Touch panel controller, touch panel system, method for controlling touch panel controller, control program, and recording medium

Abstract

To provide a resistive touch panel configured to mitigate an operation that is not intended by a user.SOLUTION: A touch panel controller (10) is provided with: a touch determination unit (11) that determines whether the position of touches on a touch panel (20) has been changed from one to two or from two to one; and a touch processing unit (12) that outputs, when the position of touches has been changed from one to two or from two to one, a signal indicating that all touches have separated, and outputs a new touch position after the change.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a touch panel controller for controlling the output of a resistive touch panel. [Background technology]

[0002] There is a method called resistive film touch detection for touch panels. Resistive film touch panels have a two-layer structure in which a transparent film substrate with a transparent electrode called resistive film is bonded to face each other. When the touch panel is pressed, the upper substrate bends, and the upper and lower electrodes come into contact and conduct electricity, detecting the touch position.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes a touch panel device equipped with a resistive touch panel, which stores the coordinates of the midpoint between two points touched on the touch panel, and outputs the coordinates of the touched position.

[0004] Patent Document 2 describes a touch panel control device that identifies the position where pressure is applied when the position where pressure is applied on the touch panel and the position where pressure is applied again within a specified time are within a specified distance. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2022-92351 A [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-44308 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] In resistive touch panels such as those described above, the method of calculating the coordinates of the touched position is different for one-point touch and two-point touch. This means that when there is a transition from one-point touch to two-point touch, or from two-point touch to one-point touch, there is a risk of unintended behavior by the user occurring.

[0007] However, the above-mentioned conventional techniques do not take measures against unintended actions by the user.

[0008] One aspect of the present invention has been made in consideration of this problem, and its purpose is to realize a touch panel controller or the like that reduces unintended user actions that occur when transitioning from one-point touch to two-point touch, or from two-point touch to one-point touch, on a resistive touch panel. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a touch panel controller according to one embodiment of the present invention is a touch panel controller that detects a touch on a resistive touch panel and outputs the detected touch position, and includes a touch determination unit that determines whether or not the touch on the touch panel has changed from 1 point to 2 points or from 2 points to 1 point, and a touch processing unit that, when the touch determination unit determines that the touch on the touch panel has changed from 1 point to 2 points or from 2 points to 1 point, outputs a signal indicating that all touches have been released and then outputs the changed touch position.

[0010] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a control method for a touch panel controller according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a touch determination step in which the touch panel controller detects a touch on a resistive touch panel and outputs the detected touch position, and determines whether or not the touch on the touch panel has changed from 1 point to 2 points, or from 2 points to 1 point, and a touch processing step in which, if it is determined in the touch determination step that the touch on the touch panel has changed from 1 point to 2 points, or from 2 points to 1 point, a signal indicating that all touches have been released is output, and then the changed touch position is output. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reduce unintended actions by a user that occur when there is a transition from one-point touch to two-point touch, or from two-point touch to one-point touch. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a touch panel system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 11A and 11B are diagrams for explaining a method for determining a change in the number of touches and detecting a touch position. [Diagram 3] 4 is a flowchart showing a process flow in a touch panel controller. [Figure 4] 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating the relationship between the position touched by a user and the touch position calculated by the touch panel in one-point touch and two-point touch on a resistive touch panel. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] [Reasons why issues arise] First, the reason why the problem to be solved by the present invention occurs will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between the position touched by the user and the touch position calculated by the touch panel in one-point touch and two-point touch. 401 in Fig. 4 shows the relationship between the position touched by the user and the touch position calculated by the touch panel in one-point touch. 402 in Fig. 4 shows the relationship between the position touched by the user and the touch position calculated by the touch panel in two-point touch.

[0014] In a resistive touch panel, when there is a single touch, the coordinates are calculated based on the measured voltage value. Since the measured voltage value changes depending on the touched position, if the relationship between the voltage value and the touched position is recognized in advance, the touched position can be identified from the voltage value. Therefore, in the case of one-point touch, as shown in 401 of Fig. 4, the position Ta touched by the user coincides with the coordinate Px (Xa1, Ya1) calculated by the touch panel.

[0015] On the other hand, when there is a two-point touch, the coordinates are calculated based on the measured voltage and current values. This voltage value does not indicate the touched position, but the midpoint of the two touched points. Therefore, in the case of a two-point touch, as shown in 402 of FIG. 4, there is a discrepancy between the positions Ta and Tb touched by the user and the coordinates Pa (Xa2, Ya2) and Pb (Xb2, Yb2) calculated by the touch panel.

[0016] When a user performs a two-point touch, there is often a slight shift that the user is not aware of. In other words, even if the user thinks that they have touched at the same time, in reality, the touches are often made in the order of one-point touch, then two-point touch. In the example shown in Figure 4, the user performs a two-point touch by touching the second touch position Tb while still touching the first touch position Ta.

[0017] However, even if the user thinks that the position Ta has not changed, the touch panel will recognize that there was a single touch at point Px, followed by two touches at points Pa and Pb. In other words, even though the user has not changed the position of his or her finger, the first touch position will change from point Px to point Pa. This may result in an application running on the touch panel performing an operation that the user does not intend.

[0018] The same problem occurs even with the following operation. That is, while keeping the first touch position fixed, touch the second point, increase the distance from the first touch position, and temporarily remove the second touch. Next, touch the second point at a position similar to the previous second touch, and increase the distance from the first touch position. This operation is repeated. This operation frequently transitions from one-point touch to two-point touch and from two-point touch to one-point touch. Therefore, in this case, actions that the user does not intend occur frequently. This type of operation is likely to occur on a touch panel with a large screen. It is also likely to occur when operated by a child or the like with short fingers.

[0019] Examples of actions that are not intended by the user include enlarging, reducing, blinking, flickering, etc. of the application screen.

[0020] [Configuration of the present invention] Next, a touch panel controller 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a touch panel system 1 including the touch panel controller 10.

[0021] The touch panel controller 10 detects a touch on the touch panel 20, calculates the detected touch position, and outputs coordinates indicating the calculated position to the application processing unit 30. The application processing unit 30 processes an application displayed on the touch panel 20.

[0022] The touch panel 20 is a resistive film type touch panel. That is, the touch panel 20 has a two-layer structure in which substrates such as transparent films on which transparent electrodes called resistive films are formed are bonded together so that the electrodes face each other. When the touch panel 20 is pressed, the upper substrate bends, and the upper and lower electrodes come into contact and become conductive.

[0023] The touch panel controller 10 detects a touch on the touch panel 20 at a predetermined cycle, and outputs to the application processing unit 30 coordinates indicating the touch position.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 1, the touch panel controller 10 includes a touch determination unit 11, a touch processing unit 12, a touch position calculation unit 13, and a touch panel control unit .

[0025] The touch determination unit 11 determines whether a touch on the touch panel 20 has changed from a one-point touch to a two-point touch, or from a two-point touch to a one-point touch.

[0026] More specifically, the touch determination unit 11 performs the above determination using the difference in the value of the current flowing through the resistive film. This will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a diagram for explaining a method of determining a change in the number of touches and detecting a touch position.

[0027] 2 shows a touch panel 20 including resistive films MA and MB, where one end of the resistive film MA is applied with a voltage Vcc via a resistor RS and the other end is grounded via an ammeter. Also, one end of the resistive film MB is applied with a voltage Vcc via a resistor RL and is grounded via a voltmeter. Here, when the total resistance of the resistive films MA and MB is RM, RL>>RM>>RS.

[0028] First, as shown in 201 of Fig. 2, when there is no touch on the touch panel 20, the ammeter value is Ic (=Vcc / (RS+RM)), where RM is the resistance value of the entire resistive film MA, and the voltmeter value remains Vcc.

[0029] When there is a single touch on the touch panel 20, the value of the ammeter is the same as when there is no touch, i.e., Ic (= Vcc / (RS + RM)). On the other hand, the value of the voltmeter indicates the voltage V1 (< Vcc) based on the touched position.

[0030] Also, when there are two touches (Qa, Qb) on the touch panel 20 as shown in 202 of FIG. 2, the value of the ammeter is as follows. Let Ra be the resistance from the side where the voltage Vcc is applied to the touch position Qa in the resistive film MA, R2 be the resistance from the touch position Qa to the touch position Qb, and Rb be the resistance from the touch position Qb to the ground side. At the touch positions Qa and Qb, since the resistive film MA and the resistive film MB are in contact, from the touch position Qa to the touch position Qb, the resistance R2 is in parallel. Therefore, the value of the ammeter is Ic2 = Vcc / (RS + Ra + R2 / 2 + Rb). Here, since Ra + R2 + Rb = RM and Ic = Vcc / (RS + RM), Ic2 = Vcc / (RS + RM - R2 / 2) > Ic.

[0031] Therefore, Ic2 becomes a value larger than Ic. Thus, the touch determination unit 11 can determine whether there is a touch by acquiring the change in the voltage value, and further, by acquiring the change in the current value, it can determine whether there has been a change from a single touch to a two - touch or from a two - touch to a single touch. For example, the touch determination unit 11 can determine whether there has been a change from a single touch to a two - touch or from a two - touch to a single touch by determining whether the change in the current value exceeds a threshold value.

[0032] When the touch determination unit 11 determines that a change has been made from one-point touch to two-point touch, or when the touch determination unit 11 determines that a change has been made from two-point touch to one-point touch, the touch processing unit 12 does not output the touch position calculated by the touch position calculation unit 13 to the external application processing unit 30 as is, but outputs a state in which the touch has been released, that is, a signal (information) indicating that the touch has been released, and then outputs the coordinates of the changed touch position. The touch processing unit 12 may output the coordinates of the changed touch position several cycles after outputting the signal indicating that the touch has been released. Also, the touch processing unit 12 may output the coordinates of the changed touch position a predetermined time (e.g., several milliseconds) after outputting the signal indicating that the touch has been released. The cycle referred to here is a cycle in which the touch panel controller 10 detects a touch and outputs the coordinates of the touch position, as described above.

[0033] For example, when the touch determination unit 11 determines that there has been a change from one-point touch to two-point touch, the touch processing unit 12 does not simply output the two-point touch coordinates following the one-point touch coordinates calculated by the touch position calculation unit 13 up to that point, but first outputs a signal indicating that the touch has been released, and then outputs the two-point touch coordinates.

[0034] Furthermore, when the touch determination unit 11 determines that there has been a change from two-point touch to one-point touch, the touch processing unit 12 does not simply output the coordinates of the one-point touch following the coordinates of the two-point touch calculated by the touch position calculation unit 13 up to that point, but first outputs a signal indicating that the touch has been released, and then outputs the coordinates of the one-point touch.

[0035] Touch position calculation unit 13 calculates the touch position on touch panel 20. More specifically, in the case of one-point touch, touch position calculation unit 13 calculates the touch position based on the voltage value measured by the voltmeter shown in Fig. 2. This is because in the case of one-point touch, the voltage value is based on the touch position.

[0036] In addition, in the case of a two-point touch, the touch position calculation unit 13 calculates the touch position based on the current value measured by the ammeter and the voltage value measured by the voltmeter shown in Fig. 2. In the case of a two-point touch, the voltage value indicates the midpoint of the two touched points.

[0037] The touch panel control unit 14 controls the voltage and the like supplied to the touch panel 20 to enable detection of a touch on the touch panel 20. The touch panel 20 can be controlled using known techniques, and therefore a detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

[0038] The application processing unit 30 processes an application displayed on the touch panel 20. Any application may be processed by the application processing unit 30, and various processes are executed based on the touch position output from the touch panel controller 10.

[0039] [Processing flow in the touch panel controller 10] Next, the flow of processing in the touch panel controller 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in the touch panel controller 10.

[0040] 3, when the touch panel controller 10 detects a touch on the touch panel 20 (YES in S101), the touch position calculation unit 13 determines whether or not it is a one-point touch (S102), and if it is a one-point touch (YES in S102), calculates the coordinates of the touch position of the one point (S103). If it is not a one-point touch (NO in S102), the process proceeds to step S107 described later. Then, the touch panel controller 10 outputs the calculated coordinates (touch position) to the application processing unit 30 (S104).

[0041] In this state, if the touch determination unit 11 determines that there is another touch (YES in S105, touch determination step), the touch processing unit 12 determines that the first touch has been released, that is, outputs a signal indicating that the touch has been released (S106, touch processing step). Then, the touch position calculation unit 13 calculates the coordinates of the two touch positions (S107). After that, the touch panel controller 10 outputs the calculated coordinates of the two points (S108).

[0042] Furthermore, in this state, when the touch determination unit 11 determines that the touch has been changed to one-point touch (YES in S109, touch determination step), the touch processing unit 12 determines that the two-point touch has been released. That is, it outputs a signal indicating that both two-point touches have been released (S110, touch processing step). Then, the touch position calculation unit 13 calculates the coordinates of the touch position of the one touched point (S111). After that, the touch panel controller 10 outputs the calculated coordinates of the one point (S112). After that, the process returns to step S105.

[0043] On the other hand, if there is no other touch in step S105 (NO in S105) and the touch is released (YES in S121), a signal indicating that the touch has been released is output (S122), and the process returns to step S101.

[0044] Moreover, if the touch is not changed to one-point touch in step S109 (NO in S109) and both two-point touches are released (YES in S131), a signal indicating that both two-point touches have been released is output (S132), and the process returns to step S101.

[0045] The above is the flow of processing in the touch panel controller 10.

[0046] As described above, the touch panel controller 10 according to this embodiment is a touch panel controller 10 that detects a touch on the resistive touch panel 20 and outputs the detected touch position. The touch panel controller 10 includes a touch determination unit 11 that determines whether or not the number of touches on the touch panel 20 has changed from one point to two points or from two points to one point, and a touch processing unit 12 that, when the touch determination unit 11 determines that the number of touches on the touch panel has changed from one point to two points or from two points to one point, outputs a signal indicating that all touches have been released and then outputs the changed touch position.

[0047] According to the above configuration, when a two-point touch is detected after a one-point touch is detected, the touch position of the two-point touch is not output, but the touch is temporarily released. After that, the coordinates of the two points of the two-point touch are output.

[0048] This eliminates the effect of changing the coordinates of the first point, so the application that is the output destination will only perform processing based on the coordinates of the two-point touch. This reduces the occurrence of unintended actions by the user that occur when a one-point touch changes to a two-point touch.

[0049] Similarly, if a single-point touch is detected after a two-point touch is detected, even if one of the two-point touches is still in progress, the touch position of the single-point touch is not output, but it is treated as if both of the two touches have been released. After that, the coordinates of the single-point touch are output.

[0050] This eliminates the effect of changing the coordinates of the touch position when changing from two-point touch to one-point touch, so the application that is the output destination will only perform processing based on the coordinates of the one-point touch. This reduces the occurrence of unintended actions by the user that occur when changing from two-point touch to one-point touch.

[0051] In addition, in this embodiment, since the occurrence of an unintended operation by the user can be reduced only by the processing of the touch panel controller 10, there is no need to perform a specific process in the application to which the coordinates are output. Therefore, it is possible to reduce an unintended operation by the user while using the conventional application as it is.

[0052] [Software implementation example] The functions of the touch panel controller 10 (hereinafter referred to as the "device") are realized by a program for causing a computer to function as the device, and by a program for causing a computer to function as each control block of the device (in particular, the touch judgment unit 11, the touch processing unit 12, the touch position calculation unit 13, and the touch panel control unit 14).

[0053] In this case, the device includes a computer having at least one control device (e.g., a processor) and at least one storage device (e.g., a memory) as hardware for executing the program. The control device and storage device execute the program to realize each function described in the embodiment.

[0054] The program may be non-transitory and may be recorded in one or more computer-readable recording media. The recording media may or may not be included in the device. In the latter case, the program may be provided to the device via any wired or wireless transmission medium.

[0055] In addition, some or all of the functions of each of the control blocks can be realized by a logic circuit. For example, an integrated circuit in which a logic circuit that functions as each of the control blocks is formed is also included in the scope of the present invention. In addition, the functions of each of the control blocks can be realized by, for example, a quantum computer.

[0056] Each process described in the above embodiment may be executed by AI (Artificial Intelligence). In this case, the AI ​​may be operated by the control device or may be operated by another device (e.g., an edge computer or a cloud server).

[0057] 〔summary〕 A touch panel controller according to aspect 1 of the present invention is a touch panel controller that detects a touch on a resistive touch panel and outputs the detected touch position, and includes a touch determination unit that determines whether or not the touch on the touch panel has changed from 1 point to 2 points, or from 2 points to 1 point, and a touch processing unit that, when the touch determination unit determines that the touch on the touch panel has changed from 1 point to 2 points, or from 2 points to 1 point, outputs a signal indicating that all touches have been released, and then outputs the changed touch position.

[0058] A touch panel controller according to aspect 2 of the present invention is the same as aspect 1, in that the detection and output of the touch position is performed in a predetermined cycle, and the touch processing unit outputs the changed touch position several cycles after outputting the signal.

[0059] A touch panel controller according to a third aspect of the present invention is based on the first aspect, wherein the touch processing unit outputs the changed touch position a predetermined time after outputting the signal.

[0060] A touch panel system according to a fourth aspect of the present invention includes the touch panel controller and a resistive touch panel in which a touch is detected by the touch panel controller.

[0061] A control method for a touch panel controller according to aspect 5 of the present invention includes a touch determination step in which the touch panel controller detects a touch on a resistive touch panel and outputs the detected touch position, and determines whether or not the touch on the touch panel has changed from 1 point to 2 points, or from 2 points to 1 point, and a touch processing step in which, if it is determined in the touch determination step that the touch on the touch panel has changed from 1 point to 2 points, or from 2 points to 1 point, a signal indicating that all touches have been released is output, and then the changed touch position is output.

[0062] The touch panel controller according to each aspect of the present invention may be realized by a computer. In this case, the control program for the touch panel controller that causes the computer to operate as each part (software element) of the touch panel controller to realize the touch panel controller, and the computer-readable recording medium on which it is recorded, also fall within the scope of the present invention.

[0063] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. The technical scope of the present invention also includes embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in the different embodiments. Furthermore, new technical features can be formed by combining the technical means disclosed in the respective embodiments. [Explanation of symbols]

[0064] 1. Touch panel system 10 Touch Panel Controller 11 Touch detection section 12 Touch Processing Unit 13 Touch position calculation unit 14 Touch panel control unit 20 Touch Panel 30 Application Processing Unit

Claims

1. A touch panel controller including a touch processing unit that detects a single-point touch on a resistive touch panel and outputs the detected single-point touch position, and detects a two-point touch on a resistive touch panel and outputs the detected two-point touch positions, a touch determination unit that determines whether or not a change in touch on the touch panel has occurred from one point to two points, or from two points to one point; The touch processing unit is when the touch determination unit determines that the touch on the touch panel has changed from one point to two points, outputting a signal indicating that all touches have been released, and then outputting the changed two-point touch positions; When the touch determination unit determines that the touch on the touch panel has changed from two points to one point, the touch panel controller outputs a signal indicating that all touches have been released, and then outputs the changed one-point touch position.

2. The touch position detection and output are performed in a predetermined cycle; The touch panel controller according to claim 1 , wherein the touch processing unit outputs the changed touch position several cycles after outputting the signal.

3. The touch panel controller according to claim 1 , wherein the touch processing unit outputs the changed touch position a predetermined time after outputting the signal.

4. A touch panel controller according to any one of claims 1 to 3, A resistive touch panel in which a touch is detected by the touch panel controller.

5. A method for controlling a touch panel controller, comprising: a touch processing step of outputting the detected one-point touch position when a one-point touch on a resistive touch panel is detected, and outputting the detected two-point touch positions when a two-point touch is detected; a touch determination step of determining whether or not there has been a change in touch on the touch panel from one point to two points, or from two points to one point; In the touch processing step, When it is determined in the touch determination step that the touch on the touch panel has changed from one point to two points, a signal indicating that all touches have been released is output, and then the changed two touch positions are output; A control method for a touch panel controller, which, when it is determined in the touch determination step that the touch on the touch panel has changed from two points to one point, outputs a signal indicating that all touches have been released, and then outputs the changed one-point touch position.

6. A control program for causing a computer to function as the touch panel controller according to claim 1 , the control program causing a computer to function as the touch determination section and the touch processing section.

7. A computer-readable recording medium having the control program according to claim 6 recorded thereon.

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