WO2012114764A1

WO2012114764A1 - Touch panel device

Info

Publication number: WO2012114764A1
Application number: PCT/JP2012/001255
Authority: WO
Inventors: 貴弘中村
Original assignee: パナソニック株式会社
Priority date: 2011-02-25
Filing date: 2012-02-23
Publication date: 2012-08-30
Also published as: JP2014089489A

Abstract

A touch panel device (20) does not display operation keys (61) when a scroll operation is performed, and when the scroll operation is ended, the touch panel device displays the operation keys (61) again. Consequently, operability and visibility are improved during a time when the scroll operation is performed, and key input can be restarted quickly after the scroll operation. Furthermore, even in a communication terminal having limited screen size and display area, the screen size can be effectively used by having the operation keys (61) not displayed when the scroll operation is performed.

Description

Touch panel device

The present invention relates to a touch panel device suitable for use in a communication terminal having a user interface capable of scrolling with a finger.

In recent years, communication terminals equipped with a touch panel device are increasing, and one of them is a so-called smart phone in which a mobile phone and a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) are integrated. Some communication terminals equipped with the touch panel device separate and display the operation unit and the display unit (displaying a character string) on the same screen, but when displayed in this way, the operation unit and the display unit Since the character is displayed on the same screen, when the input character string becomes long, it becomes difficult to continue inputting characters while confirming the characters already input. To address this problem, in the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1, the contact position of the operation unit touched by the user is displayed on the display unit in a semitransparent manner so that the contact position can be confirmed without visually recognizing the operation unit. It is possible. Further, in the invention disclosed in Patent Document 2, by moving the auxiliary information such as the menu to an appropriate place at the time of the scroll operation, the new display image is prevented from being hidden in the auxiliary information.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-213244 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-029598

However, in the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1, since the operation unit is superimposed and displayed when the superimposed display is on, the visibility of the display unit is poor, and it is difficult to confirm information during and after input. Moreover, since switch operation is required to switch on / off of the superimposed display, operability and visibility are not good. In the invention disclosed in Patent Document 2, when the auxiliary information such as the menu is scrolled, the newly displayed information can be easily viewed since it is moved to an appropriate place, but the auxiliary information is always displayed on the screen. A communication terminal that is bothersome when you enter text while checking text like mail creation, or when you scroll the display to check the text you input, and the screen size and display area are limited Not suitable for

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a touch panel device that can improve operability and visibility and can also be applied to communication terminals with limited screen size and display area. Do.

The touch panel device according to the present invention includes a display unit, a display control unit that causes an operation key and a character string input by the operation key to be displayed on the display unit, and a display unit configured to be stacked on the display unit. A touch panel unit that outputs coordinate information corresponding to a touched position; an input control unit that outputs input information based on the coordinate information output from the touch panel unit; and the input information output from the input control unit A control unit to send information for display control of the display unit to the display control unit, and a touch operation by the user's finger on the touch panel unit is a scroll operation for scrolling the display of the display unit , The control unit sends information for the display control to the display control unit, and the display control unit performs the display based on the information. And hide the operation keys in.

According to the above configuration, since the operation key is not displayed during the scroll operation, the operability and the visibility can be improved. Further, by hiding the operation key, the screen size can be effectively used even in a communication terminal having a screen size and a display area limited. Since it is practically impossible to input characters and the like during scrolling, hiding the operation key does not adversely affect the convenience of the user.

In the above configuration, when the touch panel does not touch the touch panel within a predetermined time from the start of the scroll operation, the control unit sends information for the display control to the display control unit. The display control unit causes the display unit to redisplay the operation key based on the information.

According to the above configuration, when the scroll operation is completed, the operation key is displayed again, so that the key input can be resumed immediately after the scroll operation.

In the above configuration, when the direction of the scroll operation is downward, the display control unit redisplays the operation key so that the character string displayed near the upper end of the display unit is maintained after the scroll. If the direction of the scroll operation is upward, the display control unit causes the operation key to be displayed again so that the character string displayed near the lower end of the display unit after scrolling is maintained.

According to the above configuration, when the operation key is redisplayed, if the direction of the previous scroll operation is downward, the operation key is redisplayed so that the upper half of the character string remains, and before the operation key is redisplayed. If the direction of the scroll operation is upward, the operation key is redisplayed so that the lower half of the character string remains, so the portion of the character string that the user focused on at the end of the scroll operation is hidden in the operation key I have not.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, while being able to aim at the improvement of operativity and visibility, it is applicable also to the communication terminal which has a restriction | limiting in screen size and a display area.

A block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a touch panel device of a communication terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention (A) to (d) of the touch panel device of FIG. 1 showing a state of display on the display unit when scrolling is performed downward. (A) to (d) of the touch panel device of FIG. 1 showing the display on the display unit when scrolling upward Flow chart for explaining the operation of the touch panel device of FIG. 1

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a communication terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the communication terminal 1 of the present embodiment includes a communication control unit 2, a timer unit 3, a voice control unit 4, a storage unit 5, a display unit 6, a display control unit 7, and a touch panel unit 8. , An input control unit 9, a power supply circuit unit 10, and a control unit 11. The display unit 6, the display control unit 7, the touch panel unit 8, the input control unit 9 and the control unit 11 constitute a touch panel device 20.

The communication control unit 2 performs control at the time of wireless communication. The timer unit 3 is used for time measurement or the like at the time of scroll operation. The voice control unit 4 performs voice control during wireless communication. That is, the voice control unit 4 outputs the received voice of the other party of communication from a speaker (not shown) or a receiver (not shown), and inputs the voice of the user of the communication terminal 1 from a microphone (not shown). The storage unit 5 stores the scroll direction (downward or upward) and the like at the time of the scroll operation.

The display unit 6 has liquid crystal or organic EL (Organic Electro-Luminescence), and is used to display the operation key 61 and to display the character string 62 input by the operation key 61. The display control unit 7 causes the display unit 6 to display the operation key 61 and causes the character string 62 input by the operation key 61 to be displayed. The operation key 61 and the character string 62 are displayed on the same screen of the display unit 6. The touch panel unit 8 is stacked on the display surface of the display unit 6 and outputs coordinate information corresponding to the position touched by the user's finger of the communication terminal 1. Here, as a touch panel method, there are a resistive film method, a surface acoustic wave method, an electromagnetic induction method, a capacitance method, and the like, and in a communication terminal such as a smartphone, a capacitance method is mainly adopted. The capacitance method is a method of detecting a position by capturing a change in capacitance between a finger and a conductive film. The input control unit 9 outputs input information based on the coordinate information output from the touch panel unit 8. The power supply circuit unit 10 supplies power to each part of the apparatus body.

Based on the input information output from the input control unit 9, the control unit 11 does not display the operation key 61 when the touch by the user's finger on the touch panel unit 8 is a scroll operation for scrolling the display of the display unit 6. Information to the display control unit 7. In addition, when there is a scroll operation, the control unit 11 causes the storage unit 5 to store the scroll direction (downward or upward). Further, at the start of the scroll operation, the control unit 11 sets the count of the timer unit 3 to zero and starts the count operation, and when there is no touch by the user's finger on the touch panel unit 8 within the time set in the timer unit 3, the operation Information for redisplaying the key 61 is sent to the display control unit 7. At this time, the control unit 11 includes the direction of the scroll operation in the information.

When the display control unit 7 receives information from the control unit 11 to hide the operation key 61, the display control unit 7 hides the operation key 61 on the display unit 6. In addition, when the display control unit 7 receives the information for redisplaying the operation key 61 from the control unit 11, the display control unit 7 redisplays the operation key 61. At this time, when the direction of the scroll operation included in the information for redisplaying the operation key 61 is downward, the display control unit 7 displays the character string displayed near the upper end of the display unit 6 after the scroll. The operation key 61 is redisplayed so as to be maintained. On the other hand, when the direction of the scroll operation is upward, the display control unit 7 causes the operation key 61 to be displayed again so that the character string displayed near the lower end of the display unit 6 after scrolling is maintained.

Here, the processing from the non-display of the operation key 61 to the re-display will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIGS. 2 (a) to 2 (d) are diagrams showing display states of the display unit 6 when scrolling is performed downward. (A) of FIG. 2 shows a state during character input such as mail creation, and the operation key 61 itself and the character string 62 input by the operation key 61 are displayed together. As shown in (b) of FIG. 2, when the scroll operation is performed during the text input operation, as shown in (c) of FIG. 2, the operation key 61 is hidden and the display area is enlarged. By scrolling downward, the character string entered retroactively will be displayed. After the end of the scroll, the operation key 61 is displayed again as shown in (d) of FIG. At this time, the operation key 61 is redisplayed so that the character string displayed near the upper end of the display unit 6 is maintained.

FIGS. 3 (a) to 3 (d) are diagrams showing display states of the display unit 6 when scrolling is performed in the upward direction. (A) of FIG. 3 shows a state in which a character is being input such as mail creation, and the operation key 61 itself and the character string 62 input by the operation key 61 are displayed together. As shown in (b) of FIG. 3, when the scroll operation is performed during the text input operation, as shown in (c) of FIG. 3, the operation key 61 is hidden and the display area is enlarged. By scrolling upward, the text is displayed toward the last entered text. After the end of the scroll, the operation key 61 is redisplayed as shown in (d) of FIG. At this time, the operation key 61 is redisplayed so that the character string displayed near the lower end of the display unit 6 is maintained.

As described above, by hiding the operation key 61 during the scroll operation, operability and visibility can be improved. In addition, it is possible to effectively use the screen size even in a communication terminal having a restriction on the screen size and the display area. Note that since it is practically impossible to input characters and the like during scrolling, the convenience of the user is not adversely affected even if the operation key 61 is not displayed. In addition, since the operation key 61 is displayed again after the end of the scroll operation, key input can be resumed immediately. Also, if the direction of the scroll operation is downward, the operation key 61 is displayed again so that the upper half of the character string remains, and if the direction of the scroll operation is upward, the lower half of the character string remains. Since the operation key 61 is displayed again, the portion of the character string focused by the user at the end of the scroll operation is not hidden by the operation key.

Incidentally, since the operation key 61 is necessary for character string input, the operation key 61 continues to be displayed even if scrolling is performed in the prior art. Therefore, in a communication terminal having a limited screen size, the display area becomes smaller, and it is difficult to input a character string while checking a long character string. On the other hand, in the present invention, when the scroll operation is detected during character input, the operation key 61 is not displayed and the display area is enlarged, so it is possible to easily confirm a long character string.

Next, the operation of touch panel device 20 of communication terminal 1 of the present embodiment will be described.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the touch panel device 20. In the figure, first, the control unit 11 determines the presence or absence of touch panel input from the input information from the input control unit 9 (step S1). If there is no touch panel input, the determination in step S1 is repeated until there is a touch panel input. If there is a touch panel input, it is determined whether or not the input indicates a scroll operation (step S2), and if it is determined that the input indicates a scroll operation (YES in step S2), the control unit 11 , Hide the operation key 61 displayed on the display unit 6 (step S3). That is, the control unit 11 sends the information for making the operation key 61 non-display to the display control unit 7. When the display control unit 7 receives information from the control unit 11 to hide the operation key 61, the display control unit 7 hides the operation key 61 on the display unit 6.

Next, the control unit 11 stores the scroll direction in the storage unit 5 (step S4), sets the count of the timer unit 3 to "0", and then starts the count (step S5). After starting the counting, the control unit 11 determines whether or not there is an input to the touch panel unit 8 within the time set by the timer unit 3 (step S6). When it is determined that there is an input to touch panel unit 8 within the time set by timer unit 3 (when it is determined as YES in step S6), it is determined whether the input indicates a scroll operation (step S7) If it is determined that the scroll operation is indicated (YES at step S7), the process returns to step S4, and if it is determined that the scroll operation is not indicated (NO at step S7), the process returns to step S5.

On the other hand, when it is judged that the time set by the timer unit 3 has not been input to the touch panel unit 8 (NO in step S6), the control unit 11 redisplays the operation key 61. That is, the control unit 11 sends information for displaying the operation key 61 to the display control unit 7. When the display control unit 7 receives the information for redisplaying the operation key 61 from the control unit 11, the display control unit 7 causes the display unit 6 to redisplay the operation key 61. At this time, when the direction of the scroll operation (the scroll direction stored in the storage unit 5) included in the information for redisplaying the operation key 61 is downward, the display control unit 7 displays the display unit 6 after scrolling. The operation key 61 is re-displayed so that the character string displayed near the upper end portion of the is maintained. In addition, when the direction of the scroll operation (the scroll direction stored in the storage unit 5) is upward, the display control unit 7 maintains the character string displayed near the lower end of the display unit 6 after scrolling. The operation key 61 is redisplayed so as to be displayed (step S8). After redisplaying the operation key 61, the control unit 11 ends the present process. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S2 that the touch panel input does not indicate a scroll operation (NO in step S2), the normal key input process is performed (step S9). After execution of the normal key input process, the present process is ended.

As described above, according to the communication terminal 1 of the present embodiment, the touch panel device 20 hides the operation key 61 when the scroll operation is performed, and redisplays the operation key 61 when the scroll operation is completed. During operation, operability and visibility can be improved, and key input can be resumed immediately after the scroll operation. In addition, when the scroll operation is performed, by hiding the operation key 61, the screen size can be effectively used even in the communication terminal having the screen size and the display area limited. Also, when the operation key 61 is redisplayed, if the direction of the previous scroll operation is downward, the operation key 61 is redisplayed so that the upper half of the character string remains, and the scroll operation before the operation key is redisplayed If the direction of is the upper direction, the operation key 61 is redisplayed so that the lower half of the character string remains, so the portion of the character string that the user focused on at the end of the scroll operation may be hidden in the operation key There is no

As a hardware configuration of touch panel device 20 of communication terminal 1 of the present exemplary embodiment, a normal computer can also be used. That is, the touch panel device 20 can be configured by a computer provided with a CPU, a volatile memory such as a RAM, a nonvolatile memory such as a ROM, and a large capacity storage device such as a hard disk or a solid state drive (SSD).

Moreover, it is possible to store and distribute the program describing the process in the touch panel device 20 of the communication terminal 1 of the present embodiment in a storage medium such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a semiconductor memory.

Although the invention has been described in detail and with reference to specific embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application (No. 2011-040672) filed on February 25, 2011, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

The present invention can improve operability and visibility, and can be applied to communication terminals with limited screen size and display area, and can be applied to communication terminals employing touch panels such as smartphones. It is.

Reference Signs List 1 communication terminal 2 communication control unit 3 timer unit 4 voice control unit 5 storage unit 6 display unit 7 display control unit 8 touch panel unit 9 input control unit 10 power supply circuit unit 11 control unit 20 touch panel device 61 operation key 62 character string

Claims

A display unit,
An operation key and a display control unit for displaying a character string input by the operation key on the display unit;
A touch panel unit provided in a stacked manner on the display unit and outputting coordinate information corresponding to a position touched by the user's finger;
An input control unit that outputs input information based on the coordinate information output from the touch panel unit;
A control unit that receives the input information output from the input control unit and sends information for display control of the display unit to the display control unit;
When the touch by the user's finger on the touch panel unit is a scroll operation for scrolling the display of the display unit, the control unit sends information for the display control to the display control unit, and the display is performed. The control unit is a touch panel device that hides the operation key on the display unit based on the information.
If the touch panel is not touched by the user's finger within a predetermined time from the start of the scroll operation, the control unit sends information for the display control to the display control unit, and the display control unit The touch panel device according to claim 1, wherein the operation key is redisplayed on the display unit based on the information.
When the direction of the scroll operation is downward, the display control unit causes the operation key to be displayed again so that the character string displayed near the upper end of the display unit is maintained after the scroll, and the scroll is performed. 3. The display control unit according to claim 2, wherein the display control unit redisplays the operation key such that the character string displayed near the lower end of the display unit is maintained after the scroll when the direction of the operation is upward. Touch panel device.