JP2013222376A - Information input pen - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an input pen whose detection position is not shifted due to writing pressure, and which can be grounded on an input panel surface in a large area, enables such input as not to damage the panel surface, and enables such input as to underline data of a character string of a so-called electronic book.SOLUTION: A surface of a pen nib of an input touch pen is covered with conductive rubber, and the conductive rubber includes such a relatively soft fiber bundle as to be generally used for a writing tool or the like.

Description

The present invention relates to a capacitive coordinate input device connected to an information processing device such as a personal computer or a portable terminal or a capacitive input pad for inputting coordinate information to a display-integrated capacitive input device. It relates to a touch pen.

Conventionally, when inputting information to a capacitive coordinate input device or a display-integrated capacitive input device of a computer, the information is input directly with a finger.
However, the finger is disadvantageous in that the operability is inferior when the contact state with the input panel changes due to force adjustment and the position shifts or the finger slips due to sweat or the like.
Various proposals have already been made for such drawbacks. These are mainly composed of a conductive pen tip and a conductive shaft, and are proposals for enabling stable writing and position detection while ensuring conduction from the input panel to the finger.

First, a pen tip made of a water-absorbing material and a water retaining portion provided inside the shaft body are impregnated with water, and further, a connection from the input panel to the finger is ensured through the conductive shaft body (Patent Literature). 1). In this case, since the handwriting of water remains on the panel, accurate position information may not be input due to the influence of water on the panel surface when used continuously. Furthermore, it was possible to cause a fatal accident in which water is attached to an electronic device that is extremely precise.

Next, the present applicant has proposed that a conductive fiber brush or a conductive felt is used for the pen tip, and further that the conduction from the input panel to the finger is ensured through the conductive shaft (Patent Document). 2). In this case, the tip of the brush or felt is soft, and the touch at the time of input is soft and does not damage the input panel. However, since it is easily deformed, there is a drawback that accurate position information cannot be input.

In addition, the applicant of the present invention has proposed that a conductive rubber is used for the pen tip and that the conduction from the input panel to the finger is ensured through a conductive shaft (Patent Document 3). In this case, there was no problem with pointing operation, and the feel during input was soft and did not damage the input panel, but the rubber contact area was large, and sliding operation increased resistance and comfort. Could not slide. Further, a configuration is disclosed in which a hard core is housed inside the nib of conductive rubber, and in some cases, a gap is formed between the core and the nib. In this embodiment, the input feeling of the user can be made more solid, and it becomes easy to adjust the input feeling as appropriate, but the rubber at the tip is easily broken due to fatigue deterioration, and there is a hard core there. When the body was exposed, the input panel was eventually damaged.

JP-A-8-44484 (Examples) JP-A-10-39989 (Claims etc.) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-161895 (claims, etc.)

The object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, that is, without causing a conductive liquid such as water to adhere to the input device, to reduce the displacement of the detection position due to writing pressure, and to reliably input with a large grounding area. An object of the present invention is to provide a touch pen for a capacitive input pad having a pen tip that can be manufactured without using a material that can damage the panel surface.

That is, this invention exists in following (1)-(7).
(1) An input touch pen for inputting information to a capacitive coordinate input device or a display-integrated capacitive input device, wherein the input touch pen includes a shaft and a pen tip including a conductive rubber. An input touch pen, wherein the grip portion of the shaft body is electrically conductive, and the conductive rubber constituting the tip of the pen tip includes a fiber bundle inside.
(2) The input touch pen according to (1), wherein the grip portion of the shaft body and the conductive rubber are electrically connected.
(3) The input touch pen according to (1), wherein the fiber bundle includes a thermoplastic resin or a thermosetting resin.
(4) The input touch pen according to (1), wherein the conductive rubber covers the entire surface of the tip of the pen tip, and the fiber bundle is in close contact with the inside of the conductive rubber.
(5) The touch pen for input according to (1), wherein the tip of the pen tip is detachable from the shaft body.
(6) The touch pen for input according to (5), wherein the tip of the pen tip and the shaft body are joined via a tip shaft portion.
(7) The input touch pen according to any one of (1) to (6), wherein a tip portion of the pen point tip includes a plane intersecting with a central axis of the shaft body.

As described above, the touch pen of the present invention covers the tip of the pen with conductive rubber and includes a fiber bundle inside thereof, so that the ground contact area with respect to the input panel is large, the displacement of the detection position due to writing pressure is small, and Capacitive input panel touch pen that is hard to damage the input panel is configured. In addition, by configuring the pen tip to include a plane that intersects the central axis of the shaft body, it is possible to provide a capacitive input panel touch pen that is less likely to damage the input panel.

It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the pen point tip with which the input pen of the 1st Embodiment of this invention is mounted | worn. It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the input pen of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the input pen of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram when the tip of the input pen of the present invention contacts the input panel at a correct angle. It is a schematic diagram when the tip of the input pen of the present invention contacts the input panel at an angle slightly deviated from the correct angle. It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the input pen of the 3rd, 4th embodiment of this invention.

Examples of the conductive rubber used in the present invention include those composed of one or a combination of two or more of conductive natural rubber, conductive chloroprene rubber, conductive nitrile rubber, conductive fluororubber, conductive silicone rubber and the like. . These conductive rubbers are obtained by kneading a conductive carbon material or the like with a normal rubber material to provide conductivity, and the rubber material can be used without any particular limitation.

The volume resistivity of these conductive rubbers is preferably 10 ⁸ Ω · cm or less. More preferably, it is 1-10 < ⁶ > ohm * cm. When the volume resistivity exceeds 10 ⁸ Ω · cm, it becomes difficult to input, which is not preferable. Further, the durometer type A hardness of these conductive rubbers in JIS K 6253 is preferably 80 ° or less. More preferably, it is 30 ° to 70 °. If the rubber hardness exceeds 80 °, the input panel tends to be damaged, which is not preferable.

As the fiber bundle to be contained in these conductive rubbers, any fiber bundle used in a normal writing instrument can be used without limitation. Actually, natural fiber, animal hair fiber, polyacetal resin, acrylic resin, polyester resin, polyamide resin, polyurethane resin, polyolefin resin, polyvinyl resin, polycarbonate resin, polyether resin, polyphenylene resin What consists of a fiber body which consists of 1 type, or 2 or more types of combinations, such as resin, is mentioned. The adhesive for binding these fibers is selected from melamine resin, phenol resin, urea resin, polyurethane resin and the like. A fiber bundle can be formed by impregnating, drying and solidifying these adhesives.

The fiber bundle is wrapped with the conductive rubber having a rubber hardness of 80 ° or less, and at least the surface that contacts the input panel surface is covered with the conductive rubber so that the tip of the pen tip is formed. The method is not particularly limited, such as adhesion, fusion, and fitting, but from the viewpoint of adhesion, a method of integrally molding as shown in FIG. 1 by insert molding is preferable.

As shown in FIG. 1, a locked portion can be provided on the side surface or rear end of the pen tip. The locked portion is a flange-like locked portion when provided at the rear end of the pen tip, such as a flange-shaped locked portion. Can also be provided.

Also, the tip of the pen tip of the pen according to the present invention, which is in contact with the capacitive coordinate input device or the display-integrated capacitive input device, can be used as it is, but the pen tip can be made smaller. When doing so, the responsiveness may be inferior unless the entire nib surface is brought into contact. In this case, the responsiveness can be obtained regardless of the contact angle by making the grounded portion of the tip of the pen tip deformable and giving the pen tip a flexible touch. If the length of deformation and sinking is long, as described above, the same defect as that disclosed in Patent Document 2 occurs. That is, positional information shifts due to deformation of the tip of the brush or felt that occurs when a conductive fiber brush or conductive felt is used for the pen tip. Therefore, it is desirable that the length of deformation and sinking is within a range not exceeding 3 mm, preferably not exceeding 2 mm.

The shape of the tip of the pen tip is preferably a dome shape as shown in FIG. 1 if it is used for a general input operation, but an operation corresponding to marking performed on a general book or the like is performed on a display surface of an electronic book or the like. In such a case, it is preferable to have a shape including a plane intersecting with the central axis of the shaft body as shown in FIG. 2, that is, an end surface shape in a bamboo basket shape or a knife cut shape.

When the tip of the pen tip includes a plane that intersects the central axis of the pen body, the plane that contacts the capacitive coordinate input device or the display-integrated capacitive input device is connected to the central axis. The angle is preferably 45 ° to 90 °. When the angle is less than 45 °, the tip end is too sharp, and the surface conductive rubber tends to be deteriorated due to fatigue while being contacted many times. The area of the plane 10mm ² ~80mm ² preferred, and is preferably a 20mm ² ~40mm ^2. When the contact area is less than 10 mm ² , the usability and the like are not different from those of conventional touch pens, and the contact area exceeding 80 mm ² is too large and there is a high possibility of contact other than the target location on the input panel. .

As long as the pen tip has a sufficiently large conductivity at the tip of the pen that covers the surface of the pen with conductive rubber, it is possible to use a capacitive coordinate input device or display-integrated capacitance Input to the input device is possible. However, when the conductivity of the tip of the pen tip is small, or when the response performance of the capacitive coordinate input device or the display-integrated capacitive input device is inferior, a synthetic resin shaft containing carbon black, metal fine particles, etc. By using a shaft obtained by plating the surface of the synthetic resin shaft or a shaft made of a conductive metal, a shaft body in which the gripping portion of the shaft body and the pen tip have conductivity can be obtained. Further, the shaft body may be composed of a single component or a plurality of components such as a tip shaft, a shaft tube, and a tail plug as long as the gripping portion of the shaft body and the pen tip have conductivity. Alternatively, the synthetic resin containing carbon black or metal fine particles is coated on the outer periphery of the member such as the front shaft or the shaft tube, the plating is applied, the coating made of a conductive metal is applied, or A conductive material coating may be applied. Furthermore, by storing a conductor such as conductive fiber, conductive sponge, metal, graphite sintered body so as to be electrically connected to the pen tip inside the shaft body, the volume of the conductor is increased, The responsiveness of the capacitive coordinate input device or the display-integrated capacitive input device can be appropriately adjusted.

And the resistance value from the pen point of the pen concerning this invention to the holding part of a shaft body is not specifically limited. If this resistance value is 10 MΩ or less, a responsive touch pen can be obtained. However, even if the resistance value is so high that it cannot be measured by a general measuring instrument, the lower part of the shaft body, that is, the tip part. When the user grips the side closer to the (pen tip), the reactivity without any problem in use can be achieved.

According to the pen of the present invention, the tip of the pen tip is electrically connected to the user's hand through the shaft, even if it is very small. Therefore, the tip of the pen tip is maintained at the same potential as that of the user's hand holding the shaft body, and the touch-tip tip is in contact with the capacitive coordinate input device or the display-integrated capacitive input device. A capacitance is formed.

When inputting coordinates to the capacitive coordinate input device or the display-integrated capacitive input device using the thus configured pen, the user holds the shaft body at an appropriate position, and Is input to the capacitive coordinate input device or the display-integrated capacitive input device.
As a result, a capacitance depending on the contact area is formed between the user's hand and the capacitive coordinate input device or the display-integrated capacitive input device, enabling input.

In addition, by configuring the pen tip with a fiber bundle covered with conductive rubber, the conductive liquid such as water does not adhere to the input device, the detection position is not shifted by the pen pressure, and the pen tip The ground contact area at the tip is large, enabling input without damaging the panel surface.

(First Embodiment) A pen according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
First, FIG. 2 shows a first embodiment, in which a conductive shaft 1 and a conductive rubber 22 on the surface are formed by a pen tip 2 composed of a pen point tip 2 covering an inner fiber bundle 23 and a tail plug 3. It is configured. The tip of the pen tip 2 has an outer diameter of 5 mm, and its tip is molded into a dome shape. The conductive rubber on the surface is made of conductive natural rubber (volume resistance value 1.0 × 10 ² , durometer type A in JIS K 6253) The inner fiber bundle is a polyester fiber bundle using a melamine resin adhesive. The shaft body 1 is composed only of a conductive material. Here, the connection part 11 of the shaft body 1 and the contact part 21 of the nib 2 are in contact and conduction. The pen tip 2, the contact part 21, the connection part 11, and the grip part 12 of the shaft body 1 are connected by a conductive material.

This nib tip 2 is obtained by insert molding. The obtained tip of the pen tip was inserted into the connection portion 11 to complete the input touch pen of this example. The electrical resistance from the conductive rubber 22 on the surface to the grip portion 12 was measured, but the measured value fluctuated at a considerably high value and could not show a clear value, but the response to the input operation was a problem at all. It was possible to input correctly without any error.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment, which is composed of a pen tip 2 composed of a pen point tip 2 having a conductive shaft 1 and a conductive rubber 22 on the surface covering a fiber bundle 23 inside, and a tail plug 3. ing. The nib tip 2 has an outer diameter of 5 mm, and a flat surface at the tip is molded into a bamboo basket shape having an angle of 70 ° with the shaft body 1. The surface conductive rubber is made of conductive natural rubber (volume resistance value 5. 0 × 10 ² , durometer type A hardness according to JIS K 6253 is 70 °), and the inner fiber bundle is a polyester fiber bundle using a melamine resin adhesive. The shaft body 1 is composed only of a conductive material. Also in this case, the connecting portion 11 of the shaft body 1 and the contact portion 21 of the pen tip 2 are in contact / conduction. The pen tip 2, the contact part 21, the connection part 11, and the grip part 12 of the shaft body 1 are connected by a conductive material.

4 and 5 show a contact state between the tip of the pen tip and the capacitive coordinate input device or the display-integrated capacitive input device 6 in the second embodiment. In the present embodiment, as described above, the angle T between the center axis A of the pen body and the tip surface of the pen tip is 70 °. As shown in FIG. 4, there is no problem if the tip of the pen tip having an appropriate cross-sectional area is brought into contact with an appropriate writing angle (T) such that the tip surface of the pen tip and the surface 6 of the input device are parallel to each other. However, in normal use, it is impossible to always keep the angle between the center axis A of the pen body and the surface 6 of the input device at an appropriate angle T, resulting in a state as shown in FIG. There is.

In such a case, the contact area with the surface 6 is reduced, and therefore, there is a high possibility that the input will be hindered. However, the tip of the pen tip in this second embodiment is flexible and conductive. Since it is composed of rubber and an embedded material having a rubber hardness of less than that, it can be easily deformed to ensure a large contact area. By the way, as shown in FIG. 5, when the tip of the pen tip is deformed by light writing pressure, the distortion is applied to a part of the conductive rubber on the surface. Here, if the internal material is a non-flexible material that does not absorb the distortion of the conductive rubber on the surface, and if the internal material is hollow without any internal material, all the distortion will be removed by the conductive rubber. It will be subjected to fatigue deterioration due to repeated strain. On the other hand, if a flexible fiber bundle is contained in the interior without any gap, a part of this distortion is deformed by the fiber bundle being broken, receiving this distortion, and supporting the conductive rubber. As a result, fatigue deterioration of the conductive rubber can be delayed.
In this example, the electrical resistance from the nib 2 to the gripping part 12 was measured, but it was impossible to measure exceeding the upper limit (10 MΩ) of the measuring instrument, but accurate input could be performed without any problem.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 5 shows a third embodiment in which the conductive shaft 1 and the surface are made of conductive chloroprene rubber (volume resistance value 1.5 × 10 ² , durometer type A hardness according to JIS K 6253 is 80 °). Covering, pen tip 2 made of polyurethane resin adhesive with acrylic resin fiber bundle inside, conductive sponge 5 in shaft body 1, pen tip 2 and conductive sponge 5 directly conducting It is comprised by the graphite sintered compact 4 and the tail plug 3 for making it do.
In this embodiment, the connecting portion 11 of the shaft body 1 and the contact portion 21 of the nib 2 are not electrically connected, but the shaft body 1 is passed from the nib tip 2 through the graphite sintered body 4 and the conductive sponge 5. The grip portion 12 is connected with a conductive material.

The tip of the pen tip has a so-called knife-cut chisel pen core shape, and the angle formed between the ridge line of the tip of the pen core and the shaft 1 is 70 °. In this example, the electrical resistance from the nib tip 2 to the grip portion 12 was measured. However, the measured value fluctuated at a considerably high value and a clear value could not be shown, but the response to the input operation had no problem at all and an accurate input could be performed.

Although not shown in detail, in the third embodiment, since the pen tip 2 is housed in the mouth plug 10 that fits the shaft body 1, the tip 2 can be replaced relatively easily. That is, when the conductive rubber 22 is worn away, the mouthpiece 10 can be removed and replaced with a mouthpiece 10 having a new pen tip 2. When the user feels uncomfortable with "writing resistance" and "feeling of input" over a long period of time, the pen tip 2 is pulled out of the shaft body 1 (with the mouthpiece 10) and replaced. Work can also be performed with a new “writing resistance” or “input feeling”.

In addition, a writing instrument such as a ballpoint pen may be connected to the rear end portion of the pen of these embodiments instead of the tail plug 3 so as to be able to write a memo on an ordinary paper surface and underline.

(Fourth Embodiment) The fourth embodiment is configured in the same manner as the third embodiment except that the shaft body is a non-conductive shaft body. Also in this embodiment, if the user does not like “writing resistance” or “input feeling”, the user can replace the input tip 2 or the mouthpiece 10 to replace the favorite “writing resistance” or “input feeling”. It can be. In this example, the electrical resistance from the tip of the pen tip 2 to the grip portion 12 was measured, but it was not measurable beyond the upper limit (10 MΩ) of the measuring instrument. However, it was possible to input correctly without problems.

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. That is, it is possible to input such that a conductive liquid such as water does not adhere to the input device, the detection position is not shifted by the pen pressure, and the panel surface is not damaged. Since the tip of the pen tip has a flat portion that is somewhat flexible, it is possible to input an underline with respect to the character string data of the so-called electronic book.

The product of the present invention can be used for underlining in so-called electronic books, adding and processing digital images, or inputting characters, handwriting and strokes.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Shaft body 10 Mouth plug 11 Shaft body connection part 12 Grasping part 13 Tail plug fitting part 2 Pen tip 21 Conductive rubber part 22 Tip part 23 Fiber bundle 24 Pen point contact part 3 Tail plug 4 Graphite firing Bonded body 5 Conductive sponge 6 Input device surface A Center axis T of pen body Angle between tip surface and center axis

Claims (7)

An input touch pen for inputting information to a capacitive coordinate input device or a display-integrated capacitive input device, wherein the input touch pen includes a shaft and a pen tip including a conductive rubber, An input touch pen, wherein a grip portion of the shaft body is conductive, and the conductive rubber constituting the tip of the pen tip includes a fiber bundle inside. The touch pen for input according to claim 1, wherein the grip portion of the shaft body and the conductive rubber are electrically connected. The touch pen for input according to claim 1, wherein the fiber bundle includes a thermoplastic resin or a thermosetting resin. 2. The input touch pen according to claim 1, wherein the conductive rubber covers the entire surface of the tip of the pen tip, and the fiber bundle is in close contact with the inside of the conductive rubber. The touch pen for input according to claim 1, wherein the tip of the pen tip is detachable from the shaft body. The touch pen for input according to claim 5, wherein the tip of the pen tip and the shaft body are joined via a tip shaft portion. The touch pen for input according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a tip end portion of the tip of the pen tip includes a plane that intersects with a central axis of the shaft body.

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