KR102154169B1 - Three-axis force sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a three-axis force sensor capable of performing input by multiple steps of force by a user's force, and the pressure and direction sensed by contacting the screen of an electronic device formed in a triangular pyramid shape and having a touch panel It recognizes and recognizes the input of the x and y axes. In addition, a pen tip for inputting a z-axis using a pressure value in a vertical direction; A sensor unit for receiving an x-axis y-axis and a z-axis input according to pressure information input to the pen tip; A spring fixed to the sensor unit and configured to be pulled upward and fixed to the sensor unit; A fixing plate configured to be fixed to the spring; And a shaft connected to the sensor unit, connected to the center of the upper surface of the fixing plate, and configured to pass through the center of the spring, so that the thickness of the line can be expressed, thereby allowing input of various stages. have.

Description

3-axis force sensor {THREE-AXIS FORCE SENSOR}

The present invention relates to a three-axis force sensor, and more particularly, to a three-axis force sensor capable of performing the input by the force of multiple steps by the user's force.

In addition, the present invention relates to a three-axis force sensor capable of performing multiple inputs according to the perceived force information by detecting a pressure applied in an inclined state when a user uses the three-axis force sensor of the present invention.

In general, as electronic devices have been miniaturized, touch screens have been adopted. The touch screen panel is an input device that recognizes a touched position and transmits it to a system of an electronic device when a user presses the screen with a finger or a pen on the screen. There are various methods such as capacitive method, resistive film method, infrared method, ultrasonic method, and camera method depending on the method of sensing the touch (input). Of these, the most used method is the capacitive method, and the touch screen panel is a transparent film ( It is configured to allow a certain amount of current to flow by depositing a transparent electrode layer (ITO) on one side of PET2) or glass. This is a method of calculating the touch position by detecting a change in minute capacitance that occurs when a finger touches the surface of the touch screen.

However, such a touch screen has been developed into a force touch sensor in which a user recognizes pressure in a portable terminal by a touch sensor in a configuration that recognizes only input to a corresponding position.

The poster value sensor is also called a 3D sensor in the sense of recognizing the depth and depth of pressure. In such a capacitive force touch sensor, it is composed of a first electrode unit that generates a signal and a second electrode unit that receives a signal. Here, the first electrode part may be configured as TX (transmit) or GND (Ground), and the second electrode part may be configured as RX ((Receive) or Self-key.

In touch pens used in portable terminals, pens for recognizing x-axis, y-axis and z-axis input of information input from the pen by employing a 3D force sensor have been developed.

Such a technique can provide various input modes to an application by using the pen pressure applied to the pen. For example, in the case of a drawing application, the thickness of the line or the shade of the line can be adjusted using the pen pressure, and in the case of a text application or a viewer application, the document can be enlarged using the pen pressure, and the extent of the enlargement can be adjusted with the pen pressure. In addition, it can be applied to many applications such as game applications. However, the input device having such a structure is expensive because the structure is complicated, and when it is made in the form of a pen, a sophisticated technology is required.

Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2018-0033278 (Name of invention: stylus for electronic devices)

Accordingly, the present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is a three-axis force capable of providing input of various stages by receiving the user's force information and using it as an input of an electronic device. To provide a sensor.

In addition, the present invention is to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to receive direction information according to the force applied from the inclined state of the pen tip when the user uses the pen in an inclined state, and thereby It is intended to provide a 3-axis force sensor that can be used as an input of, and can provide input of various stages.

In addition, in providing a stylus pen used as an input device in a portable terminal, the structure is simplified to increase productivity, and accordingly, the present invention provides a 3-axis force sensor with a lower failure rate and lower cost.

The three-axis force sensor for achieving the above object is formed in the shape of a triangular pyramid and is in contact with a screen of an electronic device on which a touch panel is formed to recognize the sensed pressure and direction to recognize the input of the x and y axes. In addition, a pen tip for inputting a z-axis using a pressure value in a vertical direction; A sensor unit receiving an x-axis y-axis and a z-axis input, respectively, according to pressure information input to the pen tip; A spring fixed to the sensor unit and configured to be pulled upward and fixed to the sensor unit; A fixing plate configured to be fixed to the spring; And a shaft connected to the sensor unit, connected to the center of the upper surface of the fixing plate, and configured to pass through the center of the spring.

The sensor unit may include a pressing plate configured to be fixed to the pen tip on an upper portion of the pen tip and receiving the pressure of the pen tip; A force sensor plate positioned above the pressing plate and sensing an x-axis and y-axis input by a difference between a pressure and a pressure applied to the pressing plate from the pen tip, and detecting a vertical pressure value to detect an input of the z-axis; And a control board fixedly disposed on the upper part of the force sensor plate and receiving x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis information input from the force sensor plate and transmitting the information to the electronic device.

In the force sensor plate, three force sensors receiving the pressure of the pressing plate are formed at equal intervals, and the z-axis information, which is the pressure of the pressing plate, is sensed, and the x-axis and the y-axis are adjusted according to the difference in pressure of the three force sensors. It can be configured to generate sensing information.

The fixing plate may be configured to fix the spring and the shaft to the input device.

Therefore, the three-axis force sensor of the present invention is adopted in an input device of an electronic device such as a portable terminal or a laptop computer, so that the user's force information is input and can be input to the electronic device so that the thickness and speed of the line corresponding to the force information can be measured. It has the effect of being able to input various stages by allowing it to be expressed.

In addition, the three-axis force sensor of the present invention is adopted as an input device in the terminal, so that when the user uses the pen in an inclined state, it receives force information according to the force applied from the inclined state of the pen tip and can use it as an input of an electronic device. By making it possible to express the shade of the line and the speed of movement in the direction, there is an effect of providing input of various stages.

In addition, when the 3-axis force sensor of the present invention is used as an input device in an electronic device such as a portable terminal or a notebook computer, the structure is simplified to increase productivity, thereby reducing the rate of failure and lowering the price.

1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a three-axis force sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a perspective view showing a part of a 3-axis force sensor and a direction of applied force according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a plan view showing a force sensor plate according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a perspective view showing a force sensor plate according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a view showing a direction of force according to inclination of a three-axis force sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings showing embodiments of the present invention.

1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a three-axis force sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a perspective view showing a direction of a force applied to a part of the three-axis force sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention, 3 is a plan view showing a force sensor plate according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 4 is a perspective view showing a force sensor plate according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 5 is 3 according to an embodiment of the present invention It is a diagram showing the direction of the force applied to the axial force sensor.

1 to 5, the three-axis force sensor for achieving the above-described object comprises a pen tip 110, a sensor unit 120, a spring 130, a fixing plate 140 and a shaft 150 do.

The pen tip 110 is formed in the shape of a triangular pyramid, and a small area of the triangular pyramid contacts the screen of the electronic device on which the touch panel is formed, so that the pen tip 110 is inclined in the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis. Acts as an input In this case, the input method of the fan tip may transmit the input of the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis to the electronic device in a manner such as a capacitance method, a load cell method (strain gauge), an electromagnetic resonance method, etc. according to the type of the electronic device.

Meanwhile, as for the input of the z-axis, when the pen tip 110 is pressed, the vertical pressure transmitted to the sensor unit 120 becomes the input of the z-axis. That is, by recognizing the pressure and direction in which the force is sensed by the force of the pen tip 110, the input of the x and y axes is recognized. In addition, the input of the z-axis is recognized using the pressure value in the vertical direction.

The type of force sensor employed in the sensor unit 120 can recognize pressures of 1g to 250g, 1g to 500g, or 1g to 1000g, so 250, 500 or 1000 pressures can be applied to different thicknesses, shades, and colors of each line. Or it can be expressed by the speed of the cursor. Alternatively, the screen can be enlarged and shown according to the pressure.

The sensor unit 120 receives x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis inputs according to the pressure input to the pen tip 110. The sensor unit 120 is configured to include a pressing plate 122, a force sensor plate 124 and a control board 126.

The pressing plate 122 is configured by being fixed to the upper portion of the pen tip 110 configured at the bottom of one side, and the other side receives the pressure of the pen tip 110 as it is and transmits the pressure to the force sensor plate 124. A protrusion 123 is formed on the other side of the pressing plate 122. The protrusion 123 is configured in a state in contact with the three force sensors 124-1, 124-2, and 124-3 configured on the force sensor plate 124. In the initial state, the protrusion 123 is in a state pressed by the spring 130. At this time, when a force is applied through the pen tip 110, the force sensors 124-1, 124-2, 124-3 are pressed, and inputs of the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis are generated as described above.

On the other hand, when the pressure is applied by tilting the pen tip 110, the pressure plate is unevenly transmitted to the force sensors 124-1, 124-2, 124-3, and the uneven pressure applied in the inclined state is measured. Thus, the pressure applied to the force sensors 124-1, 124-2, 124-3 in the inclined state is measured and converted into inputs of the x-axis, y-axis and z-axis.

The force sensor plate 124 is located above the pressing plate 122 and senses the pressure of the pressing plate 122 to detect the pressure applied to the force sensors 124-1, 124-2, 124-3, that is, force information and the The force applied unevenly in the inclined state of the pen tip 110 is recognized. The force sensor plate 124 includes three force sensors 124-1, 124-2, 124-3 that receive the pressure applied by the protrusion 123 of the pressing plate 122 at equal intervals. That is, the force sensor plate 124 detects the z-axis information, which is the pressure applied to the vertical axis by the pressing plate 122, and the x-axis information and y-axis information indicating the degree of the difference between the force applied unevenly in an inclined state. do. The force sensor plate 124 detects the x-axis, y-axis and z-axis information with three force sensors 124-1, 124-2, and 124-3. For example, the pressing plate 122 is two force sensors adjacent among the three force sensors 124-1, 124-2, 124-3, for example, the first force sensor 124-1 and the second force sensor 124- 2) When it is sensed to press the same force, the force sensors 124-1 and 124- are inclined to the opposite side of the center of the angle formed by the first force sensor 124 and the second force sensor 124-2. 2, 124-3) can be detected as a force applied. Alternatively, when the pressing plate 124 is detected as pressing only the third force sensor 124-3 among the three force sensors 124-1, 124-2, 124-3, the stylus pen 10 employing a 3-axis force sensor It can be recognized that force is applied to the force sensors 124-1, 124-2, and 124-3 while inclined in the opposite direction of the third force sensor 124-3. For example, when all of the pressures are detected by the force sensors 124-1, 124-2, 124-3, they are recognized as pressures in the z-axis direction. At this time, the applied force can be obtained by taking the sum of the three force sensors 124-1, 124-2, and 124-3 or the average of the three force sensors.

That is, the force sensor 124 may recognize the applied force information. In addition, according to the pressure applied in the inclined state sensed by the force sensor 124, the z-axis, which is a pressure applied perpendicular to the x-axis and y-axis input, may be input using the input device 10.

The control board 126 is fixedly disposed on the upper part of the force sensor plate 124, and the force sensor is inclined by the z-axis force information and pen tip 110, which is the vertical axis pressure information input from the force sensor plate 124. It receives the x-axis and y-axis force information, which is the pressure information applied to (124-1, 124-2, 124-3), and transmits it to the electronic device. Meanwhile, the control board 126 transmits the force information of the pen tip 110 received from the force sensor plate 124, but depending on the application executed in the electronic device, the force in the axial direction required among the force information of the pen tip 110 You can also use only information. Alternatively, depending on the application currently executed in the electronic device, only the x-axis information and the y-axis information may be used without using the z-axis information.

The spring 130 is fixed to the sensor unit 120 so that the sensor unit 120 is pulled upward and fixed. In addition, the spring 130 serves to hold the center together with the shaft 150 without causing an error as the input device 10 is bent. That is, the spring 130 is affected by the inclination by the pen tip 110 by pulling upward the force sensor 124 and the control board 126 formed by being fixed and pulled up by elasticity, but due to the bending of the shaft 150 The influence is reduced so that the force information applied by the pen tip 110 can be completely transmitted. In addition, the spring 130 allows the force to be completely transmitted to the force sensor 124 and the control board 126 when the user holds the input device 10 and applies a force to the pen tip 110. When the force applied to the pen tip 110 disappears due to an operation such as releasing the force sensor 124 and the control board 126 slightly upward to remove the pressed state, the protrusion of the force sensor 124 and the pressing plate 122 ( 123) keeps it in contact.

The fixing plate 140 is configured by being fixed to the spring 130 and connected to the body of the input device 10.

The shaft 150 is connected to the sensor unit 120 and connected to the center of the upper surface of the fixing plate 140. The shaft 150 is configured to pass through the center of the spring 140. One end of the shaft 150 is configured by being fixed to the pressing plate 122 of the sensor unit 120, and passing the force sensor plate 124 through the through hole 125 of the force sensor plate 124 Fix it on the outer peripheral surface. The shaft 150 passes through the control board 126 and is fixed. The other end of the shaft 150 is configured to be fixed to the center of the lower surface of the fixing plate 140. That is, the fixing plate 140 is connected to the body of the input device 10 and stably fixes the spring 130 and the shaft 150 to the input device 10.

The contents of the present invention have been described with reference to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings, but this is only exemplary, and those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that various modifications and other equivalent embodiments are possible therefrom. will be. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical spirit of the appended claims.

10: stylus pen 110: pen tip
120: sensor unit 122: pressure plate
123: protrusion
124, 124-1, 124-2, 124-3: Force sensor plate
125: through hole 126: control board
130: spring 140: fixing plate
150: shaft

Claims (4)

A pen tip for transmitting a pressure generated by contacting a screen of an electronic device having a touch panel formed thereon;
A pressing plate configured to be fixed to the pen tip on the upper part of the pen tip and receiving pressure from the pen tip;
Three force sensors located on the upper part of the pressing plate and receiving the pressure of the pressing plate are arranged annularly at equal intervals, sensing the z-axis input value based on the strength of the pressure applied to each of the three force sensors, and the A force sensor plate for sensing a degree of inclination based on a vertical direction with respect to the screen of the electronic device and input values of the x-axis and y-axis of the pen tip from a difference in pressure applied to each of the three force sensors;
A control board fixedly disposed on the force sensor plate and transmitting input values of the x-axis, y-axis and z-axis sensed by the force sensor plate to the electronic device;
A spring fixed to the control board and configured to pull and fix the control board;
A fixing plate configured to be fixed to the spring; And
A shaft connected to the control board, connected to the center of the upper surface of the fixing plate, and configured to pass through the center of the spring. The method of claim 1,
The force sensor plate determines that there is a z-axis input corresponding to the sum of the pressures applied to the three force sensors or the average of the pressures applied to the three force sensors when pressure is sensed by all three force sensors. 3-axis force sensor. delete The method of claim 1,
The fixed plate is a three-axis force sensor configured to fix the spring and the shaft to the input device.

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