Object Detecting Device for Detecting Object Using Electromagnetic Induction

• US 20090146654A1
• Filed: 06/04/2007
• Published: 06/11/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Newcom, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Newcom, Inc.
• Inventors: Ogawa, Yasuji
• Granted Patent: US 8,013,598 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 324/228
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 7/003 for measuring position, not involving coordinate determination coordinate measuring G01B7/004
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 7/28 for measuring contours or curvatures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/046 by electromagnetic means

Abstract

Provided is an object detecting device, which can detect the shape of or the distance from an object made of an electrically conductive or magnetic material, and which can detect the position indicated by an object made of an electrically-non-conductive/non-magnetic material, such as a finger. The object detecting device detects the shape of or the distance from an object to be measured, which is placed on a detection surface and made of an electrically conductive or magnetic material, by using an electromagnetic induction. The object detecting device includes a first loop wire group of a plurality of first loop wires (1) arranged in parallel on the same plane, a second loop wire group of a plurality of second loop wires (2) arranged in parallel on the same plane, and a spacer (3) for keeping the distance between them at a constant. The plurality of the second loop wires (2) are individually arranged in a direction perpendicular to the plurality of the first loop wires (1). The object detecting device further includes a plurality of electromagnetic coupling portions for electromagnetically coupling the first loop wires and the second loop wires. A driver (20) drives the first loop wire group, and a detector (30) detects the change in the couplings of the electromagnetically coupling units from the second loop wire group.

Claims

1. An object detecting device that uses an electromagnetic induction to detect the shape of or the distance from an object to be measured made of an electrically conductive or magnetic material placed on a detection surface of the device, said device comprising:

a first loop wire group in which a plurality of first loop wires each having a plurality of coil-shaped portions are arranged on the same plane in parallel to one another;

a second loop wire group in which a plurality of second loop wires each having a plurality of coil-shaped portions are arranged on the same plane in parallel to one another, the second loop wire group being arranged in parallel to the first loop wire group, and the plurality of the second loop wires being arranged in perpendicular to the plurality of the first loop wires, respectively;

a spacer that keeps the distance between the first loop wire group and the second loop wire group constant;

a plurality of electromagnetic coupling portions at which the first loop wires and the second loop wires are electromagnetically coupled to each other through the coil-shaped portions located at the intersections between the first loop wires and the second loop wires;

a driver that is connected to one of the first loop wire group and the second loop wire group and drives the loop wire group connected thereto; and

a detector that is connected to the other one of the first loop wire group and the second loop wire group and detects a change in the degree of electromagnetic coupling at each of the electromagnetic coupling portions from the loop wire group connected thereto.

2. The object detecting device according to claim 1, in which the coil-shaped portion of each of the first loop wires is different in size from the coil-shaped portion of each of the second loop wires.

10. The object detecting device according to claim 1, in which when an object to be measured and a position indicator different from the object to be measured are placed on the detection surface, the detector detects the shape of the object to be measured where the level of the output signal from one of the first loop wire group and the second loop wire group is decreased, while the detector detects the position indicated by the position indicator where the level of the output signal from one of the first loop wire group and the second loop wire group is increased.

11. The object detecting device according to claim 10, in which the position indicator has a synchronizing circuit synchronizing with a specific frequency, and the driver drives the other one of the first loop wire group and the second loop wire group with the specific frequency.

12. The object detecting device according to claim 11, in which when an object to be measured, position indicator having the synchronizing circuit, and position indicator not having the synchronizing circuit are placed on the detection surface,

the driver drives the other one of the first loop wire group and the second loop wire group with a first frequency and the second frequency,

the synchronizing circuit synchronizes with the second frequency,

the detector detects the shape of the object to be measured when the level of the output signal from one of the first loop wire group and the second loop wire group is decreased where the other one of the first loop wire group and the second loop wire group is driven with the first frequency,

the detector detects the position indicated by the position indicator not having the synchronization circuit when the level of the output signal from one of the first loop wire group and the second loop wire group is increased where the other one of the first loop wire group and the second loop wire group is driven with the first frequency, and

the detector detects the position indicated by the position indicator having the synchronization circuit when the level of the output signal obtained where the other one of the first loop wire group and the second loop wire group is driven with the second frequency is higher than the level of the output signal obtained where the other one of the first loop wire group and the second loop wire group is driven with the first frequency.

3. An object detecting device that uses an electromagnetic induction to detect the shape of or the distance from an object to be measured made of an electrically conductive or magnetic material placed on a detection surface of the device, said device comprising:

a first loop wire group in which a plurality of first loop wires each having a plurality of coil-shaped portions are arranged on the same plane in parallel to one another;

a second loop wire group in which a plurality of linear-shaped second loop wires are arranged on the same plane in parallel to one another, the second loop wire group being arranged in parallel to the first loop wire group, and the plurality of the second loop wires being arranged in perpendicular to the plurality of the first loop wires, respectively;

a spacer that keeps the distance between the first loop wire group and the second loop wire group constant;

a plurality of electromagnetic coupling portions at which the first loop wires and the second loop wires are electromagnetically coupled to each other through the coil-shaped portions located at the intersections between the first loop wires and the second loop wires;

a driver that is connected to one of the first loop wire group and the second loop wire group and drives the loop wire group connected thereto; and

a detector that is connected to the other one of the first loop wire group and the second loop wire group and detects a change in the degree of electromagnetic coupling at each of the electromagnetic coupling portions from the loop wire group connected thereto.

4. An object detecting device that uses an electromagnetic induction to detect the shape of or the distance from an object to be measured made of an electrically conductive or magnetic material placed on a detection surface of the device, said device comprising:

a first loop wire group in which a plurality of linear-shaped first loop wires are arranged on the same plane in parallel to one another;

a second loop wire group in which a plurality of linear-shaped second loop wires are arranged on the same plane in parallel to one another, the second loop wire group being arranged in parallel to the first loop wire group, and the second loop wires being arranged in perpendicular to the first loop wires;

a spacer that keeps the distance between the first loop wire group and the second loop wire group constant;

a plurality of electromagnetic coupling portions at which the first loop wires and the second loop wires are electromagnetically coupled to each other through a plurality of conductive plates located in the vicinity of the intersections between the first loop wires and the second loop wires;

a driver that is connected to one of the first loop wire group and the second loop wire group and drives the loop wire group connected thereto; and

a detector that is connected to the other one of the first loop wire group and the second loop wire group and detects a change in the degree of electromagnetic coupling at each of the electromagnetic coupling portions from the loop wire group connected thereto.

5. The object detecting device according to claim 4, in which the conductive plates are provided in the vicinity of the portions between adjacent first loop wires and between adjacent second loop wires.

6. The object detecting device according to claim 4, in which the conductive plates are provided at the portions in the vicinity of the first loop wires and between adjacent second loop wires and provided at the portions in the vicinity of the second loop wires and between adjacent first loop wires.

7. The object detecting device according to claim 4, in which the conductive plates are fixed such that the distance between the conductive plates and the first loop wire group and the distance between the conductive plates and the second loop wire group are constant, respectively.

8. The object detecting device according to claim 4, in which the conductive plates are provided in the vicinity of the first loop wire group and the second loop wire group through an elastic material, and the distance between the conductive plates and the first loop wire group and the distance between the conductive plates and the second loop wire group are changed by a pressure applied to the conductive plates.

9. The object detecting device according to claim 4, in which the conductive plates are formed into a coil shape.