JPH1031431A - Protective device for touch panel and the like - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a protective device for touch panel, etc., for quickly cleaning attachment of dirt on a screen surface by customers' operation to always keep its clean impression and improve the visibility, at the same time, of an information terminal device, etc., provided with a touch panel type display device. SOLUTION: This protective device is provided with a display device 1 with a display panel displaying menu items consisting of image of characters, patterns, etc., a touch panel 2 placed on the display screen of the display device, a control part 3 to display on the display device the data corresponding to the operation information outputted by depressing the touch panel, a transparent protective sheet 4 which is located on the panel surface of the touch panel and prevent it from attachment of dirt, moving means 10, 11 to move the protective sheet 4 for positioning a new sheet surface over the display screen or the panel surface, and a cleaning means 6 to clean the surface of the protective sheet.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a touch panel used for inputting information on a display screen of a display device used for electronic equipment such as an information terminal device. The present invention relates to a protection device such as a touch panel that can prevent the device from being soiled by the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In electronic devices such as information terminal devices,
As a method of inputting information from the screen of the display device, an option (menu) including characters, pictures, and the like is displayed on the screen, a touch panel is arranged on the screen, and the operator can use a finger or the like to select any part of the menu. When the touch is made, information about the coordinates of a specific position touched by a finger or the like is output to the control unit. This type of touch panel arranges two substrates in which a plurality of narrow strip-shaped conductor pieces are arranged in parallel on a transparent substrate in a positional relationship such that the conductor pieces intersect at 90 degrees, and the operator has When the intersection of the conductor pieces is pressed, the control unit detects the coordinates of the contact point of the two conductor pieces contacted by the pressing. The control unit determines the option selected based on the coordinates thus obtained, and displays data corresponding to the option on a screen.
It performs processing such as providing and making reservations for money, goods, or services. Touch panels are easier to design and manufacture, and can reduce the number of parts, compared to using mechanical switches. Recently, not only means for providing information, but also cash deposit / withdrawal devices, vending machines It is widely used.

[0003] However, these information terminal devices require an unspecified number of customers to directly touch the screen of the touch panel with their fingers to operate the information terminal device. Problems such as easy attachment of dirt, difficulty in distinguishing display contents, and giving discomfort occur. For this reason, an administrator needs to frequently clean the screen. In particular, as a display device of an information terminal device, since a luminous body such as a cathode ray tube, a plasma display, and a liquid crystal display is used, dirt is easily noticeable,
It is easy to impair cleanliness. In order to solve such problems, an acrylic plate or the like containing an antibacterial agent is arranged on the screen of the touch panel to prevent the propagation of various bacteria. Defects such as the appearance of dirt on the surface and uncomfortable feeling and a decrease in visibility have not been solved. In addition, as the touch panel type input means, in addition to the type having a transparent screen on the touch panel itself, of the four opposing sides of the rectangular frame, two opposing sides are taken as one set, and There is known an infrared type in which an infrared light emitting element is arranged at a predetermined interval on one side and a light receiving element is arranged at an equal interval on the other side opposite to this side so as to face each light emitting element. In this infrared touch panel, the inside of the frame is an empty space, and the screen of the display device is located at the back of the frame. When the operator looks at the menu on the screen and presses one of the menus with a finger, the infrared light output from the light emitting element to the light receiving element is blocked, so that the blocked coordinate position can be detected. In this type of touch panel, it is the screen of the display device that is soiled by the touch of a finger. However, in this case, the same problem as the conventional touch panel occurs.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above, and in an information terminal device or the like having a display device having a touch panel on the surface, a screen is operated by a customer operating the touch panel. It is an object of the present invention to provide a protection device such as a touch panel that removes dirt adhering to a screen quickly from a screen to always maintain a clean feeling and enhance visibility.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object,
The present invention provides a display device having a display surface for displaying menu items composed of images such as characters and pictures, a touch panel arranged on the display surface of the display device, and operation information output by pressing the touch panel. A control unit for displaying data corresponding to the operation information on the display device based on the display device, a transparent protection sheet positioned on the display surface of the display device or on the panel surface of the touch panel to prevent adhesion of dirt, A moving means for moving the protective sheet to position a new protective sheet surface on the display surface or the panel surface, and a cleaning means for cleaning the surface of the protective sheet are provided. According to the protection device of the present invention, by applying to a touch panel having a panel surface or an infrared touch panel having no panel surface, it is possible to prevent the touch panel surface and the display surface of the display device from being stained by a finger. Can be.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on an embodiment shown in the drawings. 1A and 1B are a schematic perspective view and a side view of a display device using a touch panel dirt prevention device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and display images such as characters and pictures. A touch panel 2 is disposed on a display surface 1a of a display device 1 such as a cathode ray tube, a plasma display, a liquid crystal display, etc., and receives operation information output by pressing the touch panel to display data based on the operation information. A control unit 3 for displaying on the display surface 1a of the device is connected. Some touch panels 2 detect the pressure of a finger or the like, and the position where a finger or the like is pressed on a display from a light emitting diode, an infrared sensor, or the like. The touch panel 2 in FIG. ) 2a
When the operator touches any of the items in the menu on the display surface 1a of the display device which is visually recognized through the panel surface 2a by a pressing means such as a finger, The position coordinate data of the touch switch turned on by the pressure is output to the control unit.

On the panel surface of the touch panel 2, there is disposed a transparent protective sheet 4 made of a vinyl sheet or the like for preventing dirt from adhering to the panel surface 2a, and the moving means 5 moves the protective sheet 4 to move the protective sheet 4 on the surface. A new protective sheet surface. The moving path of the protection sheet 4 and the touch panel 2
A cleaning means 6 such as a cloth for cleaning the surface of the protection sheet is disposed at a position where the protection sheet is retracted. The control unit 3 displays an arbitrary character or picture on the screen of the display device 1,
The processing (data display, deposit / withdrawal, provision of goods and services) desired by the operator is performed based on the data on the pressed position on the touch panel 2. Further, the moving means 5 is operated. The moving means 5 includes a winding unit 10 and a sending unit 11
Each of the winding shaft 10a and the delivery shaft 11a has a flexible sheet-shaped protective sheet 4 wound around a roller. When the winding motor 10b connected to the winding shaft 10a is wound up, the protection sheet 4 on the sending shaft 11a is sent out onto the touch panel 2 to protect the panel surface. Accordingly, the protective sheet surface which has been on the surface of the touch panel 2 and has been soiled by a finger or the like is retracted to the winding side, and the surface of the protective sheet is cleaned by the cleaning means 6 located in the middle of the retracting process. It is wound up. A predetermined time is set as the winding timing, and the control unit outputs a winding instruction to the motor 10b at the arrival of this time, and is long enough to update the protection sheet that has previously covered the touch panel surface. Move the protective sheet by the amount. The predetermined time varies depending on conditions such as the type of the device main body using the display device, the use environment, and the like. Set as In addition to determining the update timing of the protection sheet based on time, the protection sheet may be moved according to the number of operations or the like.

When the motor 11b is also mounted on the output shaft 11a, when the protective sheet on the output shaft 11a is exhausted, the motor on the output shaft is driven to take up on the winding shaft. The protection sheet that has been set may be rewound to the sending side. Also in the rewinding process, the protective sheet may be sequentially sent out on the touch panel 2 by a required length at predetermined time intervals so that the screen is always kept clean. By arranging the cleaning means 6 also on the side of the sending shaft 11a, the surface of the protective sheet wound on the sending shaft 11a is always in a state where dirt is removed. It is ready for use when moving to.

Next, the operation of the above device will be described. First,
The protective sheet allows the operator to select a desired menu from items including characters, codes, patterns, etc. displayed on the display surface 1a of the display device 1 through the protective sheet 4 on the panel surface 2a of the touch panel 2. When the user touches the touch panel 4, the coordinate position of the touch switch that is turned on by being pressed through the protection sheet 4 is output to the control unit 3 as data. The control unit 3 determines a display item selected by the operator from the data, and performs a process corresponding to the item (screen display of data, deposit / withdrawal, provision of goods and services, etc.). When a certain period of time is satisfied, such as when the time for which the protection sheet portion currently covering the touch panel is continuously covered, or when the number of operations reaches a certain number of times, the control unit moves the moving means. 5 by operating the motor 1 so that the new protective sheet covers the touch panel surface.
0b or 11b is driven. The surface of the protective sheet 4 which has been covering the screen up to that time is removed by the cleaning means 6 during the winding process.

The timing of winding the protective sheet 4 may be, for example, such that the protective sheet is always wound when the operation by one operator is completed. In this case, the screen is always cleaned. Therefore, there is no possibility that the next operator will feel uncomfortable. Note that a transparent celluloid sheet or the like may be used as the protective sheet 4 in addition to vinyl. Alternatively, a configuration may be adopted in which a non-flexible glass or acrylic plate is reciprocated along the screen, and the surface is cleaned by the cleaning means every time these plates are retreated from the screen. Good. Further, in the above embodiment, the flexible protective sheet made of vinyl or the like is wound in a roll form and sent out, and the protective sheet can be sent out again from the roll on which the sheet is wound. It is necessary to provide a means for cleaning the protection sheet 4 for reuse. Therefore, if the protection sheet 4 is moved only in one direction and is not reused as shown in the modification of FIG. 2, it is not necessary to provide a cleaning means, and the size and cost of the apparatus can be reduced. Will be possible. Note that, when the information terminal device has an ID card reading device, the movement time of the protection sheet 4 is as follows.
The protection sheet can be moved only when the card is ejected, or by installing a human body detecting means such as an infrared sensor or an ultrasonic sensor in the information terminal device, and only when there is no one in front of the information terminal device. You may. The cleaning means 6 can be variously selected according to the material of the protective sheet, such as a sponge, a nonwoven fabric, and a chemical cloth, in addition to the cloth.

3 (a) and 3 (b) are a perspective view and a side view, respectively, showing the structure of another embodiment of the present invention. Although the description is omitted, this embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the protection sheet 4 is passed between the touch panel 2 and the display surface 1a of the display device because an infrared touch panel is used as the touch panel 2. Other configurations and operations are exactly the same as those of the above embodiment. As mentioned in the description of the conventional example, the infrared touch panel 2 has a pair of two sides facing each other out of the four sides of the rectangular frame 20, and an infrared light emitting element is provided on one side of each set. Are arranged at predetermined intervals, and the light receiving elements are arranged at equal intervals on the other side opposite to this side so as to face the respective light emitting elements. Is an empty space, and the display surface 1a of the display device 1 is located at the back of the frame. Since the operator directly touches the display surface 1a of the display device located in the frame with a finger or the like, it is the display surface 1a that is soiled in this case. Therefore, the frame 2
By forming a gap between the display sheet 1 and the display surface 1a and inserting the protective sheet 4 into the gap, the same protective effect as in the above embodiment can be obtained.

[0012]

As described above, according to the present invention, the protective sheet is movably disposed on the touch panel on the display surface of the display device or on the display surface, and when the operation of the touch panel is completed, or at a certain time. The protection sheet is moved and updated according to the fulfillment of conditions such as the passage of time, so that the operator can always operate the touch panel on the cleaned screen, and the visibility due to the adhered dirt Deterioration, discomfort and the like can be eliminated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 (a) and 1 (b) are a perspective view and a side view of a stain prevention device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a modified example of the present invention.

3 (a) and 3 (b) are a perspective view and a side view of a stain prevention device according to a modification of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Display apparatus, 2 touch panel, 3 control part, 4 protection sheet, 5 moving means, 6 cleaning means, 10
Take-up part, 10a Take-up shaft, 10b Motor, 11
Sending unit, 11a sending shaft, 11b motor,

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A display device having a display surface for displaying menu items composed of images such as characters and pictures, a touch panel arranged on the display surface of the display device,
A control unit for displaying, on the display device, data corresponding to the operation information based on the operation information output by pressing the touch panel; and a control unit configured to display the data corresponding to the operation information on the display surface of the display device or the panel surface of the touch panel. A transparent protective sheet for preventing adhesion, moving means for moving the protective sheet to position a new protective sheet surface on the display surface or panel surface, and cleaning means for cleaning the surface of the protective sheet. A protection device, such as a touch panel, comprising: