JP6175220B2 - Electronics - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device.

  In recent years, when a user touches a touch panel, an electronic device such as a mobile phone equipped with a touch panel presents a tactile sensation by vibrating a vibration unit such as a vibrator or a piezoelectric element included in the electronic device. It has a function (hereinafter referred to as a tactile sensation presenting function) that informs the user that it has been input to the mobile phone (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2011-34150 A

  By the way, the inventor vibrates the panel by applying a predetermined electric signal (sound signal) to the piezoelectric element, and transmits the vibration of the panel to the human body to transmit the air conduction sound and the vibration sound to the user. We studied new electronic devices with functions.

  When the electronic device that vibrates such a panel and transmits sound is a communication device such as a mobile phone or a smartphone, the inventor brings the electronic device panel into contact with the user's ear when the user makes a call. It is assumed that the sound is heard.

  However, in the above-described usage mode, when the ambient noise is high or the voice of the other party is low, the user may press the ear strongly against the panel in an attempt to increase the audibility of the call voice. In such a case, the pressure of pressing the ear against the panel hinders the vibration of the panel, and there is a problem that the sound is not transmitted effectively.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device that can effectively transmit sound even when force is applied to a panel by an ear.

An electronic apparatus according to the present invention includes a panel that generates vibration sound that is vibrated based on an audio signal and that is transmitted through a part of a human body by pressing a user's ear, and vibrates the panel. And a vibration unit that detects a pressing force applied to the panel, and the force applied to the panel when the pressing force is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value and the vibration of the panel is hindered by the pressing force. There by strong vibration of the vibrating section than in the case of less than the predetermined threshold value, and wherein the generating the air conduction speech and the vibration sound based on the audio signal.

The vibration unit may include a piezoelectric element, and the piezoelectric element may vibrate the panel .

The piezoelectric element may detect the pressing force by detecting a voltage generated in the piezoelectric element by pressing against the panel .

In the electronic device, the predetermined threshold may be 5N. The vibration unit may be a piezoelectric element. The piezoelectric element may be bonded to the panel by a bonding member.

  The electronic device according to the present invention can effectively transmit sound even when force is applied to the panel by the ear and the vibration of the panel is inhibited.

It is a figure which shows the functional block of the electronic device which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the mounting structure of the electronic device which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart showing operation | movement of the electronic device which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

(Embodiment)
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing functional blocks of an electronic device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The electronic device 1 is, for example, a mobile phone (smart phone), and includes a panel 10, a display unit 20, a vibration unit 30, a detection unit 40, a control unit 50, and a communication unit 70.

  The panel 10 is a touch panel that detects contact or a cover panel that protects the display unit 20. The panel 10 is made of, for example, glass or a synthetic resin such as acrylic. The shape of the panel 10 may be a plate shape. The panel 10 may be a flat plate or a curved panel whose surface is smoothly inclined. When the panel 10 is a touch panel, the touch of a user's finger, pen, stylus pen, or the like is detected. As a detection method of the touch panel, any method such as a capacitance method, a resistance film method, a surface acoustic wave method (or an ultrasonic method), an infrared method, an electromagnetic induction method, and a load detection method can be used. The panel 10 is preferably rectangular.

  The display unit 20 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, or an inorganic EL display. The display unit 20 is provided on the back surface of the panel 10. The display unit 20 is disposed on the back surface of the panel 10 by a bonding member (for example, an adhesive). The display unit 20 may be disposed apart from the panel 10 and supported by the housing of the electronic device 1.

  The vibration unit 30 is an element that expands or contracts or bends according to an electromechanical coupling coefficient of a constituent material by applying an electric signal (voltage). As the vibration unit 30, a piezoelectric element made of, for example, ceramic or quartz is used. The vibration unit 30 may be a unimorph, bimorph, or multilayer piezoelectric element. The stacked piezoelectric element includes a stacked bimorph element in which bimorphs are stacked (for example, 16 layers or 24 layers are stacked). The laminated piezoelectric element is composed of a laminated structure of a plurality of dielectric layers made of, for example, PZT (lead zirconate titanate) and electrode layers arranged between the plurality of dielectric layers. A unimorph expands and contracts when an electric signal (voltage) is applied, and a bimorph bends when an electric signal (voltage) is applied. The vibration unit 30 is a piezoelectric element for transmitting sound. Preferably, the vibration unit 30 is disposed on the back surface of the panel 10 by a joining member (for example, an adhesive).

  The detection unit 40 detects a pressure on the panel 10, for example, an element such as a strain gauge sensor or a piezoelectric element whose physical or electrical characteristics (strain, resistance, voltage, etc.) change according to the pressure. Use to configure. When the detection unit 40 is configured using, for example, a piezoelectric element or the like, the piezoelectric element of the detection unit 40 has a magnitude (or load (force) of a load (force) related to pressing against the touch surface of the panel 10. The magnitude of the voltage (voltage value (hereinafter simply referred to as data)), which is an electrical characteristic, changes according to the speed (acceleration) at which the magnitude changes. The control unit 50 acquires the data when the detection unit 40 notifies the control unit 50 of the data or when the control unit 50 detects data related to the piezoelectric element of the detection unit 40. That is, the control unit 50 acquires data based on the pressure on the touch surface of the panel 10 from the detection unit 40. When the detection unit 40 is configured with a piezoelectric element, the vibration unit 30 may be configured with a piezoelectric element and may also serve as the detection unit 40.

  The control unit 50 applies an electrical signal to the vibration unit 30 and drives the vibration unit 30 to control sound output. The voltage applied by the control unit 50 to the vibration unit 30 is, for example, ± 15 V, which is higher than ± 5 V, which is an applied voltage of a so-called panel speaker for the purpose of conducting sound by air conduction sound instead of vibration sound. It may be. Note that how much applied voltage is used can be appropriately adjusted according to the fixing strength of the panel 10 to the casing or the support member or the performance of the vibration unit 30. The control unit 50 drives the vibration unit 30 based on a sound output trigger from a predetermined application or the like (based on an audio signal or the like).

  Here, the control unit 50 changes the strength of vibration of the vibration unit 30 according to the force applied to the panel 10 detected by the detection unit 40. That is, when the force applied to panel 10 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, control unit 50 increases the vibration of panel 10 more than when the force applied to panel 10 is less than the predetermined threshold. Specifically, the control unit 50 increases the voltage applied to the vibrating unit 30 when the force applied to the panel 10, that is, the data based on the pressure is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, than when the data is less than the predetermined threshold. For example, when the force applied to the panel 10 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the control unit 50 sets the vibration amplitude of the vibration unit 30 to A and vibrates the vibration unit 30. On the other hand, when the force applied to the panel 10 is less than the predetermined threshold, the control unit 50 sets the vibration amplitude of the vibration unit 30 to B (here, A> B) and vibrates the vibration unit 30. Preferably, the predetermined threshold is 5N, or a data value (for example, 1V) based on a pressure detected (acquired) by the control unit 50 when 5N is added to the panel 10.

  When the control unit 50 applies an electric signal to the vibration unit 30, the vibration unit 30 to which the electric signal is applied expands and contracts in the long side direction. At this time, the panel 10 to which the vibration unit 30 is attached is deformed according to the expansion and contraction of the vibration unit 30, and the panel 10 vibrates.

  When the vibration unit 30 expands and contracts and the panel 10 vibrates, the panel 10 generates air conduction sound, and when the user contacts a part of the body (for example, cartilage of the outer ear), The vibration sound transmitted through is generated. The control unit 50 transmits the air conduction sound and the vibration sound to the object in contact with the panel 10. For example, the control unit 50 can generate an air conduction sound and a vibration sound corresponding to the sound signal by applying an electric signal corresponding to the sound signal related to the voice of the other party to the vibration unit 30, for example. The audio signal may relate to a ringing melody or a music piece including music. Note that the audio signal applied to the electrical signal may be based on music data stored in the internal memory of the electronic device 1, or music data stored in an external server or the like is reproduced via a network. May be.

  The panel 10 vibrates not only in the attachment region to which the vibration unit 30 is attached, but also in the region away from the attachment region. The panel 10 has a plurality of locations that vibrate in a direction intersecting the main surface of the panel 10 in the vibrating region, and the amplitude value of the vibration is increased from positive to negative with time in each of the plurality of locations. Or vice versa. At a certain moment, the panel 10 vibrates in such a manner that a portion having a relatively large vibration amplitude and a portion having a relatively small vibration amplitude are distributed randomly or periodically throughout the panel 10 at first glance. That is, vibrations of a plurality of waves are detected over the entire panel 10.

  The communication unit 70 is used to communicate with other electronic devices. The communication unit 70 allows the user of the electronic device 1 to make a call with a user such as another electronic device. When making a call, a microphone (not shown) collects the voice spoken by the user of the electronic device 1. Further, the panel 10 vibrates and outputs a voice spoken by a user such as another electronic device.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a mounting structure of electronic device 1 according to the present embodiment. The electronic device 1 shown in FIG. 2 is a smartphone in which a touch panel, which is a glass plate, is arranged as a panel 10 on the front surface of a housing 60 (for example, a metal or resin case). The panel 10 is supported by the housing 60, and the display unit 20 and the vibration unit 30 are bonded to the panel 10 with bonding members. The joining member is an adhesive having a thermosetting property or an ultraviolet curable property, a double-sided tape, or the like, and may be, for example, an optical elastic resin which is a colorless and transparent acrylic ultraviolet curable adhesive. In the example illustrated in FIG. 2, the panel 10, the display unit 20, and the vibration unit 30 are each rectangular, but are not limited thereto.

  The display unit 20 is disposed substantially at the center in the short direction of the panel 10. The vibration unit 30 is arranged at a predetermined distance from the end of the panel 10 in the longitudinal direction, and is arranged in the vicinity of the end so that the long side direction of the vibration unit 30 is along the short side of the panel 10. The display unit 20 and the vibration unit 30 are arranged side by side in a direction parallel to the inner surface of the panel 10.

  Next, the operation of the electronic apparatus 1 according to the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, the control unit 50 detects whether or not there is a trigger for sound output from a predetermined application or the like (step S1). If there is a sound output trigger, the process proceeds to step S2. If there is no sound output trigger, step S1 is repeated.

  When there is a sound output trigger, the control unit 50 determines whether or not the force applied to the panel 10 detected by the detection unit 40 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (step S2). If it is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold value, the process proceeds to step S3. If it is less than the predetermined threshold, the process proceeds to step S4.

  When the force applied to the panel 10 is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold, the control unit 50 sets the vibration amplitude of the vibration unit 30 to A and vibrates the vibration unit 30 (step S3). Then, the process ends. On the other hand, when the force applied to the panel 10 is less than the predetermined threshold value, the control unit 50 sets the vibration amplitude of the vibration unit 30 to B and vibrates the vibration unit 30 (step S4). Then, the process ends.

  As described above, according to the electronic device 1 according to the present embodiment, even if a force is applied to the panel 10 by the ear, the vibration strength of the vibration unit 30 is changed according to the force applied to the panel 10. Sound can be transmitted effectively.

  The electronic device 1 can transmit air conduction sound and vibration sound transmitted through a part of the user's body (for example, cartilage of the outer ear) to the user by the vibration of the panel 10. Therefore, when outputting a sound having a volume equivalent to that of a conventional dynamic receiver, the sound transmitted to the periphery of the electronic device 1 due to the vibration of the air due to the vibration of the panel 10 is less than that of the dynamic receiver. Therefore, it is suitable, for example, when listening to a recorded message on a train or the like.

  In addition, since the electronic device 1 transmits vibration sound due to the vibration of the panel 10, even if the user wears an earphone or a headphone, for example, the user can touch the electronic device 1 to contact the earphone or the headphone. Sounds can be heard through headphones and body parts.

  In addition, the electronic device 1 transmits sound to the user by the vibration of the panel 10. Therefore, when the electronic device 1 does not include a separate dynamic receiver, it is not necessary to form an opening (sound emission port) for sound transmission in the housing 60, and the waterproof structure of the electronic device 1 can be simplified. In addition, when the electronic device 1 is provided with a dynamic receiver, the sound emission port is preferably closed by a member that allows gas to pass but not liquid. An example of the member that allows gas to pass but not liquid is Gore-Tex (registered trademark).

  In the electronic device 1 described above, the intensity of vibration corresponding to the force applied to the panel 10 is changed in two stages based on a predetermined threshold value. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of threshold values may be provided to be multistage. . Further, the intensity of vibration may be continuously changed according to the force applied to the panel 10.

  Although the present invention has been described based on the drawings and examples, it should be noted that those skilled in the art can easily make various modifications and corrections based on the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these variations and modifications are included in the scope of the present invention. For example, the functions included in each member, each step, etc. can be rearranged so that there is no logical contradiction, and a plurality of components, steps, etc. can be combined into one or divided. is there.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electronic device 10 Panel 20 Display part 30 Vibration part 40 Detection part 50 Control part 60 Case 70 Communication part

Claims (5)

A panel that generates vibration sound that is vibrated based on an audio signal and that is transmitted through a part of the human body by pressing the user's ear;
A vibration unit that vibrates the panel and detects a pressing force applied to the panel;
With
When the pressing force is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold and the vibration of the panel is hindered by the pressing force, the vibration applied to the panel is made stronger than when the force is less than the predetermined threshold, the air conduction speech and an electronic apparatus that generates the vibration sound based on the audio signal.   The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vibration unit includes a piezoelectric element, and the piezoelectric element vibrates the panel.   The electronic device according to claim 2, wherein the piezoelectric element detects the pressing force by detecting a voltage generated in the piezoelectric element due to pressing against the panel.   The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined threshold is 5N.   The electronic device according to claim 2, wherein the piezoelectric element is bonded to the panel by a bonding member.

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