JP2008217699A - Touch panel device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a touch panel device that can enlarge an area that can be pressed in a resistive film type touch panel device. <P>SOLUTION: The touch panel device 1 has electrodes 2a, 2b formed at two adjoining sides of an upper electrode plate 2, and electrodes 3a, 3b formed in the positions, overlapping with the electrodes 2a, 2b of the upper electrode plate 2, of a lower electrode plate 3. One ends of resistors RX, RY are connected to the electrodes 2a, 2b, and a voltage of 5V is applied to the other ends of the resistors RX, RY. The electrodes 3a, 3b are grounded. Voltage divided by the upper electrode plate 2, the lower electrode plate 3 and resistors RX or RY is output as touch position detecting voltage from the one ends of the resistors RX, RY. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a touch panel device that is arranged on a display screen of a display device and that operates a device by being pressed with a finger or a pen.

  The touch panel device is placed on the surface of a display device such as a liquid crystal display and is operated by pressing a position corresponding to a button or icon displayed on the display device with a finger or a pen.

  FIG. 1 shows a conventional touch panel device. The touch panel device 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes an upper electrode plate 101, a lower electrode plate 102, switches 103, 104, 105, and 106, a horizontal scanning terminal SCANX, a vertical scanning terminal SCANY, and a horizontal position output. A terminal ADX and a vertical position output terminal ADY are provided.

  The upper electrode plate 101 is formed of a transparent film or glass, and a transparent resistive film is formed on one side. A pair of electrodes 101a and 101b are formed on two opposite sides of the end of the resistance film.

  The lower electrode plate 102 is made of transparent glass or the like, and a transparent resistance film is formed on one side. A pair of electrodes 102a and 102b are formed on two sides of the upper electrode plate 101 at the end of the resistance film that are perpendicular to and opposite to the pair of electrodes 101a and 101b.

  The switch 103 applies a voltage of 5V to the electrode 101a by being turned on by a control signal from the horizontal scanning terminal SCANX. The switch 104 applies a voltage of 5 V to the electrode 102a by being turned on by a control signal from the vertical scanning terminal SCANY. The switch 105 is turned on by a control signal from the horizontal scanning terminal SCANX to ground the electrode 101b. The switch 106 is turned on by a control signal from the vertical scanning terminal SCANY to ground the electrode 102b.

  When the touch panel device 100 is assembled, a predetermined gap is provided with a spacer (not shown) between the surface of the upper electrode plate 101 on which the resistance film is formed and the surface of the lower electrode plate 102 on which the resistance film is formed. Arranged.

  The detection of the pressed position in the touch panel device 100 having the above-described configuration is performed as follows. In the horizontal position, the switches 103 and 105 are turned ON from the horizontal scanning terminal SCANX, and 5V is applied to the electrode 101a, and the electrode 101b is grounded (0V). At this time, the switches 104 and 106 are OFF. As a result, on the resistance film of the upper electrode plate 101, the voltage gradually decreases from the electrode 101a toward the electrode 101b. When the surface of the touch panel device 100 is pressed with a finger, a pen, or the like, the portion comes into contact with the lower electrode plate 102, so that a voltage obtained by dividing 5 V according to the pressed position of the upper electrode plate 101 is applied to the lower electrode plate 102. Further, it is further output to the lateral position output terminal ADX through the electrode 102b. The output voltage is input to, for example, a microcomputer, and converted from the voltage to a coordinate position in the horizontal direction. Similarly, in the vertical position, the switches 104 and 106 are turned ON and the switches 103 and 105 are turned OFF from the vertical scanning terminal SCANY so that 5V is applied to the electrode 102a and the electrode 102b is grounded (0V). . When the surface of the touch panel device 100 is pressed with a finger or a pen, the portion comes into contact with the lower electrode plate 102, whereby a voltage obtained by dividing 5 V according to the pressed position is transmitted to the upper electrode plate 101, and further the electrode 101b Through the vertical position output terminal ADY. The output voltage is input to, for example, a microcomputer, and converted from the voltage to a vertical coordinate position.

The touch panel device 100 described above is referred to as a resistance film method. In addition, for example, a touch panel described in Patent Document 1 has been proposed.
JP 20064302 A

  In recent years, it has been desired to expand the area where the touch panel device can be pressed by downsizing and multi-functionalization of the device on which the touch panel device is mounted, and there is a demand for narrowing the frame where the electrodes are arranged.

  However, the touch panel device 100 shown in FIG. 1 and the touch panel described in Patent Document 1 have electrodes formed on four sides of the touch panel in order to detect the coordinate positions in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction. The area that can be pressed was limited to the inside of the four-sided electrode.

  Then, this invention makes it a subject to provide the touch panel apparatus which can expand the area | region which can be pressed, for example in a resistive film type touch panel apparatus.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, in the touch panel device according to claim 1, one electrode plate having a resistance film formed on one side and the other electrode plate having a resistance film formed on one side are predetermined by a spacer. The surfaces on which the resistance films are formed are arranged so as to face each other with a gap therebetween, and an output terminal that outputs a voltage corresponding to a position where the one electrode plate and the other electrode plate are in contact with each other is provided. In the touch panel device, a resistor connected in series with the one electrode plate for dividing a predetermined voltage is provided, the other electrode plate is grounded, and the divided voltage is output to the output terminal. It is characterized by doing.

  Hereinafter, a touch panel device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. A touch panel device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a resistor connected in series with one electrode plate, and the other electrode plate is grounded. Then, a predetermined voltage is divided by one electrode plate and the other electrode plate and resistance, and the divided voltage is output as a position (pressing position) where one electrode plate and the other electrode plate are in contact with each other. ing. By doing so, it is not necessary to divide the pressure in the electrode plate, so that it is not necessary to provide an electrode facing the electrode plate, and only one electrode is required for each electrode plate. Accordingly, the area where the electrodes can be omitted can be made an area that can be pressed, so that the area that can be pressed can be enlarged.

  Also, the first electrode at one end of one electrode plate, the second electrode at the other end adjacent to one side, the third electrode at the other electrode plate end, A first electrode is connected to one end of the first resistor, a second electrode is connected to one end of the second resistor, and the other end of the first resistor and the other end of the second resistor are respectively predetermined. And the third electrode is grounded, and the output terminal may be provided at one end of the first resistor and one end of the second resistor. By doing in this way, even when the pressing position is detected from two different directions, the pressing position can be detected by providing one electrode for each direction. Therefore, two electrodes are necessary for the conventional four sides, and the area where the electrodes are omitted can be made an area that can be pressed, so that the area that can be pressed can be enlarged.

  The third electrode may be provided at a position overlapping the first electrode and / or the second electrode. By doing in this way, since the 3rd electrode is provided in the position which overlaps with the 1st and 2nd electrode, the field which can be pressed can be expanded.

  Moreover, you may provide the voltage switching means which switches the application / non-application of a predetermined voltage to each of the other end of a 1st resistance, and the other end of a 2nd resistance. By doing in this way, detection of a press position can be set to arbitrary timings, and also detection of a press position can be performed according to a direction.

  Further, a ground switching means for switching between grounding / non-grounding of the third electrode may be provided. By doing in this way, detection of a press position can be set to arbitrary timings, and the 3rd electrode can be grounded only at the time of detection of a press position.

  A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The touch panel device 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes an upper electrode plate 2, a lower electrode plate 3, switches 4, 5, 6, and 7, resistors RX and RY, a horizontal scanning terminal SCANX, A vertical scanning terminal SCANY, a horizontal position output terminal ADX, and a vertical position output terminal ADY are provided. Hereinafter, a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the upper electrode plate 2 and the lower electrode plate 3 is referred to as an X direction or a horizontal direction, and a direction orthogonal to the X direction is referred to as a Y direction or a vertical direction.

  The upper electrode plate 2 is formed of a transparent film or glass, and a transparent resistive film is formed on one side. An electrode 2a as a first electrode is formed on one side parallel to the Y direction of the upper electrode plate 2, and a second side is formed on one side parallel to the X direction as another side adjacent to the side on which the electrode 2a is formed. An electrode 2b is formed as an electrode.

  The lower electrode plate 3 is made of transparent glass or the like, and a transparent resistance film is formed on one side. An electrode 3a as a third electrode is formed on one side parallel to the Y direction of the lower electrode plate 3, and a third side is formed on one side parallel to the X direction as another side adjacent to the side on which the electrode 3a is formed. An electrode 3b is formed as an electrode. The electrodes 3a and 3b are formed at positions overlapping the electrodes 2a and 2b of the upper electrode plate 2. That is, it is provided at a position overlapping the first electrode and the second electrode.

  The switch 4 serving as a voltage switching unit applies a voltage of 5 V as a predetermined voltage to the other end of the resistor RX by being turned on by a control signal from the horizontal scanning terminal SCANX.

  The switch 5 serving as a voltage switching unit applies a voltage of 5 V as a predetermined voltage to the other end of the resistor RY by being turned on by a control signal from the vertical scanning terminal SCANY.

  The switch 6 as the ground switching means grounds the electrode 3a by turning it on by a control signal from the horizontal scanning terminal SCANX.

  The switch 7 serving as the ground switching means grounds the electrode 3b by turning on the control signal from the vertical scanning terminal SCANY. Note that the switches 4, 5, 6, and 7 may be configured by switching elements such as transistors or circuits, for example.

  The resistor RX as the first resistor has one end connected to the electrode 2 a and the other end connected to the switch 4.

  The resistor RY as the second resistor has one end connected to the electrode 2 b and the other end connected to the switch 5.

  When the touch panel device 1 is assembled, the surface of the upper electrode plate 2 on which the resistance film is formed faces the surface of the lower electrode plate 3 on which the resistance film is formed, and a predetermined gap is provided with a spacer (not shown) interposed therebetween. Arrange so that.

  Detection of the pressed position (touch position) in the touch panel device 1 having the above-described configuration is performed as follows. When the switch 4 and the switch 6 are turned on from the horizontal scanning terminal SCANX, 5 V is applied to the other end of the resistor RX, and the electrode 3a is grounded (0 V). At this time, the switch 5 and the switch 7 are in the OFF state. Thus, an upper electrode plate 2 and a lower electrode plate 3 corresponding to the position where the surface of the touch panel device 1 is touched with a finger, a pen, or the like is provided at a lateral position output terminal ADX provided between one end of the resistor RX and the electrode 2a. And the voltage divided by the resistor RX is output. This voltage is the horizontal touch position.

  Similarly, when the switch 5 and the switch 7 are turned on from the vertical scanning terminal SCANY, 5 V is applied to the other end of the resistor RY, and the electrode 3 b is grounded (0 V). At this time, the switch 4 and the switch 6 are in the OFF state. In this way, the vertical position output terminal ADY provided between one end of the resistor RY and the electrode 2b has an upper electrode plate 2 and a lower electrode plate 3 corresponding to the position where the surface of the touch panel device 1 is touched with a finger or a pen. And the voltage divided by the resistor RY is output. This voltage becomes the vertical touch position.

  The above description will be described with reference to the electric circuits of FIGS. 3 to 6 are diagrams showing the touch panel device 1 shown in FIG. 2 in the horizontal direction as an electric circuit in which a switch is omitted. That is, 5V is applied to the resistor RX, and the resistor RX and the upper electrode plate 2 are connected in series. The lower electrode plate 3 is grounded. In FIG. 3 to FIG. 6, the resistance value RX, the upper electrode plate 2, and the lower electrode plate 3 are described as an example assuming that the resistance value is 100Ω.

  First, when the upper electrode plate 2 and the lower electrode plate 3 are not touched, the upper electrode plate 2 and the lower electrode plate 3 are not electrically connected as shown in FIG. Accordingly, 5V is output to the lateral position output terminal ADX. Next, when the right end of FIG. 2, that is, the vicinity of the electrodes 2a and 3a is touched, as shown in FIG. 4, the upper electrode plate 2 and the lower electrode plate 3 are grounded with almost no resistance component, so that the horizontal direction 0V is output to the position output terminal ADX.

  Next, when the vicinity of the middle between the right end and the left end in FIG. 2 is touched, the resistance films formed on the upper electrode plate 2 and the lower electrode plate 3 are uniformly formed. That is, since the resistance value changes in proportion to the distance from the electrode, the resistance components of the upper electrode plate 2 and the lower electrode plate 3 are about 50Ω, which is about half of 100Ω, as shown in FIG. Accordingly, 2.5 V divided by the resistor RX and the upper electrode plate 2 and the lower electrode plate 3 is output from the lateral position output terminal ADX. Next, when the vicinity of the left end in FIG. 2 is touched, the maximum resistance of the upper electrode plate 2 and the lower electrode plate 3 is connected in series as shown in FIG. 3.3V divided by RX, the upper electrode plate 2 and the lower electrode plate 3 is output.

  The same applies to the vertical direction. That is, when touched with a finger or a pen, an electric circuit is formed in which the resistor RY, the upper electrode plate 2 and the lower electrode plate 3 are connected in series, and the resistor RY, the upper electrode plate 2 and the lower electrode plate 3 are formed according to the touch position. Are divided from the vertical position output terminal ADY.

  As described above, the touch position is conventionally detected from the voltage divided in the touch panel, but the present invention performs voltage division by the touch panel (upper electrode plate 2 and lower electrode plate 3) and the resistor connected in series to the touch panel. In order to detect the touch position from the voltage, it is not necessary to provide a pair of electrodes on two opposite sides for detecting the touch position in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction.

  The voltage output from the horizontal position output terminal ADX and the vertical position output terminal ADY is input to, for example, a microcomputer, and the detection voltage is touched using a detection voltage and touch position correspondence table set in advance in the microcomputer. Convert to position coordinates.

  According to the present embodiment, the electrodes 2a and 2b are formed on two adjacent sides of the upper electrode plate 2, and the electrodes 3a and 3b are formed on the lower electrode plate 3 so as to overlap the electrodes 2a and 2b. 2b is connected to one ends of resistors RX and RY, and a voltage of 5V is applied to the other ends of the resistors RX and RY. The electrodes 3a and 3b are grounded. With this configuration, for example, in the case of the horizontal direction, the touch position is detected by dividing the voltage between the resistor RX and the upper electrode plate 2 and the lower electrode plate 3, and the resistor RY and the upper electrode plate 2 and It is detected by the voltage divided by the lower electrode plate 3. Therefore, it is not necessary to arrange the electrodes facing each other, and a portion without the electrodes can be used as a touch area. That is, the area that can be pressed can be enlarged.

  In addition, since the electrodes are arranged on two adjacent sides, the position where the flexible cable is taken out from the touch panel device 1 can be concentrated without wiring, and the number of poles and the width of the flexible cable can be reduced. Can be reduced.

  Next, a touch panel device 1 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The same parts as those in the first embodiment described above are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  The touch panel device 1 shown in FIG. 7 includes an upper electrode plate 2, a lower electrode plate 3, switches 4 and 5, resistors RX and RY, a horizontal scanning terminal SCANX, a vertical scanning terminal SCANY, and a horizontal direction. Although the position output terminal ADX and the vertical position output terminal ADY are provided in the same manner as in the first embodiment, the switches 6 and 7 are omitted.

  The lower electrode plate 3 includes electrodes 3a and 3b according to the first embodiment, which are electrodes 3c as third electrodes provided at corners where two sides where the electrodes 2a and 2b are provided intersect. Has been changed. That is, it is provided at a position overlapping the first electrode and the second electrode. Further, the resistance film formed on the lower electrode plate 3 has a resistance value sufficiently smaller than the resistance film formed on the upper electrode plate 2.

  In the first embodiment, the resistance value of the upper electrode plate 2 + the resistance value of the lower electrode plate 3 and the voltage divided by the resistance RX or RY are used as the detection voltage of the touch position. In this embodiment, Since the resistance value of the lower electrode plate 3 is sufficiently smaller than the resistance value of the upper electrode plate 2, the resistance value of the lower electrode plate 3 can be ignored. Therefore, the resistance value of the upper electrode plate 2 and the resistance RX or RY The voltage divided by is used as the detection voltage of the touch position. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide electrodes corresponding to the vertical and horizontal directions on the lower electrode plate 3, and the electrode 3c can be formed in only one place and small. Therefore, the position is not limited to the position shown in FIG.

  According to this embodiment, the electrodes 2a and 2b are formed on the two adjacent sides of the upper electrode plate 2 and the corners of the lower electrode plate 3 where the electrodes 2a and 2b of the upper electrode plate 2 are formed intersect. An electrode 3c is provided, and the electrode 3c is grounded. Furthermore, the resistance film of the lower electrode plate 3 is formed with a resistance value sufficiently smaller than that of the upper electrode plate 2. With such a configuration, the detection of the touch position can be detected by the voltage divided by the resistor RX and the upper electrode plate 2 and the voltage divided by the resistor RY and the upper electrode plate 2. In addition, it is not necessary to arrange the electrodes facing each other, and the configuration of the lower electrode plate 3 can be simplified. The part without the electrode can be used as a touch area, and the area that can be pressed can be enlarged.

  In the above-described embodiment, the resistors RX and RY are connected to the upper electrode plate 2 to extract a voltage obtained by dividing 5 V. However, the lower electrode plate 3 may be used. That is, it is possible to connect the resistors RX and RY to the electrodes 3a and 3b of the lower electrode plate 3 to take out a voltage obtained by dividing 5 V and to ground the upper electrode plate 2.

  Further, the voltage applied to the resistors RX and RY is the same 5V, but may be a different voltage. In this case, the correspondence table between the voltage detected in each direction and the touch position is appropriately changed by a microcomputer to which the horizontal position output terminal ADX and the vertical position output terminal ADY are connected.

  In addition, the values of the resistors RX and RY may not be the same as those of the upper electrode plate 2 and the lower electrode plate 3 as in the embodiment. However, the values of the resistors RX and RY are extreme in consideration of resolution in a microcomputer that detects a divided voltage. It is preferable not to be too large or too small.

  Moreover, the shape of the upper electrode plate 2 and the lower electrode plate 3 is not limited to the rectangle as in the embodiment, but may be other shapes.

  According to the embodiment described above, the following touch panel device 1 is obtained.

(Appendix 1) An upper electrode plate 2 having a resistance film formed on one side and a lower electrode plate 3 having a resistance film formed on one side are formed with a mutual resistance film in a state where a predetermined gap is provided by a spacer. The touch panel device 1 is provided with a lateral position output terminal ADX and a longitudinal position output terminal ADY that output voltages corresponding to positions where the upper electrode plate 2 and the lower electrode plate 3 are in contact with each other. ,
In order to divide a predetermined voltage, resistors RX and RY connected in series with the upper electrode plate 2 are provided,
While the lower electrode plate 3 is grounded,
The touch panel device according to claim 1, wherein the divided voltage is output to a lateral position output terminal ADX and a longitudinal position output terminal ADY.

  According to this touch panel device 1, it is not necessary to divide the pressure in the upper electrode plate 2 or the lower electrode plate 3, so that it is not necessary to provide electrodes facing the upper electrode plate 2 and the lower electrode plate 3, and one electrode is provided. Only one place is required per electrode plate. Accordingly, the area where the electrodes can be omitted can be made an area that can be pressed, so that the area that can be pressed can be enlarged.

  In addition, the Example mentioned above only showed the typical form of this invention, and this invention is not limited to an Example. That is, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

It is a block diagram of the conventional touch panel apparatus. 1 is a block diagram of a touch panel device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of the touch panel device shown in FIG. 1. It is a circuit diagram at the time of touching the electrode vicinity of the touch-panel apparatus shown by FIG. FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram when the vicinity of the center of the touch panel device shown in FIG. 1 is touched. It is a circuit diagram at the time of touching the edge part vicinity which opposes the electrode of the touch-panel apparatus shown by FIG. It is a block diagram of the touch panel device concerning the 2nd example of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Touch panel apparatus 2 Upper electrode plate 2a Electrode (1st electrode)
2b electrode (second electrode)
3 Lower electrode plate 3a Electrode (third electrode)
3b electrode (third electrode)
3c electrode (third electrode)
4 switch (voltage switching means)
5 switch (voltage switching means)
6 Switch (ground switching means)
7 Switch (ground switching means)
RX resistor (first resistor)
RY resistance (second resistance)
ADX lateral position output terminal (output terminal)
ADY Vertical position output terminal (Output terminal)

Claims (5)

One electrode plate with a resistance film formed on one side and the other electrode plate with a resistance film formed on one side face each other with a resistance gap between them. In the touch panel device provided with an output terminal that outputs a voltage corresponding to a position where the one electrode plate and the other electrode plate are in contact with each other,
A resistor connected in series with the one electrode plate to divide a predetermined voltage;
The other electrode plate is grounded,
A touch panel device that outputs the divided voltage to the output terminal. A first electrode at the end of one side of the one electrode plate, a second electrode at the end of the other side adjacent to the one side, a third electrode at the end of the other electrode plate, Each has
The resistor is a first resistor having one end connected to the first electrode and a second resistor having one end connected to the second electrode,
A predetermined voltage is applied to the other end of the first resistor and the other end of the second resistor, respectively, and the third electrode is grounded.
The touch panel device according to claim 1, wherein the output terminal is provided at one end of the first resistor and one end of the second resistor.   The touch panel device according to claim 2, wherein the third electrode is provided at a position overlapping the first electrode and / or the second electrode.   4. The touch panel according to claim 2, further comprising voltage switching means for switching application / non-application of the predetermined voltage to each of the other end of the first resistor and the other end of the second resistor. apparatus.   5. The touch panel device according to claim 2, further comprising a ground switching unit configured to switch between grounding and non-grounding of the third electrode.

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