Touch panel and touch type input device

• US 9,134,826 B2
• Filed: 12/06/2011
• Issued: 09/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Murata Manufacturing Co Limited
• Original Assignee: Murata Manufacturing Co Limited
• Inventors: Andoh, Masamichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Kumar, Srilakshmi K
• Assistant Examiner(s): GUPTA, PARUL H
• Application Number:
  US13/312,098
• Publication Number:
  US 20120075226A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,379 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04144 using an array of force sensing means position sensing using the local deformation of sensor cells G06F3/0447
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/046 by electromagnetic means

Abstract

A touch panel which includes a molecule oriented polylactic acid film, the polylactic acid film has a first principal plane and a second principal plane formed with electrodes, and the electrode on the first principal plane includes divided electrodes which are electrically divided into at least four sections. A touch panel input device having the touch panel is configured to have the respective divided electrodes connected to a processor which outputs position information and/or pressed information based on voltages detected independently from the divided electrodes.

Claims

1. A touch panel comprising:

a molecule oriented polylactic acid film, the polylactic acid film having a first principal plane and a second principal plane;

a divided electrode on the first principal plane, the divided electrode being electrically divided into at least four sections; and

an electrode on the second principal plane,

wherein the polylactic acid film is configured to generate a voltage based on deformation of the polylactic acid film, and each of the sections of the divided electrode output respective voltages resulting from the deformation of the polylactic acid film so that position information of a pressing location of the touch panel is determined based on differences between the respective voltages output from each of the sections of the divided electrode.

2. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein the electrode on the second principal plane is a divided electrode having respective sections opposite to the sections of the divided electrode on the first principal plane.

3. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein the electrode on the second principal plane is a uniform ground electrode arranged opposite to the divided electrode on the first principal plane.

4. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein the divided electrode is electrically divided by a plurality of electrode division lines including electrode non-forming portions.

5. The touch panel according to claim 4, wherein the electrode division lines are straight lines having a predetermined width.

6. The touch panel according to claim 4, wherein the electrode division lines cross at a point in substantially a center of the polylactic acid film at predetermined angles.

7. The touch panel according to claim 6, wherein the predetermined angles formed by the electrode division lines are equal to each other.

8. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein the polylactic acid film is molecule oriented by uniaxially stretching.

9. The touch panel according to claim 4, wherein the polylactic acid film is molecule oriented by uniaxially stretching.

10. The touch panel according to claim 9,

wherein the plurality of electrode division lines include at least a first electrode division line and a second electrode division line,

wherein when a first angle formed by the first electrode division line and a stretching direction of the polylactic acid film is θ

₁ and a second angle formed by the second electrode division line and the stretching direction of the polylactic acid film is θ

₂, and θ

₁ and θ

₂ satisfy;

−

12°

≦

θ

₁≦

12°

,−

102°

≦

θ

₂≦

−

78°

 

 

1.

11. The touch panel according to claim 10,

wherein the first electrode division line is in a direction which substantially coincides with the stretching direction of the polylactic acid film,

wherein the second electrode division line is in a direction substantially orthogonal to the first electrode division line.

12. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the divided electrode on the first principal plane and the electrode on the second principal plane is a transparent electrode having ZnO as a main component.

13. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein the molecule oriented polylactic acid film includes two or more stacked polylactic acid films.

14. A touch type input device comprising:

the touch panel according to claim 1; and

a processor connected to the sections of the divided electrode, the processor configured to output the position information and/or pressed information based on the respective voltages in the sections of the divided electrode.

15. The touch type input device according to claim 14, wherein the processor includes at least:

a detection unit which detects the respective voltages in the sections of the divided electrode;

a storage unit which stores a plurality of stored voltage patterns determined previously from the respective voltages generated in the sections of the divided electrode and a plurality of pieces of position information corresponding thereto; and

a computation unit which creates a detected voltage pattern from the respective voltages detected by the detection unit, compares the detected voltage pattern with the stored voltage patterns, checks the corresponding voltage patterns with a predetermined threshold value to output the position information, and computes the pressed information from a predetermined voltage similarity ratio of the stored voltage pattern and the detected voltage pattern which have been checked.