PORTABLE APPARATUS

• US 20170177152A1
• Filed: 12/16/2016
• Published: 06/22/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Minebea Mitsumi, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Minebea Company Limited (MinebeaMitsumi Inc.)
• Inventors: SATO, Satoshi, TERADA, Naoyuki, ADACHI, Kazumasa, SHIMURA, Takahiro, ADACHI, Shigeyuki, FURUTA, Makoto
• Granted Patent: US 10,114,506 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1613 for portable computers cooling arrangements therefor G06F1/203; constructional details or arrangements for pocket calculators, electronic agendas or books G06F15/0216; constructional details of portable telephone sets: with several bodies H04M1/0202
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1643 the display being associated to a digitizer, e.g. laptops that can be used as penpads details related to the relative motion of the display enclosure with respect to the body enclosure, e.g. to move between laptop and tablet PC configuration G06F1/1615
• 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 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04144 using an array of force sensing means position sensing using the local deformation of sensor cells G06F3/0447

Abstract

There is provided a portable apparatus capable of detecting a touch position where a user touches the portable apparatus and a touch strength with which the user touches the portable apparatus. The portable apparatus includes: a rectangular frame on which a display panel unit is to be mounted; four touch detection-dedicated legs respectively extending from vicinities of four corners of the frame; a first strain gage attached to each of the touch detection-dedicated legs; and a calculation unit that finds the touch position and the touch strength based on an output of the first strain gage.

Claims

1. A portable apparatus capable of detecting a touch position where a user touches the portable apparatus and a touch strength with which the user touches the portable apparatus, the portable apparatus comprising:

a rectangular frame on which a display panel unit is to be mounted;

four touch detection-dedicated legs respectively extending from vicinities of four corners of the frame;

a first strain gage attached to each of the touch detection-dedicated legs; and

a calculation unit that finds the touch position and the touch strength based on an output of the first strain gage.

2. The portable apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a grip detection-dedicated leg extending from a long side of the frame; and

a second strain gage attached to the grip detection-dedicated leg,

wherein the calculation unit finds a grip strength with which the user grips the portable apparatus, based on an output of the second strain gage.

3. The portable apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of grip detection-dedicated legs extending from one long side of the frame; and

a second strain gage attached to each of the plurality of grip detection-dedicated legs,

wherein the calculation unit finds a grip strength with which the user grips the portable apparatus and a grip position where the user grips the portable apparatus, based on outputs of the second strain gages.

4. The portable apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a casing that has a back surface and a side surface and that houses the touch detection-dedicated leg,

wherein each of the four touch detection-dedicated legs is in contact with the back surface on an inside of the casing.

5. The portable apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a casing that has a back surface and a side surface and that houses the touch detection-dedicated legs,

wherein each of the four touch detection-dedicated legs is in contact with the back surface on an inside of the casing, and the grip detection-dedicated leg is in contact with the side surface on the inside of the casing.

9. The portable apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rectangular frame and the four touch detection-dedicated legs are formed integrally and are formed of an identical material.

12. The portable apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising:

a grip detection-dedicated leg extending from the frame; and

a second strain gage attached to the grip detection-dedicated leg,

wherein the calculation unit finds a grip strength with which the user grips the portable apparatus, based on an output of the second strain gage.

6. A portable apparatus capable of detecting a grip strength with which a user grips the portable apparatus, the portable apparatus comprising:

a rectangular frame on which a display panel unit is to be mounted;

a first grip detection-dedicated leg extending from a long side of the frame;

a first strain gage attached to the first grip detection-dedicated leg; and

a calculation unit that finds the grip strength based on an output of the first strain gage.

7. The portable apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a casing that has a back surface and a side surface and that houses the grip detection-dedicated leg,

wherein the grip detection-dedicated leg is in contact with the side surface on an inside of the casing.

8. The portable apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising:

a second grip detection-dedicated leg extending from the long side of the frame; and

a second strain gage attached to the second grip detection-dedicated leg,

wherein the calculation unit detects a grip position where the user grips the casing, based on outputs of the first strain gage and the second strain gage.

10. The portable apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the rectangular frame and the first grip detection-dedicated leg are formed integrally and are formed of an identical material.

11. A portable apparatus capable of detecting a touch position where a user touches the portable apparatus and a touch strength with which the user touches the portable apparatus, the portable apparatus comprising:

a frame on which a display panel unit is to be mounted;

at least two touch detection-dedicated legs respectively extending from the frame;

a first strain gage attached to each of the touch detection-dedicated legs; and

a calculation unit that finds the touch position and the touch strength based on an output of the first strain gage.