JP2012048547A - Tactile sense presentation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tactile sense presentation device that prevents adverse effect to be given to detection of a touch sensor position due to presentation of a tactile sense.SOLUTION: A tactile sense presentation device 1 includes: a touch sensor 11; a tactile sense presentation unit 12 that vibrates the touch sensor 11; and a tactile sense control unit 30 that controls operation such that no overlap occurs between a time zone in which scanning is performed to detect a position where contact is made to the touch sensor 11 and a time zone in which the tactile sense presentation unit 12 causes the touch sensor 11 to vibrate.

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus that presents a tactile sensation, and more particularly to an apparatus that presents a tactile sensation in response to contact with a touch sensor or the like.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in portable terminals such as mobile phones, there are some devices that employ an input device including a touch sensor such as a touch panel or a touch switch as an input device such as an operation unit or a switch that receives an operation by a user. In addition to portable terminals, input devices equipped with touch sensors are widely used in information devices such as calculators and ticket machines, household appliances such as microwave ovens, televisions, and lighting equipment, and industrial equipment (FA devices). .

  As such a touch sensor, various systems such as a resistive film system, a capacitance system, and an optical system are known. In particular, a small terminal device such as a mobile phone is often provided with a touch panel that displays a key, an icon, or the like such as a numeric keypad as an object on a display unit, and detects an operator's contact with the object by a touch sensor. .

  The terminal device provided with such a touch panel can configure various user interfaces by displaying objects according to application software to be activated. Therefore, since the operation is easy for the operator to understand and easy to use, the terminal device provided with the touch panel is rapidly spreading.

  However, any type of touch sensor accepts a touch operation with a finger or a stylus, and the touch sensor itself does not physically displace like a mechanical push button switch when touched. Therefore, even if the touch operation is accepted, the operator cannot obtain feedback for the operation. For this reason, the operator does not have the operational feeling that the key or button when performing the operation is “pressed / released the press”, and the operation such as touching the same position many times is likely to occur, The operator may be stressed.

  Therefore, a feedback method has also been proposed in which when the touch sensor detects contact, the touch sensor is vibrated (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).

JP 2003-288158 A JP 2008-130055 A

  By the way, in a capacitive touch sensor, for example, an electric field is formed on the entire surface of the touch sensor by passing a weak current through the transparent conductive film, and an operator's finger or the like is in contact with the conductive film. Position detection is performed by detecting changes in surface charge. At this time, the position of the contact is obtained on the basis of a change in a weak current flowing through the capacitance of the human body.

  In such a tactile sensation providing apparatus provided with a capacitive touch sensor, in order to provide feedback such as tactile sensation to the operator by vibrating the touch sensor, a drive mechanism for generating vibration is used. It must be installed near Moreover, when installing such a drive mechanism near the touch sensor, it is necessary to install it as close as possible to the extent that the drive mechanism contacts the touch sensor. Otherwise, since the vibration generated by the drive mechanism is not sufficiently transmitted to the touch sensor, a part of the electric power applied to the vibration of the touch sensor is wasted. In particular, in a small terminal device such as a mobile phone, there is also a situation that a drive mechanism that generates vibration must be installed close to the touch sensor due to internal space constraints.

  However, when a tactile sensation providing unit such as a piezoelectric element is installed in the vicinity of the touch sensor in order to vibrate the touch sensor, an electric field is generated by a voltage applied when the piezoelectric element is vibrated. As described above, the touch sensor obtains the position of contact based on a weak current change. Therefore, when such an electric field is generated, there is a problem that even if the electric field is weak, detection of the position of contact with the touch sensor is adversely affected. That is, if a voltage for driving the tactile sensation providing unit is applied to provide feedback to the operator, the touch sensor may be affected, and the contact position may not be accurately detected. .

  For this reason, recent research has promoted the development of touch panels equipped with a detection mechanism that can detect the position of contact while having some tolerance against noise caused by the electric field generated by the tactile sensation providing unit when providing feedback. ing. In addition, for example, a technique for canceling noise by devising the shape of a scanning line through which a current flows in order to detect the position of contact has been advanced. Furthermore, when a display unit such as a liquid crystal display panel is overlapped with a touch sensor, noise is also generated from this display unit. However, by using an appropriate capacitance digital converter and noise suppression algorithm, a certain amount of noise is generated. Noise can be eliminated.

  However, even touch sensors such as these are not sufficient to avoid the adverse effects of an electric field when a tactile sensation providing portion such as a piezoelectric element is provided very close to the touch sensor. Because the touch sensor detects the influence (action) from the outside in the first place, in order to improve the accuracy of detecting the position of contact, the touch sensor should be made somewhat sensitive. Because it is required.

  An object of the present invention made in view of such circumstances is to provide a tactile sensation providing apparatus in which the tactile sensation presentation does not adversely affect the position detection of the touch sensor.

The invention of the tactile sensation providing apparatus according to the first aspect to achieve the above object is as follows:
A touch sensor;
A tactile sensation providing unit that vibrates the touch sensor;
A tactile sensation control unit that performs control so that a time interval in which scanning for detecting a position of contact with the touch sensor is performed and a time interval in which the tactile sensation providing unit vibrates the touch sensor does not overlap each other,
It is characterized by providing.

The invention according to the second aspect is the tactile sensation providing apparatus according to the first aspect,
The touch sensor is a capacitive touch sensor.

The invention according to a third aspect is the tactile sensation providing apparatus according to the first aspect,
The tactile sensation control unit applies a driving voltage to cause the tactile sensation providing unit to generate vibration in a section in which the touch sensor is vibrated.

  According to the present invention, the time interval for performing the scanning for detecting the position of contact with the touch sensor is controlled so as not to overlap the time interval for vibrating the touch sensor. Therefore, according to the present invention, the presentation of tactile sensation does not adversely affect the position detection of the touch sensor, and the touch sensor can detect the position of contact with high accuracy.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a tactile sensation providing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a conceptual diagram explaining operation | movement of the tactile sense presentation apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the tactile sense presentation apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the tactile sense presentation apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the tactile sensation providing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The tactile sensation providing apparatus according to the present embodiment is an arbitrary apparatus as long as it accepts an operator's touch operation with a touch sensor, such as a mobile terminal, an ATM installed in a bank, or a ticket machine installed in a station. Can be applied to.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the tactile sensation providing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a touch sensor 11, a tactile sensation providing unit 12, a touch sensor control unit 20, and a tactile sensation control unit 30. The touch sensor control unit 20 includes a scanning signal generation unit 22 and a position detection unit 24. The tactile sensation control unit 30 includes a drive signal generation unit 32.

  The touch sensor 11 is a sensor having a touch surface, and detects that an operator's finger or the like has touched (touched) the touch surface. In general, the touch sensor 11 can be configured by a known type such as a resistance film type, a capacitance type, and an optical type, but in this embodiment, a capacitive type is used. adopt. When the touch sensor 11 is of the electrostatic capacity type, the touch sensor 11 is usually provided with a sensor unit composed of a grid-like X electrode and a Y electrode, and this sensor unit can store electric energy between the electrodes. When the touch sensor 11 is not in contact, the two electrodes of the sensor unit form a stable electric field. However, when a human finger approaches or comes into contact, the finger plays a role of ground due to the conductivity of the human body, so the electric field changes and the capacitance value of the part touched by the finger decreases. Based on the change in capacitance value, the tactile sensation providing apparatus 1 can detect the position of contact with the touch sensor 11. In FIG. 1, only a part of the X electrode and the Y electrode of the touch sensor 11 is shown.

  Further, the touch sensor 11 detects that the operator has touched an object such as a key or a button displayed on the display unit by making the touch surface transmissive and disposing it on the front surface of the display unit (not shown). It is also used as a sensor (so-called touch panel). Here, the display unit (not shown) draws and displays objects such as buttons, keys, and icons, and is configured using, for example, a liquid crystal display panel or an organic EL display panel. In the present embodiment, the touch sensor is arranged on the front surface of the display unit and accepting contact with the object displayed on the display unit is not particularly different from that according to a known technique. Description is omitted.

  The tactile sensation providing unit 12 vibrates the touch sensor 11, and various types can be generally used, but in the present embodiment, the tactile sensation providing unit 12 is configured using a piezoelectric vibrator (piezoelectric element). In the present embodiment, it is preferable that the tactile sensation providing unit 12 is disposed sufficiently close to the touch sensor 11 so as to sufficiently provide vibration to the touch sensor 11. In this way, the vibration generated by the tactile sensation providing unit 12 is sufficiently transmitted to the touch sensor 11, so that waste of power applied to the vibration of the touch sensor 11 can be suppressed.

  The touch sensor control unit 20 generally controls the detection of the position of contact with the touch sensor 11. The touch sensor control unit 20 performs scanning by supplying a scanning signal to the electrodes of the touch sensor 11 from the scanning signal generation unit 22 in order to detect the position of contact with the touch sensor 11. The position detection unit 24 detects a change in capacitance of the scanning signal supplied from the scanning signal generation unit 22 to the electrode of the touch sensor 11. Thereby, the touch sensor control part 20 can detect the position of the contact with respect to the touch sensor 11, and can output position information as a result. Since such a capacitive sensing technique can also use a well-known thing, more detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The tactile sensation control unit 30 generally controls an operation in which the tactile sensation providing unit 12 presents a tactile sensation. Specifically, the tactile sensation control unit 30 supplies a drive signal from the drive signal generation unit 32 to the tactile sensation presentation unit 12 when receiving a tactile sensation presentation instruction. In response to this drive signal, the tactile sensation providing unit 12 presents a predetermined tactile sensation by vibrating the touch sensor 11. In the tactile sensation providing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the tactile sensation control unit 30 can receive a notification of the timing at which the scanning signal generation unit 22 supplies the scanning signal from the touch sensor control unit 20.

  FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram for explaining tactile sensation presentation processing according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating a representative example of conventional tactile sensation presentation.

  Conventionally, as shown in the upper part of FIG. 2A, generally, the position of the contact is detected because the process of detecting the position of the touch with respect to the touch sensor cannot be performed at a high speed. Scanning for this purpose has been performed over a predetermined long period of time, for example, as an operation that constantly scans. In the upper part of FIG. 2A, a period in which a solid line exists at the ON position indicates that a signal for scanning is supplied. In such a situation, as shown in the lower part of FIG. 2A, it is assumed that a signal for driving the drive mechanism is generated for a period from (1) to (2) in order to generate vibration in the touch sensor. Also in the lower part of FIG. 2A, a period in which a solid line exists at the ON position indicates that a drive signal is supplied. However, during the period from (1) to (2), as described above, the generation of the drive signal acts as noise, which adversely affects scanning.

  In recent years, the process of detecting the position of contact with a touch sensor can be performed at a very high speed. For this reason, the scanning for detecting the position of the contact plays a sufficient role even if it is intermittent, for example, periodically as shown in the upper part of FIG. 2B. Can do. For example, in the case of a capacitive touch sensor, the position on the touch sensor can be detected by performing a scanning operation of the contact position every several tens of microseconds for several microseconds.

  However, even if the position of contact is detected by intermittent scanning as shown in the upper part of FIG. 2B, the signal for driving the drive mechanism is long as shown in the lower part of FIG. When the period occurs, inconvenience occurs. That is, also in this case, during the period from (3) to (4) and the period from (5) to (6), the drive signal acts as noise, which also adversely affects scanning.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in the upper part of FIG. 2C, while detecting the position of contact by intermittent scanning, a drive signal for generating vibration in the touch sensor is further provided. As shown in the lower part of FIG. 2C, it is generated so as not to overlap with a time section in which scanning for detecting a contact position is performed. In other words, the tactile sensation control unit 30 according to the present embodiment does not overlap the time interval in which scanning for detecting the position of contact with the touch sensor 11 is performed and the time interval in which the tactile sensation providing unit 12 vibrates the touch sensor 11. To control. Due to such control, scanning for detecting the position of contact with the touch sensor 11 is not performed during the time interval in which the touch sensor 11 is vibrated, and thus the drive signal that generates vibration acts as noise. Will not adversely affect scanning.

  In the tactile sensation providing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, as described above, the tactile sensation control unit 30 notifies the touch sensor control unit 20 of the timing at which the scanning signal generation unit 22 supplies the scanning signal to the touch sensor 11. Can receive. By this notification, the tactile sensation control unit 30 can know in advance or in real time the timing at which the scanning signal generation unit 22 of the touch sensor control unit 20 generates the scanning signal. Therefore, the tactile sensation control unit 30 determines that the drive signal generated by the drive signal generation unit 32 is the same as the generation of the scan signal and the time based on the timing at which the scan signal generation unit 22 generates the scan signal. The timing is controlled so as not to overlap. That is, even if the tactile sensation control unit 30 receives an instruction to present a tactile sensation, the tactile sensation control unit 30 does not supply the drive signal from the drive signal generation unit 32 in the time interval in which the scanning signal is generated and does not generate the scanning signal. The timing is controlled so as to generate the drive signal. Based on the timing controlled in this way, the tactile sensation control unit 30 applies a drive voltage to the tactile sensation providing unit 12 to generate vibrations in a section in which the touch sensor 11 is vibrated.

  In the tactile sensation providing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the tactile sensation control unit 30 has been described on the assumption that the notification of the timing at which the scanning signal is supplied is received from the touch sensor control unit 20. However, the tactile sensation providing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the tactile sensation control unit 30 may be configured to directly receive the scanning signal generated by the scanning signal generation unit 22 toward the touch sensor 11 so that the timing at which the scanning signal is generated can be grasped in real time.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a tactile sensation providing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the tactile sensation providing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the tactile sensation providing apparatus 2 according to the second embodiment is further provided with a host controller 40 in the tactile sensation providing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment described in FIG. Other schematic configurations can be the same as those of the tactile sensation providing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment. Therefore, in the present embodiment, descriptions that are the same as the contents described in the first embodiment are omitted as appropriate.

  Since the tactile sensation providing apparatus 2 includes the host controller 40, unlike the tactile sensation providing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment described above, the tactile sensation control unit 30 notifies the notification of the timing at which the scanning signal is supplied. No need to receive from 20. The host controller 40 receives the result of the touch sensor control unit 20 detecting the position of contact with the touch sensor 11. Upon receiving this result, the host controller 40 determines whether to give an instruction to present the tactile sensation to the tactile sensation control unit 30 according to the position of the touch on the touch sensor 11 based on the instruction of the application software. . That is, the host controller 40 grasps the display state on a display unit (not shown) disposed on the front surface of the touch sensor 11, and the position of contact with the touch sensor 11 corresponds to the position of the object that should present a tactile sensation. It is determined whether or not.

  When the position of the touch with respect to the touch sensor 11 corresponds to the position of the object that should present the tactile sensation, the host controller 40 instructs the tactile sensation control unit 30 to present the tactile sensation. On the other hand, even if contact is detected by the touch sensor 11, if the position of the contact does not correspond to the position of the object that should present tactile sensation, the host controller 40 instructs the tactile sensation control unit 30 to present tactile sensation. Not issued.

  The host controller 40 can also grasp the timing at which the scanning signal generation unit 22 supplies the scanning signal based on the notification from the touch sensor control unit 20. Therefore, when the host controller 40 issues an instruction to present the tactile sensation to the tactile sensation control unit 30, it also notifies the timing at which the scanning signal generation unit 22 supplies the scanning signal. Thus, even in the present embodiment, even when the tactile sensation control unit 30 receives an instruction to present a tactile sensation, the tactile sensation control unit 30 does not supply the drive signal from the drive signal generation unit 32 in the time interval in which the scanning signal is generated. The timing is controlled so that the drive signal is generated in a time interval in which the scanning signal is not generated.

  In the present embodiment as well, as in the first embodiment, the tactile sensation control unit 30 receives a notification of the timing at which the scanning signal generation unit 22 supplies the scanning signal from the touch sensor control unit 20. The tactile sensation control unit 30 can also control the timing of generating the drive signal from the signal generation unit 32. Further, in the present embodiment, when the host controller 40 gives an instruction to the tactile sensation control unit 30 to present tactile sensation, the timing at which the scanning signal generation unit 22 supplies the scanning signal is already known. Accordingly, the host controller 40 may perform timing control for generating the drive signal in a time interval in which the scanning signal is not generated, instead of the tactile sensation control unit 30.

  Further, in the tactile sensation providing apparatus 2 of the present embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, the tactile sensation control unit 30 has been described on the assumption that the host controller 40 receives a notification of the timing at which the scanning signal is supplied. However, the tactile sensation providing apparatus 2 according to the present embodiment is not limited to such a configuration. For example, as described in the first embodiment, the tactile sensation control unit 30 is configured to directly receive the scanning signal generated by the scanning signal generation unit 22 toward the touch sensor 11 and generate the scanning signal. The timing may be grasped in real time.

(Third embodiment)
Next, a tactile sensation providing apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the tactile sensation providing apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, the tactile sensation providing apparatus 3 according to the third embodiment is further provided with a load detection unit 14 in the tactile sensation providing apparatus 2 according to the second embodiment described with reference to FIG. 2. Other schematic configurations can be substantially the same as those of the tactile sensation providing apparatus 2 according to the second embodiment. Therefore, in the present embodiment, descriptions that are the same as those described in the first or second embodiment are omitted as appropriate.

  In the present embodiment, the load detection unit 12 detects a pressing load on the touch surface of the touch sensor 11 and uses, for example, an element that reacts linearly with the load, such as a strain gauge sensor or a piezoelectric element. Constitute.

  In the first and second embodiments described above, a tactile sensation is presented to the tactile sensation control unit 30 when contact with the touch sensor 11 is detected at a position corresponding to an object to be presented with the tactile sensation displayed on the display unit. A mode of giving an instruction to indicate has been described. However, when a tactile sensation is presented when contact is detected in this way, a tactile sensation is presented even when the operator makes a slight contact with the touch sensor 11 unintentionally. Such a terminal device not only accepts an operation that is not intended by the operator, but also gives the operator a realistic tactile sensation (tactile feeling when the button is depressed) that is obtained when an actual key or button is pressed. Can not give to.

  Therefore, in order to present a realistic tactile sensation to the operator, the tactile sensation providing apparatus 3 performs the following operation to stimulate the tactile sensation while stimulating the operator's pressure sensation. That is, the tactile sensation providing apparatus 3 stimulates the pressure sense until the load applied to the touch sensor 11 satisfies a reference (eg, 1N) for presenting the tactile sensation. The piezoelectric vibrator to be configured is driven by a predetermined drive signal to vibrate the touch surface of the touch sensor to stimulate the sense of touch. Thereby, the tactile sensation providing apparatus 3 can present to the operator a tactile sensation in which a button similar to that obtained when a button switch such as a push button switch (push-type button switch) is pressed down. . Therefore, even if the push button switch of the object drawn on (the display part of) the touch sensor, the operator obtains the tactile sensation of pushing down the real button similar to the case of operating the actual push button switch. However, since a pressing operation can be performed on the touch sensor 11, there is no sense of incongruity. Further, since the operation can be performed in conjunction with the consciousness that the touch sensor 11 is “pressed”, an operation error can be prevented.

  The driving signal for presenting the tactile sensation described above, that is, the constant frequency, period (wavelength), waveform, and amplitude for stimulating the tactile sensation can be appropriately set according to the tactile sensation to be presented. For example, when presenting a tactile sensation represented by a metal dome switch used in a mobile terminal, for example, a tactile sensation presenting unit is generated by a drive signal of a period of 1/4 to 5/4 having a constant frequency of 140 Hz or higher. 12 is driven. The tactile sensation providing unit 12 is driven by such a drive signal, and the touch surface of the touch sensor 11 is vibrated by about 15 μm with a reference pressing load applied. This makes it possible to present a realistic tactile sensation to the operator as if the actual key was pressed.

  In the present embodiment, the tactile sensation control unit 30 monitors the pressing load on the touch sensor 11 detected by the load detection unit 14. The tactile sensation control unit 30 notifies the host controller 40 when the pressing load detected by the load detection unit 14 increases due to the pressing of the touch sensor 11 by the operator and satisfies a predetermined standard. Then, the host controller 40 determines whether or not the position of the touch with respect to the touch sensor 11 corresponds to the position of the object that should present the tactile sensation. Instruct the presentation of tactile sensation. When the tactile sensation is instructed from the host controller 40 in this way, the tactile sensation control unit 30 drives the drive signal generation unit 32 at a timing that does not overlap in time with the operation signal generation unit 22 generating the scanning signal. Control to generate a signal. The tactile sensation control unit 30 receives a tactile sensation instruction from the host controller 40 in advance (start instruction), and presents a tactile sensation (at a timing that does not overlap with the time for generating the scanning signal) when the pressing load satisfies a predetermined standard. You can also.

  In addition, the load detection part 14 detects a load from the average value of the output of a some piezoelectric element, for example. Here, the load satisfying the predetermined standard is set in advance to a value such as 1N (Newton) based on the pressing load when the operator performs a normal pressing operation, and the setting can be changed thereafter. Is preferred. In addition, when the operator touches the touch sensor lightly unintentionally, this predetermined standard does not set an excessively low value so that it is not determined that the pressing load satisfies the predetermined standard. Like that. Further, in order to give the operator a sense of pressure for the above-described realistic tactile sensation, the predetermined standard is excessively considered in consideration of a normal load (for example, an average value) of pressing based on the operator's intention. It is preferable not to set a low value.

  As described above, according to the tactile sensation providing apparatus 3 according to the present embodiment, the same effect as that of the tactile sensation providing apparatus according to the first or second embodiment is obtained, and not only an operation error is prevented, but also a more realistic Can present a tactile sensation.

  In the tactile sensation providing apparatus 3 shown in FIG. 4, the tactile sensation providing unit 12 and the load detecting unit 14 are illustrated as separate components. However, the tactile sensation providing apparatus 3 according to the present embodiment is not limited to such a configuration. For example, in the tactile sensation providing apparatus 3, the tactile sensation providing unit 12 and the load detecting unit 14 may be configured by the same element such as a piezoelectric element. That is, the same element such as a piezoelectric element detects a pressing load on the touch sensor 11 and presents a predetermined tactile sensation by vibrating the touch sensor 11 when the pressing load satisfies a predetermined standard. can do.

  In this case, the tactile sensation control unit 30 controls the timing so that the operation of detecting the load of the touch sensor 11 by the load detection unit 14 and the operation of the drive signal generation unit 32 generating the drive signal do not overlap in time. By doing so, it becomes possible to use the function properly using the same element.

  In addition, this invention is not limited only to the said embodiment, Many deformation | transformation or a change is possible. For example, in the first to third embodiments described above, the touch sensor control unit 20 and the tactile sensation control unit 30 have been described as separate components. However, the tactile sensation providing apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the touch sensor control unit 20 and the tactile sensation control unit 30 may be a single-chip controller. is there. Other components may be appropriately configured in the same manner or separated from each other.

  Moreover, the load detection part in each embodiment mentioned above can be comprised using arbitrary number of strain gauge sensors. Furthermore, according to the input detection method in the touch sensor, for example, in the case of the resistance film method, the load detection unit uses a strain gauge sensor if the load can be detected from the change in the output signal based on the resistance change due to the contact area. It can be configured without. Alternatively, in the case of the electrostatic capacity method, if the load can be detected from the change in the output signal based on the change in the electrostatic capacity, it can be configured without using the strain gauge sensor.

  In addition, the tactile sensation providing unit may be configured using an arbitrary number of piezoelectric vibrators, or may be configured by providing a transparent piezoelectric element on the entire surface of the touch sensor, or can express vibration that presents tactile sensation. Can be configured to rotate once in one cycle of the drive signal. Furthermore, when the load detection unit and the tactile sensation providing unit are configured using a piezoelectric element, the load detection unit and the tactile sensation providing unit can be configured by sharing the piezoelectric element.

  The tactile sensation providing apparatus according to the present invention drives the tactile sensation providing unit when the pressing load detected by the load detection unit satisfies a criterion for presenting a tactile sensation. However, the time when the pressure load detected by the load detection unit satisfies the standard for presenting a tactile sensation may be when the pressure load detected by the load detection unit reaches a standard value for presenting a tactile sensation. The pressing load detected by the load detection unit may exceed a reference value that provides tactile sensation. Further, it may be when a reference value for presenting a tactile sensation is detected by the load detection unit.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Touch sensor 12 Tactile sense presentation part 14 Load detection part 20 Touch sensor control part 22 Scan signal generation part 24 Position detection part 30 Tactile sense control part 32 Drive signal generation part

Claims (3)

A touch sensor;
A tactile sensation providing unit that vibrates the touch sensor;
A tactile sensation control unit that performs control so that a time interval in which scanning for detecting a position of contact with the touch sensor is performed and a time interval in which the tactile sensation providing unit vibrates the touch sensor does not overlap each other,
A tactile sensation presentation apparatus comprising:   The tactile sensation providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the touch sensor is a capacitive touch sensor.   The tactile sensation providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tactile sensation control unit applies a driving voltage to cause the tactile sensation providing unit to generate vibration in a section in which the touch sensor is vibrated.

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