JPH08212005A - 3D position recognition touch panel device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] To enable input work without touching the display surface directly with fingers, etc., and to enable multiple enlargement operations with one input. A plurality of sensors (2) provided in a direction perpendicular to the display surface (1) around the display surface (1) and detecting the position of an object (3) inserted in the space, and based on detection results by the plurality of sensors. A calculation means for calculating the position on the display surface pointed by the object, and a display means for displaying an instruction point (4) indicating that the object is pointing at the position on the display surface obtained by the calculation means. Then, the input is confirmed when the sensor closest to the display surface senses the object (3) inserted in the space or when it is determined that the pointing point exists within a predetermined coordinate area representing the input area for a certain time. . Further, the detected position of the tip of the object and the display enlargement ratio are associated with each other.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a touch panel device, and more particularly, to recognizing a three-dimensional position of an object such as a finger so that an input can be made without directly touching the display surface. The present invention relates to a three-dimensional position recognition touch panel device capable of performing different functions depending on the position (depth).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Input in a conventional touch panel device is made by touching a display surface.
For example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-303229, "Touch Panel Device", the position detecting unit detects that the user has touched the display surface, and "+" is added to the detected position on the display surface. There is known a method in which a erroneous operation is prevented by displaying a position display symbol such as “” to allow the user to confirm the touched position.

[0003]

In the above conventional method,
When performing business transactions using the touch panel device, since the input work is performed by touching the display surface, for example, a user who has a habit of using a touch screen always uses some means to display the screen. There was a problem that I had to touch. In addition, in the conventional touch panel device as described above, it is possible to
Information is provided because one touch corresponds to one input,
For example, when providing geographical information and the like, it was necessary for the user to input the expansion function a plurality of times before limiting the target area. An object of the present invention is to provide a touch panel device that allows a user to perform an input work without touching the input area on the display surface with a finger or the like, so that the user can work with a clean image. Another object of the present invention is to provide a touch panel device that can reduce the number of enlargement operations by recognizing the three-dimensional position of an object such as a finger and changing the function depending on the position information.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, a touch panel device of the present invention is provided with a spatial thickness in the direction perpendicular to the display surface (1) and is provided on the side surfaces except the upper surface and the lower surface thereof. A plurality of sensors (2) for detecting the position of the object inserted into the space, and a calculation for calculating the position on the display surface (1) pointed by the object based on the detection results by the plurality of sensors (2) Means and
Display means for displaying an instruction point (4) indicating that an object is pointing at the position on the display surface (1) obtained by the calculation means. When the sensor (6) closest to the display surface (1) of the plurality of sensors (2) senses the object (3) inserted in the space, or the display surface (1)
It is characterized in that the input is confirmed when it is determined that the instruction point (4) displayed in (4) exists within a predetermined coordinate area representing the input area for a certain period of time.
Furthermore, the distance between the tip of the object (3) inserted in the space and the display surface (1) is determined by the outputs of the plurality of sensors (2), and the magnification of the image is changed depending on the distance. It is characterized by having done.

[0005]

The present invention detects the position of an object inserted in the space by a plurality of sensors provided around the display surface, recognizes from which result the position on the display surface is pointed, and as an indication point. Display on the display surface. Then, when the deepest sensor senses the object, or when the pointing point on the display surface exists within the coordinates representing the input area for a certain period of time, it is necessary to directly touch the display surface by determining that the input is confirmed. Is gone. Further, in the conventional touch panel device, as described above, for example, when providing geographical information such as a map, the user needs to select and input several times before limiting the target area. Then, for example, by arranging a plurality of sensors in a grid pattern, it is possible to detect the position of an object existing in a space in multiple stages, and enlarge an image within a certain area centered on the instruction point or Since it can be displayed on the screen, it is possible to design the system for people with low vision, and the image can be displayed at different magnifications according to the depth of the object to be inserted into the space. It becomes possible to provide the desired geographical information to.

[0006]

1 is a perspective view for explaining an embodiment of a three-dimensional position recognition type touch panel device according to the present invention. The device comprises a display surface 1 for displaying image information,
The display surface 1 has a spatial thickness in the vertical direction, and has a plurality of sensors 2 provided in a grid pattern on the side surfaces except the upper and lower surfaces thereof. In the figure, reference numeral 4 denotes an object 3 such as a finger (hereinafter, referred to as a finger inserted in a space on the display surface 1).
(It may be simply abbreviated as “object”) is an instruction point indicating which position on the display surface 1 is pointed. There are several methods for obtaining the pointing pointer 4 from the position information of the object, as will be described later. FIG. 2 shows a system configuration diagram in the present invention. This device is a position detection unit 8 consisting of a plurality of sensor groups arranged in a grid for detecting the position of an object inserted in the space, and the data sent from the position detection unit 8 is converted into three-dimensional coordinates. By converting and calculating the position of the object 3 and the pointing direction with respect to the display surface 1 and measuring the pointing time, it is determined whether or not an input has been made, and a control unit 9 that controls each device, And a display unit 10. Position detector 8
Detects the position of the object 3 inserted in the space by the plurality of sensors 2. The control unit 9 receives the data detected by the position detection unit 8 and uses the coordinate conversion table in which the sensor groups arranged in a grid are associated with the three-dimensional coordinates.
Convert to a coordinate data group of dimension. Based on the result, a display position is obtained by a position calculation means such as linearly approximating the coordinate data group by a mathematical method to calculate a point where the straight line and the display surface 1 intersect, and the position is indicated. Display point 4. As another example of the position calculating means of the instruction point 4, a perpendicular line is drawn from the tip of the object 3 obtained by the position detection unit 8 to the display surface 1, and the point where the perpendicular line and the display surface 1 overlap each other. Several methods such as displaying 4 are possible.
A plurality of such methods may be prepared in the apparatus and the user may freely select them.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view for explaining an input method for determining an input when the deepest sensor 6 in the position detector 8 senses the object 3 in the space. In the figure,
Reference numeral 5 denotes an input area, and 6 denotes a deepest sensor provided on the periphery of the display surface 1. The input is confirmed when the control unit 9 recognizes that the tip of the object 3 inserted in the space exists on the coordinate indicating the input area 5 and the deepest sensor 6 detects the object 3. To judge.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view for explaining a method in which an image is displayed in a standard state and input is performed by a non-contact method, and FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the image and input is performed by the non-contact method. It is a perspective view for explaining the method to perform. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 7 denotes the shallowest sensor in the position detector 8. An expansion mode and a normal mode (non-expansion mode) are provided as input modes, and the input modes can be switched by a known method such as a button or a display menu. The input is performed regardless of whether the input mode is the expansion mode or the normal mode, when the sensor closest to the display surface detects an object inserted in the space, or the pointing point 4 exists in the input area coordinates. If the coordinates indicating the position do not change for a certain period of time, the input to the input area 5 is confirmed.

Further, in the magnified display when the magnifying mode is selected, the control unit 9 uses the sensor 7 at the shallowest portion of the position detecting unit 8 as a reference, and the depth of the sensor 2 in the position detecting unit 8 detecting the object 3. The image in a certain area centered on the instruction point 4 is enlarged and displayed in accordance with. As the magnification for the depth of the sensor, a standard magnification is set in advance, for example, as a magnification table. This magnification table is
It may be set so that it can be changed by the user. With this configuration, as the sensor 2 in the position detection unit 8 that senses the object 3 approaches the sensor 6 at the deepest portion, images in a certain area centered around the instruction point are sequentially displayed in an enlarged manner, and conversely the object 3 is sensed. As the sensor 2 in the position detecting section 8 moving closer to the shallowest sensor 7, the image within a certain area centered around the instruction point is sequentially returned to the standard size image and displayed, that is, the display is enlarged. The magnification can be freely controlled by moving an object (finger, etc.).

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a flow chart of processing in the present invention. First, the state in the space is detected by the plurality of sensors 2 of the position detection unit 8 (step 11), and when the sensor 2 does not sense anything (step 12; NO),
Returning to step 11, the state in the space is detected again. When the sensor 2 senses the object 3 existing in the space (step 12; YES), the data is transmitted to the control unit 9 (step 13). The control unit 9 converts the data transmitted from the position detection unit 8 into continuous three-dimensional coordinates by the coordinate conversion table (step 14), and the coordinate data is calculated by the position calculating means of the instruction point 4 in the space. Three
The position of the display surface 1 pointed by is calculated, and the pointing point 4 is displayed at that position (step 15). Then, it is identified whether or not the enlargement mode is currently selected (step 16). When the enlargement mode is selected (step 16; YES), the position detection unit 8 recognizes the position of the object 3 existing in the space, and the object 3 is detected based on the coordinate data converted by the control unit 9. Is compared with the shallowest sensor 7 (step 17), and when it is determined that the tip of the object 3 is at a deeper position than the shallowest sensor 7 (step 18; YES), the instruction point The image in a certain area centered on the position of 4 is enlarged and displayed (step 1
9) Further, when it is determined that the sensor 7 is located at the shallowest position (step 18; NO), the enlarged display is not performed (step 20).

Next, as a process for confirming the input, it is judged whether or not the sensor 6 at the deepest part has detected the object 3 from the coordinates representing the tip of the object 3 (step 21). In (step 21; YES), it is determined that the input is confirmed and the process proceeds to step 22. If the deepest sensor 6 does not detect an object (step 21; NO), the pointing point 4 displayed on the display surface 1 is input within a certain time in order to confirm the input by another method. It is determined whether or not it exists within the coordinates of the area 5, and if it exists (step 23; YES), it is determined that the input is confirmed, and the process proceeds to step 22.
Proceed to. However, when the instruction point 4 deviates from the coordinates indicating the input area 5 and does not exist within the coordinates of the input area 5 within a certain time (step 23; NO), a counter for counting the certain time by the control unit 9 is set. The operation is stopped, and the process returns to step 11 to enter the input waiting state again. For the operation for which the input is determined to be final, in step 22, the control unit 9 issues a request to the outside to execute the command of the input area 5. As described above, according to the present invention, by recognizing the three-dimensional position of the object, there is an input and the type of the input (display enlargement ratio) without touching the display surface of the touch panel device.
Can be determined.

[0011]

As described above, according to the present invention, as input means to the present device, (a) a method of confirming the input when the sensor at the deepest part senses the tip of an object, and (b) an input point is an input area. There are two input methods, that is, a method of confirming the input when there is a certain time in the coordinate indicating. Therefore, the former (a)
With this method, when an object in a predetermined state is sensed in the space, an “instruction point” indicating that can be displayed and the operator can confirm it, so that the operator's erroneous input can be prevented. You can In the latter method (b), since the input can be performed without contacting the display surface, the user can perform the input work with a clean image. Also, since the enlargement ratio can be specified by the position of the object to be inserted, for example, when receiving a map information service, the user simply inserts an object such as a finger into the space and adjusts the depth. An arbitrary enlarged display can be performed, so that it is possible to quickly obtain rough information to detailed information with a small selection input.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a three-dimensional position recognition type touch panel device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a system configuration in the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view for explaining a method of determining an input when the deepest sensor detects an object.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view for explaining a standard screen display of a screen and an input method by non-contact in an enlarged mode operation.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view for explaining a screen enlarging method and a non-contact input method in an enlarging mode operation.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a flowchart of processing in the present invention.

[Brief description of reference numerals]

1: Display surface, 2: Sensor, 3: Object (finger, etc.), 4: Pointing point, 5: Input area, 6: Deepest sensor, 7: Shallow sensor, 8: Position detection section, 9:
Control unit, 10: display unit

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of sensors which have a spatial thickness in a direction perpendicular to a display surface and are provided on side surfaces except upper and lower surfaces thereof to detect the position of an object inserted in the space, and a detection result thereof. Calculation means for calculating the position on the display surface pointed by the object based on the above, and display means for displaying an instruction point indicating that the object is pointing at the position on the display surface obtained by the calculation means. A three-dimensional position recognition type touch panel device having. 2. The three-dimensional position recognition type touch panel device according to claim 1, wherein, of the plurality of sensors, a sensor closest to the display surface senses an object inserted in the space or the display surface. A three-dimensional position-recognition type touch panel device, further comprising an input confirming means for confirming an input when it is determined that the displayed instruction point has existed within a predetermined coordinate area representing the input area for a certain period of time. 3. The three-dimensional position recognition type touch panel device according to claim 1, wherein the distance between the tip of an object inserted in the space and the display surface is determined by the outputs of the plurality of sensors, and the distance is determined. A three-dimensional position-recognition type touch panel device further comprising means for changing an enlargement ratio of an image depending on the.