JP5289399B2 - Touch panel device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a touch panel device for browsing a document by operating a link by touching a screen.

  With the sales and development of OSs and displays that support touch operation, the need for efficient operation by touch is increasing. On the other hand, since it is difficult to specify the touch position accurately due to the parallax and the width of the finger in the touch operation, link touch mistakes frequently occur.

  FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of links in the browsed document. The browsing document shown in FIG. 18 is divided into four areas: a link display area 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803, a link / touch area 1804, 1805, 1806, 1807, an auxiliary touch area 1808, and a blank area other than 1800 to 1808. It is done. The character string display area of the link is the smallest rectangle surrounding the hypertext. When all two lines are hypertext like the link display area 1800, both lines are link display areas, and when the middle of the line is hypertext like the link display areas 1802 and 1803, separate links Treat as display area. The link touch area is an area that accepts a touch operation on a link, includes a link display area, and is a rectangular area that is about 10 to 20% larger than the link display area vertically and horizontally. The auxiliary touch area is an area that is arranged in a free shape regardless of the link display area and is displayed in association with the link. In the example shown in FIG. 18, the auxiliary touch area is displayed in the same color to indicate the correspondence. The margin area is an area other than the link / touch area and the auxiliary touch area in the browsed document. Hereinafter, the prior art will be described using the four regions shown in FIG.

  As the simplest means for solving the problem of touch mistakes, there is a method of increasing the font of a document. As a result, the link / touch area becomes larger, and it becomes easier to touch. However, since a part of the whole is displayed in a large size, it takes time and effort to scroll the document many times in order to grasp the whole document.

  As another means for solving the problem of touch mistakes, there is a method of performing a reduced display when browsing a document and performing an enlarged display when operating. At the time of enlargement, the ratio between the link display area and the link touch area does not change, and a part of the area is displayed in a large size. For this reason, it is necessary to reduce the display when looking around the document and to enlarge the display when operating the document and browsing other documents. Such repeated enlargement / reduction causes obstruction of document browsing.

  Thus, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 disclose techniques for performing a touch operation that enables efficient document browsing.

  Patent Document 1 is a device that provides a link touch area and an auxiliary touch area, and displays the auxiliary touch area when the user touches a plurality of link touch areas at the same time, and the user touches the auxiliary touch area. A method for facilitating selection of a link is disclosed.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228688 discloses a method for making it easy to select a link by providing another auxiliary touch area sufficiently separated from each other when the links are densely included in the viewed document.

Japanese Patent No. 3657162 JP 2009-129449 A

  However, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above, there is a problem that it is necessary to touch the neighborhood of a dense link once, which increases the effort for selecting a link. In addition, when the links are dense, the auxiliary touch area is displayed in the vicinity, but since the specific display position calculation method of the auxiliary touch area is not described, the correspondence with the link is difficult to understand When the auxiliary touch area is displayed on the screen, there is a problem that the user operability of the document is deteriorated.

  Further, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 2, another auxiliary touch area that is sufficiently separated can be provided, so that an erroneous operation of the link can be prevented, but the position of the auxiliary touch area is finely specified, and the link and There is a problem that it is difficult to understand the correspondence between the auxiliary touch areas, and it takes time to make a decision.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, generates a wider link touch area including a blank area, and increases the ratio of the link touch area size to the display size of the viewed document. By doing so, it is possible to select a link with a slightly inaccurate touch without scaling the document, and the touch panel that improves the operability of the link in the read document by making the correspondence with the link easy to understand An object is to provide an apparatus.

The touch panel device according to the present invention includes a browsing document storage unit that stores a browsing document, and a link display area extraction that extracts a region surrounding hypertext indicating a link based on layout information of the browsing document stored in the browsing document storage unit And the area surrounding the hypertext extracted by the link display area extraction unit is expanded to a width that can be touched by the input means and a size that does not overlap with the area surrounding the other hypertext, and accepts input from the input means When the width of the enlarged link / touch area is equal to or less than a certain value, the adjacent link / touch area adjacent to the enlarged link / touch area is combined. A combined link / touch area including two or more links is generated, and the combined link / touch area is input by an input unit. Touchable width, and, a coupling link touch area generation unit region together surrounding the hypertext is enlarged to a size that does not overlap, the browsing documents stored in the browsing document storage unit, expansion link touch area generator The generated link / touch area and the link information in the link / touch area generated by the link / touch area generation unit are displayed together with information related to the touch operation on the link / touch area. A browsing document display unit that displays a correspondence between the selection of the user and a selection method by the input unit, and touch operation information input by the input unit with respect to the browsing document displayed by the browsing document display unit, or proximity information of the input unit based on, along with determining the selection of the link, the input means in the coupling link touch area That in which, based on the selection method and a determining link motion determination section selection of the link.

According to the present invention, the area surrounding the hypertext is expanded to a width that can be touched by the input means and a size that does not overlap with the area surrounding the other hypertext, and an enlarged link touch area that accepts input from the input means Is generated and displayed on the browsed document with information related to the enlarged link / touch area and the touch operation on the enlarged link / touch area, and when the width of the enlarged link / touch area is equal to or less than a certain value, Combining adjacent links / touch areas adjacent to the touch area to generate a combined link / touch area including two or more links, and selecting a combined link / touch area and a link in the combined link / touch area in the viewing document; since it is configured to display the correspondence between the selection method by the input means, it is displayed in the browsing document Links can be improved operability in selecting the.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a touch panel device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing document browsing processing of the touch panel device according to Embodiment 1. 6 is a diagram showing a display example of the touch panel device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a link / touch area generation unit of the touch panel device according to the first embodiment. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of link display area selection of the touch panel device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of an enlarged link / touch area generation unit of the touch panel device according to the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the data structure of the expansion / partial expansion link touch area of the touchscreen device by Embodiment 1. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of an expandable distance calculation process of the touch panel device according to the first embodiment. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an expandable distance calculation process of the touch panel device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating another configuration of the expandable distance calculation process of the touch panel device according to Embodiment 1. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of partial vertical enlargement processing of the touch panel device according to Embodiment 1. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a partial enlargement process of the touch panel device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a touch panel device according to Embodiment 2. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating operations of an enlarged link / touch area generation unit and a combined link / touch area generation unit of the touch panel device according to the second embodiment. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a combined link / touch area generation unit of the touch panel device according to the second embodiment. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a display example of a combined link display area of the touch panel device according to Embodiment 2. FIG. It is a figure which shows the data structure of the expansion / partial expansion / joining link touch area | region of the touchscreen device by Embodiment 2. FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the link in a browsing document.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a touch panel device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the touch panel device 10 includes a browsing document storage unit 1, a link display area extraction unit 2, an enlarged link / touch area generation unit 3, an area storage unit 4, a browsing document display unit 5, a proximity / touch information input unit 6, and The link operation determination unit 7 is configured.
The browsed document storage unit 1 stores information related to contents such as document contents and links, and layout information such as character size, display position, wrapping and line feed, left end / center / right end display, and bullets.

  The link display area extraction unit 2 obtains the minimum rectangle surrounding the hypertext from the layout information stored in the browse document storage unit 1 and extracts it as a link display area. Based on the link display area generated by the link display area extraction unit 2, the enlarged link / touch area generation unit 3 has a sufficient area for a touch by an input means (for example, a user's finger or pen), and A wider link touch area including a blank area is generated so as not to overlap each other. If not particularly limited, the enlarged link / touch area and the partial enlarged link / touch area generated by the enlarged link / touch area generation unit 3 are collectively referred to as a link / touch area.

  The area storage unit 4 stores the link / touch area generated by the enlarged link / touch area generation unit 3 in a predetermined data structure. Details of the data structure to be stored will be described later. The browsed document display unit 5 performs display of the browsed document stored in the browsed document storage unit 1 and coloring of the link / touch area generated by the enlarged link / touch area generation unit 3. The proximity / touch information input unit 6 receives an input when the user performs a proximity / touch operation with a finger or a pen on the touch panel or the like, and determines the presence / absence of proximity / touch and the coordinates of the proximity / touch position. The link operation determination unit 7 receives the proximity / touch position coordinates calculated by the proximity / touch information input unit 6, determines a touch in the link / touch area generated by the enlarged link / touch area generation unit 3, and displays a browsing document. An update command for displaying the browse document of the link selected by the user is output to the unit 5.

  Next, processing for browsing a document using the touch panel device 10 according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating document browsing processing of the touch panel device according to the first embodiment. In the processing example illustrated in FIG. 2, the description will be made assuming that the user's finger is used as the input unit.

  The link display area extraction unit 2 refers to the layout information stored in the browsing document storage unit 1 and extracts the minimum rectangle surrounding the hypertext as a link display area (step ST1). If the hypertext extends over multiple lines, separate link display areas are assigned to the hypertext for each line. Based on the link display area extracted by the link display area extraction unit 2 in step ST1, the enlarged link / touch area generation unit 3 overlaps each other so as to have an area sufficient for the user to touch with a finger. A wider link / touch area including a blank area is generated and output to the area storage unit 4 (step ST2). The region storage unit 4 stores the region input in step ST2 (step ST3). The browsed document display unit 5 displays the link / touch area stored in the area storage unit 4 in step ST3 (step ST4).

  After the display in step ST4, the proximity / touch information input unit 6 determines whether or not a user's finger input has occurred (step ST5). If it is determined in step ST5 that no finger input has occurred, the process returns to step ST5. On the other hand, when it is determined in step ST5 that a finger input has occurred, the coordinates (x, y) of the proximity / touch position are calculated and the coordinate values are output to the link motion determination unit 7 (step ST6). The link motion determination unit 7 refers to the coordinate value input in step ST6 and determines whether or not the proximity / touch position is within the link / touch area (step ST7).

  If it is determined in step ST7 that the proximity / touch position is outside the link / touch area, the process returns to step ST5. On the other hand, if it is determined in step ST7 that the proximity / touch position is within the link / touch area, the link operation determination unit 7 outputs a URL link destination information display command to the browsing document display unit 5. (Step ST8). The browsing document display unit 5 displays the link destination information based on the display command input in step ST8 (step ST9), and ends the process.

Next, a display example of the browse document obtained by the above-described process will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a browse document display example of the touch panel device according to the first embodiment, in which a document is browsed using a wide link / touch area including a blank area.
In FIG. 3, as the link / touch area, the enlarged link / touch area 300, 301, 302 including the margin area and the rectangle of the link display area cannot be enlarged as they are, and the part is enlarged to the lower right. A partially enlarged link / touch area 303 is shown. In step ST7 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 2, when the link motion determination unit 7 determines that the position coordinate of the user's finger input 304 is within the enlarged link / touch area 300, a display command for the link “www.aaaaaa.com” is displayed. Is output to the browsing document display unit 5. The browsing document display unit 5 displays a document “www.aaaaaaaaa.com” that is the link destination.

Next, details of the enlarged link / touch area generation unit 3 will be described. First, the outline of the processing operation of the enlarged link / touch area generation unit 3 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
The enlarged link / touch area generation unit 3 first has a link display area and an area that have a maximum area when the hypertext spans a plurality of lines and is a link display area divided for each line. An area other than the link display area is excluded from the enlargement process target, and an enlargement process target link list is created (step ST21). With reference to the link list created in step ST21, it is determined whether or not there is a link display area that has not been enlarged (step ST22). In step ST22, when it is determined that the file does not exist, the process is terminated. On the other hand, if it is determined in step ST22 that the link display area is present, the link display area is enlarged so that the areas do not overlap each other based on the upper, lower, left and right margin areas of the link display area to be enlarged (step ST23). ). Thereafter, the process returns to the determination process of step ST22, and the enlargement process is performed on all link display areas not excluded in step ST21.

FIG. 5 shows an example in which a part of the link display area extending over a plurality of lines shown in step ST21 described above is excluded from the enlargement process.
The example shown in FIG. 5 includes link display areas 500 that do not extend over a plurality of lines and link display areas 501, 502, 503, and 504 that are divided over each line. Since the link display area 500 does not extend over a plurality of lines, the link display area 500 is an object of enlargement processing. Since the link display areas 501 and 502 extend over a plurality of lines and the area of the link display area 502 is larger than the area of the link display area 501, the link display area 502 is an object of enlargement processing. The link display area 501 is excluded from the enlargement processing target because the area is less than a preset value. Similarly, since the link display areas 503 and 504 extend over a plurality of lines and the area of the link display area 504 is larger than the area of the link display area 503, the link display area 504 is first subjected to enlargement processing. Since the area of the link display area 503 is equal to or larger than a preset value, the link display area 503 is an object of enlargement processing.

Next, details of the process of step ST23 in the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, that is, the process of enlarging or partially enlarging the link display will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
The enlargement link / touch area generation unit 3 calculates a distance that can be enlarged vertically and horizontally in the link display area (step ST31). Based on the enlargeable distance calculated in step ST31, an enlarged link / touch area in which the link display area is enlarged vertically and horizontally is generated (step ST32). As a specific enlargement method in step ST32, the up / down / left / right direction of the link display area is enlarged by min (expandable distance in each direction / 2, a preset maximum expansion width in each direction). However, min (a, b) means the minimum value of a and b. As another enlargement method, a width to be enlarged is determined in advance according to the enlargeable distance in each direction, and the link display area is enlarged according to the value of the enlargeable distance. The enlargement method described above is given as an example, and a general enlargement method can also be applied.

  Further, in order to ensure a sufficient area size for touch input, it is determined whether or not the width of the enlarged link / touch area in the horizontal direction is equal to or larger than a certain value and the width in the vertical direction is equal to or smaller than a certain value (step ST33). ). If it is determined in step ST33 that the condition is not met, the process proceeds to step ST35. On the other hand, if it is determined that the width in the horizontal direction is greater than or equal to a certain value and the width in the vertical direction is less than or equal to a certain value, the expanded link / touch area is partially expanded in the vertical direction to generate a partially expanded link / touch area. (Step ST34).

  Next, it is determined whether or not the vertical width of the enlarged link / touch area is equal to or larger than a certain value and the width in the horizontal direction is equal to or smaller than a certain value (step ST35). If it is determined in step ST35 that the condition is not met, the process ends without performing the enlargement process. On the other hand, if it is determined that the vertical width is greater than or equal to a certain value and the horizontal width is less than or equal to a certain value, the enlarged link / touch area is partially enlarged in the left / right direction to generate a partially enlarged link / touch area. Then, the link display area enlargement / partial enlargement process is terminated.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a data structure of the enlarged link / touch area and the partial enlarged link / touch area generated based on the flow of FIG.
The data items include the URL of the link destination, the link / touch area 1 indicating the enlarged link / touch area generated in step ST32, and the link / touch area 2 indicating the partially enlarged link / touch area generated in step ST34 or step ST36. It is composed of anchor text that is hypertext.
In FIG. 7, for example, the rectangular information (20, 220, 80, 10) of the enlarged link / touch area shown in the link / touch area 1 of the URL “www.iiiiii.com”, and the link / touch area 2 different from this. By having rectangular information (60, 230, 40, 50), it is possible to display a partially enlarged link / touch area. The enlarged / partial enlarged link / touch area is stored in the area storage unit 4 in the data structure shown in FIG.

Next, the details of the process of step ST31 in the flowchart shown in FIG. 6, that is, the process of calculating the distance that can be expanded vertically and horizontally from the link display area will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the process of FIG. 8, an expandable area is used for measuring how much the link display area can be expanded.
The enlargement link / touch area generation unit 3 initializes the enlargeable area with the link display area (step ST41). The enlargement direction is selected in the order of upper, lower, left, and right in the enlargeable area, and the enlargement flag is set to “ON” (step ST42). The direction in which the enlargement flag is set to “ON” in step ST42 is selected (step ST43), and the enlargeable area is enlarged by a certain value in the selected direction (step ST44). It is determined whether or not another enlargement link / touch area overlaps the enlargeable area enlarged in step ST44 (step ST45).

  If it is determined in step ST45 that they do not overlap, it is determined whether another link display area overlaps the expandable area set in step ST44 (step ST46). If it is determined in step ST46 that they do not overlap, it is determined whether or not the enlargeable area set in step ST44 exceeds the display area of the browsed document (step ST47). If it is determined in step ST47 that the display area of the browsed document is not exceeded, the process returns to step ST43 and the above-described processing is repeated.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step ST45 that the enlarged link / touch area overlaps, another link display area overlaps in step ST46, or it is determined in step ST47 that it exceeds the display area of the browsed document, the process proceeds to step ST48. In step ST48, the enlargeable area calculated through the determination processing from step ST45 to step ST47 is stored, and the enlargement flag in the direction selected in step ST43 is set to “OFF”. Further, the enlargeable area is returned to the original size (step ST49), and it is determined whether all the up, down, left, and right enlargement flags of the enlargeable area are OFF (step ST50). If it is determined in step ST50 that all are OFF, the enlargeable distance calculation process is terminated. On the other hand, if it is determined in step ST50 that all are not OFF, the process returns to step ST43 and the above-described processing is repeated.

  As described above, from step ST43 to step ST50, enlargement of the enlargeable area is gradually repeated. The enlargement of the enlargeable area is performed by a certain amount, and the enlargement direction is determined so as not to overlap with other enlargement link touch areas and other link display areas after enlargement. If a certain amount of enlargement is not possible in any direction, up, down, left, or right, the value enlarged in the up, down, left, or right direction is returned as the enlargement distance.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the processing content of the enlargeable distance calculation shown in the flowchart of FIG.
The browsing document shown in FIG. 9 includes links 900, 901, 902, and 903, a link display area 905 of the link 902, an expandable distance 906 and 907 in each direction of the link 901, and an expansion of the link 904 in each direction. A possible distance 908 is displayed. The area that can be expanded in the upward direction and the right direction of the link 901 will be described. Since the link 900 exists in the upward direction of the link 901, the link 901 is expanded to the range of the expandable distance 906, and in the right direction of the link 901 Does not exist, it is expanded to the range of the expandable distance 907 at the right end. Similarly, since the link display area 905 exists, the link 904 is expanded in the right direction to the range of the expandable distance 908.

  As a different configuration example of step ST43 in the flowchart shown in FIG. 8, the enlargement link / touch area generation unit 3 selects the direction in which the rectangular area of the measurement area is maximized among the upper, lower, left, and right, thereby enlarging the expandable area. The direction may be determined. In this case, the vertical and horizontal directions are determined so as to maximize the area. In the determination of the vertical and horizontal directions, if the vertical direction maximizes the area, it is selected whether to expand the vertical direction. On the other hand, when the area is maximized in the left / right direction, the left / right direction is selected.

When the direction to maximize the rectangular area is the vertical direction, it is selected whether to enlarge the vertical area. The shortest distance between all the link display areas on the upper side and the lower side, the enlarged link / touch area, or the partially enlarged link / touch area and the enlargeable area is measured. The shortest distance between the upper and lower links is compared, and the longer shortest distance is taken as the enlargement direction.
When the direction in which the rectangular area is maximized is the left-right direction, it is selected whether to enlarge to the left or right. The shortest distance between all the link display areas on the right side and the left side, the enlarged link / touch area, or the partially enlarged link / touch area and the enlargeable area is measured. The shortest distance between the right and left links is compared, and the longer shortest distance is taken as the enlargement direction.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration for maximizing the rectangular area of the measurement region, which is a different configuration example of step ST43. In the browse document shown in FIG. 10, an enlarged link / touch area 1000, link display areas 1001, 1002, and 1003, an enlargeable area 1004, an upper area 1005 and a lower area 1006 surrounded by a broken line are displayed.
The area 1004 shown in FIG. 10 has a larger area when it is expanded in the vertical direction than when it is expanded in the left-right direction. Therefore, the shortest distance between the enlarged link / touch area 1000 and the link display area 1001 included in the upper area 1005 is calculated, and the shortest distance between the link display areas 1002 and 1003 included in the lower area 1006 is calculated. As a calculation result, the distance between the link display area 1001 and the expandable area 1004 is the shortest upper distance, and the distance between the link display area 1003 and the expandable area 1004 is the shortest shortest distance. In this case, since the upper shortest distance is longer than the lower shortest distance, the area up to the upper link display area 1001 is selected as the enlargement direction.

Next, details of the process of step ST34 in the flowchart shown in FIG. 6, that is, the process of partially expanding the enlarged link / touch area vertically will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The flowchart of FIG. 11 shows a process of partially expanding the upper and lower margin areas in addition to the enlarged link / touch area.
The enlarged link / touch area generation unit 3 obtains an adjacent margin area adjacent in the vertical direction of the enlarged link / touch area (step ST41). Among the adjacent blank areas obtained in step ST41, an adjacent blank area M having an area equal to or larger than a certain value and having a maximum area is selected (step ST42). It is determined whether the left and right width and the vertical width of the adjacent margin area M selected in step ST42 are equal to or greater than a certain value (step ST43). If it is determined in step ST43 that the value is not equal to or greater than the predetermined value, the process is terminated. On the other hand, in step ST43, the adjacent blank area M determined to be equal to or greater than a certain value is added to the enlarged link / touch area to form a partially enlarged link / touch area (step ST44).

  In the flowchart of FIG. 11, the enlarged link / touch area generation unit 3 has shown an example of processing for partially enlarging the enlarged link / touch area in the vertical direction. However, as shown in step ST36 of FIG. When the left-right width is equal to or less than a certain value, a process of partially enlarging the left-right direction is performed in the same manner.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing the processing contents of the partial enlargement shown in the flowchart of FIG. The browsing document shown in FIG. 12 includes enlarged link / touch areas 1200 and 1201, link / touch area 1202, enlarged link / touch area 1203 that has been enlarged but whose vertical width is equal to or smaller than a certain value, and adjacent margin area. 1204 and 1205 are displayed.
The enlargement link / touch area 1203 can be enlarged in the horizontal direction because the enlargement link / touch area 1201 and the link / touch area 1202 exist above and below, but cannot be enlarged above a certain value in the vertical direction. For this reason, the partial enlargement process in the vertical direction is executed by the conditional branch in step ST33 of FIG. In step ST41 of FIG. 11, adjacent blank areas 1204 and 1205 that do not overlap with the enlarged link / touch area 1201 and the link / touch area 1202 and whose vertical width is equal to or larger than a certain value are generated. Next, in step ST42, the adjacent blank area 1205 is regarded as the adjacent blank area M having the largest area. In step ST43, it is determined that the left and right width and the vertical width of the adjacent margin area M are equal to or greater than a certain value. In step ST44, the adjacent margin area 1205 is added to the enlarged link / touch area 1203 to generate a new partially enlarged link / touch area. To do.

  The enlarged link / touch area generation unit 3 changes the width of the link display area to expand according to the number of link selections by the user, the occurrence of a selection error when the user selects a link, or the selection position where the selection error has occurred. May be added. In this case, the link operation determination unit 7 calculates the link selection frequency, the occurrence of the selection error, and the selection position where the selection error has occurred, and outputs it to the enlarged link / touch area generation unit 3. Whether or not it is a selection error is determined as a selection error when the user selects a certain link and displays the linked document, and then returns to the original document within a predetermined time.

  When the size of the enlarged link / touch area is changed according to the occurrence of the selection mistake or the selection position where the selection mistake occurs, the enlarged link / touch area generation unit 3 moves the enlarged link / touch area up / down / left / right. The number of times of selection including misselection is counted for each, and an enlargement amount corresponding to the number of times the user has selected up, down, left, and right is set, and a change is given to the enlargement in the up, down, left, and right directions of step ST34 or step ST36.

Next, the process of step ST4 in the flowchart of FIG. 2, that is, the display method of the browsed document display unit 5 will be described.
The browsing document display unit 5 displays the link / touch area information on the browsing document with a light color that can be recognized by the user and does not hinder the browsing of the user. In addition, a line surrounding the link / touch area is added and displayed on the browsed document. Further, the link touch area information and the link touch area 1 in the data structure shown in FIG. 7 are light in color so that the user can recognize the link touch area information on the viewed document and do not disturb the user's browsing. In the region 2, gradation may be displayed in similar colors so that the center position of a rectangle with a large area is the darkest color and the end of the rectangle is light.

  As a method of displaying the link / touch area in the browsed document display unit 5, as long as the area range is presented to the user, an image, a dotted line, a color, a gradation that emphasizes a specific position, and the like can be changed as appropriate.

  The browsing document display unit 5 displays the link / touch area stored in the area storage unit based on information input by the user. For example, the link / touch area is displayed based on the ON / OFF setting of the user. Further, the link / touch area may be displayed while the user touches the touch panel device 10 with a finger or a pen, and may not be displayed when the user is not touching. When the user's finger or pen is close to the touch panel device 10, the link / touch area is displayed. When the user's finger or pen is not close, the display is not performed. Further, the link / touch area may be displayed in a lighter color as the distance of the user's finger or pen approaching the touch panel device 10 increases.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, since the configuration includes the enlarged link / touch area generation unit that enlarges the link display area using the blank area so as to include the link, the user touches the area. It is easy to visually recognize the link to be selected at the time, and the link can be selected even when the touch is somewhat inaccurate, and the operability of link selection can be improved.

  In addition, according to the first embodiment, since the link / touch area is displayed in a light color that does not decrease the visibility of the user in the browsing document display unit, the operability of link selection is improved. Can do.

  Furthermore, according to the first embodiment, since the link / touch area is displayed when the user's finger or pen is in contact with or in proximity, the visibility of the viewed document is improved and the link is displayed. The operability of selection can be improved.

  Furthermore, according to the first embodiment, the enlargement amount of the link / touch area is set based on the number of times the link is selected with the user's finger or pen, the occurrence of the link selection error, or the selection position where the link selection error occurs. Thus, it is possible to display a link / touch area in accordance with a user's tendency to select a link, or to display a link / touch area with a link selection error suppressed.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
The second embodiment shows a configuration in which a link / touch area having a size sufficient for touch input is generated even when links are dense.
FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the touch panel device according to the second embodiment of the present invention, in which a combined link / touch area generation unit 8 is added to the touch panel device 10 of the first embodiment. In the following description, the same or corresponding parts as those of the touch panel device 10 according to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those used in the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted or simplified.

  The combined link / touch area generation unit 8 brings together the link / touch area and the adjacent link / touch area that cannot be enlarged to a sufficient area size in the enlarged link / touch area generation unit 3, A combined link / touch area in which a multi-touch selection method is given to each link is generated. The browsing document display unit 5 ′ displays the browsing document stored in the browsing document storage unit 1, and the link / touch area generated by the enlarged link / touch area generation unit 3 stored in the area storage unit 4 ′. The combined link / touch area generated by the combined link / touch area generator 8 is displayed in color. Further, guide information related to the touch operation such as the number of fingers input by the user for the combined link / touch area is displayed.

  The proximity / touch information input unit 6 ′ accepts input when the user performs a proximity / touch operation with a finger or a pen on the touch panel, etc., and determines the presence / absence of proximity / touch, coordinates of the proximity / touch position, touch The number of fingers of the user is calculated. The link motion determination unit 7 ′ is based on the proximity / touch position coordinates calculated by the proximity / touch information input unit 6 ′ and the number of fingers of the user, and the inside of the enlarged link / touch region generated by the enlarged link / touch region generation unit 3. Then, the presence / absence of touch in the combined link / touch area generated by the combined link / touch area generation unit 8 and link selection are performed, and an update command for displaying the selected link destination document is output to the browsing document display unit 5 ′. .

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an outline of processing operations of the enlarged link / touch area generation unit and the combined link / touch area generation unit of the touch panel device according to the second embodiment. The same steps as those of the enlarged link / touch area generating unit 3 according to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those used in FIG. 4, and the description thereof is omitted or simplified.
The enlarged link / touch area generating unit 3 enlarges / partially enlarges the link display area from step ST21 to step ST23. Further, the link / touch area that cannot be enlarged is stored in the area storage unit 4 ′ (step ST24), and the process returns to step ST22. When it is determined in step ST22 that there is no link display area that has not been enlarged, the combined link / touch area generation unit 8 refers to the area storage unit 4 ′ and has not been subjected to the combination process, the unenlargeable link / touch. It is determined whether or not an area exists (step ST25).

  If it is determined in step ST25 that there is an unexpandable link / touch area that has not been subjected to the combining process, an area in which the link / touch area adjacent to the unexpandable link / touch area is combined is generated (step ST26). The process returns to step ST25. On the other hand, if it is determined in step ST25 that there is no unenlargeable link / touch area that has not been combined, the link / touch area generation process is terminated.

  Next, details of the process of step ST26 in the flowchart shown in FIG. 14, that is, the process of combining the link and touch areas will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the flowchart shown in FIG. 15, the link of the non-expandable link / touch area and the link / touch area link adjacent to the non-expandable link / touch area are grouped, and the link is linked by the smallest rectangle surrounding the link in the group. A configuration for obtaining a touch area is shown.

  The combined link / touch area generation unit 8 collects links adjacent in the direction in which the link / touch area needs to be enlarged into one group (step ST51). If a sufficient area size cannot be secured in the left-right direction, links adjacent to the left and right are grouped.If a sufficient area size cannot be secured in the up-down direction, links adjacent to the top and bottom are grouped. If a sufficient area size cannot be secured, adjacent links in all directions are grouped.

  The link / touch area corresponding to the links grouped in step ST51 is reset to an empty area having a vertical width and a horizontal width of “0” (step ST52). Next, the minimum rectangle surrounding the links in the group is generated as a combined link display area (step ST53). It is determined whether or not the combined link display area generated in step ST53 overlaps with another link / touch area (step ST54). If the area does not overlap, the process proceeds to step ST58. On the other hand, if it is determined in step ST54 that they overlap, it is determined whether or not the area of the overlapping portion between the combined link display area and the link touch area is greater than or equal to a certain value (step ST55).

  If it is determined in step ST55 that the area of the overlapping portion is greater than or equal to a certain value, the overlapping link / touch area link is added to the group (step ST57), and the process returns to step ST52. On the other hand, if it is determined in step ST55 that the area of the overlapping portion is not equal to or greater than a certain value, the overlapping link / touch area is reduced so as not to overlap the combined link display area (step ST56), and the process of step ST54 is performed. Return.

  Next, in step ST58, the combined link display area is expanded. In the enlargement / partial enlargement process in step ST58, the combined link / touch area generation unit 8 performs the same process as the process shown in FIG. 6 of the first embodiment. Since the processing contents are the same as those in the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted. Information such as the number of fingers of the multi-touch operation is given to each link in the combined link display area expanded in step ST58, a combined link / touch area is generated (step ST59), and the combined link / touch area generation process ends. .

  In addition, in step ST58 in the flowchart of FIG. 15, the combined link / touch area generation unit 8 determines the link selection frequency of the user, the occurrence of a selection error when the user selects a link, or the selection position where the selection error has occurred. A change may be added to the width for expanding the link display area. As in the first embodiment, the combined link / touch area generation unit 8 sets the enlargement amount based on the link selection frequency calculated by the link operation determination unit 7 ′, the occurrence of a selection error, and the selection position where the selection error has occurred. Changes the expansion of the combined link / touch area in the vertical and horizontal directions.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of the combined link display area obtained by the combined link / touch area generation processing shown in the flowchart of FIG.
The browsing document shown in FIG. 16A includes three links 1600, 1601, 1602 that are densely located, a combined link / touch area 1603 including these three links 1600, 1601, 1602, and the number of fingers for touch operation. And icons 1604, 1605, and 1606 indicating the correspondence between and links. Further, the browsing document shown in FIG. 16B shows an example in which the user inputs the combined link / touch area 1603 with a plurality of fingers 1607.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a data structure of the combined link / touch area generated based on the flow of FIG.
The data items include a link destination URL, a link / touch area 1 indicating an enlarged link / touch area and a combined link / touch area, a link / touch area 2 indicating a partially enlarged link / touch area, an anchor text which is hypertext, and an enlargement. It is composed of a touch operation indicating an operation method for a link touch area, a partially enlarged link touch area, and a combined link touch area. In FIG. 17, for example, the touch selection method of “www.cccc.com” that is the URL of the link in the combined link / touch area is that the user inputs touch input into a rectangle (100, 50, 100, 100) with two fingers. Then, the link operation determination unit 7 ′ can select the link “www.cccc.com”.

  The area storage unit 4 ′ illustrates the enlarged link / touch area and the partial enlarged link / touch area generated by the enlarged link / touch area generation unit 3 and the combined link / touch area generated by the combined link / touch area generation unit 8. The data structure shown in FIG.

  The browsed document display unit 5 'displays the combined link / touch area with a light color that can be recognized by the user and does not interfere with the user's browsing. The correspondence with the number of touched fingers is displayed with easy-to-understand finger icons. It should be noted that the display of the combined link / touch area can be changed as appropriate as long as it indicates the area range to the user, such as an image, a dotted line, a color, or a gradation that emphasizes a specific position.

  Furthermore, as another example of displaying the number of touch fingers, a number indicating the number of fingers may be displayed next to the link. In addition to icons and numbers, other methods may be applied as long as the user can recognize the association between the link and the number of fingers. Further, the correspondence relationship between the link selection of the combined link / touch area and the number of multi-touch fingers may be controlled by information input by the user.

  Further, the display control of the number of fingers may be configured as follows. This is based on the user's ON / OFF setting. The display is performed while the user is touching the touch panel device 10 'with a finger or a pen, and the display is not performed when the user is not touching. When the user is close to the touch panel device 10 ′ with a finger or a pen, display is performed, and when the user is not close, display is not performed. Thus, the display control of the number of fingers can be changed as appropriate. Further, the number of fingers may be displayed based on the user ON / OFF setting. Note that multi-touch is not limited to the configuration for identifying by the number of fingers, and the input means can be changed as appropriate.

  The link operation determination unit 7 ′ reads the enlarged / partial enlarged link / touch area and the combined link / touch area from the area storage unit 4 ′, and coordinates (x, y) input from the proximity / touch information input unit 6 ′ Select a link based on the number of fingers. First, it is determined whether the touched coordinates (x, y) are within the link touch area or the combined link touch area. If the coordinates (x, y) are within the link / touch area, the link operation determination unit 7 'instructs the browsing document display unit 5' to display the link destination information of the corresponding URL. On the other hand, if the coordinates (x, y) are within the combined link / touch area region, the link operation determination unit 7 ′ selects a link corresponding to the number of touched fingers, and displays the information on the link as the browse document display unit 5. Instruct to display at ´.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, the links located densely are grouped together, and the combined link / touch area generation for generating the operation information for each link is generated. Since it comprises so that a part may be provided, the selection of the link by multi-touch is realizable. Furthermore, even for dense links, touch selection of individual links is facilitated, and the operability of link selection can be improved.

  Further, according to the second embodiment, since the combined link / touch area is displayed in a light color that does not deteriorate the visibility of the user in the browsing document display unit, the operability of link selection is improved. be able to.

  Furthermore, according to the second embodiment, when the user's finger or pen is in contact or in proximity, the combined link / touch area is configured to be displayed. The operability of link selection can be improved.

  Further, according to the second embodiment, the amount of enlargement of the combined link / touch area is determined based on the number of times the link is selected with the user's finger or pen, the occurrence of the link selection error, or the selection position where the link selection error has occurred. Since it is configured to set, it is possible to display the combined link / touch area in accordance with the user's link selection tendency and display the combined link / touch area with suppressed link selection errors.

  Note that the present invention can be freely combined with or modified from the embodiments within the spirit of the invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Browse document memory | storage part, 2 Link display area extraction part, 3 Expanded link touch area production | generation part, 4, 4 'area memory | storage part, 5, 5' Browse document display part, 6, 6 'Proximity / touch information input part, 7, 7 'link operation determination unit, 8 combined link / touch area generation unit, 10, 10' touch panel device.

Claims (9)

A browsing document storage unit for storing browsing documents;
A link display area extraction unit that extracts a region surrounding hypertext indicating a link based on layout information of the browsing document stored in the browsing document storage unit;
The area surrounding the hypertext extracted by the link display area extraction unit is expanded to a width that can be touched by the input means and a size that does not overlap with an area surrounding other hypertext, and accepts input from the input means. An enlarged link / touch area generator for generating a link / touch area;
When the width of the enlarged link / touch area is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value, the adjacent link / touch area adjacent to the enlarged link / touch area is combined to generate a combined link / touch area including two or more links. A combined link / touch area generation unit that expands the combined link / touch area to a width that can be touched by an input unit and a size that does not overlap the areas surrounding the hypertext;
The browsing document stored in the browsing document storage unit is displayed by adding information related to the enlarged link / touch region generated by the enlarged link / touch region generation unit and a touch operation on the enlarged link / touch region , and A browsed document display unit for displaying a correspondence between the selected link in the combined link / touch area generated by the combined link / touch area generation unit and the selection method by the input unit ;
Based on the touch operation information input by the input unit or the proximity information of the input unit for the browsing document displayed by the browsing document display unit, the selection of the link is determined , and the combined link / touch region A link operation determination unit that determines selection of the link based on a selection method by the input means .   The browsing document display unit displays information on the enlarged link / touch region and a touch operation on the enlarged link / touch region while the link operation determination unit determines that the input unit is in contact. The touch panel device according to claim 1.   The browsing document display unit displays information on the enlarged link / touch area and a touch operation on the enlarged link / touch area while the link operation determination unit determines that the input unit is in proximity. The touch panel device according to claim 1, wherein: The browsing document display unit displays a correspondence relationship between the selection of the combined link / touch area and the link and the selection method by the input unit while the link operation determination unit determines that the input unit is in contact. The touch panel device according to claim 1 , wherein the touch panel device is displayed. The browsing document display unit displays a correspondence relationship between the selection of the combined link / touch area and the link and the selection method by the input unit while the link operation determination unit determines that the input unit is in proximity. the touch panel device according to claim 1 or claim 4, wherein the displaying. The link operation determination unit calculates the frequency with which each link is selected by the input means,
The touch panel device according to claim 1, wherein the enlargement link / touch area generation unit sets an enlargement amount of the enlargement link / touch area of each link based on the frequency. The link operation determination unit calculates a selection position where a selection error occurs or a selection error occurs when each link is selected by the input unit,
The expansion link touch area generation unit, according to claim 1 or claim 6, wherein the setting the expansion amount of expansion link touch area based on the selection position occurs or the wrong selection of the selected miss occurs Touch panel device. The link operation determination unit calculates the frequency with which each link is selected by the input means,
The coupling link touch area generation unit, a touch panel device according to claim 1, wherein setting the amount of increase binding link touch area for each link based on the frequency. The link operation determination unit calculates a selection position where a selection error occurs or a selection error occurs when each link is selected by the input unit,
The coupling link touch area generation unit, according to claim 1 or claim 8, wherein setting the amount of increase binding link touch area based on the selection position occurs or the wrong selection of the selected miss occurs Touch panel device.

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