous operation by enforcing can be considered. However, this requires the user to become familiar with the operation. Therefore, when a reliable operation is required, it is desirable to detect the operation using a resistive film type touch panel that does not function unless pressed firmly to some extent.

  On the other hand, electronic devices such as smartphones and touchpads are desired to be able to perform smooth operation operations on the screen such as zoom-in / zoom-out and rotation without causing problems even if there are some erroneous operations. In recent years, it has been demanded that a smooth operation on the screen as described above can be performed in a scene where a reliable operation is not required even in FA.

  Even with a resistive film type touch panel, if it is an MTR type, it is possible to perform operations by operation operations such as zoom-in / zoom-out and rotation. However, since the MTR type must be operated while maintaining a state where pressure is applied to the touch panel, an operation operation that moves while applying pressure may cause a problem that the finger may be released during the operation operation, or the finger may become tired. There is a problem that it is easy. For this reason, in order to perform an operation by an operation operation, it is desirable to adopt a capacitance method.

  The touch panel device 1 of the present invention can realize both functions of a capacitance method and a resistance film method with one touch panel device 1. Therefore, make up for the disadvantages of the capacitive method (cannot prevent incorrect operation) with the resistive film method, and make up for the disadvantages of the resistive method (cannot be operated smoothly on the screen) with the capacitive method. Can do. That is, an operation operation (gesture operation) such as a light pressing gesture can be operated without any problem, and a touch operation (pressing operation) such as ON / OFF that is effective only by strongly pressing can also be operated. Thereby, user-friendly HMI (Human Machine Interface) and industrial operations can be realized simultaneously with safe touch operations. Further, since the touch panel device 1 can be realized by a single liquid crystal display or the like, it is advantageous in terms of design and cost.

  In the present embodiment, the first touch panel 2 having a capacitive function and the second touch panel 3 having a resistive film function do not share a transparent electrode. Controls independent of each other can be performed. Specifically, the first touch panel 2 and the second touch panel 3 can detect a drive / operation without being interfered with each other (without being affected). That is, individual controls can operate simultaneously. Accordingly, individual driver software can be realized by means of multitasking or the like with a single CPU if it can be independently operated with different CPUs. Also, which of the first touch panel 2 and the second touch panel 3 is enabled can be freely selected depending on the application, so that the degree of freedom of the application that can be adopted is high.

[Embodiment 2]
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a touch panel device 1C according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. The touch panel device 1C shown in FIG. 8 is different from the touch panel device 1 shown in FIG. 1 in that instead of the first touch panel 2, the second touch panel 3, and the control unit 10, the first touch panel 2C, the second touch panel 3C, and The control unit 10C is provided, and the other configurations are the same.

  According to the present embodiment, since the operation detection electrode H1 of the first touch panel 2C and the upper layer electrode J1 of the second touch panel 3C are shared, the manufacturing cost is reduced.

[Schematic configuration of the first touch panel]
The first touch panel 2 </ b> C detects a gesture operation that does not require a user's press using a capacitance method. Further, an operation detection electrode H1 (first electrode) is formed on a surface 40b (see FIG. 2A) of the first sheet 40 of the first touch panel 2C facing the second sheet 41, and the first touch panel 2C The gesture operation is detected by the motion detection electrode H1. The first touch panel 2C is different from the first touch panel 2 in that the operation detection electrode H1 is disposed not on the surface 40a but on the surface 40b, and the other configurations are the same.

[Schematic configuration of the second touch panel]
The second touch panel 3 </ b> C detects a user's pressing operation by a resistance film method. The second touch panel 3C includes a conductive film Z2, a changeover switch 5, a second touch panel control circuit 31C, a contact detection circuit 32, and an upper layer electrode J1.

  In the second touch panel 3C, a conductive film Z2 (second electrode) is formed on a surface 41a of the second sheet 41 facing the first sheet 40. The second touch panel 3C detects the pressing operation by the upper layer electrode J1 (motion detection electrode H1) formed on the conductive film Z2 and the surface 40b. The upper layer electrode J1 is the same as the operation detection electrode H1 of the first touch panel 2C, and the second touch panel 3C and the first touch panel 2C share the operation detection electrode H1 (upper layer electrode J1). In other words, the surface 40b functions not only as a sensor surface of the first capacitive touch panel 2C but also as a sensor surface of the second resistive touch panel 3C. In the present embodiment, the upper layer electrode J1 and the conductive film Z2 of the second touch panel 3C correspond to the conductive film Z and the conductive film Z1 (see FIG. 1) of the second touch panel 3 in the first embodiment.

  Specifically, the upper layer electrode J1 is disposed on the surface 40b, and the conductive film Z2 is disposed on the surface 41a at a position facing the upper layer electrode J1. Transparent electrodes are not formed on the surface 40a and the surface 41b. In the conductive film Z2, terminal electrodes connected to the second touch panel control circuit 31C are provided on four sides (not shown).

[Configuration of changeover switch]
The changeover switch 5 includes a switch SW1a, a switch SW1b to a switch SWPa, and a switch SWPb, and is turned ON / OFF by the SW switching unit 16. One end of each switch included in the changeover switch 5 is connected to each upper layer electrode J1 (transparent electrode X1a to transparent electrode XPb). Specifically, the transparent electrodes (transparent electrode X1a to transparent electrode XPa) whose area decreases from the X direction minus side to the plus side between the pair of transparent electrodes are provided in the X direction minus side end and the changeover switch 5. One end of each switch is connected. A transparent electrode (transparent electrode X1b to transparent electrode XPb) whose area increases from the X direction minus side to the plus side among the transparent electrodes to be paired with each other is provided with an end on the X direction plus side and one end of each switch included in the changeover switch 5. Is connected.

  The other end of the changeover switch 5 is connected to all of the switches SW1a to SWPb, and is further connected to the second touch panel control circuit 31C. A power supply VCC is connected between the changeover switch 5 and the second touch panel control circuit 31C via a resistor. For example, one end of the switch SW1a is connected to the end of the transparent electrode X1a on the minus side in the X direction, the other end is connected to the switches SW1b to SWPb, and is further connected to the second touch panel control circuit 31C.

  The changeover switch 5 is turned ON / OFF at once by the SW changer 16, and when the changeover switch 5 is turned ON, all the upper layer electrodes J1 (transparent electrode X1a to transparent electrode XPb) are connected, and the second touch panel control circuit. Connected to 31C. When the changeover switch 5 is turned on, the operation detection electrode H1 functions as a conductive film dedicated to voltage detection. In other words, when the changeover switch 5 is turned on, the surface 40b and the surface 41a form a 5-wire analog resistive film type touch panel pattern.

  The second touch panel control circuit 31 </ b> C drives the second touch panel 3 </ b> C based on an instruction from the switching unit 11 </ b> C, and detects the touch position of the pressing operation as a five-wire analog resistive film method.

[Contact detection circuit]
The contact detection circuit 32 detects contact between the first sheet 40 and the second sheet 41. Specifically, the contact detection circuit 32 is connected to one of terminal electrodes (not shown) provided on the conductive film Z2. A power supply VCC is connected via a resistor between one of the terminal electrodes provided on the conductive film Z2 and the contact detection circuit 32. The contact detection circuit 32 detects contact between the first sheet 40 and the second sheet 41 by detecting a drive signal of the upper layer electrode J1 in the conductive film Z2.

[Details of control unit]
As illustrated in FIG. 8, the control unit 10C includes a switching unit 11C, a gesture operation acquisition unit 12C, a pressing operation acquisition unit 13C, an execution unit 14C, a contact determination unit 15, and a SW switching unit 16.

  When the first sheet 40 and the second sheet 41 come into contact with each other, the switching unit 11C switches the operation to be employed from the gesture operation to the pressing operation. Specifically, when the switching unit 11 </ b> C receives a signal indicating that the first sheet 40 and the second sheet 41 have contacted from the contact determination unit 15, (1) turn on all the switches of the changeover switch 5. And (2) interrupt the drive of the first touch panel 2C via the first touch panel control circuit 21, and (3) only the second touch panel 3C via the second touch panel control circuit 31C. Drive.

  Further, when the switching unit 11C has not received a signal indicating that the first sheet 40 and the second sheet 41 are in contact with each other from the contact determination unit 15, (1) turn off all the switches of the changeover switch 5. (2) interrupt driving of the second touch panel 3C via the second touch panel control circuit 31C, and (3) only the first touch panel 2C via the first touch panel control circuit 21. To drive.

  The contact determination unit 15 determines whether or not the first sheet 40 and the second sheet 41 are in contact with each other. Specifically, when the contact detection circuit 32 detects a drive signal from the upper layer electrode J1 in the conductive film Z2, it is determined that the first sheet 40 and the second sheet 41 are in contact with each other. When the contact determination unit 15 determines that the first sheet 40 and the second sheet 41 are in contact, the contact determination unit 15 transmits a signal indicating that the first sheet 40 and the second sheet 41 are in contact to the switching unit 11C. The SW switching unit 16 turns the changeover switch 5 on and off based on an instruction from the switching unit 11C.

  Based on the touch position of the gesture operation detected by the first touch panel control circuit 21C, the gesture operation acquisition unit 12C acquires position information of the gesture operation detected by the first touch panel 2C. The gesture operation acquisition unit 12C transmits the acquired position information and a signal indicating that the position information is the position information of the gesture operation to the execution unit 14C. The pressing operation acquisition unit 13C acquires position information of the pressing operation detected by the second touch panel 3C based on the touch position of the pressing operation detected by the second touch panel control circuit 31C. The pressing operation acquisition unit 13C transmits the acquired position information and a signal indicating that the position information is the position information of the pressing operation to the execution unit 14C. The executing unit 14C executes a process corresponding to the received gesture operation or pressing operation.

[Operation detection processing]
FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation detection process of the touch panel device 1C. First, after starting the touch panel device 1C, as shown in FIG. 9, the switching unit 11C interrupts the driving of the first touch panel 2C (S41), interrupts the driving of the second touch panel 3C (S42), Only one touch panel 2C is driven (S43).

  Next, the contact determination unit 15 determines whether or not the two sheets (the first sheet 40 and the second sheet 41) are in contact (S44). When the two sheets come into contact with each other (YES in S44), the switching unit 11C adopts a pressing operation, interrupts driving of the first touch panel 2C (S45), and drives the second touch panel 3C (S46). Thereafter, the pressing operation acquisition unit 13C acquires position information of the user's pressing operation from the second touch panel control circuit 31C (S47), and obtains the acquired position information and a signal indicating that the position information is a pressing operation. This is transmitted to the execution unit 14C (S48). The executing unit 14C executes a process corresponding to the acquired pressing operation (S49). Thereafter, the contact determination unit 15 determines again whether or not the two sheets are in contact (S50). When the two sheets are in contact (YES in S50), the pressing operation acquisition unit 13C performs the process of S47. When the two sheets are not in contact (NO in S50), the switching unit 11C performs the process of S42. By repeating the processes from S47 to S50, the pressing operation detection process by the second touch panel 3C is performed.

  In S44, when the two sheets are not in contact (NO in S44), the switching unit 11C adopts the gesture operation, and the gesture operation acquisition unit 12C determines whether or not the gesture operation has been performed within a predetermined time. (S51). When there is a gesture operation within the predetermined time (YES in S51), the gesture operation acquisition unit 12C acquires the position information of the user's gesture operation from the first touch panel control circuit 21C (S52), and the acquired position information, A signal indicating that the position information is a gesture operation is transmitted to the execution unit 14C (S53). The executing unit 14C executes a process corresponding to the acquired gesture operation (S54). Thereafter, the process returns to S44.

  In S51, when there is no gesture operation within the predetermined time (NO in S51), the process returns to S44. By repeating the processes of S44 and S51 to S54, the touch panel device 1C performs a gesture operation detection process using the first touch panel 2C.

  Further, the gesture operation acquisition unit 12C and the pressing operation acquisition unit 13C may be realized in the first touch panel 2C and the second touch panel 3C instead of the control unit 10C.

  Also in the present embodiment, for example, if an operation with a gesture is unnecessary depending on the application being executed, the gesture operation may be ignored.

[Modification 1]
Modification 1 of Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a modification of the configuration of the touch panel device 1C according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The touch panel device 1D shown in FIG. 10 is different from the touch panel device 1C shown in FIG. 8 in that a second touch panel 3D and a control unit 10D are provided instead of the second touch panel 3C and the control unit 10C. Other configurations are the same. According to this modification, since an analog circuit is not required, control becomes easy. In addition, since a pressing operation (touch location) at two points can be detected, it is possible to cope with an operation requiring an interlock.

[Schematic configuration of the first touch panel]
The first touch panel 2D has the same configuration as the first touch panel 2C. In addition, as for 1st touchscreen 2D, it is desirable to implement | achieve a capacitive touch panel with one layer instead of two layers. In the resistive film type touch panel, there are almost no gaps between the transparent electrodes arranged on each sheet, and the transparent electrodes are several tens of microns apart. Therefore, if the first touch panel 2D is of a two-layer type and all the transparent electrodes are shared with the second touch panel 3D, there is a possibility that the electric lines of force do not come out from the surface 41a to the surface 40a side and the user's operation cannot be detected. Because there is.

[Schematic configuration of the second touch panel]
The second touch panel 3D detects a user's pressing operation using a resistance film method. The second touch panel 3D includes a lower layer electrode K1, a changeover switch 5D, a second touch panel control circuit 31D, a contact detection circuit 32D, an OR gate circuit 33, and an upper layer electrode J1.

  In the second touch panel 3D, a lower layer electrode K1 (second electrode) is formed on a surface 41a facing the first sheet 40 in the second sheet 41 (see FIG. 2A) of the touch panel device 1D. The second touch panel 3D detects the pressing operation using the lower layer electrode K1 and the upper layer electrode J1 (motion detection electrode H1) formed on the surface 40b. The upper layer electrode J1 is the same as the operation detection electrode H1 of the first touch panel 2D, and the second touch panel 3D and the first touch panel 2D share the operation detection electrode H1 (upper layer electrode J1). In other words, the surface 40b functions not only as a sensor surface of the first capacitive touch panel 2D but also as a sensor surface of the resistive second touch panel 3D. In the present embodiment, the upper layer electrode J1 and the lower layer electrode K1 of the first touch panel 2D correspond to the upper layer electrode J and the lower layer electrode K (see FIG. 5) of the second touch panel 3A in the first modification of the first embodiment.

  Specifically, the upper layer electrode J1 is disposed on the surface 40b, and the lower layer electrode K1 is disposed on the surface 41a at a position facing the upper layer electrode J1. Each of the transparent electrodes Y1, Y2 to YR (R is an arbitrary variable), which is the lower layer electrode K1, is rectangular and is disposed on the surface 41a in parallel to the Y direction. That is, the rectangle formed by each pair of upper layer electrodes J1 and each lower layer electrode K1 are arranged to be orthogonal to each other. The end on the Y direction minus side of each lower layer electrode K1 is connected to the second touch panel control circuit 31D. A power supply VCC is connected via a resistor between each lower layer electrode K1 and the second touch panel control circuit 31D.

[Configuration of changeover switch]
The changeover switch 5D includes a switch SW1a, a switch SW1b to a switch SWPa, and a switch SWPb, and is turned ON / OFF by the SW switching unit 16D. One end of each switch provided in the changeover switch 5D is connected to each upper layer electrode J1 (transparent electrode X1a to transparent electrode XPb).

  Specifically, a transparent electrode (transparent electrode X1a to transparent electrode XPa) whose area decreases from the X direction minus side to the plus side between the pair of transparent electrodes is provided in the X direction minus side end and the changeover switch 5D. One end of each switch is connected. A transparent electrode (transparent electrode X1b to transparent electrode XPb) whose area increases from the X direction minus side to the plus side among the transparent electrodes to be paired with each other includes an end portion on the X direction plus side and one end of each switch included in the changeover switch 5D. Is connected.

  The other end of each switch included in the changeover switch 5D is connected to each pair of transparent electrodes, and is connected to the second touch panel control circuit 31D. For example, the switch SW1a has one end connected to the X-direction minus side end of the transparent electrode X1a, and the other end of the switch SW1a has one end connected to the X-direction plus side end of the transparent electrode X1b. And further connected to the second touch panel control circuit 31D. A power supply VCC is connected via a resistor between the changeover switch 5D and the second touch panel control circuit 31D.

  The changeover switch 5D is turned ON / OFF at once by the SW changeover unit 16D, and when the changeover switch 5D is turned ON, the paired transparent electrodes are connected to each other in each upper layer electrode J1 (transparent electrode X1a to transparent electrode XPb). Are connected to the second touch panel control circuit 31D.

  Here, in the case of a normal digital matrix type resistive film type touch panel, the upper layer electrode J1 is arranged with a rectangular transparent electrode so as to be orthogonal to the lower layer electrode K1, for example, as shown in the upper layer electrode J of FIG. Has been. In this embodiment, each upper layer electrode J1 is a right triangle, but by connecting adjacent transparent electrodes (for example, the transparent electrode X1a and the transparent electrode X1b) with the changeover switch 5D, Works the same way. That is, when the changeover switch 5D is turned on, the upper layer electrode J1 and the lower layer electrode K1 formed on the surface 40b and the surface 41a function as an electrode pattern of a digital matrix type resistive film type touch panel. The second touch panel control circuit 31D drives the second touch panel 3D based on an instruction from the switching unit 11D, and detects the touch position of the pressing operation using a digital matrix type resistive film method.

[Contact detection circuit]
The contact detection circuit 32 </ b> D detects contact between the first sheet 40 and the second sheet 41. Specifically, the contact detection circuit 32 </ b> D is connected to the end portion on the negative side in the Y direction of each lower layer electrode K <b> 1 through the OR gate circuit 33. The contact detection circuit 32D detects the contact between the first sheet 40 and the second sheet 41 by detecting the drive signal of the upper layer electrode J1 via the OR gate circuit 33 in the lower layer electrode K1. Instead of using the OR gate circuit 33, the second touch panel control circuit 31D may detect the drive signal from each lower layer electrode K1 to the upper layer electrode J1 by software.

[Details of control unit]
The control unit 10D shown in FIG. 10 is different from the control unit 10C shown in FIG. 8 in that a switching unit 11D and a SW switching unit 16D are provided instead of the switching unit 11C and the SW switching unit 16C. Other configurations are the same. The gesture operation acquisition unit 12D, the press operation acquisition unit 13D, and the execution unit 14D have the same configuration as the gesture operation acquisition unit 12C, the press operation acquisition unit 13C, and the execution unit 14C.

  When the switching unit 11D receives a signal indicating that the first sheet 40 and the second sheet 41 have contacted from the contact determination unit 15, the switching unit 11D causes the SW switching unit 16D to turn on all the switches of the changeover switch 5D. Instruct. Further, when the switching unit 11D has not received the signal indicating the contact, the switching unit 11D instructs the SW switching unit 16D to turn off all the switches of the changeover switch 5D. The SW switching unit 16D turns ON / OFF the changeover switch 5D based on an instruction from the switching unit 11D.

[Modification 2]
Modification 2 of Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing another modification of the configuration of the touch panel device 1E according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The touch panel device 1E shown in FIG. 11 is different from the touch panel device 1D shown in FIG. 10 in that a second touch panel 3E and a control unit 10E are provided instead of the second touch panel 3D and the control unit 10D. Other configurations are the same. The first touch panel 2E has the same configuration as the first touch panel 2D. Further, the contact detection circuit 32E has the same configuration as the contact detection circuit 32D. According to this modification, a fine position can be detected as in the second touch panel 3C (analog resistance film). Further, since a pressing operation at two points can also be detected, an operation requiring an interlock can be handled.

[Schematic configuration of the second touch panel]
The second touch panel 3E is different from the second touch panel 3D in that a second touch panel control circuit 31E, a changeover switch 51E, and a changeover switch 52E are provided instead of the second touch panel control circuit 31D and the changeover switch 5D. This is the connection method between the upper layer electrode J1 and the second touch panel control circuit 31E and the connection method between the lower layer electrode K1 and the second touch panel control circuit 31E, and the other points are the same. The second touch panel 3E includes a lower layer electrode K1, a changeover switch 51E, a changeover switch 52E, a second touch panel control circuit 31E, a contact detection circuit 32E, an OR gate circuit 33, and an upper layer electrode J1.

  The second touch panel 3E detects the pressing operation by the lower layer electrode K1 and the upper layer electrode J1 (motion detection electrode H1) formed on the surface 40b. The upper layer electrode J1 is the same as the operation detection electrode H1 of the first touch panel 2E, and the second touch panel 3E and the first touch panel 2E share the operation detection electrode H1 (upper layer electrode J1). In other words, the surface 40b functions not only as a sensor surface of the first capacitive touch panel 2E but also as a sensor surface of the second resistive touch panel 3E. In the present embodiment, the upper layer electrode J1 and the lower layer electrode K1 of the first touch panel 2E correspond to the upper layer electrode J and the lower layer electrode K (see FIG. 6) of the second touch panel 3B in the modification 2 of the first embodiment.

  Both ends of each lower layer electrode K1 in the Y direction are connected to the second touch panel control circuit 31E. A power supply VCC is connected via a resistor between both ends of each lower layer electrode K1 in the Y direction and the second touch panel control circuit 31E.

[Configuration of changeover switch]
The changeover switch 51E includes switches SW11a to SWP1b, and is turned ON / OFF by the SW changeover unit 16E. One end of each switch included in the changeover switch 51E is connected to the X-direction negative side end of each upper layer electrode J1 (transparent electrode X1a to transparent electrode XPb).

  The other end of each switch included in the changeover switch 51E is connected to each pair of transparent electrodes, and is connected to the second touch panel control circuit 31E. For example, the switch SW11a has one end connected to the end of the transparent electrode X1a on the minus side in the X direction, and the other end of the switch SW11a has one end connected to the end of the transparent electrode X1b on the minus side in the X direction. To the second touch panel control circuit 31E. A power supply VCC is connected between the changeover switch 51E and the second touch panel control circuit 31E via a resistor.

  The changeover switch 52E includes switches SW12a to SWP2b, and is turned ON / OFF by the SW changeover unit 16E. One end of each switch provided in the changeover switch 52E is connected to the X-direction plus side end of each upper layer electrode J1 (transparent electrode X1a to transparent electrode XPb). The other end of each switch included in the changeover switch 52E is connected to each pair of transparent electrodes, and is connected to the second touch panel control circuit 31E. For example, the switch SW12a has one end connected to the X direction plus side end of the transparent electrode X1a, and the switch SW12a has the other end connected to the X direction plus side end of the transparent electrode X1b. To the second touch panel control circuit 31E. A power supply VCC is connected between the changeover switch 51E and the second touch panel control circuit 31E via a resistor.

  The changeover switch 51E and the changeover switch 52E are turned ON / OFF at once. When the changeover switch 51E and the changeover switch 52E are turned on, the upper layer electrode J1 and the lower layer electrode K1 formed on the surface 40b and the surface 41a function as an electrode pattern of an MTR type resistance film type touch panel. The second touch panel control circuit 31E drives the second touch panel 3E based on an instruction from the switching unit 11E, and detects the touch position of the pressing operation using the MTR type resistive film method.

[Details of control unit]
The control unit 10E shown in FIG. 11 is different from the control unit 10D shown in FIG. 10 in that a switching unit 11E and a SW switching unit 16E are provided instead of the switching unit 11D and the SW switching unit 16D. Other configurations are the same. The gesture operation acquisition unit 12E, the press operation acquisition unit 13E, and the execution unit 14E have the same configuration as the gesture operation acquisition unit 12C, the press operation acquisition unit 13C, and the execution unit 14C.

  When the switching unit 11E receives a signal indicating that the first sheet 40 and the second sheet 41 are in contact with each other from the contact determination unit 15, the SW switching unit turns on all the switches 51E and 52E. 16E is instructed. Further, when the switching unit 11E has not received the signal indicating the contact, the switching unit 11E instructs the SW switching unit 16E to turn off all the switches 51E and 52E. The SW switching unit 16E turns on / off the changeover switch 51E and the changeover switch 52E based on an instruction from the switching unit 11E.

[Example of software implementation]
The control blocks (particularly the switching unit 11, the gesture operation acquisition unit 12, the pressing operation acquisition unit 13, the execution unit 14, the contact determination unit 15, and the SW switching unit 16) of the touch panel device 1 are formed in an integrated circuit (IC chip) or the like. Alternatively, it may be realized by a logic circuit (hardware), or may be realized by software using a CPU.

  In the latter case, the touch panel device 1 includes a CPU that executes instructions of a program that is software that implements each function, a ROM (Read Only Memory) in which the program and various data are recorded so as to be readable by a computer (or CPU), or A storage device (these are referred to as “recording media”), a RAM (Random Access Memory) for expanding the program, and the like are provided. And the objective of this invention is achieved when a computer (or CPU) reads the said program from the said recording medium and runs it. As the recording medium, a “non-temporary tangible medium” such as a tape, a disk, a card, a semiconductor memory, a programmable logic circuit, or the like can be used. The program may be supplied to the computer via an arbitrary transmission medium (such as a communication network or a broadcast wave) that can transmit the program. The present invention can also be realized in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which the program is embodied by electronic transmission.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope shown in the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments. Is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  1 · 1A · 1C · 1D · 1E Touch panel device, 2 · 2C · 2D · 2E 1st touch panel, 3 · 3A · 3B · 3C · 3D · 3E 2nd touch panel, 11 · 11C · 11D · 11E switching unit, 15 contact Determining unit, 40 1st sheet, 41 2nd sheet, H · H1 motion detection electrode (first electrode), J upper layer electrode (second electrode), J1 upper layer electrode (first electrode), K lower layer electrode (third electrode) ), K1 lower layer electrode (second electrode), Z conductive film (second electrode), Z1 conductive film (third electrode), Z2 conductive film (second electrode)

Claims (6)

A first touch panel for detecting a user's gesture operation by a capacitance method;
A second touch panel stacked on the first touch panel and detecting a user's pressing operation by a resistive film method;
A switching unit that switches between the gesture operation and the pressing operation based on whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied;
A touch panel device comprising: The first touch panel is formed of a first sheet,
The touch panel device according to claim 1, wherein the second touch panel is formed by the first sheet and a second sheet laminated on the first sheet. A first electrode is formed on a surface of the first sheet facing the second sheet,
A second electrode is formed on a surface of the second sheet facing the first sheet,
The first touch panel detects the gesture operation by the first electrode,
The touch panel device according to claim 2, wherein the second touch panel detects the pressing operation by the first electrode and the second electrode. A contact determination unit for determining contact between the first sheet and the second sheet;
The switching unit is configured to switch an operation to be adopted from the gesture operation to the pressing operation when the contact determination unit determines that the first sheet and the second sheet are in contact with each other. 3. The touch panel device according to 3. A first electrode is formed on a surface of the first sheet opposite to the surface facing the second sheet,
A second electrode is formed on a surface of the first sheet facing the second sheet;
A third electrode is formed on the surface of the second sheet facing the first sheet,
The first touch panel detects the gesture operation by the first electrode,
The touch panel device according to claim 2, wherein the second touch panel detects the pressing operation by the second electrode and the third electrode.   The touch panel device according to claim 5, wherein the switching unit switches between the gesture operation and the pressing operation based on whether a predetermined application is activated.

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