JP2012251271A - Touch panel operative tool - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable operating a capacitance-type touch panel, with a glove kept worn, irrespective of the kind of such glove or even if the glove is an existing used one.SOLUTION: A cover layer 6 with a low friction surface, is provided on one side of an electroconductive member 2 which is formed of an electroconductive material, is of crescent band shape when viewed from the top, and formed into a truncated conical shape when wrapped on one's fingertip, and the one side of the electroconductive member 2 is partly exposed via respective slits 7 formed on the cover layer 6. A self-adhesive layer 8 with an adhesive surface 8A is provided on the other side of the electroconductive member 2. While wrapping the electroconductive member 2 around a part corresponding to the fingertip of a glove, the adhesive surface 8A is stuck on the surface of the glove. On bringing the fingertip into contact with the surface 60 of a touch panel, the electroconductive member 2 exposed via the slits 7 makes contact directly with the surface 60 of the touch panel, and electric current runs between the surface 60 of the touch panel and the electroconductive member 2; thereby enabling the touch panel to be operated.

Description

  The present invention relates to a touch panel operation tool attached to a fingertip for operating a capacitive touch panel.

  In recent years, smartphones equipped with capacitive touch panels have become widespread. Such a smartphone can be operated simply by touching the surface of the touch panel with a fingertip, and has excellent operability.

  By the way, the capacitance type touch panel detects a change in capacitance due to a current flowing through the fingertip when the fingertip comes in contact with the surface of the touch panel. recognize. For this reason, the user cannot operate the smartphone while wearing gloves. That is, since a normal glove is formed of a highly insulating material, the fingertip is covered with a highly insulating material by wearing the glove. Even if the surface of the touch panel is touched in this state, no current flows through the fingertip, and therefore the touch panel cannot detect a change in capacitance. As a result, the user cannot operate the smartphone even if he / she touches the surface of the touch panel while wearing gloves.

  On the other hand, in Patent Document 1 below, by forming a glove using a conductive thread, it is possible to operate a device using a capacitive touch panel even when the glove is worn. The technology to make is described.

JP 2008-81896 A

  Gloves are often worn in the winter or in cold areas, when skiing, skating, etc., or driving a motorcycle. As described above, it is impossible to operate the smartphone in a state in which a normal glove formed of a highly insulating material is put on and the fingertip is still covered with the highly insulating material. For this reason, you must remove your gloves every time you need to operate your smartphone when you are in the winter or in cold areas, when you are skiing, skating, etc., or when you are traveling by motorcycle. There is a problem that it is inconvenient.

  In this regard, according to the technique described in Patent Document 1, it is possible to operate the smartphone with the gloves on by forming the gloves using conductive threads. However, in general, there are various types of gloves, such as those with different degrees of cold protection, those dedicated to skiing, skating, bicycles, motorcycles, those that have waterproofness, those with different designs, those with different sizes, etc. There are many problems that it is practically not easy to apply the technique described in Patent Document 1 to each of such a wide variety of gloves.

  In addition, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, in order to enable operation of a smartphone while wearing a glove, a new glove formed using a conductive thread apart from an existing normal glove Must be prepared. That is, with the technique described in Patent Document 1, it is impossible to operate a smartphone with existing old gloves such as a glove that has been used for many years and has become familiar, a glove given by an old friend, a glove given by a parent, etc. There's a problem.

  The present invention has been made in view of the problems described above, for example, and the problem of the present invention is to wear the glove regardless of the type of glove or even if the glove is an existing old glove. An object of the present invention is to provide a touch panel operation tool that enables a capacitive touch panel to be operated with a fingertip covered.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a first touch panel operation tool according to the present invention is a touch panel operation tool attached to a fingertip for operating a capacitive touch panel, and touches the surface of the touch panel. The touch panel is formed of a conductive material that enables detection of a change in capacitance due to the contact, and includes a conductive member that is attached to the fingertip, and the conductive member is disposed on an abdomen of the fingertip. An operation unit that contacts the surface of the touch panel when operating the touch panel with the fingertip, and one end side of the operation unit along the peripheral surface of the fingertip from the belly of the fingertip toward the back side of the fingertip Extending from the fingertip toward the back side of the fingertip from the abdomen of the fingertip, and extending along the peripheral surface of the fingertip Serial extends from the other end of the operating portion in the other direction, characterized in that it comprises a second support portion supporting the operating part to the fingertip.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the second touch panel operation tool of the present invention is the above-described first touch panel operation tool of the present invention, wherein the conductive member is formed in a band shape and wound around the fingertip. It is attached to the fingertip.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the third touch panel operation tool of the present invention is the above-described second touch panel operation tool of the present invention, wherein the conductive member is formed in a crescent shape in plan view and wound around a fingertip. The time shape is a truncated cone.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a fourth touch panel operation tool according to the present invention is the conductive panel including a portion in contact with the surface of the touch panel in any one of the first to third touch panel operation tools according to the present invention. A cover layer is provided on one side surface of the conductive member, and the cover layer has a slit, a surface including a portion that contacts the surface of the touch panel is a low friction surface, and the one side surface of the conductive member In the method, a portion in contact with the surface of the touch panel is exposed through the slit of the cover layer.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the fifth touch panel operation tool of the present invention is the above-described touch panel operation tool of any one of the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, wherein the other side surface of the conductive member is adhesive. An adhesive layer is provided.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the sixth touch panel operation tool of the present invention is the touch panel operation tool of any one of the first to fifth of the present invention described above, wherein the conductive member is wound around a fingertip. An auxiliary member for fastening the first support part and the second support part to each other and connecting them to each other is provided.

  According to the present invention, regardless of the type of glove or even if the glove is an existing old glove, the glove is put on and the capacitive touch panel is operated with the fingertip covered with the glove. It becomes possible to do.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which made the fingertip which attached the touchscreen operating tool by embodiment of this invention contact the surface of the touchscreen. It is a top view which shows the touchscreen operating tool by embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the touchscreen operating tool by embodiment of this invention seen from the arrow III-III direction in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which isolate | separated the cover layer from the electroconductive member in the touchscreen operating tool by embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the state which attached the touch-panel operating tool by embodiment of this invention to the index finger. It is a perspective view which shows the state which attached the touch-panel operating tool by embodiment of this invention to the thumb. It is a perspective view which shows the touchscreen operating tool which is other embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, a touch panel operating tool 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is an instrument that is attached to a user's fingertip and enables operation of a smartphone equipped with a capacitive touch panel. Specifically, the touch panel operation tool 1 is used by being attached to a portion 50 corresponding to a fingertip of a glove worn by a user. By using the touch panel operation tool 1, the user can make his / her fingertip contact with the surface 60 of the touch panel even in a gloved state, and the touch of the fingertip can be detected by the touch panel, thereby realizing the operation of the smartphone. be able to.

  The touch panel operation tool 1 includes a conductive member 2, a cover layer 6, and an adhesive layer 8.

  The conductive member 2 is formed of a conductive material that enables the touch panel to detect a change in capacitance due to the contact when the surface 60 of the capacitive touch panel is touched. As such a material, for example, conductive silicon formed by mixing a conductive material such as carbon into silicon rubber is desirable. However, as a material of the conductive member 2, a thread material or fiber having conductivity can be used.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the conductive member 2 is formed in a belt shape curved in a crescent shape in a plan view, and the shape when wound around the fingertip is a truncated cone as shown in FIG. By making the conductive member 2 into such a shape, the conductive member 2 can be wound around the fingertip and firmly fixed to the fingertip. Other shapes may be adopted as the shape of the conductive member 2 as long as the conductive member 2 can be wound around the fingertip and firmly fixed to the fingertip.

  3, one side surface 2A of the conductive member 2 is a surface that directly contacts the surface 60 of the touch panel via each slit 7 of the cover layer 6 described later, and the other side surface 2B of the conductive member 2 is the adhesive layer. 8 is a surface facing the surface of the glove through 8.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the conductive member 2 includes an operation unit 3, a left support unit 4 as a first support unit, and a right support unit 5 as a second support unit. As shown in FIG. 1, the operation unit 3 is a portion that is disposed on the abdomen of the fingertip when the conductive member 2 is wound around the fingertip, and is in contact with the surface 60 of the touch panel when operating the touch panel with the fingertip. The left side support part 4 is extended in order from the left end side of the operation part 3 to the left side, the upward direction, and the right direction so as to follow the circumferential surface of the fingertip from the tip of the fingertip toward the back side of the fingertip. It is a part which supports the part 3 to a fingertip. The right support part 5 is extended in order from the right end side of the operation part 3 to the right side, the upward direction, and the left direction so as to follow the peripheral surface of the fingertip from the belly of the fingertip toward the back side of the fingertip. It is a part which supports the part 3 to a fingertip. As described above, the conductive member 2 is provided not only with the operation unit 3 in contact with the surface of the touch panel, but also with the left support unit 4 and the right support unit 5 provided at both ends thereof, so that the operation unit 3 is provided on the surface 60 of the touch panel. When touched, a current sufficient for the touch panel to detect a change in capacitance can flow between the surface 60 of the touch panel and the operation unit 3.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the inner peripheral side of the conductive member 2 has a radius R of 30 mm to 40 mm (for example, 32 mm), and a central angle α of 90 degrees to less than 180 degrees (for example, 110 degrees to 120 degrees). It almost coincides with the arc of less than degrees. The width W of the conductive member 2 is 10 mm or less (for example, 8 mm). Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3, the thickness T of the conductive member 2 is not less than 0.1 mm and not more than 1 mm (for example, 0.7 mm). In addition, the electroconductive member 2 is good also as a strip | belt shape extended not linearly in planar view. By setting the size of the conductive member 2 in this way, it is possible to attach the conductive member 2 to at least either the index finger or the thumb. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, when the conductive member 2 is wound around the fingertip of a forefinger that is thinner than other fingers, both end portions of the conductive member 2 overlap each other. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, when the conductive member 2 is wound around the fingertip of a thumb that is thicker than other fingers, both end portions of the conductive member 2 are slightly separated from each other. In addition, the object which winds the electroconductive member 2 is the fingertip of the hand which put on the glove. The fingertip of a gloved hand is larger in diameter than the fingertip of a bare hand. The size of the conductive member 2 is set in consideration of this point.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the cover layer 6 is bonded to one side surface 2 </ b> A of the conductive member 2 using, for example, an adhesive. The cover layer 6 is a thin film compared to the conductive member 2 formed of a material such as polyethylene terephthalate or vinyl. One side surface (outer surface) 6 </ b> A of the cover layer 6 is a low friction surface with a low friction coefficient, and is easier to slip than the one side surface 2 </ b> A of the conductive member 2. The cover layer 6 covers the entire surface of the one side surface 2A of the conductive member 2 except for a portion where a slit 7 described later is formed. By providing the cover layer 6, the fingertip can be easily slipped on the surface 60 of the touch panel, and the operability of the smartphone can be improved. Further, when the cover layer 6 is not provided, the wide area of the one side surface 2A of the conductive member 2 is in direct contact with the touch panel surface 60, so that the touch panel surface 60 is likely to become dirty. By providing the cover layer 6, such contamination of the surface 60 of the touch panel can be suppressed. Furthermore, by providing the cover layer 6, the force applied to the conductive member 2 at the time of contact with the surface 60 of the touch panel can be reduced, and the life of the conductive member 2 can be extended. Note that the cover layer 6 may be configured to cover only a portion corresponding to the operation unit 3 on one side surface 2A of the conductive member 2.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, for example, two slits 7 are formed in the cover layer 6. Each slit 7 is disposed in a portion of the conductive member 2 corresponding to the operation unit 3 and its periphery. Each slit 7 penetrates the cover layer 6, whereby one side surface 2 </ b> A of the conductive member 2 is partially exposed to the outside in the slit 7. As a result, as shown in FIG. 1, when the user brings his fingertip into contact with the surface 60 of the touch panel, a part of one side surface 2 </ b> A of the conductive member 2 directly contacts the surface 60 of the touch panel via each slit 7. To do. As a result, the smartphone cannot be operated by providing the cover layer 6. In addition, the shape and size of each slit 7 sufficiently ensure a portion that directly contacts the surface 60 of the touch panel on one side surface 2A of the conductive member 2, and ensures the ease of slipping of the fingertip with respect to the surface 60 of the touch panel. It is desirable to set so as to satisfy the demand for ensuring the durability of the cover layer 6 in a well-balanced manner, and in this case, the shape of each slit 7 may be other than the shape shown in FIG. The size of 7 may be other than the size shown in FIG.

  As illustrated in FIG. 3, the adhesive layer 8 is provided on the other side surface 2 </ b> B of the conductive member 2. The adhesive layer 8 is formed of an adhesive material and is a thin layer compared to the conductive member 2. The adhesive layer 8 is a layer for attaching the conductive member 2 to the surface of the glove and fixing it to the glove. In a state where the conductive member 2 is wound around the fingertip, the adhesive surface 8A of the adhesive layer 8 contacts the surface of the glove, whereby the conductive member 2 sticks to the surface of the glove.

  The adhesive layer 8 can be adhered to the surface of the glove when the conductive member 2 is attached to the surface of the glove, so that the conductive member 2 can be slid with the fingertip in contact with the surface 60 of the touch panel for smartphone operation. With a force that does not peel off from the surface of the glove and that does not tear the conductive member 2 without damaging the surface of the glove even after the conductive member 2 is attached to the surface of the glove. It is desirable to set the conductive member 2 to such an extent that the conductive member 2 can be peeled off from the surface of the glove by pulling the end of the conductive member 2. Furthermore, it is desirable to set the adhesive property of the adhesive layer 8 so that the conductive member 2 can be applied to and removed from the glove several times. By providing the adhesive layer 8, the conductive member 2 can be firmly fixed to the glove in a removable manner.

  When using the touch panel operation tool 1 having such a configuration, the conductive member 2 is wound around the fingertip while the adhesive surface 8A of the adhesive layer 8 is brought into contact with the surface of the portion corresponding to the fingertip of the glove. At this time, the position of the conductive member 2 with respect to the fingertip is determined so that the operation portion 3 of the conductive member 2 is positioned at the belly portion of the fingertip.

  When using a plurality of fingers for the operation of the smartphone, the number of touch panel operation tools 1 corresponding to the number of fingers necessary for the operation of the smartphone is prepared, and these touch panel operation tools 1 are attached to the respective fingertips. In addition, when the hand operating the smartphone is the right hand, the fingertip of the right hand, when the hand operating the smartphone is the fingertip of the left hand, when operating the smartphone with both hands, One or more touch panel operating tools 1 are attached.

  When the smartphone is actually operated after the touch panel operation tool 1 is attached, as shown in FIG. 1, the fingertip with the touch panel operation tool 1 is attached to one side surface 2A of the portion corresponding to the operation unit 3 in the conductive member 2. The side is brought into contact with the surface 60 of the touch panel. Thereby, one side surface 6A of the cover layer 6 and one side surface 2A of the conductive member 2 exposed in the slit 7 come into contact with the surface 60 of the touch panel. As a result, a current flows between the surface 60 of the touch panel and the conductive member 2, and a change in electrostatic capacitance caused by the current flows is detected by the touch panel, and the operation of the smartphone is realized.

  As described above, according to the touch panel operation tool 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the conductive member 2 is wound around the part corresponding to the fingertip of the glove, thereby imparting conductivity to the part of the glove. Thereby, the touch of the fingertip can be detected by the touch panel while wearing the glove, and the operation of the smartphone can be realized. Therefore, the trouble of removing gloves each time the smartphone is operated can be eliminated, and convenience can be improved.

  In addition, since the touch panel operation tool 1 can be attached to any type of glove that individually covers the thumb, index finger, etc., regardless of the application of the glove (for example, for skiing, for skating, for bicycles, etc.). Also, regardless of the glove design, it can be attached to a wide variety of gloves, and even existing old gloves can be attached. Thereby, regardless of the type of glove, or even if the glove is an existing old glove, it is possible to realize the operation of the smartphone with the glove being put on.

  As shown in FIG. 7, an auxiliary member 9 may be added to the touch panel operation tool 1. The auxiliary member 9 is a thin film formed of a material such as polyethylene terephthalate, for example, and an adhesive is attached to the back surface of the auxiliary member 9. The auxiliary member 9 can be attached to both end portions of one side surface 6A of the cover layer 6, whereby both end portions of the cover layer 6 and the conductive member 2 can be fastened and connected to each other. . By using the auxiliary member 9, the conductive member 2 can be more firmly fixed by the fingertip, and current can easily flow when the conductive member 2 comes into contact with the surface 60 of the touch panel.

  Moreover, in embodiment mentioned above, although the electroconductive member 2 was formed in strip | belt shape and the structure which winds the electroconductive member 2 around a fingertip was mentioned as an example, this invention is not limited to this. For example, it is good also as a structure which makes the electroconductive member 2 the same shape as a finger suck, and covers the front-end | tip part of a fingertip entirely. However, as in the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the conductive member 2 is formed in a band shape and wound around the fingertip adjusts the winding condition of the touch panel operation tool 1 so that one touch panel operation tool 1 is thicker. It is easy to use because it can be attached to the index finger or thumb of different sizes, and it is not necessary to prepare a different operation tool for each finger.

  Moreover, although the case where the touch panel operation tool 1 was used for the operation of the smartphone was taken as an example in the above-described embodiment, the touch panel operation tool 1 is a device other than a smartphone equipped with a capacitive touch panel. It can also be used for operation.

  Further, the present invention can be appropriately changed without departing from the spirit or idea of the invention which can be read from the claims and the entire specification, and a touch panel operation tool with such a change is also a technical idea of the present invention. include.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Touch panel operation tool 2 Conductive member 3 Operation part 4 Left side support part (1st support part)
5 Right support part (second support part)
6 Cover layer 7 Slit 8 Adhesive layer 9 Auxiliary member

Claims (6)

A touch panel operation tool attached to a fingertip for operating a capacitive touch panel,
The touch panel is formed of a conductive material that enables the touch panel to detect a change in capacitance caused by the contact when it comes into contact with the surface of the touch panel, and includes a conductive member that is attached to the fingertip.
The conductive member is
An operation unit that is arranged on the belly of the fingertip and contacts the surface of the touch panel when operating the touch panel with the fingertip;
A first support portion that extends in one direction from one end side of the operation portion along the circumferential surface of the fingertip from the belly of the fingertip toward the back side of the fingertip, and supports the operation portion on the fingertip. When,
A second support portion that extends in the other direction from the other end side of the operation portion along the peripheral surface of the fingertip from the belly of the fingertip toward the back side of the fingertip, and supports the operation portion on the fingertip. And a touch panel operation tool.   The touch panel operation tool according to claim 1, wherein the conductive member is formed in a band shape and is attached to the fingertip by being wound around the fingertip.   The touch panel operation tool according to claim 2, wherein the conductive member is formed in a crescent shape in a plan view and has a truncated cone shape when wound around a fingertip.   A cover layer is provided on one side surface of the conductive member including a portion that contacts the surface of the touch panel, and the cover layer includes a slit, and a surface including the portion that contacts the surface of the touch panel has low friction. 4. The portion of the one side surface of the conductive member that is in contact with the surface of the touch panel is exposed through the slit of the cover layer. 5. Touch panel operation tool.   The touch panel operation tool according to claim 1, wherein an adhesive layer having adhesiveness is provided on the other side surface of the conductive member.   6. An auxiliary member for fastening the first support portion and the second support portion to each other and connecting them together when the conductive member is wound around a fingertip. The touch panel operation tool according to any one of the above.

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