Touch panel input device

• US 4,882,582 A
• Filed: 11/16/1987
• Issued: 11/21/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/1986
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Oka, Minoru
• Primary Examiner(s): Yusko, Donald J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Queen, Tyrone
• Application Number:
  US07/120,880
• Time in Patent Office: 736 Days
• Field of Search: 340/712, 340/365 V, 340/365 L, 340/365 P, 341/23, 341/31, 250/221, 250/222.1
• US Class Current: 341/23
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus

Abstract

A transparent touch panel mounted on the screen of a display CRT of an automatic transaction device used for banking business detects push down of one of keys displayed on the screen. Among a number of keys displaying an operation manual and numbers, those which are to be pushed down by an operator are displayed with an emphasis so that the operator can recognize them easily.

Claims

1. A touch panel input device provided with means for displaying an image including letters and with input keys superposed on the means for displaying and made of a transparent material, in which the image including letters is displayed at a position on the screen of a CRT display corresponding to an arrangement of the input keys, comprising:

means for displaying a part of the image that is displayed at a position corresponding to a subset of the input keys in a manner different from the remaining part of the image corresponding to input keys other than the subset of input keys, said subset of input keys including a number of input keys from which an operator is to make a selection;

wherein the part of the image that is displayed at a position corresponding to the subset of input keys is displayed with greater emphasis, before an operator pushes down one of the keys, than a remaining part of the image corresponding to input keys which are not included in said subset, so that the operator can recognize the part of the image corresponding to the subset of input keys easier than said remaining part of the image.

2. A touch panel input device according to claim 1, wherein said display means includes means for blinking the part of image corresponding to the subset of input keys, which are objects to be pushed down, until the operator pushes down one of that subset.

3. A touch panel input device according to claim 1, wherein said display means includes means for varying the color of the part of the image corresponding to the subset of keys, which are objects to be pushed down, into one different from that for said remaining part of image corresponding to the other keys, until the operator pushes down one of them.

4. A touch panel input device comprising:

(a) a display device displaying an operation manual for an operator and an arrangement of keys to be pushed down;

(b) a touch panel disposed on the surface of said display device and made of a substantially transparent material said touch panel detecting a push down operation by the operator; and

(c) means for controlling the display of said operation manual by indicating on said display device an operation to be selected by the operator and a plurality of keys, whereby a touch panel portion corresponding to one of said plurality of keys should be pushed down according to the displayed operation manual, wherein said means for controlling the display of said operation manual includes means for emphasizing, under said transparent touch panel, a subset part of said display device prior to an operator'"'"'s selection of an operation, said subset part of said display device being determined according to a sequential step of said displayed operation manual.

5. A touch panel input device according to claim 4, wherein said means for emphasizing includes means for blinking the subset of said display part of the keys.

6. A touch panel input device according to claim 4, wherein said means for emphasizing includes means for varying the form of a frame enclosing each of the letters in the subset of said display part.

7. A touch panel input device according to claim 4, wherein said means for emphasizing includes means for enlarging the letters in the subset of said display part.

8. A touch panel input device according to claim 4, wherein said means for emphasizing includes means for varying the color of the letters in the subset of said display part.

9. An automatic transaction machine including a display device that displays an operation manual for an operator and a plurality of keys, which keys are objects to be pushed down according to said operation manual and further including a touch panel superposed on the surface of said display device and made of a substantially transparent material for detecting a push down operation by the operator, said machine comprising:

means for emphasizing a subset of said plurality of keys prior to a selection of a key by an operator, said subset of keys being defined according to said operation manual, and for changing the subset of keys to an original display after the operation has pushed down one of the keys.

10. An automatic transaction machine according to claim 9, wherein said display means comprises means for disposing said plurality of keys within the display of said operation manual.

11. A touch panel input device provided with means for displaying an image that includes letters and also provided with a plurality of input keys superposed on the means for displaying, said input keys being made of a transparent material, and a subset of said input keys being effective for a designated operation wherein in such a touch panel input device the image is displayed at a position corresponding to an arrangement of the input keys on the screen of a CRT display device, said device comprising:

means for displaying a part of the image that corresponds to those keys of the subset of said input keys which are effective for a designated operation, in a manner different from that for a remaining part of the image that corresponds to input keys which are not included in said subset of keys,

wherein the part of image corresponding to the subset of input keys is displayed on the screen of the CRT display device with greater emphasis before an operator pushes down one of the keys than that of the remaining part of the image corresponding to the input keys which are not included in the subset, so that the operator can easily recognize the effective input keys.

12. A touch panel input device according to claim 11, wherein said means for displaying includes means for blinking the part of the image corresponding to the subset of input keys, until the operator pushes down one of those keys.

13. A touch panel input device according to claim 11, wherein said means for displaying includes means for varying a color of the part of the image corresponding to the subset of input keys, into a color different from that for the remaining part of the image that corresponds to input keys not included in said subset until the operator pushes down one of the input keys of said subset.