JP2004271748A - Touch panel system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a touch panel system which can be easily operated by using a touch panel screen of ordinary mode even by a visual handicapped person. <P>SOLUTION: When an operator touches a touch panel with a visual handicapped person mode, only position information is informed to a control means without informing touch information to the control means and the control means guides screen information corresponding to the touched position information by voice. When the operator pushes a determination switch for input determination disposed apart from the touch panel, the touch information corresponding to the case that the operator touches the touch panel with the ordinary mode is informed to the control means and, thereby, the processing similar to that upon the ordinary mode is performed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a touch panel device having an input assisting function for a visually impaired person.
[0002]
[Prior art]
First, there is a problem that a visually impaired person cannot operate with the conventional touch panel, and as a solution to this, measures such as providing a transparent braille sheet or a guide with holes on the screen have been considered, There is a drawback that the operation of ordinary people is obstructive and the structure becomes large. Although measures to provide guides and buttons with Braille symbols outside the screen have been considered, there is a drawback that the screen is touched by mistake and an erroneous operation is performed.
[0003]
As a conventional technology example of a touch panel device conscious of the visually impaired in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a functional area of a touch-type input panel that performs input by regarding a part of an input portion as a button without having a specific input button If the operator touches, first the function assigned to the touched part is notified to the operator by a sound generation function, and at the same time, if a specific area of the panel is touched, it is judged that the input is input, so even if the visually impaired person There is a “touch-type input device control method” in which a function area to be searched for and input can be performed (for example, see Patent Document 1). In addition, the mode is switched, a plurality of toll displays corresponding to each riding section displayed on the touch panel are provided with a button for shifting to a lower price and a button for shifting to a higher price, and when shifting to a lower or higher price, Voice guidance means for notifying by voice a fee guide corresponding to the amount of money can be used to select and designate a desired boarding right, and in the case of a purchase decision, a visually impaired person can purchase a desired boarding ticket by pressing a ticket purchase button. There is a "touch panel type automatic ticket vending machine" (for example, see Patent Document 2). Also, when the touch panel is pressed, the handset notifies the operator of the button at the pressed position by voice, and when the button pressed by voice is pressed again, the selection of the button is confirmed. There is a “touch panel input device” (for example, see Patent Document 3). Further, an area for switching to the screen search mode is provided on a part of the touch panel, and when the user touches this area, the information input device and the automatic transaction device which read out aloud what the button located there is and output it. (See, for example, Patent Document 4).
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-4-32918 [Patent Document 2]
JP-A-9-218964 [Patent Document 3]
JP 2001-255999 A [Patent Document 4]
JP-A-11-110107
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, according to the invention described in Patent Document 1, when a part of the touch panel screen is used as a determination button, it is difficult for a visually impaired person to recognize the position, or an erroneous operation can be performed while touching the screen. In addition, there is a problem that the entire screen is not flexibly used because a part of the touch panel screen must always be used as a determination button.
[0006]
Further, the invention described in Patent Document 2 has a problem that the button operation must be performed many times before a desired ticket is purchased, and that it takes a long time to hear the voice read out accompanying the operation.
[0007]
In addition, the invention described in Patent Document 3 requires that a button on the screen be pressed twice when listening to a description of a sound and when deciding an input. There is a problem that it cannot be heard and that it is erroneously recognized as being pressed twice.
[0008]
Further, the invention described in Patent Document 4 has a problem that a part of the touch panel screen must always be used as an area for switching between the voice reading mode and the input determination mode, so that the entire screen cannot be used flexibly. There is.
[0009]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a touch panel device that can be easily operated even by a visually impaired person using a normal touch panel screen.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve this object, a touch panel device according to claim 1 includes a touch panel on which an operator performs input, a notification of input information input by the operator from the touch panel, and visual impairment for a visually impaired person. Touch panel control means for switching between normal mode and normal mode for healthy persons, control means for controlling each means based on the input information notified from the touch panel control means, and On the other hand, there is provided a voice output means for performing operation guidance by voice, and a decision switch provided separately from the touch panel and pressed by the operator to decide an input in the visually impaired person mode.
[0011]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the touch panel device according to the first aspect, when the operator touches the touch panel in the visually impaired mode, the control unit does not notify the control unit of touch information indicating recognition of the touch. In addition, only the position information indicating the touched position is notified to the control unit.
[0012]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the touch panel device according to the first aspect, wherein the control means performs control for guiding screen information corresponding to the position information touched by the operator by voice.
[0013]
A touch panel device according to a fourth aspect is the touch panel device according to the first aspect, wherein the determination switch is configured to transmit touch information corresponding to a case where the operator touches the touch panel in a normal mode by being pressed by the operator. It is characterized in that the control means is notified.
[0014]
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the touch panel device according to the first aspect, the control unit notifies the touch panel control unit of an instruction to switch between the visually impaired person mode and the normal mode.
[0015]
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the touch panel device according to the first aspect, the touch panel control means notifies the control means of touch information indicating recognition of the touch when the determination switch is pressed by the operator. It is characterized by.
[0016]
A touch panel device according to a seventh aspect is characterized in that, in the touch panel device according to the third aspect, the screen information is information of a key displayed on the touch panel screen.
[0017]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a touch panel device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0018]
First, a configuration of a touch panel device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a touch panel device according to an embodiment of the present invention. A touch panel controller 2 includes position information from a touch panel 1 on which an operator performs various input operations, touch information, and pressing information of a decision switch 5. Is entered. Here, the position information is information indicating a touched position on the screen, and the touch information is information for recognizing that a touch has been made. The press information is information indicating recognition that the decision switch 5 has been pressed by the operator.
[0019]
The application software 3 is notified of position information and touch information when the operator touches the touch panel 1 and press information when the operator presses the determination switch 5 from the touch panel controller 2, and controls each unit. .
[0020]
The speaker / headphone 4 gives voice guidance to the operator about the contents of buttons and keys on the touch panel under the control of the application software 3.
[0021]
The decision switch 5 is provided separately from the screen of the touch panel 1 and has a shape that can be easily recognized by visually impaired persons. After hearing the voice guidance of the speaker / headphones 4, the visually impaired depresses the decision switch 5 when the user wants to decide the input.
[0022]
Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. First, a mode selection is performed by operating an enter switch in accordance with an audio guide, or a mode selection is performed by detecting wearing of headphones in hardware, and the touch panel controller 2 is operated by an instruction from the application software 3. Switching between the normal mode and the visually impaired mode is performed (S1).
[0023]
When the normal mode is selected (S1 / NO), when the operator touches the touch panel 1 (S8 / YES), an event that the touch information is touched from the touch panel controller 2 (hereinafter referred to as touch information) is sent to the application software 3 (step S8). (S6). The application software 3 performs processing based on the notified position information and touch information (S7).
[0024]
When the visually impaired person mode is selected (S1 / YES), when the operator touches the touch panel 1 (S2 / YES), only the position information is notified from the touch panel controller 2 to the application software 3 (S3). Here, the touch information that the operator has just touched the touch panel screen is not notified to the application software 3.
[0025]
The application software 3 informs the operator of information (screen information) such as buttons displayed on the screen corresponding to the notified position information by voice from the speaker / headphone 4 (S4). The operator listens to the voice guidance while touching the screen, and presses the determination switch 5 provided separately from the touch panel screen when the guidance of the button to be pressed is matched (S5 / YES).
[0026]
When the determination switch 5 is pressed, the touch panel controller 2 notifies the application software 3 of touch information corresponding to a case where the screen is pressed in the normal mode (S6). Then, the application software 3 performs processing based on the previously notified position information and touch information (S7).
[0027]
As described above, according to the touch panel device which is an embodiment of the present invention, in the visually impaired person mode, the operator does not need any special touch panel operation, and the application simply switches the mode in the device. The same operation can be easily performed by visually impaired persons.
[0028]
【The invention's effect】
According to the touch panel device according to claim 1, a touch panel on which an operator performs input, a notification of input information input by the operator from the touch panel, a visually impaired mode for a visually impaired person, and a healthy person Touch panel control means for switching to a normal mode for control, control means for controlling each means based on the input information notified from the touch panel control means, and a voice operation guide to the operator Information provided on the screen because the voice output means for performing the input and the determination switch provided separately from the touch panel and pressed by the operator to determine an input in the visually impaired person mode. Can be heard by voice. In addition, by judging what is displayed on the screen by voice and inputting by pressing a separately provided switch, the modification performed by the application software and the cost of adding one switch are generally obtained. It is possible to realize a touch panel device that enables easy input operation by both a person and a visually impaired person.
[0029]
According to the touch panel device described in claim 2, in the touch panel device described in claim 1, when the operator touches the touch panel in the visually impaired person mode, the control unit is notified of touch information indicating recognition of the touch. Instead, only the position information indicating the touched position is notified to the control means, so that control different from that in the normal mode can be performed, and the operation of the visually impaired can be facilitated.
[0030]
According to the touch panel device described in claim 3, in the touch panel device described in claim 1, the control means performs control for guiding screen information corresponding to the position information touched by the operator by voice. Therefore, even an operator who is a visually impaired person can hear the information displayed on the screen by voice, and can determine what is displayed on the screen by voice.
[0031]
According to the touch panel device of the fourth aspect, in the touch panel device of the first aspect, the determination switch is pressed by an operator, and corresponds to a case where the operator touches the touch panel in the normal mode. Since the information is notified to the control means, even a visually impaired person can easily operate.
[0032]
According to the touch panel device according to the fifth aspect, in the touch panel device according to the first aspect, the control unit notifies the touch panel control unit of a command to switch between the visually impaired person mode and the normal mode. Both normal and visually impaired persons can use the device.
[0033]
According to the touch panel device of the sixth aspect, in the touch panel device of the first aspect, when the operator presses the decision switch, the touch panel control unit notifies the control unit of touch information indicating recognition of the touch. The operation is easily performed even by a visually impaired person.
[0034]
According to the touch panel device of the seventh aspect, in the touch panel device of the third aspect, the screen information is information of a key displayed on the touch panel screen. Keys can be checked and operation is easy.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a touch panel device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the touch panel device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 touch panel 2 touch panel controller 3 application software 4 speaker / headphone 5 decision switch

Claims (7)

A touch panel on which an operator inputs,
Notification of input information input by the operator from the touch panel, and a visually impaired mode for the visually impaired, and a touch panel control means for switching between normal mode for a healthy person,
Control means for controlling each means based on the input information notified from the touch panel control means,
Voice output means for providing voice guidance to the operator;
A determination switch that is provided separately from the touch panel and is pressed for input determination by the operator during the visually impaired mode,
A touch panel device comprising: In the visually impaired person mode, when the operator touches the touch panel, the control means does not notify the control means of touch information indicating recognition of the touch, and controls only the position information indicating the touched position. 2. The touch panel device according to claim 1, wherein the notification is made to a means. The touch panel device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs control to guide screen information corresponding to the position information touched by the operator by voice. 2. The controller according to claim 1, wherein the determination switch is configured to notify the control unit of touch information corresponding to a case where the operator touches the touch panel in the normal mode by being pressed by the operator. 3. The touch panel device as described in the above. The touch panel device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit notifies the touch panel control unit of a command to switch between the visually impaired person mode and the normal mode. 2. The touch panel device according to claim 1, wherein the touch panel control unit notifies the control unit of touch information indicating recognition of the touch when the determination switch is pressed by the operator. 3. The touch panel device according to claim 3, wherein the screen information is information of a key displayed on the touch panel screen.

Images