JP7534630B2 - Touch Panel Device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a touch panel device.

With the recent widespread use of smartphones and tablet devices, touch panels are being adopted as a means of inputting operations into the devices, while physical buttons are being eliminated in order to make the devices smaller and lighter. Devices that use physical buttons allow for blind input operations based on the uneven shape and layout of the physical buttons, but with flat touch panels, there is the problem that blind input operations are difficult.

Regarding such problems, for example, the touch panel disclosed in Patent Document 1 below is known. This touch panel is configured such that a flat layer made of a flat transparent film is formed on a touch-type input layer, and a concave-convex layer made of a transparent film with a predetermined concave-convex pattern formed on its surface is attached on top of this flat layer in a freely peelable manner. With this configuration, it is possible to realize a touch panel device that enables touch input operations.

JP 2000-181629 A

However, in a configuration in which an attachment such as the uneven layer is attached to the operation surface of a touch panel, when a touch input operation different from the blind touch input operation corresponding to the attachment is performed in a visual state, the uneven portion of the attachment may interfere with the touch input operation. In such a case, depending on the shape of the uneven portion, it may be difficult to perform the different touch input operation even in a visual state. For this reason, it is possible to attach an attachment such as the one described above when performing a blind touch input operation, and to remove the attachment when performing a touch input operation in a visual state. However, not only is it troublesome to attach and remove the attachment, but if the attachment is attached so that the uneven portion is misaligned with the operation surface, there is a problem that blind touch input operation cannot be performed correctly.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a touch panel configuration that allows touch input operation without using an attachment for touch input operation.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 of the claims is as follows:
A touch panel (23) having an operation surface (23a) on which a touch operation is performed;
A processing unit (21) that performs processing in response to a touch operation performed on the operation surface;
A touch panel device (10) comprising:
When a predetermined input operation mode is selected, the processing unit acquires input information in accordance with a movement of a finger that has touched an arbitrary area of the operation surface and then performed the touch operation;
a notification unit that auditorily notifies information regarding a deviation between a direction of a flick operation performed on the operation surface and a predetermined reference direction before the processing unit acquires the input information,
The notification unit audibly notifies the direction of a flick operation, detects the direction of the finger for a subsequent touch operation, and audibly notifies the matching information if the detected direction matches the notified direction, and audibly notifies the rotation direction of the touch panel if the detected direction does not match .
The symbols in parentheses above indicate the corresponding relationship with the specific means described in the embodiments described later.

In the invention of claim 1, when a predetermined input operation mode is selected, the processing unit acquires input information according to the movement of the finger that touches any area of the operation surface of the touch panel after the touch operation.

In this way, because the touch operation when inputting information starts from any area of the operation surface, information can be input according to the finger movement simply by changing the finger movement after the touch operation without looking at the operation surface. This allows for easy touch input operation without employing an attachment for touch input operation, and furthermore, it is possible to realize a touch panel device that allows even visually impaired people to perform touch input operation.

In the invention of claim 2, the predetermined input operation mode is a mode for inputting at least nine kinds of numbers from "1" to "9". Then, in the processing unit, an arbitrary area and eight directions starting from the arbitrary area correspond to the nine kinds of numbers from "1" to "9" on the numeric keypad, so that when the finger that touched the arbitrary area is released without flicking, "5" in the center of the numeric keypad is acquired as input information, and when the finger that touched the arbitrary area is flicked, one of "1" to "4" and "6" to "9" is acquired as input information depending on the direction of the flick.

In this way, the user can visually visualize the numbers "1" to "9" on the numeric keypad and touch-type input the desired numbers. As the numeric keypad layout is easy to visualize, the user can intuitively touch-type input the nine types of numbers.

In the first aspect of the present invention, a notification unit is provided that audibly notifies information relating to a deviation between the direction of a flick operation performed on the operation surface and a predetermined reference direction before the processing unit acquires input information.

When a visually impaired person performs a touch input operation, even if they understand the relationship between the information to be input and the direction in which to move the finger from an arbitrary area, if the touch panel device is rotated in a different direction from the specified orientation for the visually impaired person, the visually impaired person will perform a flick operation in the wrong direction. For this reason, information regarding the deviation between the direction of the flick operation performed by the visually impaired person and a specified reference direction is audibly notified by the notification unit, so that the visually impaired person who receives this notification can understand in what direction the touch panel device is placed. This allows the visually impaired person to rotate the touch panel device themselves to eliminate the deviation, allowing the visually impaired person to perform a flick operation in the correct direction.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the payment terminal according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic electrical configuration of the payment terminal. FIG. 3(A) is an explanatory diagram explaining the relationship between eight directions starting from an arbitrary area and the input operation direction of "0" and the numbers to be input, and FIG. 3(B) is an explanatory diagram explaining the relationship between eight directions starting from an arbitrary area at a position different from FIG. 3(A) and the input operation direction of "0" and the numbers to be input. 4A and 4B are explanatory diagrams showing the main parts of a second modified example of the first embodiment, in which FIG. 4A shows the relationship between one flick operation and the number input by that flick operation, and FIG. 4B shows the relationship between two flick operations and the number input by that flick operation. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which the payment terminal is rotated in a different orientation from the specified orientation.

[First embodiment]
Hereinafter, a first embodiment in which a touch panel device of the present invention is applied to a payment terminal will be described with reference to the drawings.
The payment terminal 10 according to the present embodiment is a touch panel type terminal that allows a purchaser to select from multiple payment methods, and is used by being connected to a POS terminal (not shown) that is a higher-level device, while being placed on a counter in a store so that the purchaser can touch it. In the present embodiment, the multiple payment methods that can be selected include credit card payment and electronic money payment, and as the credit card payment, for example, magnetic card payment and IC card payment are assumed.

The payment terminal 10 is formed in a generally thin plate shape, and has an insertion port 12 for an IC card located on the front side of the operation surface 23a of the touch panel 23 arranged on the front surface 11, which is seen from the purchaser, and a slot 13 for a magnetic card located on the right side of the operation surface 23a, which is seen from the purchaser.

A control unit 21 that controls the entire payment terminal 10 is provided within the housing that forms the outer shell of the payment terminal 10. This control unit 21 is mainly composed of a microcomputer and has a CPU, a system bus, an input/output interface, etc., and constitutes an information processing device together with a storage unit 22 that is made up of a semiconductor memory or the like. The storage unit 22 pre-stores programs for executing various payment processes and programs for executing input processes in response to touch operations, which will be described later, that can be executed by the control unit 21.

2, in addition to the control unit 21 and memory unit 22, the payment terminal 10 includes a touch panel 23, an operation unit 24, an LED 25, a speaker 26, a vibrator 27, an external interface 28, a payment information reading unit 29, and the like. The touch panel 23 is configured as a known touch panel type display device, and includes a display unit configured as a known display device such as a liquid crystal display, and a transparent operation panel that is superimposed on the display screen of the display unit and can detect the area where the display screen is pressed (contacted) as the operation surface 23a. The display content of the display unit of the touch panel 23 is controlled by the control unit 21. The operation unit 24 is configured to include the operation panel and one or more keys provided on the side of the housing, etc., and is configured to output a signal corresponding to a touch operation or key operation on the operation surface 23a of the touch panel 23 to the control unit 21.

The LED 25, speaker 26, and vibrator 27 are configured to be controlled by the control unit 21, and each operates upon receiving commands from the control unit 21. The external interface 28 is configured as an interface for data communication with external devices such as a POS terminal, and functions to perform communication processing in cooperation with the control unit 21.

The payment information reading unit 29 includes a card reader for IC cards (hereinafter also referred to as IC card reader 29a), a card reader for magnetic cards (hereinafter also referred to as magnetic card reader 29b), and a non-contact communication unit 29c for electronic money. The IC card reader 29a is configured to output payment information read from an IC card inserted into the insertion slot 12 to the control unit 21. The magnetic card reader 29b is configured to output payment information read from a magnetic card swiped across the slot 13 to the control unit 21. The non-contact communication unit 29c is configured to output payment information read from an electronic money medium held over a specified reading surface to the control unit 21.

In the payment terminal 10 configured in this manner, when a payment method using an IC card is selected, the IC card reader 29a reads payment information from the IC card inserted in the insertion slot 12, and then a predetermined input operation mode (hereinafter also referred to as a number input operation mode) is selected in response to the purchaser's touch operation on the operation surface 23a to receive input of a PIN number (PIN input) of a predetermined number of digits consisting of a combination of ten numbers from "1" to "9" and "0". In this number input operation mode, the control unit 21 performs an input information acquisition process to acquire the PIN number (input information) to be input in response to the movement of the finger that performed the touch operation after touching any area of the operation surface 23a. The control unit 21 that performs the input information acquisition process can be an example of a "processing unit" that performs processing in response to the touch operation performed on the operation surface 23a.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3(A) and (B), when inputting nine kinds of numbers from "1" to "9," an arbitrary area S and eight directions starting from the arbitrary area S correspond to the nine kinds of numbers from "1" to "9" on the numeric keypad, and when the finger that touched the arbitrary area S is released without flicking, "5" in the center of the numeric keypad is acquired as input information. That is, by simply tapping anywhere on the operation surface 23a, "5" is acquired as input information. In addition, by flicking from the arbitrary area S to the upper left, "1" on the upper left side of the numeric keypad is acquired as input information, by flicking from the arbitrary area S to the upper right, "2" on the upper center of the numeric keypad is acquired as input information, and by flicking from the arbitrary area S to the upper right, "3" on the upper right side of the numeric keypad is acquired as input information. In addition, by flicking leftward from any of the above-mentioned areas S, "4" on the left side of the middle row of the numeric keypad is acquired as input information, and by flicking rightward from any of the above-mentioned areas S, "6" on the right side of the middle row of the numeric keypad is acquired as input information. In addition, by flicking left and down from any of the above-mentioned areas S, "7" on the left side of the bottom row of the numeric keypad is acquired as input information, by flicking downward from any of the above-mentioned areas S, "8" on the center of the bottom row of the numeric keypad is acquired as input information, and by flicking right and down from any of the above-mentioned areas S, "9" on the right side of the bottom row of the numeric keypad is acquired as input information.

To input the number "0", a finger that has touched any area S is flicked downward (first direction) and then flicked rightward (second direction), thereby acquiring "0" as input information. Note that in this embodiment, with regard to the direction of the flick operation on the operation surface 23a, the direction toward the back as seen by the purchaser is defined as the upward direction, and the direction toward the front is defined as the downward direction.

For example, the numbers "1", "2", and "3" can be input by flicking the finger touching any area S on the operation surface 23a in the upper left direction, flicking the finger touching the next area S in the upper direction, and then flicking the finger touching the next area S in the upper right direction.

After the PIN is correctly entered in response to a touch input operation starting from any area S as described above, the purchaser performs a double tap operation on the operation surface 23a to indicate completion of input, and payment is made using the payment information read from the IC card by the IC card reader 29a.

As described above, in the payment terminal 10 according to this embodiment, when the number input operation mode is selected, input information is acquired by the input information acquisition process performed by the control unit 21 in response to the movement of the finger that touched any area S of the operation surface 23a of the touch panel 23 after the touch operation.

In this way, because the touch operation when inputting information starts from any area of the operation surface 23a, information can be input according to the finger movement by simply changing the finger movement after the touch operation without looking at the operation surface 23a. This allows for easy touch input operation without employing an attachment for touch input operation, and further allows for the realization of a payment terminal 10 that allows even visually impaired people to perform touch input operation.

In particular, the number input operation mode is a mode for inputting ten kinds of numbers, "1" to "9" and "0". In the input information acquisition process performed by the control unit 21, an arbitrary area S and eight directions starting from the arbitrary area S are associated with nine kinds of numbers, "1" to "9", on the numeric keypad. When the finger that touched the arbitrary area S is released without flicking, "5", which is in the center of the numeric keypad, is acquired as input information. When the finger that touched the arbitrary area S is flicked, any one of "1" to "4" and "6" to "9" is acquired as input information according to the direction of the flick. When the finger that touched the arbitrary area S is flicked downward (first direction) and then flicked rightward (second direction), "0" is acquired as input information.

In this way, the desired number is touch-touch input by imagining the numbers "1" to "9" on the numeric keypad, and because the numeric keypad layout is easy to imagine, touch-touch input can be performed intuitively when inputting nine types of numbers. It is also possible to realize a payment terminal 10 that allows intuitive touch-touch input for the ten types of numbers, including "1" to "9" plus "0."

As a first modification of this embodiment, in the above-described number input operation mode, the input information "0" is not limited to being acquired by flicking the finger touching any area S downward and then rightward, but may be acquired as input information by flicking the finger touching any area S in a first direction and then in a second direction, such as flicking the finger touching any area S downward and then leftward. In addition, the number input operation mode is not limited to being employed as a mode for inputting ten types of numbers from "1" to "9" and "0", but may be employed as a mode for inputting nine types of numbers from "1" to "9" excluding "0".

As a second modification of this embodiment, in the number input operation mode described above, the flick operation in the diagonal direction may be eliminated, and the input information may be acquired using the flick operation in the up, down, left and right directions. Specifically, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 4(A), the input information "5" is acquired by removing the finger that touched the arbitrary area S without flicking, the input information "2" is acquired by flicking upward from the arbitrary area S, the input information "4" is acquired by flicking left from the arbitrary area S, the input information "6" is acquired by flicking right from the arbitrary area S, and the input information "8" is acquired by flicking downward from the arbitrary area S. Then, as illustrated in FIG. 4(B), the input information "1" is acquired by flicking left from the arbitrary area S, and the input information "3" is acquired by flicking right from the arbitrary area S. In addition, by flicking the finger to the left from the arbitrary region S in the upward direction, "1" can be obtained as input information, and by flicking the finger to the left from the arbitrary region S in the downward direction, "7" can be obtained as input information. In addition, by flicking the finger to the right from the arbitrary region S in the upward direction, "3" can be obtained as input information, and by flicking the finger to the right from the arbitrary region S in the downward direction, "9" can be obtained as input information. In addition, by flicking the finger to the left from the arbitrary region S in the downward direction, "7" can be obtained as input information, and by flicking the finger to the right from the arbitrary region S in the downward direction, "9" can be obtained as input information. When such an operation method is adopted, for example, by tapping the arbitrary region S twice, "0" can be obtained as input information, and by tapping the arbitrary region S three times, information indicating completion of input can be obtained.

In addition, in the number input operation mode described above, the flick operation is not limited to the flick operation corresponding to the nine numbers from "1" to "9" on the numeric keypad arrangement, but may be a flick operation corresponding to an arrangement in which the nine numbers from "1" to "9" or the ten numbers from "1" to "9" and "0" are arranged in a predetermined arrangement, as the operation for obtaining the number.

[Second embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment in which the touch panel device of the present invention is applied to a payment terminal will be described with reference to the drawings.
The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment mainly in that a check sequence for visually impaired persons is provided. Therefore, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

When a visually impaired person performs a touch input operation, even if the visually impaired person understands the relationship between the information to be input and the direction in which to move the finger from an arbitrary area, if the payment terminal 10 is rotated in a direction different from the specified orientation for the visually impaired person, the visually impaired person will flick in the wrong direction. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, if the payment terminal 10 is rotated so that the top of the payment terminal 10 is to the left of the visually impaired person, even if the visually impaired person flicks left from an arbitrary area S to input "4," the payment terminal 10 will treat the flick as an upward movement from the arbitrary area S, and the visually impaired person will erroneously input "2."

For this reason, in this embodiment, before the input information is acquired by the above-mentioned input information acquisition process, a check step for visually impaired persons is provided in which information regarding the deviation between the direction of the flick operation performed on the operation surface 23a and a predetermined reference direction is audibly notified using the speaker 26. Since this check step is unnecessary for able-bodied persons, the necessity of this check step can be determined according to a predetermined operation performed by the store clerk on the POS terminal or payment terminal 10. The speaker 26 can be an example of an "alert unit".

In the above-mentioned check process for visually impaired persons, for example, if it is determined that the flick operation performed after the speaker 26 announces "Please flick left" with respect to a predetermined reference direction is performed to the left on the operation surface 23a, the speaker 26 can announce auditory information indicating that there is no deviation between the direction of the flick operation and the predetermined reference direction, such as "Normal positioning. Please enter your PIN."

On the other hand, if the flick operation performed on the operation surface 23a after the announcement is determined to be performed in an upward direction, a message is displayed saying "Please rotate the terminal 90 degrees to the right," if the flick operation is determined to be performed in a downward direction, a message is displayed saying "Please rotate the terminal 90 degrees to the left," and if the flick operation is determined to be performed in a right direction, a message is displayed saying "Please rotate the terminal 180 degrees." In this way, auditory information for eliminating the deviation between the direction of the flick operation and a predetermined reference direction can be announced by the speaker 26. Note that when auditory information for eliminating the deviation between the direction of the flick operation and a predetermined reference direction is announced, the process from the announcement may be repeated again.

In this manner, in this embodiment, information regarding the deviation between the direction of the flick operation performed by the visually impaired person and a predetermined reference direction is audibly notified by the speaker 26, so that the visually impaired person who receives this notification can understand in what direction the payment terminal 10 is placed. This allows the visually impaired person to rotate the payment terminal 10 themselves to eliminate the deviation, so that the visually impaired person can perform the flick operation in the correct direction.

In addition, information regarding the deviation between the direction of the flick operation and a predetermined reference direction is not limited to being notified audibly by the speaker 26, but may also be notified tactilely, for example, by using the vibration pattern of the vibrator 27.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and may be embodied as follows, for example.
(1) In the input information acquisition process performed by the control unit 21, numbers may not be acquired in response to the above-mentioned flick operation, etc., but other characters (e.g., alphabet, hiragana, katakana, etc.) may be acquired in response to a flick operation, tap operation, etc. starting from any area S on the operation surface 23a.

(2) The present invention is not limited to application to the payment terminal 10 described above, but may also be applied to other touch panel payment terminals, or to touch panel terminals having functions other than the payment function. For example, the present invention may be used for operating the screen of a car navigation device or for unlocking a smartphone, allowing a user to input desired information such as a number without looking at the screen.

10...Payment terminal (touch panel device)
21...Control unit (processing unit)
23...Touch panel 23a...Operation surface

Claims (2)

a touch panel having an operation surface on which a touch operation is performed;
a processing unit that performs processing in response to a touch operation performed on the operation surface;
A touch panel device comprising:
When a predetermined input operation mode is selected, the processing unit acquires input information in accordance with a movement of a finger that has touched an arbitrary area of the operation surface and then performed the touch operation;
a notification unit that auditorily notifies information regarding a deviation between a direction of a flick operation performed on the operation surface and a predetermined reference direction before the processing unit acquires the input information,
The touch panel device is characterized in that the notification unit audibly notifies the direction of a flick operation, detects the direction of the finger for a subsequent touch operation, audibly notifies the matching information if the detected direction matches the notified direction, and audibly notifies the rotation direction of the touch panel if the detected direction does not match. The predetermined input operation mode is a mode for inputting at least nine kinds of numbers from "1" to "9",
The touch panel device according to claim 1, characterized in that the processing unit corresponds the arbitrary area and eight directions starting from the arbitrary area to nine numbers from "1" to "9" on a numeric keypad, and obtains "5", which is in the center of the numeric keypad, as input information when the finger that has touched the arbitrary area is released without performing a flick operation, and obtains any of "1" to "4" or "6" to "9" as input information depending on the direction of the flick operation when the finger that has touched the arbitrary area is flicked.

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