Input device

Abstract

One embodiment of an input device according to the present invention comprises: a band-shaped housing having a flat-surface section and a side-surface section formed at a prescribed angle with respect to the flat-surface section; at least one first electrode formed on the flat-surface section; at least one second electrode formed on the side-surface section; and a control unit connected to the first and second electrodes. The embodiment is configured such that the control unit detects a contact operation with respect to the first and second electrodes and generates input information on the basis of the detection results.

Description

Input device

[0001] One aspect of the present invention relates to an input device used for inputting operation information.

[0002] In recent years, various wearable terminal devices have been developed, and one of them is a ring-type input device. As described, for example, in Non-Patent Document 1, the ring-type input device has an electrode group arranged on the top surface of a ring-shaped housing, detects touch operations on these electrodes, and outputs input information corresponding to the operation pattern.

[0003] Roger Boldu, Alexandru Dancu, Denys J.C. Matthies, Pablo Gallego Casco’n, Shanaka Ransir, and Suranga Nanayakkara, “Thumb-In-Motion: Evaluating Thumb-to-Ring Microgestures for Athletic Activity”, In Proceedings of the 2018 ACM Symposium on Spatial User Interaction (SUI’ 18), Pages 150-157, Oct. 2018.

[0004] However, small input devices represented by ring-type input devices have a problem that it is difficult to increase the types of input information such as inputtable vocabularies because the area of the input operation surface is small. In addition, since a user has to perform an input operation on a small input operation surface, the operability is also poor.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a technology that enables increasing the types of inputtable information and improving operability in a small input device.

[0006] To solve the above problems, one embodiment of the input device according to the present invention comprises a strip-shaped housing having a flat portion and a side portion formed at a predetermined angle with respect to the flat portion, at least one first electrode formed on the flat portion, at least one second electrode formed on the side portion, and a control unit connected to the first electrode and the second electrode, wherein the control unit detects contact operations on the first electrode and the second electrode and generates input information based on the detection result.

[0007] According to one aspect of this invention, it is possible to input information by using both a first electrode formed on a flat surface and a second electrode formed on a side surface. Therefore, it is possible to increase the types of information that can be input compared to when information is input using only the electrode formed on the flat surface. Furthermore, by forming electrodes on the side surface in addition to the flat surface, it is possible to widen the spacing between electrodes compared to when multiple electrodes are formed only on the flat surface to input multiple types of information. This reduces accidental touches on the electrodes and improves the operability of the input operation.

[0008] In other words, according to one aspect of this invention, it is possible to provide a technology that enables an increase in the types of information that can be input and an improvement in operability in a small input device.

[0009] Figure 1A is a perspective view showing an example of the structure of an input device according to the first embodiment of this invention. Figure 1B is a front view of the input device shown in Figure 1A. Figure 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of an input device according to the first embodiment of this invention. Figure 3A is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure and processing content from the measurement process to the contact determination process among the contact determination processes executed by the measurement determination unit of the input device shown in Figure 2. Figure 3B is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure and processing content of the gesture information determination process among the contact determination processes executed by the measurement determination unit of the input device shown in Figure 2. Figure 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of the gesture determination process shown in Figure 3B. Figure 5A is a perspective view showing an example of the structure of an input device according to the second embodiment of this invention. Figure 5B is a front view of the input device shown in Figure 5A. Figure 6A is a perspective view showing an example of the structure of an input device according to the third embodiment of this invention. Figure 6B is a front view of the input device shown in Figure 6A. Figure 7 is a diagram showing an example of the dimensions of the input device shown in Figure 6B. Figure 8 is a diagram showing an example of the dimensions of an input device with the same structure on both sides as shown in Figures 1B and 5B. Figure 9A is a perspective view showing an example of the structure of an input device according to the fourth embodiment of this invention. Figure 9B is a front view of the input device shown in Figure 9A. Figure 10A is a perspective view showing another example of the structure of an input device according to the fourth embodiment of this invention. Figure 10B is a front view of the input device shown in Figure 10A. Figure 11A is a perspective view showing an example of the structure of an input device according to the fifth embodiment of this invention. Figure 11B is a front view of the input device shown in Figure 11A. Figure 12A is a perspective view showing another example of the structure of an input device according to the fifth embodiment of this invention. Figure 12B is a front view of the input device shown in Figure 12A. Figure 13A is a perspective view showing an example of the structure of an input device according to the sixth embodiment of this invention. Figure 13B is a front view of the input device shown in Figure 13A. Figure 14A is a perspective view showing an example of the structure of an input device according to the seventh embodiment of this invention. Figure 14B is a side view of the input device shown in Figure 14A. Figure 15 is a diagram showing an example of an electrode pattern formed on the input devices shown in Figures 14A and 14B. Figure 16 shows a first example of an electrode pattern formed in an input device according to the eighth embodiment of the present invention.Figure 17 is a diagram showing a second example of an electrode pattern formed in an input device according to the eighth embodiment of the present invention. Figure 18A is a perspective view showing a third example of an electrode pattern formed in an input device according to the eighth embodiment of the present invention. Figure 18B is a front view of the input device shown in Figure 18A. Figure 19A is a perspective view showing a fourth example of an electrode pattern formed in an input device according to the eighth embodiment of the present invention. Figure 19B is a front view of the input device shown in Figure 19A. Figure 20A is a diagram illustrating the touch operation detection process among the gesture detection processes of the input device according to the ninth embodiment of the present invention. Figure 20B is a diagram illustrating the Up / Down direction swipe operation detection process among the gesture detection processes of the input device according to the ninth embodiment of the present invention. Figure 20C is a diagram illustrating the Left / Right direction swipe operation detection process among the gesture detection processes of the input device according to the ninth embodiment of the present invention. Figures 20A, 20B, and 20C show the contact operation rules in the gesture detection processes. Figure 22 shows an example of the use of the input device according to the tenth embodiment of this invention. Figure 23 shows a state in which the title of a music album is displayed on the display screen of a glasses-type computer. Figure 24 shows a state in which the function list menu ME1 related to music albums is displayed on the display screen of a glasses-type computer. Figure 25 shows a state in which the menu for the application launcher is displayed on the display screen of a glasses-type computer. Figure 26 shows a state in which the function list menu ME1 and the menu for the application launcher are displayed simultaneously on the display screen of a glasses-type computer. Figure 27 shows a state in which the "Timer" app is selected on the display screen of a glasses-type computer. Figure 28 shows an example in which the function list menu is displayed on the right side of the display screen and the application launcher menu is displayed at the bottom of the display screen of a glasses-type computer.

[0010] Embodiments of this invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0011] [First Embodiment] (Configuration Example) Figure 1A is a perspective view showing an example of the structure of the input device 1A according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 1B is a front view of the input device 1A shown in Figure 1A. Figure 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the input device 1A according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0012] The input device 1A according to the first embodiment is an input device called a smart ring, which is configured in the shape of a ring, and consists of a ring-shaped housing 10A and a measurement and determination unit 20 which has the function of a control unit.

[0013] The housing 10A is formed from a strip-shaped insulating material, such as resin, into a circular ring shape. It has a flat surface (hereinafter referred to as the top surface) 11A formed on the outer circumference of the ring, and tapered side surfaces 12A(L) and 12A(R) formed on both sides of the ring, which serve as operating surfaces. The shape and dimensions of the side surfaces 12A(L) and 12A(R) are set to the same value.

[0014] On the top surface 11A and side surfaces 12A(L) and 12A(R), which are used as operating surfaces, electrodes (hereinafter referred to as electrode patterns) 13A and 14A, respectively, are formed in the longitudinal direction of the ring by adhesion, vapor deposition, or printing, as shown in Figure 2, for example. These electrode patterns 13A and 14A are kept in a non-contact state so as not to electrically affect each other and are connected to the measurement and judgment unit 20, respectively. The structure, shape, and formation method of the electrode patterns 13A and 14A can be designed arbitrarily.

[0015] The measurement and determination unit 20 is made of, for example, an integrated circuit and is housed within the housing 10A, or externally mounted on the back side (inner circumferential surface of the ring) of the housing 10A. The structure of the measurement and determination unit 20 and the method of installation on the housing 10A can be designed arbitrarily.

[0016] The measurement and judgment unit 20 includes a control unit 21 that uses a hardware processor such as a central processing unit (CPU), and a storage unit having a program storage unit 22 and a data storage unit 23, and a communication interface (hereinafter referred to as I / F) unit 24 are connected to this control unit 21.

[0017] The communication interface unit 24 is used to transmit gesture information determined by the control unit 21 (described later) to a user terminal (not shown). The communication method used is a wireless communication method employing low-power wireless data communication standards such as Bluetooth® or Wi-Fi®.

[0018] The program storage unit 22 is configured, for example, as a storage medium, by combining a non-volatile memory that can be written to and read at any time, such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive), with a non-volatile memory such as ROM (Read Only Memory). In addition to middleware such as an OS (Operating System), it stores various programs necessary to execute various control processes according to the first embodiment of this invention.

[0019] The data storage unit 23 is configured as a storage medium that combines a non-volatile memory that can be written to and read at any time, such as an HDD or SSD, with a volatile memory such as RAM (Random Access Memory). Its storage area includes a measurement value storage unit 231, a judgment condition storage unit 232, a contact judgment information storage unit 233, a basic gesture pattern storage unit 234, and a gesture judgment information storage unit 235.

[0020] The control unit 21 includes a measurement processing unit 211, a determination unit 212, and a gesture determination information transmission processing unit 213 as processing functions necessary for realizing the first embodiment of this invention. Of these, the determination unit 212 includes a contact determination processing unit 2121 and a gesture determination processing unit 2122.

[0021] Each of the above-mentioned processing units 211 to 213 is implemented by having the hardware processor of the control unit 21 execute an application program stored in the program storage unit 22. Note that some or all of the above-mentioned processing units 211 to 213 may be implemented using hardware such as LSI (Large Scale Integration) or ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).

[0022] The measurement processing unit 211 measures the contact of the user's finger with the electrode patterns 13A and 14A. For example, it transmits a pulse signal to each electrode pattern 13A and 14A via an RC circuit at a predetermined frame period, and measures the difference in the rising edge time of the pulse signal generated by the low-pass filter configured when the user's finger touches the electrode pattern. The measurement processing unit 211 stores the measured value of the delay time difference in the measurement value storage unit 231.

[0023] Furthermore, as a measurement method, any method that can detect finger contact with electrode patterns 13A and 14A can be used, including self-capacitance methods and mutual capacitance methods.

[0024] The contact determination processing unit 2121 of the determination unit 212 determines which electrode pattern the finger has come into contact with based on the measured values ​​stored in the measured value storage unit 231. In this case, to reduce malfunctions, the contact determination processing unit 2121 determines that the finger has come into contact with an electrode if, for example, the sum of the measured values ​​over several frames exceeds a threshold value for contact determination that has been stored in advance in the determination condition storage unit 232.

[0025] The contact determination processing unit 2121 generates information representing the contact determination result with respect to the electrode patterns 13A and 14A, for example, a contact pattern that shows which electrode patterns among the electrode patterns 13A and 14A were contacted and in what order and time, and stores it in the contact determination information storage unit 233. An example of the contact determination process will be explained in detail in the operation example.

[0026] The gesture determination processing unit 2122 of the determination unit 212 determines which gesture information has been input by comparing the contact pattern stored in the contact determination information storage unit 233 with, for example, the basic gesture pattern stored in the basic gesture pattern storage unit 234, and stores the determination result in the gesture determination information storage unit 235. An example of the gesture determination process will be explained in detail in the operation example.

[0027] The gesture determination information transmission processing unit 213 reads the gesture determination information from the gesture determination information storage unit 235 and transmits the read gesture determination information from the communication interface unit 24 to a user terminal (not shown).

[0028] (Example of operation) Next, an example of the operation of the input device 1A configured as described above will be explained.

[0029] Figures 3A and 3B are flowcharts showing an example of the processing procedure and processing content of the contact determination process executed by the control unit 21 of the measurement and determination unit 20.

[0030] (1) The control unit 21 of the electrode contact determination measurement unit 20 applies a pulse signal to each electrode pattern 13A, 14A at a predetermined frame period under the control of the measurement processing unit 211. In this state, suppose the user touches one of the electrode patterns 13A, 14A with their finger. When the measurement processing unit 211 detects the contact in step S10, in step S11 it acquires the measurement value generated by the contact for each frame and stores it in the measurement value storage unit 231.

[0031] Once the above measurement values ​​are obtained, the control unit 21 of the measurement determination unit 20, under the control of the contact determination processing unit 2121, then calculates the sum of the measurement values ​​for a predetermined number of frames, for example, "3 frames", stored in the measurement value storage unit 231 in step S12. Note that the number of frames to be added can be arbitrarily set to something other than "3 frames".

[0032] Next, in step S13, the contact determination processing unit 2121 determines whether or not the contact determination result has already been stored in the contact determination information storage unit 233. If, as a result of this determination, the measured value has not yet been stored, the contact determination processing unit 2121 considers the measured value to be due to the first contact with the electrode patterns 13A and 14A and proceeds to step S14.

[0033] The contact determination processing unit 2121 then compares the sum of the measured values ​​with a threshold value for contact determination stored in the determination condition storage unit 232 in step S14, and determines whether the sum of the measured values ​​is equal to or greater than the threshold value for contact determination. If the sum of the measured values ​​is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the contact determination processing unit 2121 determines that the contact is a clear touch operation to the electrode pattern, and in step S15, it stores the identification information of the touched electrode pattern (hereinafter referred to as electrode ID) along with the contact start timing in the contact determination information storage unit 233. The threshold value for contact determination is set to, for example, "100", but this value can be set arbitrarily.

[0034] After it is determined that the above touch operation has been performed, assume that the user has removed their finger from the electrode patterns 13A and 14A. In this case, the contact determination processing unit 2121 determines in step S16 whether the sum of the measured values ​​for the three frames calculated in step S12 is less than the threshold value for contact termination determination stored in the determination condition storage unit 232.

[0035] Then, if the sum of the above measured values ​​does not fall below the threshold for determining the end of contact, the contact determination processing unit 2121 determines that the user has removed their finger from the electrode patterns 13A and 14A, and in step S17, stores the contact time in the contact determination information storage unit 233. The contact time is calculated as the time from the start of contact stored in the contact determination information storage unit 233 to the timing at which it is determined that the finger has been removed. The threshold for determining the end of contact may be the same value as the threshold for contact determination, or it may be set to a different value.

[0036] Thereafter, the contact determination processing unit 2121 executes a contact determination process in steps S12 to S17 each time the measurement processing unit 211 detects contact with the electrode patterns 13 and 14.

[0037] Thus, when a user touches, for example, any single electrode pattern, a contact pattern represented by the contacted electrode ID and the contact time is stored in the contact determination information storage unit 233. Furthermore, when a user sequentially touches any two electrode patterns, a contact pattern represented by the electrode ID of each contacted electrode pattern, the order of contact, and the contact time is stored in the contact determination information storage unit 233.

[0038] If the contact detection process 2121 does not detect the contact operation in step S18 for a certain period of time, for example, it terminates the contact detection process.

[0039] (2) The control unit 21 of the gesture information determination measurement unit 20 then performs the following process to determine the type of gesture information based on the contact pattern stored in the contact determination information storage unit 233, under the control of the gesture determination processing unit 2122.

[0040] Here, the multiple gesture information to be judged could include, for example, a "tap operation" that individually contacts the electrode patterns 13A and 14A, a "swipe operation" that sequentially contacts multiple electrode patterns 13A and 14A in the width direction of the ring, and a "gesture operation" that sequentially contacts multiple electrode patterns 13A and 14A in the longitudinal direction of the ring, but are not limited to these.

[0041] Specifically, in step S21, the gesture determination processing unit 2122 first reads a contact pattern from the contact determination information storage unit 233. Then, the gesture determination processing unit 2122 compares the read contact pattern with a plurality of basic gesture patterns to be determined stored in the basic gesture pattern storage unit 234 and determines which basic gesture pattern it matches. Then, in step S22, the gesture determination processing unit 2122 stores the basic gesture pattern that matches the operation pattern in the gesture determination information storage unit 235.

[0042] FIG. 4 shows an example of a basic gesture pattern input by performing a touch operation on the electrode patterns 13A and 14A shown in FIG. 2.

[0043] In this example, as the basic gesture patterns, there are five types of "tap operations": (a) Left Top touch, (b) Right Top touch, (c) Left Bottom touch, (d) Right Bottom touch and (e) touch, four types of "gesture operations": (f) Left down, (g) Left up, (h) Right down and (i) Right up, and four types of "swipe operations": (j) Left→Right top, (k) Left→Right Bottom, (l) Right→Left top and (m) Right→Left Bottom.

[0044] According to the example shown in FIG. 4, when a touch operation is performed on the electrode pattern 14 on the left side surface 12A (L), no contact is made with any electrode pattern thereafter, and the contact time from the start to the end of contact is equal to or less than a threshold value (e.g., 200 ms), it is determined that a "tap operation" has been performed on the left side surface 12A (L). Even when a similar touch operation is performed only on the electrode pattern 14 on the right side surface 12A (R), it is determined that a "tap operation" has been performed. Note that the threshold value of the contact time can be set to any arbitrary value.

[0045] On the other hand, for example, when a touch operation is simultaneously performed on the electrode pattern 14 of the left side surface 12A (L) and the electrode pattern 13 of the top surface 11A, a finger is once released from the electrode pattern 14 of the left side surface 12A (L) thereafter, and then an operation of simultaneously touching the respective electrode patterns 14A and 13A of the top surface 11A and the right side surface 12A (R) is performed, it is determined that a "swipe operation" from the left side to the right side of the housing 10A has been performed. Similarly, even when an operation of transitioning a contact position from the right side surface 12A (R) to the left side surface 12A (L) of the housing 10A is performed, it is determined that a "swipe operation" has been performed.

[0046] Furthermore, when a contact operation is performed on one of the two electrode patterns 14A, 14A formed in the longitudinal direction on the left side surface 12A (L), the finger is once released, and then a contact operation is performed on the other of the two electrode patterns 14A, 14A, it is determined that a "gesture operation" has been performed. It is determined that a "gesture operation" has also been performed when the contact operation transitions from the other of the two electrode patterns 14A, 14A to one of them. Note that when a similar contact operation is performed on the two electrode patterns 14A, 14A formed on the right side surface 12A (R), it is also determined as a "gesture operation".

[0047] Furthermore, after simultaneously contacting one electrode pattern 14A on the left side surface 12A (L) and one electrode pattern 13A on the top surface 11A, the finger is once released, and then the other electrode pattern 14A on the same left side surface 12A (L) and the other electrode pattern 13A on the top surface 11A are simultaneously contacted, it is also determined that a "gesture operation" has been performed. The same applies to the right side surface 12A (R).

[0048] (3) Transmission of Gesture Determination Information When the gesture information determination processing is completed, the control unit 21 of the measurement determination unit 20 reads the gesture determination information from the gesture determination information storage unit 235 in step S23 under the control of the gesture determination information transmission processing unit 213. Then, the gesture determination information transmission processing unit 213 transmits the read gesture determination information from the communication I / F unit 24 to a user terminal not shown in the drawings.

[0049] As the destination user terminal, for example, wearable terminals such as smartphones, tablet terminals, smart watches, head-mounted displays, glass-type computers, and wireless earphones used by the same user are assumed. In addition, it may be various IoT devices such as fixedly installed personal computers, television receivers, home electric appliances, and lighting fixtures, and any type of device is acceptable as long as it is capable of wireless connection.

[0050] When the user terminal receives the gesture detection information, it controls the operation of the terminal based on the received gesture detection information. For example, in the case of wireless earphones, a tap on the left side surface 12A(L) will cause the user to "go back to the previous track," a tap on the right side surface 12A(R) will cause the user to "go ahead to the next track," and a gesture operation of tracing from the left side surface 12A(L) to the right side surface 12A(R) will cause the user to "adjust the volume," etc.

[0051] (Effects) As described above, in the input device 1A according to the first embodiment, in addition to the top surface 11A, tapered side surfaces 12A(L) and 12B(R) are formed on both sides of the ring-shaped housing 10A, and electrode patterns 13A and 14A are formed on the top surface 11A and both side surfaces 12A(L) and 12B(R), respectively. When contact operations are performed on the electrode patterns 13A and 14A individually or in combination sequentially, the patterns of these contact operations are determined, and a corresponding basic gesture pattern is determined based on the determined contact operation patterns, and the determination information is output.

[0052] Therefore, it becomes possible to input information by using both the electrode pattern 13A formed on the top surface 11A and the electrode patterns 14A formed on both side surfaces 12A(L) and 12A(R). As a result, compared to inputting gesture information by touch operation using, for example, the electrode pattern 13A formed only on the top surface 11A, it becomes possible to significantly increase the types of gesture information that can be input.

[0053] Furthermore, by forming electrode patterns 14A on both side surfaces 12A(L) and 12B(R) in addition to the top surface 11A, it becomes possible to widen the spacing between electrode patterns. This improves the operability and accuracy of input operations compared to, for example, forming numerous electrode patterns only on the top surface 11A to input multiple types of gesture information.

[0054] [Second Embodiment] Figure 5A is a perspective view showing an example of the structure of the input device 1B according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 5B is a front view of the input device 1B shown in Figure 5A.

[0055] In the input device 1B according to the second embodiment, the width of the ring-shaped housing 10B is designed to be smaller than that of the example shown in Figures 1A and 1B. Specifically, the width dimension of the top surface 11B of the ring-shaped housing 10B, and the dimensions of the tapered left and right side surfaces 12B(L) and 12B(R) are both set to be smaller than those of the example shown in Figures 1A and 1B.

[0056] In addition, the electrode patterns 13A and 14A are formed on the top surface 11B and the left and right side surfaces 12B(L) and 12B(R), respectively, as in the first embodiment. Furthermore, the measurement and judgment unit 20 can also be the same configuration as shown in Figure 2.

[0057] According to the second embodiment, even with a slimmer ring-shaped housing 10B, it is possible to provide a ring-type input device that allows the user to input various types of gesture information with good operability by selectively contacting the electrode patterns 13A and 14A formed on the top surface 11B and the left and right side surfaces 12B(L) and 12B(R) with their fingers according to a predetermined operating procedure.

[0058] [Third Embodiment] Figure 6A is a perspective view showing an example of the structure of the input device 1C according to the third embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 6B is a front view of the input device 1C shown in Figure 6A.

[0059] In the third embodiment, the ring-shaped input device 1C, when the ring-shaped housing 10C is worn on the user's finger, is configured such that the shape of the side surface 12C(L) on the fingertip side is wider and has a gentler taper angle than the shape of the side surface 12C(R) on the palm side.

[0060] As in the first embodiment, electrode patterns 13A and 14A are formed on the top surface 11C, which serves as the operating surface, and on the left and right side surfaces 12C(L) and 12C(R), respectively. Furthermore, the measurement and judgment unit 20 can also be the same configuration as shown in Figure 2.

[0061] Figure 7 shows an example of the dimensions of the ring-shaped housing 10C shown in Figure 6B, where a = 1 mm, b = 2 mm, c = 1 mm, d = 2 mm, and e = 1 mm. The width and thickness dimensions of the ring-shaped housing 10C are both set to 4 mm.

[0062] Incidentally, Figure 8 shows an example of the dimensions of a ring-shaped input device 1D in which the shape and dimensions of both the left and right side surfaces 12D(L) and 12D(R) are set to be the same. In this example, a=2mm, b=1mm, c=1mm, d=2mm, and e=1mm are set respectively. In this example as well, the width and thickness dimensions of the ring-shaped housing 10D are both set to 4mm.

[0063] According to the third embodiment, even with ring-shaped input devices 1C and 1D having a small width dimension, it is possible to easily identify both side surfaces 12C(L) and 12C(R) when performing touch operations, thereby further improving the accuracy and operability of touch operations.

[0064] [Fourth Embodiment] Figure 9A is a perspective view showing an example of the structure of the input device 1E according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 9B is a front view thereof.

[0065] The input device 1E according to the fourth embodiment includes a housing 10E that is formed in a substantially ring shape with a part of the ring cut off, and a boundary portion 15E having a protruding cross-sectional shape is interposed between the top surface 11E of the housing 10E and the left and right side surfaces 12E(L) and 12E(R) that are formed in a tapered shape.

[0066] As in the first embodiment, electrode patterns 13A and 14A are formed on the top surface 11E and the left and right side surfaces 12E(L) and 12E(R), respectively. Furthermore, the measurement and judgment unit 20 can also be the same configuration as shown in Figure 2.

[0067] According to the fourth embodiment, the presence of a protruding boundary portion 15E makes it possible to clearly distinguish between the top surface 11E and the left and right side surfaces 12E(L) and 12E(R) when performing touch operations without looking, thereby improving the accuracy of touch operations and enhancing operability.

[0068] In Figure 9B, an example was given in which a boundary portion 15E with a protruding cross-sectional shape is placed between the left and right tapered side surfaces 12E(L) and 12E(R). However, the shape of the boundary portion may be other than a protruding shape; for example, as shown in Figures 10A and 10B, the boundary portion 15E' may have a curved cross-sectional shape formed by chamfering.

[0069] [Fifth Embodiment] Figure 11A is a perspective view showing an example of the structure of the input device 1H according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 11B is a side view thereof.

[0070] The input device 1H according to the fifth embodiment has a flat top surface 11H formed on the outer circumference of a ring-shaped housing 10H, and a tapered side surface 12H(L) formed on one side, for example, the side that faces the fingertip when the housing 10H is worn on the user's finger.

[0071] The electrode patterns are formed on the top surface 11H and the side surface 12H(L), respectively, as in the first embodiment. Furthermore, the measurement and judgment unit 20 can also be the same configuration as shown in Figure 2.

[0072] According to the fifth embodiment, arbitrary information can be input by touching a plurality of electrode patterns provided on the top surface 11H and the side surface 12H(L) respectively, in accordance with a preset operating procedure.

[0073] In the above example, we described a case where a side surface 12H(L) is formed on the side of the housing 10H that faces the fingertips. However, it is not limited to this, for example, as shown in Figures 12A and 12B, a tapered side surface 12I(R) may be formed on the side of the housing 10I that faces the palm when it is worn on the user's finger. With such a configuration, it is possible to input information in the same way as in Figures 11A and 11B by touching the electrode patterns formed on the top surface 11I and the side surface 12I(R) in a predetermined operating procedure.

[0074] [Sixth Embodiment] Figure 13A is a perspective view showing an example of the structure of the input device 1J according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 13B is a side view thereof.

[0075] The input device 1J according to the sixth embodiment has a top surface with an extremely small width formed on the outer circumference of a ring-shaped housing 10J, or, as shown in Figures 13A and 13B, without forming a top surface, tapered side surfaces 12J(L) and 12J(R) are formed on both the left and right sides, respectively, as operating surfaces.

[0076] Multiple electrode patterns 13A and 14A are formed on the above-mentioned side surfaces 12J(L) and 12J(R), similar to the first embodiment.

[0077] With this configuration, it is possible to input arbitrary information by performing touch operations on the multiple electrode patterns 13A and 14A formed on the side surfaces 12J(L) and 12J(R) according to a pre-set operating procedure.

[0078] In Figures 13A and 13B, the example shown is one in which two side surfaces 12J(L) and 12J(R) are provided. However, at least one of the two side surfaces 12J(L) and 12J(R) may be composed of multiple side surfaces.

[0079] With this configuration, the number of side surfaces can be increased to three or more, and by forming electrode patterns on each of these side surfaces, it is possible to enable the same number of gesture inputs as when using the top surface 11A and the left and right side surfaces 12A(L) and 12A(R) in combination.

[0080] [Seventh Embodiment] Figure 14A is a perspective view showing an example of the structure of the input device 1F according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 14B is a side view thereof.

[0081] A seventh embodiment of this invention is a glasses-type computer, commonly known as smart glasses, in which the input device according to this invention is integrally provided.

[0082] In the seventh embodiment, the input device 1F has a member 15F formed from a strip-shaped resin material into a flat plate, which corresponds to the temples of the glass-type computer housing 10F. Both sides of this member 15F are tapered. The top surface 11F and the tapered side surfaces 12F, 12F of the member 15F are used as operating surfaces, and electrode patterns are formed on each of these operating surfaces.

[0083] Figure 15 shows an example of electrode patterns 13F and 14F, which consist of, for example, a plurality of short, dot-shaped conductive patterns arranged in a line at regular intervals along the longitudinal direction of the top surface 11F and both side surfaces 12F, 12F.

[0084] Furthermore, the above-mentioned side surfaces 12F, 12F may be formed on only one side, and the angle and dimensions of the tapered surface are not specified as long as the planar surface and the tapered surface can form separate surfaces. In addition, the measurement and judgment unit 20 can also be the same configuration as in Figure 2. Moreover, the electrode patterns 13F, 14F can be set to any shape and arrangement pattern other than the configuration shown in Figure 15.

[0085] Accordingly, according to the seventh embodiment, the user, while wearing the glasses-type computer equipped with the input device 1F, touches the electrode patterns 13F and 14F formed on the top surface 11F and both side surfaces 12F, 12F of the member 15F corresponding to the temple of the glasses with their fingers, following a predetermined operating procedure. In this way, it becomes possible to input multiple types of gesture information. Furthermore, in this example, since both side surfaces 12F are tapered relative to the top surface 11F, the user can accurately perform blind touch operations on the electrode patterns 13F and 14F formed on the top surface 11F and both side surfaces 12F.

[0086] In the above explanation, we have used the example of a case where tapered side surfaces 12F, 12F are provided on both sides of the top surface 11F. However, it is also possible to omit the top surface 11F and provide only the two tapered side surfaces 12F, 12F as operating surfaces.

[0087] [Eighth Embodiment] In the first embodiment, the case in which six linear electrode patterns 13A, 14A cut in the longitudinal direction are formed on the top surface 11A and side surfaces 12A(L), 12A(R) that constitute the operating surface of the housing 10A was described as an example. However, various other configurations of the electrode patterns are possible, such as the following.

[0088] (1) As a first example, the electrode patterns formed on the top surface and both side surfaces of the ring-shaped input device 1G may be formed to have a hybrid structure.

[0089] For example, as shown in Figure 16, electrode patterns 13G and 14G are formed on the top surface and both side surfaces of the ring-shaped housing 10G in the longitudinal direction. Furthermore, multiple strip-shaped electrode patterns 16G are formed in the width direction of the ring-shaped housing 10G so as to intersect with the electrode patterns 13G and 14G. Note that the electrode patterns 13G and 14G and the electrode pattern 16G are formed non-contact so as not to electrically affect each other.

[0090] By forming electrode patterns 13G, 14G, and 16G in a hybrid structure as described above, the multiple electrode patterns 16G formed in the width direction make it possible to more precisely identify the user's touch position in the longitudinal direction of the ring, thereby enabling the input of even more diverse gesture information.

[0091] The number, shape, and spacing of the electrode patterns 16G, as well as the angle relative to the electrode patterns 13G and 14G, can be arbitrarily set.

[0092] (2) As a second example, the electrode patterns formed on the top surface and both side surfaces may be made up of a plurality of single electrodes that form points and are arranged at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction of the ring. Figure 17 shows an example of such a configuration. In this example, a plurality of single electrodes that form points are arranged at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction of the ring on the top surface 11K and both side surfaces 12K(L) and 12K(R) of the housing 10K, respectively, thereby forming array-like electrode patterns 13K and 14K.

[0093] With this electrode structure, the total length of the electrode pattern can be shortened compared to forming a continuous electrode pattern around the entire circumference of the 13K and 14K rings, thereby reducing the amount of metal required to form the electrode pattern.

[0094] (3) Figure 18A is a perspective view showing a third example of the electrode pattern in the input device 1L according to the eighth embodiment, and Figure 18B is a front view of the input device shown in Figure 18A.

[0095] This example shows a case where multiple linear, elongated electrode patterns 13L and 14L are formed on the top surface 11L and both side surfaces 12L(L) and 12L(R) of the housing 10L, respectively, at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction of the ring. With this electrode structure, the amount of metal used for the electrode patterns can be reduced compared to the case where electrode patterns are formed without any gaps around the entire circumference of the ring, thereby lowering the cost.

[0096] (4) Figure 19A is a perspective view showing a fourth example of the input device 1M according to the eighth embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 19B is a front view of the input device shown in Figure 19A.

[0097] In this example, multiple linear electrode patterns 14M are formed at regular intervals on both side surfaces 12M(L) and 12M(R) of the housing 10M, while fewer electrode patterns 13M are formed on the top surface 11M than the electrode patterns 14M formed on the two side surfaces 12M(L) and 12M(R).

[0098] With this configuration, it is possible to set positions where the electrode pattern 13M formed on the top surface 11M and the electrode patterns 14M formed on both side surfaces 12M(L) and 12M(R) are parallel, and positions where the electrode patterns 14M on both side surfaces 12M(L) and 12M(R) are positioned opposite each other. This makes it possible to continuously touch the electrode patterns 14M on both side surfaces 12M(L) and 12M(R) by simply sliding a finger, without having to touch the electrode pattern 13M.

[0099] [Ninth Embodiment] In the first embodiment, an example of a basic gesture pattern input by making contact with the electrode patterns 13A and 14A shown in Figure 2 was explained using Figure 4, but various other gesture patterns can be considered as input.

[0100] Figures 20A, 20B, and 20C show examples of other gesture patterns using touch and swipe operations, and Figure 21 shows the contact operation rules for the electrode pattern 13A on the top surface 11A and the electrode patterns 14A, 14A on both side surfaces 12A(L) and 12A(R) when inputting the gesture pattern.

[0101] Figure 20A shows eight types of "tap operations" as gesture patterns: (a) Touch Top Left (Touch Top-L), (b) Touch Top Middle (Touch Top-M), (c) Touch Top Right (Touch Top-R), (d) Touch Top All (Touch Top-A), (e) Touch Bottom Left (Touch Bottom-L), (f) Touch Bottom Middle (Touch Bottom-M), (g) Touch Bottom Right (Touch Bottom-R), and (h) Touch Bottom All (Touch Bottom-A).

[0102] Figure 20B shows six types of "up / down swipe operations" as gesture patterns: (i) Swipe Down Left (Swipe Down-L), (j) Swipe Down Middle (Swipe Down-M), (k) Swipe Down Right (Swipe Down-R), (l) Swipe Up Left (Swipe Up-L), (m) Swipe Up Middle (Swipe Up-M), and (n) Swipe Up Right (Swipe Up-R).

[0103] Figure 20C shows four types of gesture patterns: (o) Swipe Left Top (Swipe Left-T), (p) Swipe Right Top (Swipe Right-T), (q) Swipe Left Bottom (Swipe Left-B), and (r) Swipe Right Bottom (Swipe Right-B).

[0104] The following describes each operation pattern in detail. (a) Touch Top-L If contact is detected with the electrode pattern 14A located on the upper (Top) side of the left side surface 12A(L), and no contact is subsequently detected with the electrode pattern 14A located on the lower (Bottom) side of the left side surface 12A(L) or the electrode pattern 14A on the right side surface 12A(R), and the contact with the electrode pattern 14A located on the upper (Top) side of the left side surface 12A(L) ends, and the contact time from the start to the end of contact is less than or equal to a threshold value for tap determination (e.g., 200 ms), the control unit 21 determines that a tap operation has been performed on the electrode pattern 14A located on the (Top) side of the left side surface 12A(L) (Touch Top-L). At this time, even if there is contact with the electrode pattern 13A on the top surface 11A, the control unit 21 determines it to be Touch Top-L.

[0105] (b) Touch Top-M If contact is detected with respect to the electrode pattern 13A located on the top surface 11A (contact start), and no further contact with any electrode pattern 14A is detected thereafter, and the contact with the top surface 11A ends, and the contact time from the start to the end of contact is less than or equal to a threshold value for tap determination (e.g., 200 ms), the control unit 21 determines that a tap operation has been performed on the electrode pattern 13A on the top surface (Touch Top-M).

[0106] (c) Touch Top-R If contact is detected with the electrode pattern 14A located on the upper (Top) side of the right and left side surfaces 12A(R), and no contact is subsequently detected with the electrode pattern 14A located on the lower (Bottom) side of the right side surface 12A(R) or the electrode pattern 14A on the left side surface 12A(L), and if the contact with the electrode pattern 14A located on the upper (Top) side of the right side surface 12A(R) ends, and the contact time from the start to the end of contact is less than or equal to a threshold value for tap determination (e.g., 200 ms), the control unit 21 determines that a tap operation has been performed on the electrode pattern 14A located on the (Top) side of the right side surface 12A(R) (Touch Top-R). At this time, even if there is contact with the electrode pattern 13A on the top surface 11A, the control unit 21 determines it to be Touch Top-L.

[0107] (d) Touch Top-A When contact is simultaneously detected (contact start) with the electrode patterns 14A, 13A, and 14A located on the upper (Top) side of the left side surface 12A(L), the top surface 11A, and the right side surface 12A(R), and then contact with each of the electrode patterns 14A, 13A, and 14A ends, and the contact time from the start of contact to the end of contact is less than or equal to a threshold (200 ms), the control unit 21 determines that a tap operation was performed simultaneously on the three electrode patterns 14A, 13A, and 14A located on the upper (Top) side (Touch Top-A).

[0108] (e) Touch Bottom-L A tap operation on the electrode pattern 14A located on the lower (Bottom) side of the left side surface 12A(L) is determined in the same way as Touch Top-L. That is, if contact is detected (contact start) on the electrode pattern 14A located on the lower (Bottom) side of the left side surface 12A(L), and then contact with the electrode pattern 14A ends, and the contact time from the start to the end of contact is less than or equal to a threshold (200 ms), the control unit 21 determines that Touch Bottom-L has been performed. At this time, it may be a condition that no contact is detected on the electrode patterns 13A and 14A located on the upper (Top) side of the top surface 11A and both side surfaces 12A(L) and 12A(R) during the determination period.

[0109] (f) Touch Bottom-M Touch operations on the electrode pattern 13A located on the lower (bottom) side of the top surface 11A are determined in the same way as Touch Top-M. That is, if a touch operation on the electrode pattern 13A located on the lower (bottom) side of the top surface 11A is detected (contact start), and then no contact is detected with any of the electrode patterns 13A, 14A on the top surface 11A or the two side surfaces 12A(L) and 12A(R), and the contact with the electrode pattern 13A located on the lower (bottom) side of the top surface 11A ends, and the contact time from the start to the end of contact is less than or equal to a threshold value for tap determination (e.g., 200 ms), the control unit 21 determines that Touch Bottom-M has been performed.

[0110] (g) Touch Bottom-R A tap operation on the electrode pattern 14A located on the lower (Bottom) side of the right side surface 12A(R) is determined in the same way as Touch Top-R. That is, if contact with the electrode pattern 14A located on the lower (Bottom) side of the right side surface 12A(R) is detected (contact start), and then contact with the electrode pattern 14A ends, and the contact time from the start of contact to the end of contact is less than or equal to a threshold (200 ms), the control unit 21 determines that Touch Bottom-R has been performed.

[0111] (h) Touch Bottom-A When contact is simultaneously detected (contact start) with the electrode patterns 14A, 13A, and 14A located on the lower (bottom) side of the left side surface 12A(L), the top surface 11A, and the right side surface 12A(R), and then contact with each of the electrode patterns 14A, 13A, and 14A ends, and the contact time from the start of contact to the end of contact is less than or equal to a threshold (200 ms), the control unit 21 determines that a tap operation was performed simultaneously on the three electrode patterns 14A, 13A, and 14A located on the lower (bottom) side (Touch Bottom-A).

[0112] (i) Swipe Down-L If contact is detected with the electrode pattern 14A located on the upper (Top) side of the left side surface 12A(L), and then contact is detected with the electrode pattern 14A located on the lower (Bottom) side of the same left side surface 12A(L), and this transition of contact position is completed within a time set in advance for swipe determination, and ultimately no contact is detected with either the electrode patterns 13A or 14A on the top surface 11A or the right side surface 12A(R), then the control unit 21 determines that a swipe operation from the top (Top) to the bottom (Bottom) direction (Down) on the left side surface 12A(L), i.e., Swipe Down-L, has been performed.

[0113] (j) Swipe Down-M After contact is detected with the electrode pattern 13A located on the upper (Top) side of the top surface 11A, contact is detected with the electrode pattern 13A located on the lower (Bottom) side of the same top surface 11A, and this transition of contact position is completed within a time set in advance for swipe determination, and ultimately no contact is detected with any of the electrode patterns 14A, 14A on the left and right side surfaces 12A(L) and 12A(R), the control unit 21 determines that a swipe operation from the top (Top) to the bottom (Bottom) direction (Down) on the top surface 11A, i.e., Swipe Down-M, has been performed.

[0114] (k) Swipe Down-R After contact is detected with the electrode pattern 14A located on the upper (Top) side of the right side surface 12A(R), contact is detected with the electrode pattern 14A located on the lower (Bottom) side of the same right side surface 12A(R), and this transition of contact position is completed within a time set in advance for swipe determination, and ultimately no contact is detected with either the electrode patterns 13A or 14A on the top surface 11A or the left side surface 12A(L), the control unit 21 determines that a swipe operation from the top (Top) to the bottom (Bottom) direction (Down) on the right side surface 12A(R), i.e., Swipe Down-R, has been performed.

[0115] (l) Swipe Up-L After contact is detected with the electrode pattern 14A located on the lower (Bottom) side of the left side surface 12A(L), contact is detected with the electrode pattern 14A located on the upper (Top) side of the same left side surface 12A(L), and this transition of contact position is completed within a time set in advance for swipe determination, and ultimately no contact is detected with any of the electrode patterns 13A and 14A on the top surface 11A or the right side surface 12A(R), the control unit 21 determines that a swipe operation from bottom to top (Down) on the left side surface 12A(L), i.e., Swipe Up-L, has been performed.

[0116] (m) Swipe Up-M If contact is detected with the electrode pattern 13A located on the lower (Bottom) side of the top surface 11A, and then contact is detected with the electrode pattern 13A located on the upper (Top) side of the same top surface 11A, and this transition of contact position is completed within a time set in advance for swipe determination, and ultimately no contact is detected with any of the electrode patterns 14A, 14A on the left and right side surfaces 12A(L) and 12A(R), the control unit 21 determines that a swipe operation from bottom to top (Down) on the top surface 11A, i.e., Swipe Up-M, has been performed.

[0117] (n) Swipe Up-R If contact is detected with the electrode pattern 14A located on the lower (Bottom) side of the right side surface 12A(R), and then contact is detected with the electrode pattern 14A located on the lower (Top) side of the same right side surface 12A(R), and this transition of contact position is completed within a time set in advance for swipe determination, and ultimately no contact is detected with either the electrode patterns 13A or 14A on the top surface 11A or the left side surface 12A(L), then the control unit 21 determines that a swipe operation from bottom to top on the right side surface 12A(R), i.e., Swipe Up-R, has been performed.

[0118] (o) Swipe Left-T After contact is detected with the electrode pattern 14A located on the upper (Top) side of the right side surface 12A(R), contact is detected with the electrode pattern 14A located on the upper (Top) side of the left side surface 12A(L), and this transition of contact position is completed within a time set in advance for swipe determination, and ultimately no contact is detected with any of the electrode patterns 13A, 14A located below the top surface 11A and the left and right side surfaces 12A(L) and 12A(R), the control unit 21 determines that a swipe operation using the upper (Top) electrode pattern, i.e., Swipe Left-T, has been performed from the right side surface 12A(R) to the left side surface 12A(L) (Left).

[0119] (p) Swipe Right-T After contact is detected with the electrode pattern 14A located on the upper (Top) side of the left side surface 12A(L), contact is detected with the electrode pattern 14A located on the upper (Top) side of the right side surface 12A(R), and the transition of the contact position is completed within a predetermined time for swipe determination, and ultimately no contact is detected with any of the electrode patterns 13A, 14A located below (Bottom) the top surface 11A and the left and right side surfaces 12A(L) and 12A(R), the control unit 21 determines that a swipe operation using the upper (Top) electrode pattern, i.e., Swipe Right-T, has been performed from the left side surface 12A(L) to the right side surface 12A(R).

[0120] In this case, it is not necessary to include the condition that no contact corresponding to the electrode pattern 13A on the top surface 11A is detected during the determination period. On the other hand, since contact with the top surface 11A may occur incidentally, regardless of whether or not there is contact with the electrode pattern 13A on the top surface 11A, as long as the contact procedure from the left side surface 12A(L) to the right side surface 12A(R) (right) satisfies the predetermined conditions, it may be determined that a Swipe Right-T operation has been performed. Furthermore, if the electrode patterns 14A, 13A located above (Top) the left side surface 12A(L) and the top surface 11A, or the electrode patterns 14A, 13A located above (Top) the top surface 11A and the right side surface 12A(R), are contacted simultaneously, it may also be determined that a Swipe Right-T operation has been performed.

[0121] (q) Swipe Left-B If contact is detected with the electrode pattern 14A located on the lower (Bottom) side of the right side surface 12A(R), and then contact is detected with the electrode pattern 14A located on the lower (Bottom) side of the left side surface 12A(L), and this transition of contact position is completed within a time set in advance for swipe determination, and ultimately no contact is detected with any of the electrode patterns 13A, 14A located on the top surface 11A and the top of each of the left and right side surfaces 12A(L) and 12A(R), then the control unit 21 determines that a swipe operation using the lower (Bottom) electrode pattern, i.e., Swipe Left-B, has been performed from the right side surface 12A(R) to the left side surface 12A(L) (Left).

[0122] (r) Swipe Right-B If contact is detected with the electrode pattern 14A located on the lower (Bottom) side of the left side surface 12A(L), then contact is detected with the electrode pattern 14A located on the lower (Bottom) side of the right side surface 12A(R), and the transition of the contact position is completed within a predetermined time for swipe determination, and ultimately no contact is detected with any of the electrode patterns 13A, 14A located on the top surface 11A and the upper (Top) sides 12A(L) and 12A(R), then the control unit 21 determines that a swipe operation using the lower (Bottom) electrode pattern, i.e., Swipe Right-B, has been performed from the left side surface 12A(L) to the right side surface 12A(R).

[0123] [Tenth Embodiment] The tenth embodiment of this invention uses the input device 1A described in the first embodiment to operate a glasses-type computer, which is one of the user terminals to be operated.

[0124] Figure 22 shows an example of the use of the input device according to the tenth embodiment of this invention. As shown in Figure 22, the input device 1A is attached to the index finger of the user US's right hand. Note that the finger to which the input device 1A is attached can be any finger on either the left or right hand.

[0125] Meanwhile, a glasses-type computer 2A is fitted to the user US's head. The glasses-type computer 2A has functions such as a music player, and displays menu screens and the like for operating this music player function on the display part of the glasses. Figure 22 2A' shows an enlarged view of the screen displayed on the display part.

[0126] Furthermore, the glasses-type computer 2A is equipped with a communication interface function that employs a low-power wireless digital data communication standard such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) or Bluetooth (registered trademark), enabling data transmission and reception with the input device 1A.

[0127] Next, the operation of the input device 1A configured as described above will be explained along with the operation of the music player function of the glass-type computer 2A.

[0128] For example, let's assume that the title W1 of an arbitrary music album is displayed on the display screen of the glasses-type computer 2A, as shown in Figure 23. In this state, let's assume that user US performs an activation gesture by touching the electrode pattern 14A located on the upper (Top) or lower (Bottom) side of the right side surface 12A(R) of the input device 1A, that is, by performing a double-tap operation by doing "Touch Top-R" or "Touch Bottom-R" twice in a row, as described in Figure 20A. Then, a menu ME1 listing functions related to the currently displayed music album will be displayed on the right side of the display screen of the glasses-type computer 2A, as shown in Figure 24, for example. This menu ME1 displays a forward button CA1 and a back button CA2.

[0129] Note that the activation gesture operation does not have to be a double tap; any operation that can be distinguished from the defined gesture is acceptable. Also, when the menu is not displayed and no menu selection has been made, i.e., when the icon is blinking or masked, if "Touch Top-M" or "Touch Bottom-M" is performed by input device 1A, playback and stopping of the music will be performed.

[0130] With the above function list menu ME1 displayed, if user US performs an up-and-down swipe operation "Swipe Up-R" or "Swipe Down-R" on the right side surface 12A(R) of input device 1A, a provisional selection of "Next Track" or "Previous Track" becomes possible. Then, if user US performs a touch operation "Touch Top-M" or "Touch Bottom-M" on the top surface 11A of input device 1A, the selection is confirmed and "Next Track" (operated by the forward button CA1) or "Previous Track" (operated by the back button CA2) is executed. After the execution of "Next Track" or "Previous Track" is completed, the function list menu ME1 is hidden and the state returns to that shown in Figure 23. Note that this state transition is just an example, and the function list menu ME1 may remain displayed.

[0131] On the other hand, in the state shown in Figure 23, suppose user US performs an activation gesture operation by double-tapping the left side surface 12A(L) of input device 1A, performing either "Touch Top-L" or "Touch Bottom-L" twice in a row. In this case, menu ME2 for the application launcher is displayed on the left side of the display screen of the glasses-type computer 2A. Figure 25 shows an example of this, in which shortcut icons MU, TM, and ST for "Music Player," "Timer," and "Settings Function" are displayed in menu ME2.

[0132] In this state, if user US performs an up-and-down swipe operation "Swipe Up-L" or "Swipe Down-L" on the left side surface 12A(L) of input device 1A, a provisional selection operation of icons MU, TM, and ST displayed in menu ME2 can be performed according to the direction of the operation. In the example shown in Figure 25, "Music Player" is shown as the provisionally selected state. If user US then performs "Swipe Up-L" again on the left side surface 12A(L) of input device 1A, the provisionally selected item will transition from "Music Player" to "Settings". Conversely, if user US performs "Swipe Down-L" again, the provisionally selected item will transition from "Music Player" to "Timer".

[0133] The display screen may simultaneously show both the function list menu ME1 and the application launcher menu ME2. Figure 26 shows an example of this display.

[0134] In the state shown in Figure 25, when user US performs a swipe operation "Swipe Down-L" on the left side surface 12A(L) of input device 1A, the provisional selection target changes to "Timer". Then, when the user performs a confirmation operation "Touch Top-M" or "Touch Bottom-M" on the top surface 11A of input device 1A, the "Timer" app is selected.

[0135] Figure 27 shows an example of this state. In this example, the shortcut icons TM1, TM2, and TM3 for the timer's suggested time options ME3, "3 minutes," "5 minutes," and "10 minutes," are displayed on the right side of the display screen. Note that the application launcher menu ME2 displayed on the left side of the display screen and the application function menu ME3 displayed on the right side are examples only, and the menus displayed will depend on the type and function of the application.

[0136] Figure 28 shows the case where the function list menu ME1 is displayed on the right side of the display screen and the application launcher menu ME2 is displayed at the bottom of the display screen. In this state, when the user US continuously touches the lower electrode patterns 13A and 14A on the top surface 11A and the left and right side surfaces 12A(L) and 12A(R) of the input device 1A, and performs a left-right swipe operation, such as "Swipe Right-B" or "Swipe Left-B", the target of the provisional selection can be moved left or right.

[0137] The menu can be displayed anywhere within the screen, and its size and the number of icons displayed can be set arbitrarily.

[0138] [Other Embodiments] (1) In the gesture determination process using Figures 4 and 20A to 20C, the case where only the presence or absence of contact with the electrode patterns 13A and 14A is determined was described as an example. However, the process is not limited to this, and in addition to the presence or absence of contact, auxiliary parameters such as contact strength, contact area, and amount of movement of the contact position may be selectively added as needed to determine the operation pattern.

[0139] (2) In the tenth embodiment, the example given was the case in which a music player function is operated as an application, but it is also possible to control the selection, playback, and stopping of videos in a video playback application, or to control browsing operations on information sites such as maps and weather forecasts.

[0140] (3) In addition, the shape of the ring-shaped housing may be an ellipse, square, hexagon, or other polygonal shape other than a circle, and the material and dimensions, the shape and number of each electrode pattern, and the material can be selected in various ways without departing from the spirit of this invention. Furthermore, the functional configuration of the measurement and judgment unit 20, its processing procedure and processing content, the type and content of the gesture information, etc., can also be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of this invention.

[0141] Although embodiments of this invention have been described in detail above, the above description is merely illustrative in all respects. It goes without saying that various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of this invention. In other words, when implementing this invention, specific configurations may be adopted as appropriate depending on the embodiment.

[0142] In short, this invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and in the implementation stage, the components can be modified and materialized without departing from the gist of the invention. Furthermore, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining the multiple components disclosed in the embodiments. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiments. Moreover, components from different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

[0143] Furthermore, the functional configuration of the measurement and determination units disclosed herein may be implemented using circuits or processing circuitry that include general-purpose processors, special-purpose processors, integrated circuits, ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays), conventional circuits, and / or combinations thereof, which are programmed using one or more programs stored in one or more memories, or otherwise configured to perform the disclosed functions. A processor is considered processing circuitry or circuitry because it includes transistors and other circuits. A processor may be a programmed processor that executes programs stored in memory. In this disclosure, circuits, units, or means are hardware that performs the enumerated functions, or hardware programmed to perform the enumerated functions. Hardware may be any hardware disclosed herein that is programmed or configured to perform the enumerated functions.

[0144] Furthermore, there is memory for storing a computer program that includes computer instructions. These computer instructions provide logic and routines that enable hardware (e.g., processing circuitry or circuitry) to perform the methods disclosed herein. The computer program can be implemented in commonly known forms, such as computer-readable storage media, computer program products, memory devices, recording media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs, and / or memory for FPGAs and ASICs. The following are also possible embodiments of the present invention: [Claim 1'] An input device comprising: a housing having a planar portion and a side portion formed at a predetermined inclination angle with respect to the planar portion as operating surfaces; a first electrode pattern formed on the planar portion; a second electrode pattern formed on the side portion; and a control unit connected to the first electrode pattern and the second electrode pattern, which detects contact operations on the first electrode pattern and the second electrode pattern and generates input information based on the detection results. [Claim 2'] The input device according to claim 1, wherein the housing comprises the flat portion and a first side portion and a second side portion, which are tapered and formed on the first and second sides of the flat portion, respectively, as the operating surface. [Claim 4'] The input device according to claim 2, wherein the housing has boundary portions formed between the flat portion and the first side portion, and between the flat portion and the second side portion, each having a protruding cross-sectional shape.

[0145] 1A-1J...Input device 10A-10J...Housing 11A-11J...Top surface 12A(L), 12A(R)-12J(L), 12J(R)...Side surface 13A-13J, 14A-14J, 16...Electrode pattern 15E, 15E'...Boundary section 15F...Temple member of glass-type computer 20...Measurement and judgment unit 21...Control unit 22...Program storage unit 23...Data storage unit 24...Communication I / F unit 211...Measurement processing unit 212...Judgment unit 2121...Contact judgment processing unit 2122...Gesture judgment processing unit 213...Gesture judgment information transmission processing unit 231...Measurement value storage unit 232...Judgment condition storage unit 233...Contact judgment information storage unit 234...Basic gesture pattern storage unit 235...Gesture judgment information storage unit

Claims

1. An input device comprising: a strip-shaped housing having a flat portion and a side portion formed at a predetermined angle to the flat portion; at least one first electrode formed on the flat portion; at least one second electrode formed on the side portion; and a control unit connected to the first electrode and the second electrode, which detects contact operations on the first electrode and the second electrode and generates input information based on the detection results.

2. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the housing has first and second tapered side portions on both sides.

3. The input device according to claim 2, wherein the first side portion and the second side portion are formed in different shapes from each other.

4. The input device according to claim 2, wherein the housing has linear portions forming a boundary between the planar portion and the first side portion and the second side portion, respectively.

5. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the housing is formed in the shape of a ring or a substantially ring shape with a part of the ring cut off.

6. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines identification information of the first electrode and the second electrode that have been in contact, a contact pattern representing the order of contact and the contact time, and generates the input information based on the determined contact pattern.

7. The input device according to claim 6, wherein the control unit includes, as a processing function, a process for determining a single contact operation to the first electrode or the second electrode within a predetermined time, said single contact operation as a tap operation, and a process for determining a complex contact operation to be a swipe operation or a gesture operation when a complex contact operation is performed by combining both the first electrode and the second electrode.

8. The input device according to claim 1, wherein only the first side portion of the housing is tapered, and the first side portion and the flat portion are used as operating surfaces.

9. The input device according to claim 2, wherein the housing comprises a boundary portion having a curved cross-sectional shape, at least one of which is between the flat portion and the first side portion, and between the flat portion and the second side portion.

10. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the first electrode and the second electrode are formed by a plurality of conductive patterns, which are point-shaped or linear, at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction of the housing.

11. An input device comprising: a housing having a first side surface and a second side surface facing a different orientation from the first side surface as operating surfaces; a first electrode pattern formed on the first side surface; a second electrode pattern formed on the second side surface; and a control unit connected to the first electrode pattern and the second electrode pattern, respectively, which detects contact operations on the first electrode pattern and the second electrode pattern and generates input information based on the detection results.

Images