Position detection device

Abstract

Provided is a position detection device capable of detecting a pressed position for a specific region regardless of the presence or absence of an abnormality in which an interruption occurs when a touch panel is pressed. A vehicle-mounted device (100) is provided with: a touch panel (12) disposed so as to overlap a display screen of a display device (10); an interruption generation unit (22) that outputs an interruption signal when contact of the indicator with the touch panel (12) is detected; and a contact position specifying unit (24) that specifies the contact position of the indicator using the touch panel (12) when the interrupt signal is output when the specific operation button is not displayed on the display screen, and specifies the contact position of the indicator using the touch panel (12) at a predetermined cycle when the specific operation button is displayed on the display screen.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] An embodiment of the present invention relates to a position detection device. Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, there is known a touch panel press position detection device that uses a touch panel to detect a contact position of a user's finger or the like (for example, see Patent Document 1). In this press position detection device, when a user presses an arbitrary position on the touch panel, an interrupt is generated to the CPU, and the press position is read according to an instruction from the CPU.

[0003] [Prior art literature]

[0004] [Patent Document]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-167465 Summary of the invention

[0006] However, in recent vehicles, a vehicle head unit with a large screen is provided, and the use of a touch panel disposed on the screen of the vehicle head unit for selecting and indicating many functions is increasing. However, if the pressed position detection device disclosed in the above-mentioned patent document 1 is used to detect the position of the touch panel in such a vehicle, there is the following problem: if an interrupt is not normally generated when pressing, the subsequent reading process of the pressed position is not performed, and the pressed position cannot be detected.

[0007] For example, consider a case where a specific operation button that is the subject of ISO26262, a functional safety standard for automobiles, is displayed on a screen and a touch panel is used to detect whether the operation button is pressed. If an interrupt to the CPU does not occur when the user presses the operation button, the prescribed processing corresponding to the operation button is not started, and a bad situation occurs. In particular, since the user presses the button himself, he cannot understand that the pressing action has no effect, and cannot take some kind of treatment for the bad situation caused by the interrupt.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a position detection device capable of detecting a pressed position in a specific area such as an operation button, regardless of the presence or absence of an abnormality caused by an interruption when the touch panel is pressed.

[0009] In order to solve the above technical problems, the position detection device of the present invention comprises: a touch panel, which is arranged to overlap with the display screen of the display device; an interrupt signal output unit, which outputs an interrupt signal when the contact of the indicator to the touch panel is detected; and a contact position determination unit, which determines the contact position of the indicator using the touch panel when the interrupt signal is output when the specific operation area is not displayed on the display screen, and determines the contact position of the indicator using the touch panel at a predetermined period when the specific operation area is displayed on the display screen. Since the contact position is periodically determined for the specific operation area, the contact position can be detected regardless of whether an abnormal interrupt occurs.

[0010] In addition, it is preferred that the contact position determination unit determines the contact position of the pointer using the touch panel at a predetermined period when the specific operation area is displayed on the display screen, and determines the contact position of the pointer using the touch panel when an interrupt signal is output. Thus, in normal times without abnormality, the contact position can be detected at the moment when the user makes the pointer contact with the specific operation area, and even when an abnormality occurs and there is no interruption, the contact position of the pointer relative to the specific operation area can be detected by periodic detection action.

[0011] In addition, it is preferable that the touch panel further comprises an interruption failure determination unit, which determines that the interruption signal output unit is malfunctioning when the contact of the pointer to the specific operation area is detected by the periodic contact position determination by the contact position determination unit, if the interruption signal is not output. Thus, it can be confirmed that the interruption signal output when the pointer is in contact with the touch panel is not output due to some abnormality.

[0012] In addition, preferably, when the interruption failure determination unit determines that the interruption signal output unit has an operation failure, the contact position determination unit determines the contact position at a predetermined period regardless of whether the specific operation area is displayed. Thus, the position detection of the part that cannot be detected due to the non-output of the interruption signal can be restarted. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1 It is a diagram showing the structure of a vehicle-mounted device according to one embodiment.

[0014] Figure 2 This is a flowchart showing the operation sequence of displaying the operation screen and selecting the operation button included therein.

[0015] Figure 3 It is a diagram showing the structure of a vehicle-mounted device according to a modified example.

[0016] Figure 4 This is a flowchart showing the operation procedure of a modified example of determining an interruption failure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] Hereinafter, a vehicle-mounted device to which an embodiment of a position detection device according to the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0018] Figure 1 It is a diagram showing the structure of a vehicle-mounted device according to one embodiment. Figure 1 The illustrated in-vehicle device 100 includes a display device 10 , a touch panel 12 , a touch panel control unit 20 , a display processing unit 30 , and a vehicle control device 40 .

[0019] The display device 10 is arranged in the center front of the driver's seat and the passenger seat of the vehicle equipped with the vehicle-mounted device 100, and is composed of a liquid crystal display device (LCD). The touch panel 12 is arranged on the display screen of the display device 10. For example, the touch panel 12 has a detection area covering the entire display screen of the display device 10, and has two types of transparent electrode groups intersecting each other in the detection area.

[0020] The touch panel control unit 20 detects the contact position of a pointer (eg, a user's fingertip) on the display screen of the display device 10 using the touch panel 12. Therefore, the touch panel control unit 20 includes an interruption generating unit 22 and a contact position specifying unit 24.

[0021] The interruption generating unit 22 outputs an interruption signal when the pointer contacts any one of the detection areas of the touch panel 12. The contact position determining unit 24 determines the contact position when the pointer contacts any one of the detection areas of the touch panel 12. For example, while sequentially inputting a position detection signal to each transparent electrode of one transparent electrode group included in the touch panel 12, the voltage of each transparent electrode of another transparent electrode group is detected, thereby determining the intersection position of each transparent electrode whose electrostatic capacitance changes as the contact position of the pointer.

[0022] The display processing unit 30 generates an image to be displayed on the display device 10, and when the image includes various operation buttons, determines whether the operation buttons are pressed (touched) by a pointer. Therefore, the display processing unit 30 includes a display image generating unit 32, a contact position taking unit 34, and an operation determining unit 36.

[0023] The display image production unit 32 produces a display image and other display images displayed on the operation screen of the display device 10. The operation screen includes various operation buttons. In addition, the various operation buttons include "specific operation buttons" and "other operation buttons" corresponding to specific operation areas. The differences between these operation buttons will be described later.

[0024] The contact position acquisition unit 34 instructs the touch panel control unit 20 at the timing of performing a contact position determination operation, and acquires the contact position of the indicator obtained by the determination operation.

[0025] The operation determination unit 36 ​​specifies the operation button corresponding to the contact position of the indicator acquired by the contact position input unit 34. In addition, there may be a case where the indicator presses an area other than the operation buttons on the display screen (a case where an area other than the operation buttons is indicated on the displayed operation screen, a case where a screen without the operation buttons is displayed, etc.), but in this case, the operation button is not specified.

[0026] The vehicle control device 40 controls various parts of the vehicle and provides the display processing unit 30 with image information of the display object and, when the image information is information related to the operation screen, the position and type of the operation button (information indicating whether the operation button is a specific operation button or another operation button).

[0027] The interruption generating unit 22 corresponds to an interruption signal output unit, and the contact position determining unit 24 and the contact position introducing unit 34 correspond to a contact position determining unit.

[0028] The vehicle-mounted device 100 of the present embodiment has such a configuration. Next, a selection operation of the operation button using the touch panel 12 will be described.

[0029] As described above, in the present embodiment, two types of operation buttons ("specific operation buttons" and "other operation buttons") are envisioned. "Other operation buttons" are buttons that wait for an interrupt signal output from the interrupt generating unit 22 to detect the contact position when the user touches any one of the detection areas of the touch panel 12 with an indicator. In contrast, the "specific operation button" is the same in that it detects the contact position in accordance with the output of the interrupt signal, but in addition, the contact position is also detected periodically (at a predetermined period). As the "specific operation button", an operation button for selecting a function that is an object of ISO26262, a functional safety standard for automobiles, is envisioned, but any operation button that the user or the developer of the product deems important may also be included in the "specific operation button".

[0030] When the operation screen being displayed includes a "specific operation button" (it may also include both "specific operation buttons" and "other operation buttons"), an instruction is periodically sent from the contact position input unit 34 to the contact position determination unit 24 together with the timing of outputting the interrupt signal, and the contact position sent according to the instruction is acquired by the contact position input unit 34.

[0031] When the displayed operation screen does not include the “specific operation button”, an instruction is sent from contact position acquisition unit 34 to contact position identification unit 24 at the timing of outputting the interrupt signal, and contact position acquisition unit 34 acquires the contact position sent in response to the instruction.

[0032] Figure 2 This is a flowchart showing the operation sequence of displaying the operation screen and selecting the operation button included therein.

[0033] When the display image created by the display image creation unit 32 is displayed on the display device 20 (step 100), the contact position acquisition unit 34 determines whether a specific operation button (specific button) is included in the screen being displayed (step 102). If the specific button is not included, a negative determination is made, and the contact position acquisition unit 34 determines whether an interrupt signal is output from the interrupt generation unit 22 (step 104). If the interrupt signal is not output, a negative determination is made, and the process returns to step 102 to repeatedly determine whether a specific button is included in the screen being displayed.

[0034] When the interrupt signal is output, an affirmative determination is made in the determination of step 104. Next, the contact position acquisition unit 34 sends an instruction to the contact position determination unit 24 to determine the contact position of the pointer, and acquires the determined contact position (step 106).

[0035] Next, the operation determination unit 36 ​​determines the operation button corresponding to the contact position of the indicator input by the contact position input unit 34 (step 108). When the indicator indicates an operation button, the indicated operation button is determined. In addition, when the contact position of the indicator is an area other than an operation button, a determination is made that there is no selectable operation button in the indicated location. When the determination of the operation button is completed, the process returns to step 102, and the determination of the presence or absence of a specific button in the displayed screen is repeated.

[0036] In addition, if the screen being displayed includes a specific button, an affirmative judgment is made in the judgment of step 102. Next, the contact position input unit 34 determines whether an interrupt signal is output from the interrupt generating unit 22 (step 112). If an interrupt signal is output, an affirmative judgment is made. In this case, the process moves to step 106, and after the contact position is determined and input (step 106) and the operation content is determined (step 108), the process returns to step 102, and the determination of the presence or absence of a specific button in the screen being displayed is repeated.

[0037] In addition, when the interrupt signal is not output, a negative judgment is made in the judgment of step 112. Next, the contact position input unit 34 determines whether a specified time has passed (step 114). The specified time is measured from the moment when the display of the operation screen is started. In addition, the measurement is then carried out from the moment when the specified time has passed. In the case where the specified time has not passed, a negative judgment is made in the judgment of step 114, and the process moves to step 112 to determine whether an interrupt signal is output. In addition, when the specified time has passed, a positive judgment is made in the judgment of step 114, and the process moves to step 106. After the contact position is determined and input (step 106) and the operation content is determined (step 108), the process returns to step 102, and the determination of the presence or absence of a specific button in the displayed screen is repeated. However, when most of the specified time has passed, the indicator does not contact the touch panel 12, and a non-contact judgment is made in the determination of the operation content in step 108.

[0038] In this way, in the vehicle-mounted device 100 of this embodiment, when a specific button (specific operation area) is included in the display screen, the contact position of the indicator is periodically determined every time a specified time has passed. Therefore, even if there is an abnormality in the interruption and no interruption signal is output, the contact position corresponding to the specific button can be determined.

[0039] In addition, the contact position of a specific button is determined not only periodically but also when an interruption occurs. Therefore, under normal circumstances when there is no abnormality (when the interruption signal is output normally), the contact position can be detected at the moment when the user brings the indicator into contact with the specific button, and even when an abnormality occurs and there is no interruption, the contact position of the indicator relative to the specific button can be reliably detected through periodic detection actions.

[0040] In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and various modifications can be implemented within the scope of the main purpose of the present invention. In the above-mentioned embodiment, when a specific button is included in the display screen, the contact position determination when an interruption occurs and the contact position determination after each predetermined time are performed in parallel, but the contact position determination when an interruption occurs can also be omitted. For example, in Figure 2 In the flowchart shown, the determination of whether or not an interrupt signal is output in step 112 may be omitted.

[0041] In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, when a specific button is included in the display screen, the determination of the contact position corresponding to the output of the interrupt signal and the determination of the contact position based on the periodic detection action are performed in parallel, so these determination results can also be used to determine that the output action of the interrupt signal of the interrupt generating unit 22 is malfunctioning.

[0042] Figure 3 It is a diagram showing the structure of a vehicle-mounted device according to a modified example. Figure 3 The vehicle-mounted device 100A shown is Figure 1 The vehicle-mounted device 100 shown is different in that the display processing unit 30 is replaced with a display processing unit 30A. The display processing unit 30A is different from the display processing unit 30 in that an interruption failure determination unit 38 is added. The interruption failure determination unit 38 corresponds to an interruption failure determination unit.

[0043] Figure 4 This is a flowchart showing the operation procedure of a modified example of determining an interruption failure. Figure 4 The sequence of actions shown is similar to Figure 2 The difference in the illustrated operation sequence is that step 200 and step 202 are added after the operation in step 108 .

[0044] After determining the operation button corresponding to the contact position of the indicator (step 108), the interruption failure determination unit 38 determines whether the contact position determination of the specific button is performed in correspondence with the output of the interruption signal when the determined operation button is a specific button (step 200). When the interruption generating unit 22 operates normally, the interruption signal should be output at the moment when the indicator contacts the specific button (when the interruption signal is output, a positive judgment is made in the judgment of step 200, and the process returns to step 102 to transfer to the determination of the presence or absence of the specific button in the displayed screen). By not outputting the interruption signal at this moment, it is possible to confirm that the operation of the interruption generating unit 22 is malfunctioning. When the interruption signal is not output, a negative judgment is made in the judgment of step 200, and the interruption failure determination unit 38 determines that the interruption failure has occurred (step 202). Then, the process returns to step 102 and repeatedly determines the presence or absence of the specific button in the displayed screen. In addition, when the operation failure of the interruption signal output occurs, it is preferable to notify the user by displaying a warning indicating the situation or outputting a warning sound. Furthermore, when the operation failure occurs, the contact position determination of all the operation buttons thereafter may also be performed at a predetermined cycle. This makes it possible to resume the position detection of a portion (operation button other than the specific button) that could not be detected due to the non-output of the interrupt signal.

[0045] [Industrial Availability]

[0046] As described above, according to the present invention, since the contact position is periodically determined for a specific operation area (operation button), the contact position can be detected regardless of whether an abnormality such as interruption occurs.

[0047] [Explanation of Reference Numerals]

[0048] 100, 100A vehicle mounted device

[0049] 10 Display device

[0050] 12 Touch Panel

[0051] 20 Touch panel control unit

[0052] 22 Interrupt generation unit

[0053] 24 Contact position determination unit

[0054] 30, 30A display processing unit

[0055] 32 Display Image Production Department

[0056] 34 Contact position acquisition part

[0057] 36 Operation judgment unit

[0058] 38 Interruption failure judgment unit

[0059] 40 Vehicle controls.

Claims

1. A position detection device, characterized in that: have: The touch panel is configured to overlap with the display screen of the display device; an interrupt signal output unit, which outputs an interrupt signal when contact of an indicator with the touch panel is detected; as well as A contact position determination unit determines the contact position of the indicator using the touch panel when the interrupt signal is output when the specific operation area is not displayed on the display screen, and determines the contact position of the indicator using the touch panel at a specified period when the specific operation area is displayed on the display screen.

2. The position detection device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The contact position determination unit determines the contact position of the pointer using the touch panel at a predetermined period when the specific operation area is displayed on the display screen, and determines the contact position of the pointer using the touch panel when the interrupt signal is output.

3. The position detection device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The device further includes an interruption failure determination unit for determining that the interruption signal output unit is malfunctioning when the contact of the pointer to the specific operation area is detected by the periodic contact position determination by the contact position determination unit and when the interrupt signal is not output.

4. The position detection device according to claim 3, characterized in that: When the interruption failure determination unit determines that the interruption signal output unit has an operation failure, the contact position determination unit determines the contact position thereafter at the predetermined cycle regardless of whether the specific operation area is displayed.

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