JP2014149926A - Touch sensor device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a touch sensor device capable of improving external-force detection performance.SOLUTION: A touch sensor device 19 comprises: an elastically-deformable cover 24 having a holding hole 33; a support member 25 which is provided in the holding hole 33 and elastically deforms due to the external force transferred via the cover 24; and a plurality of electrodes 34 and 35 which are supported by the support member 25 in a state in which they are separated from each other and come into contact with each other as the support member 25 deforms. This touch sensor device further includes a core metal 29 fixed to and reinforcing the cover 24 and a first flat plate part 29a formed in the core metal 29, exposed to the holding hole 33, and in contact with the support member 25.

Description

  The present invention relates to a touch sensor device that detects an external force.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an opening / closing device that automatically opens and closes an opening / closing body of an automobile with the power of an electric motor is known. The opening / closing device includes a touch sensor device that detects that an object has come into contact with the opening / closing body. If it is detected that the object has contacted the opening / closing body in the middle of closing the opening / closing body, the opening / closing body is stopped. Or control to open the opening and closing body. An example of a touch sensor device used in such an opening / closing device is described in Patent Document 1.

  The touch sensor device described in Patent Literature 1 includes a cover and a support member. The support member is formed by integrally molding an insulating material having elasticity into a cylindrical shape, and a plurality of, specifically, four electrodes are spirally attached to the inner periphery of the support member. Further, the cover has lower elasticity than the support member, and the support member includes a cylindrical holding portion and an attachment portion continuous to the holding portion. A support member is inserted into the hole of the holding portion, and the attachment portion is attached to the bracket of the door panel. A reinforcing member made of a metal material is embedded from the holding portion to the mounting portion. Further, the four electrodes are connected to an electric circuit through lead wires, and a current detection element for detecting a current value of the electric circuit is provided. In addition, a computer to which a signal output from the current detection element is input is provided.

  The door panel operates with the power of the electric motor, and opens and closes an opening provided in the vehicle. When the door panel is operated to close the opening, if an object is present in the forward direction of the door panel, the cover comes into contact with the object. Then, the cover is elastically deformed and the electrodes come into contact with each other, and the current value of the electric circuit changes. A change in the current value of the electric circuit is detected by the current detection element, a signal output from the current detection element is input to the computer, and the computer detects the presence of the object. An example of the touch sensor device is also described in Patent Documents 2 to 5.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-283459 JP-A-9-180580 JP 2002-63828 A JP 2002-75117 A JP 2012-194173 A

  However, in the touch sensor device described in Patent Document 1, even if an object comes into contact with the cover and the cover is elastically deformed, a portion of the holding portion located between the support member and the reinforcing member is elastically deformed. there's a possibility that. For this reason, the external force applied to the cover may not be transmitted to the support member, and the external force detection performance may be reduced.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a touch sensor device capable of improving the external force detection performance.

  The touch sensor device of the present invention can be elastically deformed and has a cover having a holding hole, and a support member provided in the holding hole and elastically deformed by an external force transmitted through the cover. A plurality of electrodes that are supported by the support member in a state of being separated from each other and that come into contact with each other as the support member is deformed, and are fixed to the cover and fixed to the cover A reinforcing member that reinforces the cover; and a contact portion that is formed in the reinforcing member and is exposed to the holding hole and contacts the supporting member.

  In the touch sensor device of the present invention, the support member has a higher rigidity than the cover.

  In the touch sensor device of the present invention, the plurality of electrodes include a first electrode and a second electrode, and the first electrode and the second electrode are arranged in a plane along a direction in which an external force is transmitted to the support member. The second electrode is disposed between the reinforcing member.

  The touch sensor device of the present invention is formed in the first flat surface formed on the first electrode and the second electrode in a plane along the direction in which an external force is transmitted to the support member, In addition, a second flat surface parallel to the first flat surface is provided.

  In the touch sensor device of the present invention, the cover is attached to an opening / closing body that opens and closes an opening of a vehicle, and the first electrode and the second electrode are spaced from each other in an operation direction of the opening / closing body. Has been placed.

  According to the present invention, since the reinforcing member and the support member are in contact with each other, when an external force is transmitted to the support member via the cover, deformation of the support member is suppressed, and a plurality of electrodes are easily in contact with each other. Become. Therefore, the external force detection performance of the touch sensor device is improved.

  According to the present invention, when the support member is elastically deformed, the second electrode is less likely to move away from the first electrode, and the contact between the first electrode and the second electrode is promoted.

  According to the present invention, since the first electrode and the second electrode are arranged along the direction in which the external force is transmitted, the first electrode and the second electrode are more easily brought into contact with each other.

  According to the present invention, when the support member is deformed by an external force, the contact area between the first electrode and the second electrode can be increased.

  The touch sensor device of the present invention can detect that an object has come into contact with the cover when operating the opening / closing body of the vehicle.

It is a side view of the vehicle which attached the touch sensor apparatus of this invention. It is a fragmentary sectional view of the slide door which attached the touch sensor apparatus of this invention. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating a structural example of the touch sensor device of FIG. 2. It is an expanded sectional view which shows the other structural example of the touch sensor apparatus of FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the vehicle 10 shown in FIG. 1, a front door 12 and a slide door 13 are attached to a vehicle body 11. The vehicle body 11 is provided with a center pillar 16 that connects the floor 14 and the roof 15. The center pillar 16 is also called a B pillar. The center pillar 16 is a support provided along the height direction of the vehicle 10. The center pillar 16 is provided at a position closer to the interior A of the vehicle 10 than the front door 12 and the slide door 13.

  The sliding door 13 is operable in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 10 along a guide rail 17 provided on the side surface of the vehicle body 11. That is, the operation direction of the slide door 13 is the front-rear direction of the vehicle 10. When the front door 12 is closed, the rear end 12 a of the front door 12 is positioned within the arrangement range of the center pillar 16 in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 10. When the slide door 13 is closed, the front end 13 a of the slide door 13 is positioned within the arrangement range of the center pillar 16 in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle 10. An opening 18 is formed between the slide door 13 and the front door 12.

  The vehicle body 11 or the slide door 13 is provided with an electric motor, and the power of the electric motor is transmitted to the slide door 13 via a cable, so that the slide door 13 operates. A switch for controlling the operation of the slide door 13 is provided in the interior A of the vehicle 10 or the slide door 13. A controller is connected to the switch, and the rotation, stop, and rotation direction of the electric motor are controlled by signals output from the controller.

  The touch sensor device 19 is connected to the controller via an electric circuit. The touch sensor device 19 is attached to the front end 13 a of the slide door 13 in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 10. The touch sensor device 19 is for detecting an object existing between the front door 12 and the slide door 13 or between the center pillar 16 and the slide door 13. As shown in FIG. 2, the sliding door 13 is parallel to the outer wall 20 that extends along the front-rear direction of the vehicle 10, the front wall 21 that extends from the front end of the outer wall 20 toward the vehicle interior A, and the outer wall 20. And an inner wall 22 arranged on the wall. The inner wall 22 is disposed at a position closer to the vehicle interior A than the outer wall 20. A bent portion 23 that is bent in a U-shape is formed at the end of the front wall 21 on the inner wall 22 side, and the bent portion 23 sandwiches the front end of the inner wall 22.

  The touch sensor device 19 includes a cover 24 formed of an elastically deformable material, such as rubber or soft resin, and a support member 25 supported by the cover 24. The cover 24 is integrally formed of a material having no conductivity. As shown in FIG. 3, the cover 24 includes a base 26 that extends in the width direction of the vehicle 10, a first wall piece 27 that is continuous with an end of the base 26 that is closer to the outside B of the vehicle, and an interior A of the base 26. And a second wall piece 28 continuous to the end portion closer to.

  The width direction of the vehicle 10 is a direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction of the vehicle 10 in a horizontal plane. The width direction of the vehicle 10 is represented in the left-right direction in FIG. The first wall piece 27 and the second wall piece 28 are disposed on both sides of the bent portion 23 in the width direction of the vehicle 10. The first wall piece 27 is disposed at a position closer to the vehicle exterior B than the bent portion 23, and the second wall piece 28 is disposed at a position closer to the outdoor space A than the bent portion 23. A base 26 is disposed on the front side of the bent portion 23 in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 10. That is, the base 26, the first wall piece 27, and the second wall piece 28 are continuous so that the planar cross-sectional shape becomes a U-shape.

  Further, a metal core 29 is embedded across the base 26, the first wall piece 27, and the second wall piece 28. The core metal 29 is fixed to the cover 24 by insert molding. The rigidity of the core metal 29 is higher than that of the cover 24, and the core metal 29 serves as a reinforcing member that maintains the shape of the cover 24. The core metal 29 includes a first flat plate portion 29 a embedded in the base 26, a second flat plate portion 29 b embedded in the first wall piece 27, and a third flat plate portion 29 c embedded in the second wall piece 28. Have. Since the 2nd flat plate part 29b and the 3rd flat plate part 29c are continuing on both ends of the 1st flat plate part 29a, the metal core 29 provided with the 1st flat plate part 29a, the 2nd flat plate part 29b, and the 3rd flat plate part 29c is The plane cross-sectional shape is a U-shape as a whole.

  A protruding portion 27 a is provided on the bent portion 23 side of the first wall piece 27. The protruding portion 27 a protrudes in the horizontal direction, and the protruding portion 27 a is in contact with the bent portion 23. A contact piece 28 a is provided on the bent wall 23 side of the second wall piece 28. The contact piece 28 a protrudes in the horizontal direction, and the tip of the contact piece 28 a is in contact with the bent portion 23. Thus, the protrusion 27a and the contact piece 28a sandwich the bent portion 23, and the cover 24 is attached to the slide door 13 by the clamping force of the protrusion 27a and the contact piece 28a. The force with which the protrusion 27a and the contact piece 28a of the cover 24 sandwich the protrusion 27a is determined by the rigidity of the core metal 29, the rigidity of the cover 24, the protrusion amount of the protrusion 27a, the length of the contact piece 28a, and the like.

  In addition, an overhang portion 30 is continuous at the rear end of the first wall piece 27 in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 10. The projecting portion 30 projects from the first wall piece 27 toward the outside B of the vehicle. A folded piece 31 is continuously provided at the end of the overhanging portion 30 on the vehicle outer side B side. The free end of the folded piece 31 is located in front of the boundary portion between the base 26 and the first wall piece 27.

  Further, the cover 24 has a holding portion 32. The holding portion 32 is curved in a U shape from the base 26 toward the front in a horizontal plane. The holding | maintenance part 32 has the circular arc-shaped part 32a and the linear part 32b each connected to the both ends of the circumferential direction in the circular arc-shaped part 32a. A holding hole 33 is provided between the holding portion 32 and the base 26. That is, the cover 24 has a hollow structure. On the inner periphery of the arc-shaped portion 32a, an arc-shaped surface 33a having a radius centered on the point C in the horizontal plane is formed. The arc-shaped surface 33a is disposed in front of the vehicle 10 with respect to the point C. The arc-shaped surface 33 a is curved so as to swell toward the front of the vehicle 10.

  The inner surface of the straight portion 32b is a straight surface 33b. The linear surfaces 33b are respectively continuous with both ends of the arc-shaped surface 33a in the circumferential direction. The two straight surfaces 33b are parallel to each other, and the two straight surfaces 33b are extended along the front-rear direction of the vehicle 10. A part of the first flat plate portion 29 a is exposed in the holding hole 33. Within the horizontal plane, the arc-shaped portion 32a and the straight portion 32b of the cover 24 have a constant thickness.

  A support member 25 is provided in the holding hole 33. The support member 25 is made of an elastically deformable material such as rubber or soft resin. Further, the support member 25 does not have conductivity. The rigidity of the support member 25 is higher than the rigidity of the cover 24. On the outer surface of the support member 25, an arc-shaped portion 25b that is in close contact with the arc-shaped surface 33a is provided. Straight line portions 25c are continuous to both ends in the circumferential direction of the arc-shaped portion 25b. The straight portion 25c is in close contact with the straight surface 33b.

  A straight portion 25d is formed between a part of the outer surface of the support member 25, that is, between both ends of the straight portion 25c. The straight line portion 25d is in close contact with a portion of the first flat plate portion 29a exposed to the holding hole 33. That is, the cover 24 is not interposed between the linear portion 25d and the first flat plate portion 29a. The support member 25 is disposed in front of the first flat plate portion 29 a in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 10. The straight line portion 25d is at the same position as a tangent to a circle having the same radius as the arc-shaped portion 25b.

  The support member 25 is provided with a hole 25a. The hole 25a is provided in a range including the point C in the horizontal plane. In addition, a plurality of, specifically, two electrodes 34 and 35 are provided inside the hole 25a. The electrodes 34 and 35 are linearly formed along the height direction of the vehicle 10, and the electrodes 34 and 35 are fixed to the inner periphery of the support member 25. The electrode 34 is formed of an elastically deformable conductive material. A conductive line 34 a is embedded in the electrode 34. The electrode 35 is formed of an elastically deformable conductive material. A conductive wire 35 a is embedded in the electrode 35. The material constituting the electrodes 34 and 35 includes a material in which carbon black and metal powder are blended with rubber.

  The electrodes 34 and 35 are separated from each other when no external force is applied to the support member 25. Specifically, the electrodes 34 and 35 are arranged at a distance D in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 10. The electrode 34 is disposed in front of the electrode 35 in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 10. A flat surface 34 b is formed at the rear end of the vehicle 10 in the electrode 34. A flat surface 35 b is formed at the front end of the vehicle 10 in the electrode 35. The flat surfaces 34b and 35b are linearly provided along the width direction of the vehicle 10 in the horizontal plane. The flat surface 34b and the flat surface 35b are parallel to each other, and the distance D between the flat surface 34b and the flat surface 35b is the distance D. An interval D between the electrodes 34 and 35 is an interval in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 10. Further, the flat surface 34b is disposed in front of the point C, and the flat surface 35b is disposed in the rear of the point C. A center point between the conductive line 34 a and the conductive line 35 a is located in front of the point C in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 10.

  In the front-rear direction of the vehicle 10, the distance from the flat surface 34b to the point C is longer than the distance from the flat surface 35b to the point C. The length E of the flat surface 34 b in the width direction of the vehicle 10 is shorter than the length F of the flat surface 35 b in the width direction of the vehicle 10. In the hole 25a, the length G from the front end of the portion where the electrode 34 is not attached to the rear end of the portion where the electrode 35 is not attached is longer than the distance D between the electrodes 34 and 35. The support member 25, the hole 25a, and the electrodes 34 and 35 have a symmetrical shape with respect to a straight line passing through the point C. A straight line passing through the point C is a straight line along the front-rear direction of the vehicle 10, and this straight line is not shown.

  Next, the operation of the touch sensor device 19 will be described. When the slide door 13 to which the touch sensor device 19 is attached moves toward the front of the vehicle 10, it moves linearly along the front-rear direction of the vehicle 10 within a predetermined distance range in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 10. Thereafter, the electric motor is operated obliquely toward the vehicle interior A side of the vehicle 10, and the electric motor is stopped and the slide door 13 is stopped in a state where the folded piece 31 is in contact with the rear end of the front door 12 as shown in FIG. In this way, the opening 18 is closed by the slide door 13.

  On the other hand, when the opening 18 is opened while the sliding door 13 is closing the opening 18, the sliding door 13 operates obliquely toward the rear of the vehicle 10. After the folding piece 31 is separated from the rear end of the front door 12 by the operation of the slide door 13, the slide door 13 moves linearly toward the rear of the vehicle 10 and stops at a predetermined position.

  If the holding part 32 of the touch sensor device 19 comes into contact with an object and elastically deforms while the slide door 13 is operating in the direction to close the opening 18, the support member 25 is elastically deformed by the external force. Particularly, portions of the support member 25 located on both sides between the electrodes 34 and 35 are deformed to absorb the load. When the support member 25 is elastically deformed, the electrodes 34 and 35 are in contact with each other, the electric current value of the electric circuit is changed, and the controller detects that an object is in contact. Then, the controller performs control to stop the electric motor and stop the slide door 13, or control to rotate the electric motor in the reverse direction and open the slide door 13.

  In the touch sensor device 19 of the present embodiment, the linear portion 25 d of the support member 25 is in contact with the first flat plate portion 29 a of the core metal 29. That is, the cover 24 is not interposed between the linear portion 25d and the first flat plate portion 29a. For this reason, when external force is transmitted to the support member 25, it can suppress that the electrode 35 moves in the direction which approaches the 1st flat plate part 29a. Therefore, the electrode 34 and the electrode 35 are easily brought into contact with each other, and the detection performance of the touch sensor device 19 can be improved. Here, the detection performance of the touch sensor device 19 includes the responsiveness of the touch sensor device 19 to an external force.

  In particular, the rigidity of the support member 25 is higher than the rigidity of the cover 24, and the linear portion 25 of the support member 25 is in contact with the first flat plate portion 29 a of the core metal 29. For this reason, when an external force is transmitted to the support member 25, compared with a case where a part of the cover 24 is interposed between the support member 25 and the first flat plate portion 29 a of the core metal 29, The amount of deformation between the electrode 35 and the first flat plate portion 29a toward the first flat plate portion 29a can be reduced. Accordingly, the electrode 34 and the electrode 35 are more easily brought into contact with each other, and the external force detection performance is improved.

  Further, there is no gap between the support member 25 and the holding portion 32, and the outer peripheral surface of the support member 25 and the inner peripheral surface of the holding hole 33 of the holding portion 32 are in close contact. Therefore, when the holding portion 32 is elastically deformed, the load can be reliably transmitted to the support member 25, and the detection performance of the touch sensor device 19 can be suppressed from deteriorating. The electrode 34 is provided with a flat surface 34b, and the electrode 35 is provided with a flat surface 35b. Therefore, when the object and the cover 24 come into contact with each other and a load in the direction along the front-rear direction of the vehicle 10 is applied to the cover 24, the flat surface 34b and the flat surface 35b come into surface contact, and the contact area is expanded. can do. Therefore, the detection performance by the touch sensor device 19 is improved.

  The flat surface 34b is parallel to the flat surface 35b, and the length E of the flat surface 34b is shorter than the length F of the flat surface 35b. For this reason, when a load in a direction inclined with respect to the front-rear direction of the vehicle 10 is applied to the support member 25, the electrode 34 translates with respect to the electrode 35, and the flat surface 34b of the electrode 34 and the flat surface of the electrode 35 35b comes into contact. Therefore, the detection performance of the touch sensor device 19 is improved.

  Further, it is possible to increase the thickness of the portion corresponding to the space between the electrodes 34 and 35 in the support member 25 and the cover 24. Therefore, the elastic deformation amount of the cover 24 and the support member 25 can be reduced as much as possible in the durability test of the touch sensor device 19 to which the load is repeatedly applied. That is, the permanent distortion due to the compressive load of the support member 25 can be made as small as possible. The cover 24 serves as an outer skin provided so as to surround the support member 25 in a horizontal plane cross section. Further, the support member 25 serves as a covering portion that covers the electrodes 34 and 35.

  Next, another structure example of the touch sensor device 19 will be described with reference to FIG. A center point between the conductive line 34 a and the conductive line 35 a is located behind the point C in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 10. Further, in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 10, the distance from the flat surface 34b to the point C is shorter than the distance from the flat surface 35b to the point C. The other structure of the support member 25 shown in FIG. 4 is the same as the structure of the support member 25 shown in FIG. The touch sensor device 19 of FIG. 4 can obtain the same effects as the touch sensor device 19 of FIG.

  Further, a method for manufacturing the touch sensor device 19 will be described. First, in the first step, the support member 25 and the electrodes 34 and 35 are integrated. In the second step, the core metal 29 is pressed. A 1st process and a 2nd process may be performed simultaneously, and after performing any one process previously, you may perform the other process. In the third step, that is, the extrusion step, the support member 25 to which the electrodes 34 and 35 are attached and the core metal 29 are integrated by a flowing rubber material, and the rubber material is solidified to form the cover 24. In this extruding step, since the linear portion 25d of the support member 25 is brought into contact with the first flat plate portion 29a of the core metal 29, the core metal 29 and the support member 25 can be easily positioned.

  The core metal 29 described above corresponds to the reinforcing member of the present invention, the electrode 34 corresponds to the first electrode of the present invention, the electrode 35 corresponds to the second electrode of the present invention, and the first flat plate. The portion 29a corresponds to the contact portion of the present invention, the flat surface 34b corresponds to the first flat surface of the present invention, the flat surface 35b corresponds to the second flat surface of the present invention, and the sliding door 13 Corresponds to the opening / closing body of the present invention.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the two electrodes include a structure having a flat surface, a structure having an arc surface, and a structure having a curved surface at a place where contact is assumed. The opening / closing body provided with the touch sensor device of the present invention includes an opening / closing body that opens and closes an opening formed in a vehicle roof. The operation direction of the opening / closing body that opens and closes the opening provided in the roof of the vehicle includes the front-rear direction of the vehicle or the left-right direction of the vehicle.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Vehicle 11 Car body 12 Front door 13 Slide door 12a Rear end 13a Front end 14 Floor 15 Roof 16 Center pillar 17 Guide rail 18 Opening part 19 Touch sensor device 20 Outer wall 21 Front wall 22 Inner wall 23 Bending part 24 Cover 25 Support member 25a Hole 25b , 32a Arc-shaped portion 25c, 25d, 32b Linear portion 26 Base 27, 28 Wall piece 27a Projection portion 28a Contact piece 29 Core metal 29a First flat plate portion 29b Second flat plate portion 29c Third flat plate portion 30 Overhang portion 31 Folding piece 32 Holding part 33 Holding hole 32a, 33a Arc-shaped surface 32b, 33b Linear surface 34, 35 Electrode 34a, 35a Conductive wire 34b, 35b Flat surface A In-car B Out-of-car C Point D Interval E, F, G Length

Claims (5)

A cover that can be elastically deformed and has a holding hole, a support member that is provided in the holding hole and elastically deformed by an external force transmitted through the cover, and separated from each other by the support member A plurality of electrodes that are supported in a state and come into contact with each other when the support member is deformed, and a touch sensor device comprising:
A reinforcing member fixed to the cover and reinforcing the cover;
A contact portion formed on the reinforcing member and exposed to the holding hole and in contact with the support member;
A touch sensor device. The touch sensor device according to claim 1,
The touch sensor device has a rigidity of the support member higher than that of the cover. The touch sensor device according to claim 1 or 2,
The plurality of electrodes include a first electrode and a second electrode;
The touch sensor device, wherein the second electrode is disposed between the first electrode and the reinforcing member in a plane along a direction in which an external force is transmitted to the support member. In the touch sensor device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A first flat surface formed on the first electrode and a second flat surface formed on the second electrode in a plane along a direction in which an external force is transmitted to the support member, and the first flat surface. And a second flat surface parallel to the touch sensor device. The touch sensor device according to claim 3 or 4,
The cover is attached to an opening / closing body that opens and closes an opening of the vehicle,
The touch sensor device, wherein the first electrode and the second electrode are arranged at an interval in an operation direction of the opening / closing body.

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