JP2000242430A - Touch panel device and control method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] With a simple configuration, even if a plurality of users simultaneously input coordinates, it is possible to detect not only those coordinates but also the correspondence with the user who has designated the coordinates. A plurality of electrodes are provided on a transparent substrate. Further, the two coordinate indicating units 7 generate pulse signals in exclusive periods. When a pulse signal is generated in a state where one of the electrodes 2 is in electrical contact with one of the coordinate indicating units 7, an applied signal is supplied to the electrode. The electrode at which this signal is detected is detected as the Y coordinate. Further, since the electrode 2 has a uniform resistance and its length is known, the contact position on the electrode is determined as the x coordinate from the applied current flowing through the electrode. Since each coordinate indicating unit has a different timing, it is also identified.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a touch panel device and a control method thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, by touching a display surface,
As an apparatus for inputting coordinates, an infrared type, a resistive type, and the like are known.

A method of detecting coordinates using an infrared touch panel will be described. FIG. 7 shows a display device provided with an infrared touch panel. FIG. 2A is a diagram of the display device viewed from the direction of the display surface, and FIG. 2B is a side view of the display device.

[0004] The display device 1000 includes a light emitting section 1001 composed of a light emitting diode that emits infrared rays, and a light receiving section 1002 composed of a photodiode that receives the infrared rays emitted from the light emitting section 1001. The coordinates indicated by the user are detected by blocking the infrared rays by the user's screen touch operation.

[0005] However, these infrared type or resistive type touch panels have a problem that a plurality of inputs cannot be detected, and when there is a plurality of inputs, it is impossible to identify which user has input.

[0006] In recent years, with the advent of large-screen display devices, the use of display devices has been further expanded. For example, there is a case where a large-screen display device is connected to a workstation or a personal computer in a conference held in an office or the like, so that all the attendees can see the display device. At this time, the display device is used in the sense of a whiteboard or a blackboard (vertical type), and the display device is arranged on a horizontal surface with a built-in table, and the display device is used by two to four users while looking at it as planned. How to do (horizontal type)
It is thought that.

Further, in the case of a horizontal display device, it may be used not only for a conference but also for games such as playing cards and mahjong.

[0008] As described above, with the advent of the large-screen display device, the opportunity of simultaneously using one display device by a plurality of persons has increased.

When a display device is used in a conference or a game as described above, it is often easier to use a coordinate pointing means such as a touch panel as an input means than a keyboard or a mouse. Therefore, in the case of using such a display device, there are many proposals including a coordinate indicating means such as a touch panel. However, when a single display device is used by a plurality of persons, it is difficult to detect a plurality of coordinates and identify a user with an infrared or resistive touch panel as described above.

When it is necessary to detect the coordinates even when a plurality of persons input simultaneously, it is conceivable to detect the coordinates using, for example, an electronic pen or the like. As an example, a capacitive touch panel will be described. FIG. 8 shows an example of the configuration of the electrostatic coupling type.

The rectangular waves having different phases are applied to the electrodes 1021, 10
22 is applied to both ends, and the switch 1023 alternately turns the x-axis,
The y-axis position is detected. Amplifier 1025, filter 10
Pen 1 coupled to phase detection circuit 1027 via
From 024, the x and y coordinates are determined by detecting the phase determined by the position of the ITO film 1028.

Such a touch panel of the electronic pen type can detect a plurality of coordinates and can identify the user. But,
Because the electronic pen and the detection unit require complicated circuits,
There was a problem in terms of cost. In addition, many of these input devices constantly supply current to the panel, and consume much power.

[0013]

In the case where one display device is used by a plurality of persons, the infrared type or resistive type touch panel device described above detects a plurality of coordinates and identifies a user. Is difficult. Further, an electronic pen type touch panel such as an electrostatic coupling type requires a complicated circuit for the electronic pen and the detection unit, and thus has a problem in cost. In addition, many of these input devices constantly supply current to the panel, and consume much power.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and has a simple configuration, even if a plurality of users input coordinates at the same time, not only those coordinates but also the correspondence between the coordinates and the user who designated the coordinates. It is an object of the present invention to provide a touch panel device capable of detecting a touch panel and reducing the manufacturing cost, and a control method thereof.

[0015]

To solve this problem, for example, a touch panel device of the present invention has the following configuration. That is, a coordinate input plate having a uniform resistance, each being provided in parallel at a uniform interval, and having a plurality of electrodes of a predetermined length; A plurality of coordinate input units for applying the electric signal at different timings, and the plurality of electrodes according to the application timing of each coordinate input unit. First detecting means for detecting the presence / absence of a signal to identify the coordinate input section and detecting the position in the direction in which the electrodes are arranged; and detecting a current flowing on the electrode where the presence of the signal is detected. And a second detecting means for detecting a position in the longitudinal direction on the electrode.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the touch panel device according to the embodiment.

In the figure, 1 is a transparent substrate of a touch panel, 2 is a transparent electrode, 3 is a coordinate detecting unit, 4 is a user identifying unit, 5 is a timing control unit, 6 is a pulse generating unit, and 7 is a coordinate designating unit (embodiment). , A pen type), and 8 is an information processing unit.
The image display device is provided at the back of the transparent substrate 1, and the transparent substrate 1
The user sees the display image with.

The transparent electrode 2 is on the surface of the transparent substrate 1,
As shown in the figure, a plurality of strip-shaped electrodes extending in the horizontal direction (x direction). In order to increase the accuracy of the coordinates to be detected, a large number of electrodes are provided at equal intervals, and the intervals between the electrodes are narrowed (details regarding the coordinate detection will be described later). Also,
The transparent electrode 2 is an electrode having a uniform resistance value (this point will also be described later). The coordinate indicator 7 and the transparent electrode 2 come into contact with each other, and the coordinates can be input. The coordinate detection unit 3 detects the coordinates pointed by the user with the coordinate instruction unit 7. The detection method will be described later. The user identification unit 4 is a timing control unit 5
Identifies which user (which coordinate designating means) the coordinate sent from the coordinate detecting unit 3 is based on the timing signal from. The timing control unit 5 generates a timing signal for user identification. The pulse generator 6 outputs a user identification signal to the coordinate indicating unit 7. In FIG. 1, the number of coordinate indicating means 7 is two, but the number may be one or three or more.

FIG. 2A is a sectional view of the coordinate indicating unit 7. As shown in FIG. The coordinate indicating means 7 of the present embodiment is a pen type as shown in the figure, and has a conductor core 10 inside. Conductor 1
11 around 0 is an insulator. The cord 12 is connected to the conductor 10, and the other end is connected to the pulse generator 6. The coordinate indicating means of the present invention has a function of indicating input coordinates and transmitting a pulse signal from the pulse generator 6 to the transparent electrode 2 of the touch panel through the conductor 10. The pulse generated from the pulse generator 6 is a pulse signal having a different timing depending on each coordinate designating means. By detecting this timing, the touch panel identifies the user (coordinate indicating means).

FIG. 2B shows a waveform of a voltage pulse applied to the coordinate indicating unit 7. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that there are two coordinate designating units, and these are referred to as a coordinate designating unit 7a and a coordinate designating unit 7b. The upper part of FIG. 2B is a signal applied to the coordinate indicating part 7a, and the lower part is a signal applied to the coordinate indicating part 7b. As shown in the figure, each of the pulse signals is a signal having an amplitude E [V] and a pulse width T [S]. Further, the pulses are alternately generated in the coordinate indicating units 7a and 7b so as not to overlap with each other in time. In the present embodiment, a period in which a voltage is applied to the coordinate indicating unit 7a and the voltage is detected is a period A,
Is referred to as a period B. In order to detect coordinates immediately after the user points to the touch panel, the periods A and B need to be shortened. For example, it is desirable that the periods A and B <100 mS.

Next, a process in which the touch panel detects coordinates when the user points to one point will be described.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state in which the user points to the point P with the coordinate pointing unit 7a. At this time, it is assumed that the coordinate indicating unit 7b does not point at the touch panel. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that n transparent electrodes 2 are formed (y1, y2,..., Yn in order from the top). The point P is located at the j-th electrode yi from above the n transparent electrodes. At this time, a process of detecting the coordinates by the coordinate detecting unit 3 will be described.
FIG. 4 shows a detailed diagram of the coordinate detecting unit 3. A timing control unit 20 outputs a timing signal for switching the switch 23. 21 is a y-coordinate detection unit, 22 is an x-coordinate detection unit, and 24 is a current detection unit. In response to the timing signal from the timing controller 20, the switch 23 turns on the switches one by one sequentially from the top. In FIG. 4, the switch of the terminal y1 is turned on. Thereafter, y2,.
The switches are turned on one by one with yj,. yn
The switch 23 scrolls so as to turn on y1 again when it reaches the position. This scroll cycle is shown in FIG.
It is assumed that the period is shorter than the period T in (b).

Now, the user is pointing at the point P with the coordinate indicating section 7a. In the period A, the coordinate indicating unit 7a generates a signal from the tip as shown in FIG. 2B, and transmits the signal to the transparent electrode in contact at the point P. This signal is sent from the transparent electrode to the terminal force. According to a timing signal from the timing control unit 20, the switch 23 sequentially turns on the switches.
n. When the switch of the terminal yj is turned on, a signal from the coordinate indicating unit 7a is sent to the y coordinate detecting unit 21 and the current detecting unit 24.

The y-coordinate detecting section 21 includes a timing control section 20
, And the y-coordinate is detected from the numerical value of the counter. This counter is 1 to n
The counter value returns to 1 when counting to n. If the counter is set to 1 when the switch of the terminal y1 is turned on, the value of the counter becomes the y coordinate as it is. In this example, when the counter reaches j, a signal is input from the coordinate indicating unit 7a. As a result, it is found that the y coordinate of the point P is j.

The current detector 24 outputs this current value to the x coordinate detector 22.

The x coordinate detecting section 22 receives the current value of the signal from the current detecting section 24. Since the transparent electrode on the touch panel has a uniform resistance value as described above, this current value is inversely proportional to the x coordinate. This will be described in detail below. In FIG. 3, the resistance to the left of the point P is R, and the resistance of one entire transparent electrode is R0. Assuming that the current value detected by the current detection unit 24 is I [A], the resistance R can be expressed as follows.

R = E / I (1) However, in order to simplify the explanation, it is assumed that the wiring resistance other than the transparent electrode can be ignored. The x coordinate of point P is proportional to resistance R. That is, x = 0 at the left end of the screen and x at the right end
If = 1, the x coordinate of the point P is x = R / R0 (2) By substituting equation (1) for R in equation (2), it can be seen that X = E · R0 / I (3)

Therefore, the x coordinate is inversely proportional to the current value I.
Since E and R0 are predetermined values, if the current value I detected by the current detection unit 24 is known, the x coordinate of the point P can be calculated. The x-coordinate detection unit 22 obtains the x-coordinate of the point pointed as described above. The x-coordinate detection unit 22 also receives the y-coordinate information from the y-coordinate detection unit 21 and calculates the (x, y) coordinates of the point indicated by the user identification unit 4.
Send to The above is the coordinate detection process in the present embodiment.

Next, a user identification method according to the present embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, even if a plurality of users input coordinates simultaneously, it is possible to identify which user has input which coordinates. As described above, this identification is performed by inputting a signal at a different timing for each user (for each coordinate indicating means) and detecting the timing. As shown in FIG. 2B, for example, if there are two coordinate indicating units (7a, 7b), two periods of period A and period B are provided, and a signal is output from one of the coordinate indicating units in period A. During the period B, a signal is output from the other coordinate indicating unit. Therefore, it can be understood that the coordinates detected in the period A are obtained by the coordinate indicating means 7a, and the coordinates detected in the period B are obtained by the coordinate indicating means 7b. The coordinate detection method is the same as the method described above.

FIG. 5 shows a case where two users are pointing to two points P and Q. In this case, the coordinates of the point P are input in the period A. In the period B, the coordinates of the point Q are input. Therefore, it is understood that the point P is a point input by the coordinate indicating means 7a, and the point Q is a point input by the coordinate indicating means 7b. Thus, the user (coordinate indicating unit) can be identified. At this time, the method of detecting each coordinate is the same as the method described above.

The user identification unit 4 sends the detected coordinates and user information to the information processing unit 8. In the information processing unit 8,
Appropriate processing is performed from the obtained information, and an image is sent to the display device.

The procedure of the above processing is shown in the flowchart of FIG.

First, in step S1, coordinate detection is performed in the period A. Then, it is determined in step S2 whether or not the coordinates have been detected. If it is determined that the coordinates have been detected, the coordinates are detected as predetermined identification information indicating that the coordinates are from the coordinate indicating unit 7a in step S3. The coordinate data thus sent is sent to the information processing section 8, and the process proceeds to step S4. On the other hand, if the coordinates are not detected by the coordinate indicating unit 7a even after performing the coordinates detection process in the period A, the process skips step S3 and proceeds to step S4.

Steps S4 to S6 correspond to the period A and the period B
Only the difference is described, and the description is omitted.

The above processing is for explaining the operation of the entire apparatus, but when the CPU controls and executes each of the processing units 3 to 8 in FIG. 1, a program corresponding to the flowchart is stored in a ROM or the like. To be executed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, even if the user points to two points, the coordinates of the plurality of points can be detected. Also, it is possible to identify which point has been input by which user. Note that not only two points but also more points can be detected in the same manner (the processing in periods A, B, C,... May be performed).

Further, since the structure is simple, the manufacturing cost can be reduced. Furthermore, since only a current is supplied to the coordinate indicating unit (the pen-type coordinate input unit in the embodiment), a touch panel with low power consumption can be realized.

Although the embodiment has been described including the display device, the touch panel device may be an independent touch panel device. In this case, the output destination device may be, for example, a general-purpose information processing device (such as a personal computer). In this case, a separate connection interface may be provided, and the identification information of the coordinate pointing unit and the coordinate data may be transmitted as a pair via the interface.

[0040]

As described above, according to the present invention, even if a plurality of users input coordinates simultaneously with a simple configuration, it is possible to detect not only those coordinates but also the correspondence with the user who has designated the coordinates. become able to.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a touch panel device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a coordinate pointing unit according to the embodiment and timings of respective signals applied to two coordinate pointing units.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for describing a detection principle when only one point is input in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a detailed diagram of a coordinate detection unit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for describing a detection principle when two-point coordinates are input in the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of coordinate detection according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a front view and a side view of the infrared touch panel.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a capacitively-coupled touch panel.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1000 display device 1001 infrared light emitting unit 1002 infrared light receiving unit 1021, 1022 electrode 1023 switch 1024 pen 1025 amplifier 1026 filter 1027 phase detection circuit 1028 ITO film 1 transparent substrate 2 transparent electrode 3 coordinate detection unit 4 user identification unit 5 timing control unit 6 pulse Generator 7 Coordinate indicator 8 Information processor 10 Conductor 11 Insulator 12 Code 20 Timing controller 21 y-coordinate detector 22 x-coordinate detector 23 switch 24 current detector

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Yukio Masuda 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo F-term in Canon Inc. (reference) 2F063 AA03 BA28 DA05 DD06 FA08 FA10 KA02 5B087 AA02 AA03 CC02 CC16 CC26 CC36

Claims (8)

[Claims] A coordinate input plate having a uniform resistance, each of which is provided in parallel at a uniform interval, and provided with a plurality of electrodes of a predetermined length; Means for applying a predetermined electric signal to the electrode, a plurality of coordinate input sections for applying the electric signal at different timings, and a plurality of coordinate input sections for applying the electric signal at different timings. First detecting means for detecting the presence / absence of the applied signal to identify the coordinate input section and to detect the position of the electrodes in the direction in which the electrodes are arranged; By detecting, the position in the longitudinal direction on the electrode is detected.
A touch panel device comprising: 2. The coordinate position information on the coordinate input plate is constructed based on the respective positions detected by the first and second detection means, and the coordinate position information and the coordinates detected by the first detection means are constructed. The touch panel device according to claim 1, further comprising an output unit configured to output information specifying the input unit as a pair. 3. The system according to claim 1, wherein said coordinate input plate and said electrode are made of a transparent member.
The touch panel device according to any one of the above items. 4. A coordinate input plate having a uniform resistance, each of which is provided in parallel at a uniform interval, and includes a plurality of electrodes of a predetermined length, and when the coordinate input plate is brought into contact with the coordinate input plate, A method for controlling a touch panel device, comprising: means for applying a predetermined electric signal to an electrode; and a plurality of coordinate input units each of which applies the electric signal at a different timing. A first detection step of detecting the presence or absence of the applied signal in the plurality of electrodes, thereby identifying the coordinate input unit and detecting the position of the electrodes in the arrangement direction; The second detecting the position in the longitudinal direction on the electrode by detecting the current flowing on the electrode where
And a detecting step of the touch panel device. 5. A method for constructing coordinate position information on the coordinate input plate at each position detected in the first and second detection steps, and the coordinate position information and the coordinates detected in the first detection step. 5. The control method for a touch panel device according to claim 4, further comprising an output step of outputting information specifying the input unit as a pair. 6. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said coordinate input plate and said electrode are made of a transparent member.
The control method for a touch panel device according to any one of the above items. 7. A touch panel device capable of inputting coordinates by pointing on a display surface of an image display device with coordinate pointing means, wherein the coordinate pointing means is provided in a plurality, Conduction is established, and at a timing unique to each coordinate indicating means, an electric signal is output from a contact portion with the touch panel, and a plurality of transparent electrodes having a uniform resistance value are formed on the surface of the transparent panel. A touch panel disposed, when inputting coordinates by a coordinate indicating means, detecting the electric signal by the transparent electrode, and detecting the coordinate by the value of the signal and from which transparent electrode the signal is detected; and And a means for associating each coordinate designating means with the coordinates inputted from the timing of the detected electric signal. Chipaneru apparatus. 8. The touch panel device according to claim 7, wherein the plurality of transparent electrodes are strip-shaped electrodes arranged in parallel in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction.