JP7779174B2 - Graphical User Interface Controller - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a graphical user interface (hereinafter abbreviated as "GUI") control device.

A GUI with a touch panel on the display screen detects touch operations on the screen by the user using the touch panel. When the GUI detects a touch operation on the screen, the electronic device equipped with the GUI executes processing according to the content of the touch operation.

Patent Document 1 proposes a technology for simultaneously inputting setting values for two elements related to heating food in a single operation in a microwave oven GUI. This proposal involves displaying a Cartesian coordinate system with coordinate axes corresponding to the two elements on the GUI display, and allowing the user to drag a point on the display touched with their finger up, down, left, right, or diagonally on the Cartesian coordinate system to a point with coordinate values corresponding to the setting values for both elements.

Special table 2015-59920 publication

With the technology in Patent Document 1, the position touched by a finger or other object is hidden behind the finger or other object during a drag operation on the display, making it difficult for the user to grasp the amount of dragging. Patent Document 1 does not mention a method for making it easier to grasp the amount of dragging.

The purpose of this invention is to make it easier for users to understand the amount of dragging performed in a GUI.

In order to achieve the above object, a graphical user interface control device according to one aspect of the present invention comprises:
1. An apparatus for controlling the operation of a graphical user interface having a touch panel, comprising:
a first processing unit that moves a slider that is displayed on the touch panel and that can move in one dimension in response to a touch operation of the slider that is performed by contacting the touch panel;
a second processing unit that displays a marker at a position on the touch panel that is spaced apart from the slider in a direction perpendicular to a moving direction of the slider while the slider is being touch-operated;
Equipped with.

This invention makes it easier for users to understand the amount of dragging performed in a GUI.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a user terminal device equipped with a GUI control device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a smartphone in which the display unit shown in FIG. 1 is arranged on the front side of the housing. FIG. 3A is a diagram showing a state in which a user touches the treble slider with a finger on the equalizer setting screen of FIG. 2 . FIG. 3B is a diagram showing a state in which a bar corresponding to the treble slider is displayed on the equalizer setting screen by touching the slider in FIG. 3A. FIG. 3C is a diagram showing a state in which the treble slider and bar have been moved on the equalizer setting screen by dragging the slider in FIG. 3B. FIG. 3D is a diagram showing a state in which the movement of the treble slider on the equalizer setting screen by the drag operation of the slider in FIG. 3C has been confirmed. FIG. 3E is a diagram showing the acceptance state of fine adjustment of the treble slider during the suspension period before the slider movement of FIG. 3C is confirmed. FIG. 4A is a diagram showing a state in which a bar corresponding to the bass slider is displayed on the equalizer setting screen by touching the slider in FIG. 3A. FIG. 4B is a diagram showing a state in which a bar corresponding to the midrange slider is displayed on the equalizer setting screen by touching the slider in FIG. 3A. FIG. 4C is a diagram showing a state in which the moving area corresponding to the treble slider on the equalizer setting screen is displayed in color as a result of the touch operation of the slider in FIG. 3A. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which the link button on the equalizer setting screen of FIG. 2 is turned on, and the movement of one dragged slider causes the other two sliders to move in conjunction with each other. FIG. 6 shows the case where the movement direction of the slider on the equalizer setting screen of FIG. 2 is changed by 90°. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state in which a position mark corresponding to the treble slider is displayed on the equalizer setting screen by touching the slider in FIG. 3A. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a state in which a volume setting screen is displayed on the display unit of FIG. 1 by a GUI control device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9A is a diagram showing a state in which a bar corresponding to the left channel slider is displayed on the volume setting screen by touching the slider in FIG. 8. FIG. FIG. 9B is a diagram showing a state in which a bar corresponding to the slider for the right channel is displayed on the volume setting screen by touching the slider in FIG. 8. FIG. 10 shows a state in which the link button on the volume setting screen in FIG. 8 is turned on, and the left channel slider moves in conjunction with the dragged right channel slider.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The same or equivalent parts or components are designated by the same reference numerals throughout the drawings.

The following embodiments are examples of devices that embody the technical concept of this invention. The technical concept of this invention does not limit the materials, shape, structure, arrangement, function, etc. of each component to those described below.

[First embodiment]
Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a user terminal device equipped with a GUI control device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The user terminal device 1 in Fig. 1 can be configured as a mobile terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal device. The user terminal device 1 may not be a mobile terminal, but may also be a stationary terminal device. The user terminal device 1 has a general-purpose microcontroller 10 and a touch panel 20.

The microcontroller 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and memory. The memory includes ROM (Read Only Memory) and RAM (Random Access Memory). The microcontroller 10 can virtually construct multiple information processing circuits by having the CPU execute programs stored in the memory. The microcontroller 10 configures the GUI control device 11 of this embodiment using multiple information processing circuits.

The GUI control device 11 controls the operation of a GUI having a touch panel 20. The touch panel 20 is used as a user interface (hereinafter abbreviated as "UI") to accept information input from the user or to output information to the user. The touch panel 20 can be configured by combining a display unit 21 such as a liquid crystal panel with a position input device. The touch panel 20 of this embodiment uses a touchpad 23 as the position input device. The touchpad 23 may also be called a touch screen, touch screen, or contact screen.

If the user terminal device 1 in FIG. 1 is, for example, a smartphone 30 shown in FIG. 2, the display unit 21 of the touch panel 20 is disposed on the front of the housing 31 of the smartphone 30. FIG. 2 shows a state in which an equalizer setting screen 40 is displayed on the display unit 21. The equalizer setting screen 40 is displayed on the display unit 21 when, for example, a mobile application (not shown) for music playback installed on the smartphone 30 is executed.

A mobile application is application software designed and produced to run on smartphones, tablet computers, and other mobile devices. The equalizer setting screen 40 can be displayed on the display unit 21 even when a native app installed on the smartphone 30 is not running, for example, as a console screen for a mobile website built on a cloud server on the Internet.

The equalizer setting screen 40 in Figure 2 has three adjustment sections 41-43. Each adjustment section 41-43 displays a slider 47-49 that can be moved one-dimensionally within a linear movement area 44-46. In the example in Figure 2, the up and down direction corresponds to the one-dimensional direction. The movement areas 44-46 and sliders 47-49 are illustrations of sliders. A slider is a type of potentiometer that adjusts the resistance value by sliding the slider linearly.

Each adjustment unit 41-43 is assigned three frequency bands: bass, midrange, and treble. Frequencies of the same bandwidth may be assigned evenly to each frequency band, or frequencies of different bandwidths may be assigned. By dragging the sliders 47-49 of each adjustment unit 41-43 with an object such as a finger touching the display unit 21, the frequency characteristics of the audio signal of the music being played can be adjusted for each frequency band. The adjustment resolution of the frequency characteristics may be the same for each frequency band, or may be different. In this embodiment, the adjustment resolution of the frequency characteristics is assumed to be the same for each frequency band. If the adjustment resolution of the frequency characteristics differs depending on the frequency band, the scales on the movement areas 44-46 or the lengths of the movement areas 44-46 will differ depending on the frequency band.

When different scales are used for different frequency bands, scales for the corresponding frequency bands may be displayed near each of the movement areas 44-46. Alternatively, only one scale may be displayed on the equalizer setting screen 40, and the displayed scale content may be switched as needed to match the frequency band whose frequency characteristics are being adjusted by dragging the sliders 47-49.

Dragging of the sliders 47 to 49 can also be performed by touching the display unit 21 with an object other than a finger, such as a touch pen.

The touchpad 23 in FIG. 1 detects touch operations on the display unit 21 in FIG. 2 by a finger or the like placed in contact with the display unit 21. The touchpad 23 can detect touch operations on the display unit 21 using, for example, a capacitance method.

The microcontroller 10 includes multiple information processing circuits that make up the GUI control device 11, which constitute the first processing unit 12, touch detection unit 13, second processing unit 15, discrimination unit 17, and judgment unit 19 shown in Figure 1.

In this embodiment, an example is shown in which the above-mentioned information processing circuits (12, 13, 15, 17, 19) are realized using a microcontroller 10 and software. Of course, it is also possible to prepare dedicated hardware and configure the information processing circuits (12, 13, 15, 17, 19). Furthermore, multiple information processing circuits (12, 13, 15, 17, 19) may be configured using separate hardware.

The display unit 21 displays an equalizer setting screen 40 including sliders 47-49 that move within the movement areas 44-46 shown in Figure 2.

The touch detection unit 13 can detect touch operations on the sliders 47 to 49 by a finger or the like that is in contact with the display unit 21, based on the output of the touchpad 23 in Figure 1. Touch operations can include drag operations, tap operations, and flick operations. A drag operation refers to tracing the screen while still touching it. A tap operation refers to touching the screen and then immediately removing the finger from the screen, and a flick operation refers to sweeping the finger across the screen while still touching it.

When the touch detection unit 13 detects a touch operation on one of the sliders 47 to 49 in FIG. 2, the first processing unit 12 in FIG. 1 can move the sliders 47 to 49 displayed on the display unit 21 within the movement areas 44 to 46 in accordance with the detected touch operation.

The second processing unit 15 in FIG. 1 displays markers on the touch panel 20 at positions spaced apart from the sliders 47 to 49 in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of the sliders 47 to 49 while the touch detection unit 13 is detecting touch operations on the sliders 47 to 49 in FIG. 2. Details of the markers displayed on the touch panel 20 will be described later.

The determination unit 17 determines the operation content of the sliders 47 to 49 in FIG. 2 due to the touch operation detected by the touch detection unit 13 in FIG. 1. The operation content of the sliders 47 to 49 in FIG. 2 determined by the determination unit 17 in FIG. 1 can include tap operations and drag operations of the sliders 47 to 49.

The determination unit 19 in FIG. 1 determines whether the movement of the sliders 47 to 49 within the movement areas 44 to 46 due to the drag operation has been confirmed, based on the operation content of the sliders 47 to 49 in FIG. 2 determined by the discrimination unit 17. The method for determining whether the movement of the sliders 47 to 49 has been confirmed will be described later.

For example, when a user drags the slider 49 of the adjustment unit 43 on the equalizer setting screen 40 with their finger, the slider 49 is hidden behind the finger 60, as shown in Figure 3A, making it difficult for the user to grasp the position of the slider 49 that has been moved by the drag operation.

In this embodiment, when a user touches the slider 49 with a finger 60 on the equalizer setting screen 40 during a drag operation of the slider 49, the touch detection unit 13 in Figure 1 detects the touch operation of the slider 49 with the finger 60.

When the touch detection unit 13 detects a touch operation on the slider 49, the second processing unit 15 displays a bar 50 as a marker on the equalizer setting screen 40, as shown in FIG. 3B. The display of the bar 50 in FIG. 3B by the second processing unit 15 in FIG. 1 may be such that the bar 50 is displayed in a flashing state, or such that the bar 50 is displayed in a constantly lit state.

The bar 50 corresponds to the slider 49 in FIG. 2, whose touch operation is detected by the touch detection unit 13 in FIG. 1. The bar 50 in FIG. 3B extends from the slider 49 in a direction perpendicular to the movement direction of the slider 49. The bar 50 has a length greater than the width W of the finger 60. Both ends of the bar 50 in the extension direction are located at the left and right ends of the equalizer setting screen 40 on the touch panel 20, spaced apart from the slider 49 in a direction perpendicular to the movement direction of the slider 49.

When the touch detection unit 13 in FIG. 1 detects a drag operation of the slider 49 in FIG. 2, the first processing unit 12 moves the position of the slider 49 displayed on the equalizer setting screen 40 in FIG. 2 from the position shown in FIG. 3B to the position shown in FIG. 3C within the movement area 46. In conjunction with the movement of the slider 49, the bar 50 in FIG. 3B displayed by the second processing unit 15 in FIG. 1 also moves to the position shown in FIG. 3C.

When the touch detection unit 13 of FIG. 1 no longer detects the dragging of the slider 49, the determination unit 19 determines that the movement of the slider 49 due to the dragging operation has been confirmed at the position of FIG. 3C. When the determination unit 19 of FIG. 1 determines that the movement of the slider 49 has been confirmed, the first processing unit 12 fixes the position of the slider 49 displayed on the equalizer setting screen 40 at the position of FIG. 3C. When the determination unit 19 of FIG. 1 determines that the movement of the slider 49 has been confirmed, the second processing unit 15 of FIG. 1 ends the display of the bar 50 of FIG. 3C.

Based on the determination result of the determination unit 19, when the movement of the slider 49 that ends the display of the bar 50 in FIG. 3C is confirmed, the second processing unit 15 in FIG. 1 may display the bar 50 in a manner different from that before the movement of the slider 49 was confirmed, and then end the display of the bar 50.

When the bar 50 is displayed in a flashing state while the slider 49 is moving, the display of the bar 50 when the movement of the slider 49 is confirmed can be, for example, such that the bar 50 is displayed in a constantly lit state. The display of the bar 50 in a constantly lit state may be brighter than the lit period when the bar 50 is displayed in a flashing state, as shown in Figure 3D.

If the bar 50 is displayed in a constantly lit state while the slider 49 is moving before its movement is confirmed, the bar 50 can be displayed in a constantly lit state with a greater brightness when the slider 49's movement is confirmed, for example, than before the slider 49's movement is confirmed.

The determination unit 19 in FIG. 1 may determine that the movement of the slider 49 in FIG. 2 has been confirmed at a point other than the point at which the touch detection unit 13 in FIG. 1 no longer detects the drag operation of the slider 49 in FIG. 2.

For example, if the touch detection unit 13 no longer detects a drag operation of the slider 49 in FIG. 2 and then does not detect a touch operation of the slider 49 until a hold period has elapsed, the determination unit 19 in FIG. 1 may determine that the movement of the slider 49 has been confirmed.

During the above-mentioned hold period, the slider 49 may be configured to accept fine adjustments. Fine adjustments to the slider 49 can be accepted, for example, by tapping the area above or below the bar 50 on the equalizer settings screen 40, as shown in FIG. 3E.

If the touch detection unit 13 in FIG. 1 detects a tap operation on an area above or below the bar 50 on the equalizer setting screen 40 in FIG. 3E during the hold period, the second processing unit 15 in FIG. 1 moves the bar 50 in FIG. 3E by a small pitch. If the area above the bar 50 is tapped, the bar 50 moves upward by a small pitch, and if the area below the bar 50 is tapped, the bar 50 moves downward by a small pitch.

During the above-mentioned hold period, the second processing unit 15 in FIG. 1 may display fine-tuning marks 51 above and below the bar 50 in FIG. 3E to notify the user that fine-tuning movement of the slider 49 is being accepted.

The determination unit 19 in FIG. 1 may determine that the movement of the slider 49 in FIG. 2 has been confirmed when the touch detection unit 13 detects, for example, a double-tap operation on the equalizer setting screen 40 in FIG. 3E after the touch detection unit 13 no longer detects the drag operation of the slider 49 in FIG. 2. A double-tap operation refers to an operation of tapping the screen twice in succession within a short period of time.

The above describes a case where the user drags the slider 49 of the adjustment unit 43 corresponding to treble with the finger 60. When dragging the sliders 47, 48 of the adjustment units 41, 42 corresponding to bass and midrange, if the touch detection unit 13 in FIG. 1 detects a touch operation with the finger 60, the second processing unit 15 displays a bar 50 as a marker on the equalizer setting screen 40.

The bar 50 corresponding to each slider 47-49 may be displayed on the display unit 21 in a different manner for each slider 47-49 for which the touch detection unit 13 in FIG. 1 has detected a touch operation. By changing the manner of the bar 50 for each slider 47-49, the user can recognize which frequency band slider 47-49 is being touched, based on the manner of the bar 50 displayed on the display unit 21.

The appearance of the bar 50 can be varied, for example, by changing the color of the bar 50. If the touch detection unit 13 in FIG. 1 changes the color of the bar 50 for each of the sliders 47-49 for which a touch operation is detected, the bar 50 will be displayed on the display unit 21 in a different color for each of the bass, mid-range, and treble frequency bands. Instead of changing the color of the bar 50 for each of the sliders 47-49, the appearance of the bar 50 may be varied by factors other than color, such as by changing the brightness or blinking rate of the bar 50 for each of the sliders 47-49.

The second processing unit 15 in FIG. 1 may display the movement areas 44-46 corresponding to each slider 47-49 on the display unit 21 in different modes depending on whether the touch detection unit 13 has detected a touch operation of the corresponding slider 47-49. By changing the display mode of the movement areas 44-46 depending on the detection status of the touch detection unit 13, the user can recognize which frequency band slider 47-49 is being touched based on the display mode of the movement areas 44-46.

The display appearance of the moving areas 44-46 can be varied, for example, by changing the color, brightness, etc. of the moving areas 44-46. Figures 4A to 4C show an example in which the appearance of the bar 50 and moving areas 44-46 is varied by color. In Figures 4A to 4C, the difference in color of the bar 50 is represented by the type of line, and the difference in color of the moving areas 44-46 is represented by the presence or absence of hatching and the type of hatching.

As shown in FIG. 5, the equalizer setting screen 40 may have a link button 52 below the adjustment units 41 to 43. When the link button 52 in FIG. 5 is turned on by a touch operation, the first processing unit 12 in FIG. 1 can move the sliders 47 to 49 displayed on the equalizer setting screen 40 in a linked manner.

When the sliders 47 to 49 are moved in conjunction with one another, the first processing unit 12 in FIG. 1 moves the other two sliders that are not dragged in conjunction with the movement of one of the sliders 47 to 49 displayed on the equalizer setting screen 40 in FIG. 5 that is dragged.

The first processing unit 12 in FIG. 1 may move two linked sliders by the same amount as the single slider that is dragged. The first processing unit 12 may also move the two linked sliders to a well-balanced position that corresponds to the position of the single slider after it has been moved, regardless of the amount of movement of the single slider that is dragged.

When two other sliders are moved in conjunction with the movement of one dragged slider, the second processing unit 15 in FIG. 1 may display bars 50 corresponding to the other two sliders on the equalizer setting screen 40.

The bars 50 corresponding to the other two sliders may be displayed in a different line style from the bar 50 corresponding to the one slider that was dragged, as shown in FIG. 5, for example. The second processing unit 15 in FIG. 1 may display the bars 50 corresponding to the other two sliders in a different color from the bar 50 corresponding to the one slider that was dragged, or may display the bars 50 corresponding to the other two sliders by flashing them.

The second processing unit 15 in FIG. 1 may display the bar 50 corresponding to one dragged slider in a different manner from the bars 50 corresponding to the other two sliders that are moved in conjunction with the dragged slider. Displaying the bars 50 in different manners can be achieved by using different colors, different line types, etc. for the bars 50.

The first processing unit 12 in FIG. 1 may change the movement direction of sliders 47 to 49 on the equalizer setting screen 40 by 90 degrees, as shown in FIG. 6.

With the GUI control device 11 of this embodiment, even if the sliders 47 to 49 are hidden behind the finger 60 performing the drag operation, the position of the slider 49 in the movement direction can be grasped by the display of a bar 50 that is longer than the width W of the finger 60 and extends in a direction perpendicular to the movement direction of the slider 49.

The second processing unit 15 in FIG. 1 may display position marks as markers on the equalizer setting screen 40 instead of the bars 50 corresponding to each slider 47-49. FIG. 7 shows a case in which the second processing unit 15 displays, as a marker on the equalizer setting screen 40, a position mark 70 corresponding to the slider 49 in FIG. 2 on which the touch detection unit 13 in FIG. 1 has detected a touch operation by a finger 60.

The position mark 70 is positioned outside the adjustment units 41 to 43, spaced from the slider 49 in a direction perpendicular to the movement direction of the slider 49. The distance between the slider 49 and the position mark 70 in the separation direction is longer than the width W of the finger 60 touching the slider 49. The second processing unit 15 in FIG. 1 moves the position mark 70 in FIG. 7 displayed on the equalizer setting screen 40 in accordance with the movement of the slider 49 due to the drag operation.

When the second processing unit 15 displays a position mark 70 on the equalizer setting screen 40, even if the slider 49 is hidden behind the finger 60 performing the drag operation, the position of the slider 49 in the movement direction can be determined by the display of the position mark 70, which is positioned outside the width W of the finger 60.

Second Embodiment
Like the first embodiment, the user terminal device 1 of the second embodiment has a general-purpose microcontroller 10 and a touch panel 20 shown in Fig. 1. The microcontroller 10 configures a GUI control device 11 of this embodiment using multiple information processing circuits that are virtually constructed by the CPU executing a program stored in memory. The microcontroller 10 configures a first processing unit 12, a touch detection unit 13, a second processing unit 15, a discrimination unit 17, and a determination unit 19 using the multiple information processing circuits that configure the GUI control device 11.

The volume setting screen 80 shown in Figure 8 is displayed on the display unit 21 of the touch panel 20 of the second embodiment. The volume setting screen 80 has two adjustment units 81, 82 corresponding to the earphone volumes of the left and right channels. Each adjustment unit 81, 82 displays linear movement areas 83, 84 that illustrate slide volumes, sliders 85, 86 that can move one-dimensionally within the movement areas 83, 84, and a link button 87. In the example of Figure 8, the up and down direction corresponds to the one-dimensional direction.

The volume of the music being played can be adjusted for each channel by dragging the sliders 85 and 86 of each adjustment unit 81 and 82 with an object such as a finger that is in contact with the display unit 21. Dragging the sliders 85 and 86 can also be performed by touching an object other than a finger, such as a touch pen, to the display unit 21.

The touch detection unit 13 of the second embodiment can detect touch operations of the sliders 85, 86 by a finger or the like that is in contact with the display unit 21, based on the output of the touchpad 23 in Figure 1.

When the touch operation unit 13 detects a touch operation on the sliders 85, 86 in FIG. 8, the first processing unit 12 in the second embodiment can move the sliders 85, 86 displayed on the display unit 21 within the movement areas 83, 84 in accordance with the detected touch operation.

In the second embodiment, the second processing unit 15 displays a marker on the volume setting screen 80 while the touch detection unit 13 detects a touch operation on the sliders 85, 86 in FIG. 8. The marker is placed at a position on the touch panel 20 spaced apart from the sliders 85, 86 in a direction perpendicular to the movement direction of the sliders 85, 86.

In this embodiment, for example, when a user touches the sliders 85, 86 with a finger on the volume setting screen 80 to drag the sliders 85, 86, the touch detection unit 13 detects the touch operation of the sliders 85, 86 with the finger.

When the touch detection unit 13 detects a touch operation on the sliders 85 and 86, the second processing unit 15 displays a bar 90 as a marker on the volume setting screen 80, as shown in Figures 9A and 9B. Figure 9A shows a state in which a bar 90 corresponding to the slider 85 for the left channel is displayed on the volume setting screen 80 in response to a touch operation on the slider 85 for the right channel. Figure 9B shows a state in which a bar 90 corresponding to the slider 86 is displayed on the volume setting screen 80 in response to a touch operation on the slider 86 for the right channel.

The display of the bar 90 in Figures 9A and 9B by the second processing unit 15 in the second embodiment can be performed in a manner similar to the display of the bar 50 on the equalizer setting screen 40 in the first embodiment.

The discrimination unit 17 of the second embodiment discriminates the operation content of the sliders 85, 86 in FIG. 8 due to the touch operation detected by the touch detection unit 13. The operation content of the sliders 85, 86 in FIG. 8 discriminated by the discrimination unit 17 of the second embodiment can include tap operations and drag operations of the sliders 85, 86.

The determination unit 19 of the second embodiment determines whether the movement of the sliders 85, 86 within the movement areas 83, 84 due to the drag operation has been confirmed, based on the operation content of the sliders 85, 86 in Figure 8 determined by the determination unit 17. Whether the movement of the sliders 85, 86 has been confirmed can be determined in the same manner as the determination unit 19 of the first embodiment determines whether the movement of the sliders 47 to 49 has been confirmed.

The first processing unit 12 of the second embodiment may move two sliders 85, 86 displayed on the volume setting screen 80 in conjunction with each other when the link button 87 in FIG. 8 is turned on by a touch operation. When moving the two sliders 85, 86 in conjunction with each other, the first processing unit 12 of the second embodiment moves the other slider that is not dragged in conjunction with the movement of one of the two sliders 85, 86 that is dragged.

In the second embodiment, the first processing unit 12 may move one of the sliders 85, 86 that is not being dragged by the same amount as the one slider that is being dragged. The first processing unit 12 may move the one of the sliders 85, 86 that is not being dragged to a well-balanced position that corresponds to the position of the one slider that is being dragged after it has been moved.

When the two sliders 85, 86 are moved in conjunction with each other, the second processing unit 15 of the second embodiment may display a bar 90 corresponding to the slider that is not being dragged on the volume setting screen 80. The display of the bar 90 corresponding to the slider that is not being dragged can be performed in the same way as when the sliders 47 to 49 in the first embodiment are moved in conjunction with each other. Figure 10 shows a case where, due to a touch operation of the right channel slider 86, in addition to the bar 90 corresponding to the slider 86, a bar 90 corresponding to the left channel slider 85 is also displayed on the volume setting screen 80.

In the second embodiment, the second processing unit 15 may display the movement areas 83, 84 corresponding to each slider 85, 86 on the display unit 21 in different colors depending on whether the touch detection unit 13 has detected a touch operation of the corresponding slider 85, 86.

Even in the GUI control device 11 of the second embodiment, when the sliders 85 and 86 are hidden behind the finger 60 performing the drag operation, the position of the slider 49 in the movement direction can be grasped by displaying a bar 90 that is longer than the width W of the finger 60 and extends in a direction perpendicular to the movement direction of the slider 49.

In the GUI control device 11 of the second embodiment, the second processing unit 15 may also display a mark similar to the position mark 70 of the first embodiment in FIG. 7 as a marker on the volume setting screen 80 of FIG. 8, instead of the bar 90. In the GUI control device 11 of the second embodiment, the first processing unit 12 may also change the movement direction of the sliders 85, 86 on the volume setting screen 80 by 90 degrees.

In the above-described embodiments, cases where there are two or more sliders 47-49, 85, and 86 have been described. The present invention is also applicable to cases where there is a single slider. The present invention is not limited to the GUIs of the equalizer and left and right channel earphone volume application software described in the above embodiments, but can also be applied to the GUI of, for example, mixer application software that adjusts and mixes audio from multiple sound sources.

10 Microcontroller 11 Graphical User Interface (GUI) Control Device 12 First Processing Unit 15 Second Processing Unit 17 Discrimination Unit 19 Determination Unit 20 Touch Panel 44 to 46, 83, 84 Movement Area 47 to 49, 85, 86 Slider 50, 90 Bar (Marker)
60 Finger 70 Position mark (marker)

Claims (4)

1. An apparatus for controlling the operation of a graphical user interface having a touch panel, comprising:
a first processing unit that moves one of a plurality of sliders that are displayed on the touch panel and are movable in one dimension in response to a touch operation of the slider performed by contacting the touch panel;
a second processing unit that displays, on the touch panel while the slider is being touch-operated, a linear marker that extends from the slider in a direction perpendicular to a moving direction of the slider ;
The processing in the first processing unit or the second processing unit includes:
At least one end side in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the slider,
a scale corresponding to a range of movement of the slider that is moved by the touch operation is displayed in response to the slider being operated;
When the operated slider is switched, the scale corresponding to the slider is switched and displayed.
Graphical user interface control device. the first processing unit causes the plurality of sliders to be displayed on the touch panel;
The second processing unit is
The marker corresponding to the slider that has been touched is
The graphical user interface control device according to claim 1, wherein each slider is displayed on the touch panel in a different manner. The first processing unit determines a state of a moving area of the slider that is touched;
The state of the movement area of the slider is made different from that of the slider that is not touched,
The graphical user interface control device according to claim 2 , wherein the movement area corresponding to the slider is displayed on the touch panel. a determination unit that determines the operation content of the slider that has been touched;
a determination unit that determines whether or not the movement of the slider by the touch operation has been confirmed based on the operation content determined by the determination unit,
A graphical user interface control device described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the second processing unit displays the marker on the touch panel in different manners before and when the movement of the slider is confirmed based on the judgment result of the judgment unit.