JP6136759B2 - Electronic device and electronic device control program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device and a control program for the electronic device.

  2. Description of the Related Art A portable navigation device that supports navigation when a user moves with the user holding a housing is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). This portable navigation device arranges at least three active elements that generate vibrations at different positions and controls the vibration intensity of the active elements, so that a person holding the device with a palm can feel as if only a single vibration element is present. Is recognized (vibration is occurring at a predetermined location).

JP 2012-127940 A

By the way, when providing vibration to a person, if the time becomes longer, there is a problem that the human sense of sensation becomes accustomed and gradually becomes less or less likely to feel the vibration as a stimulus. In the conventional apparatus, such a problem is not taken into consideration, and a person holding the electronic device may not be able to continuously feel a desired vibration.
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to make a person holding an electronic device feel the vibration of localization more continuously.

One embodiment of the present invention is an electronic device that can be used while being held by a person, and vibration is generated in a predetermined portion of the electronic device by a plurality of vibrators and a person holding the electronic device. A control unit that performs localization vibration control to vibrate the plurality of vibrators so that the predetermined position is constant when the localization vibration control is continued. An electronic device that changes a combination of vibration modes of the plurality of vibrators while maintaining the electronic device.
Another aspect of the present invention is an electronic device that can be used while being held by a person, and includes a plurality of vibrators and a surface opposite to a surface that contacts the person while being held by the person And the display object displayed by the display part is an object that generates vibration, the position corresponding to the display object indicates the position of each of the plurality of vibrators. An electronic apparatus comprising: a control unit that vibrates the plurality of vibrators so as to obtain a gravity center point weighted by intensity.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a control computer of an electronic device that includes a plurality of vibrators and can be used while being held by a person, vibrates a person holding the electronic device at a predetermined position of the electronic device. When the localization vibration control for controlling the plurality of vibrators is performed and the localization vibration control is continued, the plurality of vibrators are maintained while keeping the predetermined position constant. It is the control program of an electronic device which changes the combination of the vibration aspect by.

  According to one embodiment of the present invention, a person holding an electronic device can feel a localized vibration more continuously.

It is a figure showing an example of appearance composition of electronic equipment 1 concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a function structure of the electronic device 1 which concerns on one Embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an arrangement position of vibrators included in the vibration generating unit 80, and is a partial perspective view of the electronic device 1 viewed from the back cover 30 side. It is the figure which illustrated the relationship between the image data 62 and the localization data 64. The state in which the electronic device 1 is held by the user's palm P with the touch panel 10 facing upward, and the control unit 90 performs localization vibration control in this state, thereby causing the user to feel that vibration has occurred. It is the figure which illustrated the location A. It is the figure which illustrated the combination of the amplitude of the vibrator | oscillator 80 (1) -80 (4) in which the gravity center weighted with the amplitude corresponds to the location A. It is a figure which shows an example of the scene where localization vibration control is used suitably. It is a figure which shows the change of the amplitude of each vibrator | oscillator when the control part 90 switches the control state 1 and the control state 2 smoothly. It is a figure which shows the change of the amplitude of each vibrator | oscillator when the control part 90 switches the control state 1 and the control state 2 suddenly. It is a figure which shows the change of the amplitude of each vibrator | oscillator when the control part 90 switches the control state 1 and the control state 3 smoothly. It is the figure which illustrated the relationship between an amplitude and predetermined time when the control part 90 adjusts predetermined time according to the amplitude of a vibration. It is the figure which illustrated the relationship between a frequency and predetermined time when the control part 90 adjusts predetermined time according to the frequency of vibration. 3 is an example of a flowchart showing a flow of processing executed by a control unit 90. It is a figure which shows a mode that the process of the previous step by which vibration data is stored in the memory | storage part 60 is performed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of an electronic device and a control program for the electronic device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[Constitution]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an external configuration of an electronic device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the electronic apparatus 1 according to the embodiment. Hereinafter, in the present embodiment, the configuration of the electronic apparatus 1 will be described using an XYZ orthogonal coordinate system. The XYZ orthogonal coordinate system is a coordinate system based on the electronic device 1. In the XYZ orthogonal coordinate system, the stacking direction of each component of the electronic device 1 is defined as the Z direction. A plane orthogonal to the Z direction is defined as an XY plane, and directions orthogonal to the XY plane are defined as an X direction and a Y direction, respectively.

  The electronic device 1 has, for example, a substantially rectangular shape when viewed in the Z direction, and has a configuration in which the touch panel 10, the main body unit 20, and the back cover 30 are stacked in the Z direction. 1A is a diagram of the electronic device 1 as viewed from the touch panel 10 side, and FIG. 1B is a diagram of the electronic device as viewed from the back cover 30 side.

  The touch panel 10 displays an image input from the control unit 90 accommodated in the main body unit 20, detects a contact position (coordinates) touched by the user with a finger or the like on the display surface, and outputs the detected position to the control unit 90. . The touch panel 10 is configured by combining, for example, a liquid crystal display device that displays an image and a contact detection mechanism. Various contact detection mechanisms can be used. For example, a contact detection mechanism using various systems such as a resistive film system, a capacitance system, an infrared system, and a surface acoustic wave system can be employed. Further, an organic EL (Electroluminescence) display device or the like may be used instead of the LCD.

  The main body unit 20 includes an imaging unit (camera) 40, a communication unit 50, an I / O unit 52, a storage unit 60, a speaker 70, an acceleration sensor 75, a vibration generation unit 80, a control unit 90, and the like shown in FIG. To accommodate. The main body 20 may house a power supply circuit, a battery, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver, and the like in a housing. A hole 32 is formed in the back cover 30 to expose the lens 42 of the imaging unit 40. The back cover 30 is attached with a mount 35 on which various operation switches such as a release button for operating the imaging unit 40 can be mounted.

The imaging unit 40 is a digital camera that uses a solid-state imaging device such as a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS). Note that the imaging unit 40 may be a video camera.
The communication unit 50 performs wireless communication using a wireless LAN network such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), infrared communication, a mobile phone network, a PHS network, or the like. The communication unit 50 may include a network card that functions as a communication interface when the electronic device is connected by wire. The I / O unit 52 includes, for example, a universal serial bus (USB) terminal, a high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) terminal, a terminal to which an SD card or the like is attached.

  The storage unit 60 is a storage device such as a flash memory, a hard disk drive (HDD), a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), or a register. The storage unit 60 stores in advance a program (firmware) that is executed by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) of the control unit 90. In addition, the storage unit 60 stores calculation results obtained by the CPU performing calculation processing, content data received from other devices via the communication unit 50, and read from devices attached to the I / O unit 52. Stored content data and the like.

  The speaker 70 outputs sound based on the sound data generated by the control unit 90. The acceleration sensor 75 is, for example, a three-axis acceleration sensor, detects accelerations (including gravitational acceleration) that act on the electronic device 1 in the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction, respectively, and detects the detection results by the control unit 90. Output to.

  The vibration generator 80 generates vibration based on the vibration data generated by the controller 90. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the arrangement position of the vibrators included in the vibration generating unit 80, and is a partial perspective view of the electronic device 1 as viewed from the back cover 30 side. As shown in FIG. 3, the vibration generating unit 80 includes vibrators 80 (1), 80 (2), 80 (3), and 80 (4) disposed near the four corners of the electronic device 1, for example. Each vibrator is attached to the back cover 30, for example. For example, a voice coil motor (VCM) or an eccentric motor is used as the vibrator. When using a voice coil motor, each vibrator generates vibration in the Z direction, for example. The arrangement of the vibrators is not limited to that shown in FIG. 3, and the vibrators may be arranged in other arrangements. Further, the number of vibrators is not limited to four as shown in FIG.

  The control unit 90 controls the entire electronic device 1 including the vibration generating unit 80. The storage unit 60 is associated with, for example, the image data 62 as information for the control unit 90 to control the vibration generation unit 80 in addition to the image data 62 that is the original data of the image displayed on the touch panel 10. The localization data 64 is stored. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the image data 62 and the localization data 64. In FIG. 4, moving image data is held as the image data 62, but still image data may be held as the image data 62. In the localization data 64, for example, for each moving image included in the image data 62, a period in which the localization vibration is generated, the coordinates of the vibration localization (a “predetermined portion” described later), and data on the reference amplitude are included. It is associated.

[Localized vibration control]
FIG. 5 shows that the electronic device 1 is held by the user's palm P with the touch panel 10 facing upward, and that vibration is generated in the user by the control unit 90 performing localization vibration control in this state. It is the figure which illustrated the predetermined location A to make it feel. Thus, the effect that allows the user to feel that the vibration is generated at a place where the vibrator is not disposed is called a sense of localization. A sense of orientation is phantom sensation, that is, a specific location between two or more locations when two or more locations on the user's skin are vibrated (stimulated) at the same time. In addition, the user feels as if the vibration is localized.

  For example, the control unit 90 controls the vibrators 80 (1) to 80 (4) so that the position of the center of gravity obtained by weighting the positions of the vibrators 80 (1) to 80 (4) with the vibration intensity matches the location A. ). The intensity of vibration means amplitude, frequency, etc., or a combination thereof, and hereinafter, it is assumed to be amplitude. Since each vibrator is attached to the back cover 30, for example, vibration is easily transmitted to the user's palm P by being held by the user's palm P in the state shown in FIG.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram exemplifying combinations of amplitudes of the vibrators 80 (1) to 80 (4) in which the center of gravity weighted by the amplitude coincides with the location A. In FIG. 6, the intersection of the center lines in the XY direction of the electronic device 1 is defined as the origin of the XY plane. The coordinates of the vibrator 80 (1) are (+0.9, +0.9), the coordinates of the vibrator 80 (2) are (−0.9, +0.9), and the coordinates of the vibrator 80 (3). (+0.9, -0.9), the coordinates of the vibrator 80 (4) are (-0.9, -0.9), and the coordinates of the location A are (0, -0.5). In this case, for example, the control unit 90 vibrates the vibrator 80 (1) with an amplitude of 0.45 × K (reference amplitude) and vibrates the vibrator 80 (3) with an amplitude of 0.55 × K. When the user holding the electronic device 1 in the state of FIG. 5 is vibrated in the vicinity of the location A by vibrating 80 (4) with an amplitude of 1 × K (hereinafter referred to as control state 1). You can feel it.

  Further, instead of the control state 1, the control unit 90 vibrates the vibrator 80 (2) with an amplitude of 0.45 × K and vibrates the vibrator 80 (3) with an amplitude of 1 × K. (4) may be vibrated with an amplitude of 0.55 × K (hereinafter referred to as control state 2), and the vibrator 80 (1) and the vibrator 80 (2) are vibrated with an amplitude of 0.22 × K. The vibrator 80 (3) and the vibrator 80 (4) may be vibrated with an amplitude of 0.78 × K (hereinafter referred to as control state 3). As described above, there are a plurality of combinations of vibration modes in which the position of the center of gravity weighted by the amplitude matches the location A, and the control unit 90 causes the user to vibrate at the location A by selecting an arbitrary control state. You can make them feel. The numerical values such as 0.45, 0.55, 1, 0.22, and 0.78 described above are merely examples, and the control unit 90 sets an arbitrary numerical value as long as the center of gravity can be matched with the location A. can do.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a scene in which such localization vibration control is preferably used. In FIG. 7, the touch panel 10 displays the automobile MB that is idling while the vehicle is stopped as a part of the moving image, and the control unit 90 generates vibration at a location A near the engine portion of the automobile MB. Some or all of the vibrators 80 (1) to 80 (4) are vibrated so that the user feels that they are doing. Thereby, since the user feels that vibration is generated in the engine part of the automobile MB, the electronic device 1 can provide the user with a high degree of realism. The storage unit 60 stores audio data (not shown), and the audio data is reproduced together with the reproduction of the moving image, whereby the engine sound of the automobile MB is output from the speaker 70.

[Change of vibration mode]
By the way, as a characteristic of human tactile sensation, if the same vibration is continuously applied, there is a characteristic that the sensation device becomes used and becomes insensitive to the vibration. For this reason, when expressing something that vibrates for a relatively long time, such as the above-mentioned “idling car”, there is a concern that the user may get used to the vibration and the realism may fade. The

  On the other hand, the control unit 90 according to the present embodiment allows the vibrators 80 (1) to 80 (4) while keeping a predetermined position constant when the localization vibration control is continued (for example, when continuing for a predetermined time or more). ) Change the vibration mode combination. In the present specification, “while keeping constant” is a concept including a small change that is not perceived by the user. For example, when the vibration mode is switched between the control states 1 to 3, strictly speaking, the value of the Y coordinate of the center of gravity position differs in each control state. Since it is a small change that does not occur, it may be considered that the predetermined portion is kept constant. Further, the control unit 90 performs control so as not to change the strength of vibration felt by the user before and after changing the combination of vibration modes. In the control states 1 to 3, the total amplitude of vibrations of the vibrators is 2 × K. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the control unit 90 may be a predetermined location evaluated by some method. Control may be performed so that the strength of vibration felt in step 1 does not change before and after the combination of vibration modes is changed.

  As described above, for example, there are at least three control states 1 to 3 for combinations of vibration modes for causing a vibration to be generated at a predetermined location (0, −0.5). Therefore, the control unit 90 switches the control state every time the control continues for a predetermined time or longer when performing the localization vibration control with respect to the predetermined portion. Such a change in the combination of vibration modes gives a change at the level of the sensory organs, but is a change that is not noticeable at the human consciousness level. Thereby, the electronic device 1 can make the person holding the electronic device 1 feel the vibration of localization more continuously. As a result, the electronic device 1 can prevent the user from getting used to vibrations and fainting the realism.

  For example, the control unit 90 alternately switches between the control state 1 and the control state 2 described above. The control unit 90 may switch the control state 1 and the control state 2 smoothly (continuously) or suddenly (discretely). FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a change in amplitude of each vibrator when the control unit 90 smoothly switches between the control state 1 and the control state 2, and FIG. It is a figure which shows the change of the amplitude of each vibrator | oscillator in the case of switching the state 2 suddenly.

  Further, the control unit 90 may alternately switch between the control state 1 and the control state 3 or the control state 2 and the control state 3, or may cyclically switch the control states 1 to 3. When the control state 1 and the control state 3 are alternately switched, and when the control state 2 and the control state 3 are alternately switched, the number of vibrating vibrators is increased or decreased at each switching. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a change in the amplitude of each transducer when the control unit 90 smoothly switches between the control state 1 and the control state 3. In addition, illustration is abbreviate | omitted about the case where the control state 1 and the control state 3 are switched suddenly, the case where the control state 2 and the control state 3 are alternately switched, and the case where the control states 1 to 3 are cyclically switched. Here, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 10, when the control state is smoothly switched, if the amplitude is simply smoothed using a sine wave, an exponential function, a logarithmic function, or the like, the position of the center of gravity is predetermined during the switching. May deviate from the location. Therefore, when the control state is switched smoothly, the amplitude of each transducer may be adjusted so that the position of the center of gravity during the switching is maintained at a predetermined location.

  Further, in the localization vibration control, the control unit 90 may adjust the vibration phase simultaneously with the amplitude to vibrate each vibrator. That is, the control unit 90 may change the tone burst wave synthesis mode (phase in which each transducer vibrates) together with the amplitude every time a predetermined time elapses.

  Further, the control unit 90 may determine the “predetermined time” based on the vibration mode related to the localization vibration control. For example, when the amplitude of vibration is large, it is considered that the time until the user becomes insensitive to vibration is shortened. In addition, when the frequency of vibration is in a frequency band that is easily felt by humans (for example, 100 [Hz] to 300 [Hz]), it is considered that the time until the user becomes insensitive to vibration is shortened.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the amplitude and the predetermined time when the control unit 90 adjusts the predetermined time according to the amplitude of vibration (for example, the reference amplitude K). As shown in FIG. 11, the control unit 90 shortens the predetermined time as the amplitude of vibration increases. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the frequency and the predetermined time when the control unit 90 adjusts the predetermined time according to the vibration frequency. As shown in FIG. 12, when the frequency is within the predetermined band, the control unit 90 shortens the predetermined time as compared with a frequency band lower than the predetermined band or a frequency band higher than the predetermined band. Note that a two-dimensional map obtained by combining the characteristics of FIGS. 11 and 12 is stored in the storage unit 60 in advance, and the control unit 90 adjusts a predetermined time according to the amplitude and frequency of vibration using the two-dimensional map. May be. With this control, the control unit 90 can more appropriately determine the predetermined time, that is, the timing for changing the combination of vibration modes.

  The control unit 90 may change the “predetermined time” according to attributes such as the user's age, sex, height, weight, race, and the like. In this case, the user attribute is registered in advance in the storage unit 60 based on an input operation to the touch panel 10 or the like, and the control unit 90 shortens the predetermined time according to the user attribute registered in the storage unit 60. To make it longer or longer.

[flowchart]
FIG. 13 is an example of a flowchart showing the flow of processing executed by the control unit 90. The process of the flowchart of FIG. 13 is repeatedly executed while a moving image associated with the localization data 64 is being reproduced, for example.

  First, the control unit 90 refers to the localization data 64 and determines whether or not it is within a period in which localization vibration is generated (step S100). If it is not within the period for generating the localized vibration, the control unit 90 ends one routine of the flowchart of FIG.

  If it is within the period for generating the localized vibration, the control unit 90 starts counting by the timer (step S102) and executes the localized vibration control (step S104). Then, the control unit 90 determines whether or not the localization vibration generation period has ended (step S106). When the localization vibration generation period ends, the control unit 90 ends one routine of the flowchart of FIG.

  If the localization vibration generation period has not ended, the control unit 90 refers to the count value of the timer and determines whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the timer count was started (step S108). Here, as described above, the “predetermined time” does not have to be a fixed value, and may be adjusted according to the mode of vibration. If the predetermined time has not elapsed, the process returns to step S104, and the localization vibration control is continued. When the predetermined time has elapsed, the control unit 90 changes the combination of vibration modes (step S110), resets the timer, returns to step S102, and starts counting the timer again.

[Summary]
According to the electronic device 1 and the control program (hereinafter, electronic device 1 or the like) of the present embodiment described above, the vibrator 80 (1) is applied to a predetermined portion that the user wants to feel that vibration is occurring. ) To 80 (4) are weighted by the vibration intensity so that the vibrators 80 (1) to 80 (4) are vibrated so that the position of the center of gravity coincides with the predetermined position. It is possible to make the user feel that vibration has occurred, and to provide the user with a high level of realism.

  In addition, according to the electronic device 1 or the like of the present embodiment, the combination of the vibration modes by the vibrators 80 (1) to 80 (4) is changed while the predetermined position is kept constant when the localization vibration control is continued. Therefore, it is possible to make the person holding the electronic device 1 feel the vibration of localization more continuously. As a result, the electronic device 1 can prevent the user from getting used to vibrations and fainting the realism.

  In addition, according to the electronic device 1 or the like of the present embodiment, by determining the “predetermined time” based on the combination of vibration modes related to the localization vibration control, the timing for changing the combination of vibration modes can be more appropriately determined. Can be determined.

  As mentioned above, although the form for implementing this invention was demonstrated using the Example, this invention is not limited to such an Example at all, In the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention, various deformation | transformation and substitution Can be added.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the control unit 90 performs the determination regarding the passage of the “predetermined time” and the like to change the combination of vibration modes, but the timing for changing the combination of vibration modes is included in advance. “Vibration data (VIB data)” may be stored in the storage unit 60. In this case, the control unit 90 does not perform the process shown in FIG. 13 and vibrates each vibrator according to the vibration program for each vibrator described by the vibration data. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the process in the previous stage in which such vibration data is stored in the storage unit 60 is performed. When the vibration data processing apparatus 200 (for example, a personal computer or the electronic device 1) shown in FIG. 14 receives data equivalent to the localization data 64, the data is analyzed, and the data is analyzed for a predetermined time or more. It is determined whether or not there is a period of vibration with the same vibration mode combination of each vibrator over time, and if there is, the vibration mode combination of each vibrator is changed every time a predetermined time elapses. Data corrected to the data is generated and output to the electronic device 1. The electronic device 1 stores the data thus corrected in the storage unit 60 as vibration data, and reproduces the vibration data in accordance with, for example, reproduction of a moving image.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Electronic device 1, 10 ... Touch panel, 20 ... Main-body part, 30 ... Back cover, 40 ... Imaging part, 50 ... Communication part, 52 ... I / O part, 60 ... Memory | storage part, 62 ... Image data, 64 ... Localization Data: 70 ... Speaker, 75 ... Acceleration sensor, 80 ... Vibration generator, 80 (1) to 80 (4) ... Vibrator, 90 ... Control part, 200 ... Vibration data processing device

Claims (11)

An electronic device that can be used while being held by a person,
Multiple transducers,
A control unit that performs localization vibration control to vibrate the plurality of vibrators so that a person holding the electronic device feels that vibration is occurring at a predetermined location of the electronic device;
The control unit, when the localization vibration control continues, to change the combination of vibration modes by the plurality of vibrators while keeping the predetermined portion constant,
Electronics. The electronic device according to claim 1,
The predetermined location is a center of gravity obtained by weighting the position of the plurality of transducers with the intensity of each vibration.
Electronics. The electronic device according to claim 2,
The intensity of the vibration is the amplitude of the vibration.
Electronics. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A display unit for displaying images;
The control unit performs localization vibration control to vibrate the plurality of vibrators so as to make it feel that vibration is generated at a position corresponding to a display object displayed at a certain place by the display unit.
Electronics. The electronic device according to claim 4,
The display unit is provided on one surface of the casing of the electronic device,
On the surface of the casing opposite to the display unit, a cover unit having the plurality of vibrators attached thereto is provided.
Electronics. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The control unit continuously changes the combination of the vibration modes by the plurality of vibrators when changing the combination of the vibration modes by the plurality of vibrators while keeping the predetermined portion constant.
Electronics. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The control unit discretely changes the combination of vibration modes by the plurality of vibrators when changing the combination of vibration modes by the plurality of vibrators while keeping the predetermined portion constant.
Electronics. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The control unit is configured to change a combination of vibration modes of the plurality of vibrators while keeping the predetermined position constant based on a vibration mode of the plurality of vibrators when performing the localization vibration control. To decide,
Electronics. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
A storage unit for storing attributes of a person who uses the electronic device;
The control unit determines a timing for changing a combination of vibration modes by the plurality of vibrators according to an attribute stored in the storage unit.
Electronics. An electronic device that can be used while being held by a person,
Multiple transducers,
A display for displaying an image;
A control unit that vibrates the plurality of vibrators such that a position corresponding to a display object displayed by the display unit is a center of gravity obtained by weighting the positions of the plurality of vibrators by the intensity of each vibration; ,
Electronic equipment comprising. A control computer for an electronic device that has a plurality of vibrators and can be used while being held by a person.
In order to make the person holding the electronic device feel that vibration is occurring at a predetermined location of the electronic device, the localization vibration control for controlling the plurality of vibrators is performed,
When the localization vibration control is continued, the combination of vibration modes by the plurality of vibrators is changed while keeping the predetermined portion constant.
Electronic equipment control program.

Images