TACTILE PRESENTATION DEVICE AND ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT

• US 20180143691A1
• Filed: 11/20/2017
• Published: 05/24/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Forcepoint Federal Holdings LLC (Francisco Partners Management LLC)
• Original Assignee: Tianma Japan, Ltd. (Tianma Microelectronics Company Limited)
• Inventors: ASAI, Takuya, HAGA, Hiroshi
• Granted Patent: US 10,747,320 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04111 Cross over in capacitive digitiser, i.e. details of structures for connecting electrodes of the sensing pattern where the connections cross each other, e.g. bridge structures comprising an insulating layer, or vias through substrate
• 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 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0445 using two or more layers of sensing electrodes, e.g. using two layers of electrodes separated by a dielectric layer

Abstract

A tactile presentation device 10 comprises: a substrate 13; a plurality of wirings 11 extending on the substrate 13; a first insulating layer 14 formed on the substrate 13 and covering the wirings 11; a plurality of electrodes 12 disposed on the first insulating layer 14; a second insulating layer 15 covering the electrodes 12; and a drive circuit selectively applying a voltage signal to the electrodes 12 through the wirings 11, based on a control signal input from the outside. Each of the wirings 11 is electrically connected to one of the electrodes 12 via a through hole opened in the first insulating layer 14. At least one of the electrodes 12 presents tactile sense to a user who touches the second insulating layer 15 over the electrode 12 while the voltage signal is being applied. Each of the wirings 11 is partly covered with at least one of the electrodes 12.

Claims

1. A tactile presentation device, comprising:

a substrate;

a plurality of wirings extending on the substrate;

a first insulating layer formed on the substrate and covering the plurality of wirings;

a plurality of electrodes disposed on the first insulating layer;

a second insulating layer covering the plurality of electrodes; and

a drive circuit selectively applying a voltage signal to the plurality of electrodes through the wirings, based on a control signal input from an outside,

wherein

each one of the wirings is electrically connected to one of the electrodes via a through hole opened in the first insulating layer,

at least one of the electrodes presents tactile sense to a user who touches the second insulating layer over the at least one of the electrodes in a state where the voltage signal is being applied, and

each of the wirings is partly covered with at least one of the electrodes.

2. The tactile presentation device according to claim 1, wherein

the plurality of electrodes are arrayed in matrix, and

the plurality of wirings extend in parallel to one alignment direction of the electrodes.

3. The tactile presentation device according to claim 2, wherein

all of the plurality of wirings have a same length, and

an area where each of the wirings overlaps the electrodes through the first insulating layer is same for all the wirings.

4. The tactile presentation device according to claim 2, wherein

an interval between the plurality of electrodes that are adjacent to each other and are aligned in a same one of the wirings is smaller than a thickness of the second insulating layer.

5. The tactile presentation device according to claim 1, wherein

cutout holes are formed in the plurality of wirings, and

the cutout holes are formed at a constant interval in an extending direction of the wirings.

6. The tactile presentation device according to claim 5, wherein

the cutout holes are formed at a constant interval in a direction substantially perpendicular to the extending direction of the wirings.

7. The tactile presentation device according to claim 5, wherein

the cutout holes are formed between the plurality of electrodes that are adjacent to each other.

8. The tactile presentation device according to claim 5, wherein

the cutout holes are contiguously formed across an entire area of the wirings.

9. The tactile presentation device according to claim 5, wherein

the cutout holes in each of the wirings are configured from a combination of a plurality of polygonal shapes.

10. The tactile presentation device according to claim 9, wherein

the plurality of polygonal shapes include a diamond shape and a triangular shape.

11. The tactile presentation device according to claim 1, wherein

each of the plurality of wirings has cutout holes with a plurality of arbitrary shapes in a wiring pattern, and

one or more of the plurality of cutout holes are aligned in an extending direction of the wirings or a direction substantially perpendicular to the extending direction.

12. The tactile presentation device according to claim 1, wherein

the plurality of electrodes are diamond-shaped electrodes arranged in a mesh pattern, and

the plurality of wirings extend in parallel to one diagonal line of the electrodes.

14. Electronic equipment, comprising:

a touch panel display device that displays a result of processing performed by a processor included in the electronic equipment, and accepts an operation input corresponding to the result of processing; and

the tactile presentation device according to claim 1 that presents tactile sense in accordance with display of the result of processing.

13. A tactile presentation device, comprising:

a plurality of electrodes aligned along a first direction above a substrate and held between a first insulating layer formed on the substrate and a second insulating layer formed over the first insulating layer;

a plurality of wirings formed between the substrate and the first insulating layer, extending along the first direction under at least one of the electrodes, and arranged within a forming width of the electrodes in a second direction intersecting the first direction, each of the wirings being electrically connected to one of the plurality of electrodes via a through hole opened in the first insulating layer; and

a drive circuit connecting a part of the plurality of electrodes to a signal voltage source generating a voltage signal while connecting another part of the plurality of electrodes to a reference potential, based on a control signal input from an outside.

15. Electronic equipment, comprising:

a touch panel display device that displays a result of processing performed by a processor included in the electronic equipment, and accepts an operation input corresponding to the result of processing; and

the tactile presentation device according to claim 13 that presents tactile sense in accordance with display of the result of processing.