TOUCH SENSOR AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE

• US 20150301660A1
• Filed: 09/04/2013
• Published: 10/22/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nissha Printing Company Limited (Nissha Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Nissha Printing Company Limited (Nissha Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: WATAZU, Yuji
• Granted Patent: US 9,772,735 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04101 2.5D-digitiser, i.e. digitiser detecting the X/Y position of the input means, finger or stylus, also when it does not touch, but is proximate to the digitiser's interaction surface and also measures the distance of the input means within a short range in the Z direction, possibly with a separate measurement setup
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04105 Pressure sensors for measuring the pressure or force exerted on the touch surface without providing the touch position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04112 Electrode mesh in capacitive digitiser: electrode for touch sensing is formed of a mesh of very fine, normally metallic, interconnected lines that are almost invisible to see. This provides a quite large but transparent electrode surface, without need for ITO or similar transparent conductive material
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/045 using resistive elements, e.g. a single continuous surface or two parallel surfaces put in contact
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/36 using liquid crystals

Abstract

A low cost touch sensor can, in conjunction with a detection of an input operation, perform detection related to a pressing force during the input operation. Upper part electrodes of the touch sensor are disposed such that they extend in an X axial direction and are arrayed in a Y axial direction that intersects the X axial direction. Furthermore, each upper part electrode comprises a plurality of upper part resistive films whose end parts in the X axial direction are electrically connected by a connection pattern. Lower part electrodes are disposed opposing the upper part resistive films and comprise lower part resistive films, whose contact surface area with the upper part resistive films varies in accordance with a pressing force that narrows the spacing to the upper part resistive films. A detection device detects contact between the upper part resistive films and the lower part resistive films based on the change in the resistance from the upper part electrodes to the lower part electrodes.

Claims

1. A touch sensor comprising:

a first electrode that comprises a plurality of lines of first resistive films, the plurality of lines of first resistive films being disposed to extend in a first direction and arrayed in a second direction that intersects the first direction, whose end parts in the first direction are electrically connected to each other;

a first connection pattern for electrically connecting together the end parts in the first direction of the plurality of lines of the first resistive films;

a second electrode that comprises at least one line of second resistive film disposed opposing the plurality of lines of first resistive films, the second electrode being arranged such that contact surface area between the at least one line of second resistive film and the plurality of lines of first resistive films varies in accordance with a pressing force that narrows a spacing between the plurality of lines of first resistive films and the at least one second resistive film;

a second connection pattern for electrically connecting the end part in the second direction of the at least one second resistive film; and

a detection device that, based on a change in a resistance value from the first electrode to the second electrode, detects a contact between the plurality of lines of first resistive films and the at least one line of second resistive film and detects the extent of the contact surface area between the plurality of lines of first resistive films and the at least one line of second resistive film based on a resistance value that is measured by a resistance measuring apparatus connecting to the first connection pattern and the second connection pattern.

3. The touch sensor according to claim 1, wherein

the second electrode includes a plurality of lines of the second resistive films having end parts in the second direction electrically connected to each other by the second connection pattern and the plurality of lines of the second resistive films are disposed to extend in the second direction and arrayed in the first direction.

4. The touch sensor according to claim 1, wherein

the detection device detects a coordinate in the first direction of a contact location between the first electrode and the second electrode based on a change in the resistance value detected by impressing a first voltage that generates an electric potential difference in the first direction, and detects a coordinate in the second direction of the contact location based on a change in the resistance value detected by impressing a second voltage that generates an electric potential difference in the second direction.

5. The touch sensor according to claim 1, wherein

the plurality of lines of first resistive films are arranged into a plurality of sets arrayed in the second direction;

the at least one line of second resistive film are arranged into a plurality of sets arrayed in the first direction; and

the detection device detects the coordinates in the first direction and the second direction of a contact location based on a matrix of the plurality of sets of the plurality of lines of first resistive films and the plurality of sets of the at least one of second resistive films.

7. The touch sensor according to claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of resistance adding members that are connected between the plurality of lines of first resistive films and the first connection pattern, each resistance adding member adding resistance to a corresponding line of first resistive film.

8. The touch sensor according to claim 1, further comprising:

a pressure sensitive ink layer that is provided between the plurality of lines of first resistive films and the at least one second resistive film and whose resistance value varies in accordance with the pressing force between the plurality of lines of first resistive films and the at least one second resistive film.

9. An electronic device, comprising:

a touch sensor according to claim 1; and

a control apparatus connected to the touch sensor and that receives input data related to contact between the plurality of lines of first resistive films and the at least one second resistive film detected by the detection device and related to the extent of the contact surface area between the plurality of lines of first resistive films and the at least one second resistive film.

13. The touch sensor according to claim 3, wherein

the detection device detects a coordinate in the first direction of a contact location between the first electrode and the second electrode based on a change in the resistance value detected by impressing a first voltage that generates an electric potential difference in the first direction, and detects a coordinate in the second direction of the contact location based on a change in the resistance value detected by impressing a second voltage that generates an electric potential difference in the second direction.

14. The touch sensor according to claim 13, further comprising

a plurality of resistance adding members that are connected between the plurality of lines of first resistive films and the first connection pattern, each resistance adding member adding resistance to a corresponding line of first resistive film.

15. The touch sensor according to claim 13, further comprising:

a pressure sensitive ink layer that is provided between the plurality of lines of first resistive films and the at least one second resistive film and whose resistance value varies in accordance with the pressing force between the plurality of lines of first resistive films and the at least one second resistive film.

16. The touch sensor according to claim 3, wherein

the plurality of lines of first resistive films are arranged into a plurality of sets arrayed in the second direction;

the at least one line of second resistive film are arranged into a plurality of sets arrayed in the first direction; and

the detection device detects the coordinates in the first direction and the second direction of a contact location based on a matrix of the plurality of sets of the plurality of lines of first resistive films and the plurality of sets of the at least one of second resistive films.

17. The touch sensor according to claim 16, further comprising

a plurality of resistance adding members that are connected between the plurality of lines of first resistive films and the first connection pattern, each resistance adding member adding resistance to a corresponding line of first resistive film.

18. The touch sensor according to claim 16, further comprising:

a pressure sensitive ink layer that is provided between the plurality of lines of first resistive films and the at least one second resistive film and whose resistance value varies in accordance with the pressing force between the plurality of lines of first resistive films and the at least one second resistive film.

2. (canceled)

6. A touch sensor comprising:

a first electrode that comprises a plurality of lines of first resistive films, the plurality of lines of first resistive films being disposed to extend in a first direction and arrayed in a second direction that intersects the first direction, whose end parts in the first direction are electrically connected to each other,

a second electrode that comprises a plurality of lines of second resistive films disposed opposing the plurality of lines of first resistive films, the second electrode being arranged such that contact surface area between the plurality of lines of second resistive films and the plurality of lines of first resistive films varies in accordance with a pressing force that narrows a spacing between the plurality of lines of first resistive films and the plurality of lines of second resistive films, the plurality of lines of second resistive films having end parts in the first direction are electrically connected to each other and the plurality of lines of second resistive films being disposed to extend in the first direction and arrayed in the second direction, and the plurality of lines of first resistive films and the plurality of lines of second resistive films being disposed such that each line of the first resistive films corresponds to one line of the second resistive films; and

a detection device that, based on a change in a resistance value from the first electrode to the second electrode, detects a contact between the plurality of lines of first resistive films and the plurality of lines of second resistive film and detects the extent of the contact surface area between the plurality of lines of first resistive films and the plurality of lines of second resistive film.

10. The touch sensor according to claim 6, further comprising:

a first connection pattern, for electrically connecting together the end parts in the first direction of the plurality of lines of the first resistive films; and

a plurality of resistance adding members that are connected between the plurality of lines of first resistive films and the first connection pattern, each resistance adding member adding resistance to a corresponding line of first resistive film.

11. The touch sensor according to claim 6, further comprising:

a pressure sensitive ink layer that is provided between the plurality of lines of first resistive films and the at least one second resistive film and whose resistance value varies in accordance with the pressing force between the plurality of lines of first resistive films and the at least one second resistive film.

12. An electronic device, comprising:

a touch sensor according to claim 6; and

a control apparatus connected to the touch sensor and that receives input data related to contact between the plurality of lines of first resistive films and the at least one second resistive film detected by the detection device and related to the extent of the contact surface area between the plurality of lines of first resistive films and the at least one second resistive film.