JP3328435B2 - Signal generator - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a signal generator.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a device for generating a signal in accordance with the operating state of a joystick or the like, the movement of the stick is transmitted to a leaf spring to detect the position of the stick, and the movement of the leaf spring is mechanically detected. It is configured to generate a signal by transmitting it to an appropriate switch.

[0003]

However, in the above-described device, since a signal is generated by opening and closing a switch having mechanical contacts, a conduction failure occurs due to wear of the contacts when used for a long period of time. There is a problem that reliability and durability are lacking. In addition, one switch is required for each direction, and the same number of switches are required to obtain outputs in multiple directions. Therefore, there is a disadvantage that the configuration becomes complicated and the device becomes large.

An object of the present invention is to provide a signal generator capable of improving reliability and durability and obtaining multidirectional output signals with a simple configuration.

[0005]

According to the present invention, a plurality of electrodes, a counter electrode facing the plurality of electrodes, and one of the counter electrode and the plurality of electrodes are provided at a predetermined distance from the other. And a plurality of capacitance components formed by overlapping the counter electrode and the respective electrodes, and the counter electrode and the plurality of capacitance components depending on the capacitance values of the plurality of capacitance components. Detecting means for detecting a relative displacement with respect to the plurality of electrodes,
First and second electrode groups each including a plurality of desired electrodes therein
And the first electrode group has a first electrode group with the counter electrode.
Regarding relative movement in the reference direction, this counter electrode and
The combined capacitance of the capacitance components formed by overlapping
Position so that it is constant regardless of the typical movement position.
And the second electrode group is a second reference with the counter electrode.
The relative movement in the direction
The combined capacitance of the capacitance components formed by
It is arranged to be constant regardless of the movement position,
The detecting means includes the composite volume formed by the first electrode group.
The value of the amount and the combined capacitance formed by the second electrode group
Depending on the value, the relative position between the counter electrode and the plurality of electrodes
The above object is achieved by detecting a large displacement .

[0006]

[0007]

The detecting means compares a value of the combined capacitance formed by the first electrode group and a value of the combined capacitance formed by the second electrode group with a desired reference value. It is preferable that the detecting means include a detecting means for detecting a relative displacement between the counter electrode and the plurality of electrodes according to an output of the comparing means.

The relative displacement is determined by the first and second
Is desirably indicated as the amount of movement in the reference direction.

It is preferable that the first reference direction and the second reference direction are directions orthogonal to each other.

[0011]

Preferably, the plurality of electrodes are formed on the same spherical surface or on the same plane.

Preferably, the plurality of electrodes are fixed, and the counter electrode is movable in accordance with the operation of the stick.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to one embodiment shown in the drawings.

In FIG. 1, reference numerals 1 to 3 denote electrodes.
2 constitutes a first electrode group 4, and the electrodes 2 and 3 constitute a second electrode group 5.

In the present embodiment, the electrodes 1 to 3 are arranged on the same spherical surface and have the same size and shape (in this embodiment, a planar square).

Numeral 6 denotes a counter electrode having a square planar shape, which is grounded and has the same center (point o in FIG. 2) as the spherical surface on which the electrodes 1 to 3 are formed as shown in FIG. Overlaps a part of the electrodes 1 to 3 at a predetermined interval on a spherical surface shorter by a predetermined length to form capacitance components 7 to 9 shown by oblique lines in FIG. It is. In FIG. 2, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 are the same.

The stick 10 has a spherical portion 11 in the middle as shown in FIG. 2, and can be tilted in any direction by a bellows 13 provided on the guide portion 12, but the central axis Ax in the longitudinal direction is provided. It is impossible to rotate around. The spherical portion 11 has the same center as the spherical surface on which the counter electrode 6 is arranged, and is rotatably held by the guide portion 12. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the opposing electrode 6 uses the center o of the spherical portion 11 as a fulcrum, and
It is possible to move while maintaining a constant interval with respect to. In FIG. 3, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 2 denote the same components.

The planar positional relationship between the counter electrode 6 and the electrodes 1 to 3 will be described with reference to FIG. Each side of the counter electrode 6 is provided so as to be parallel or perpendicular to each side of the electrodes 1 to 3, and the counter electrode 6 is tilted in any direction by the stick 10 in any direction with respect to the electrodes 1 to 3. It can be moved in parallel.

Arrows A indicate the sides 1a, 1c, 2a, 2 of each electrode.
c, 3a, 3c, a first reference direction parallel to
Indicates a second reference direction parallel to the sides 1b, 1d, 2b, 2d, 3b, 3d of each electrode.

In this embodiment, the counter electrode 6 is always the electrode 1
3 and each side of the counter electrode 6 moves within a range not exceeding the sides 1c and 1d of the electrode 1, the sides 2c and 2d of the electrode 2, and the sides 3c and 3d of the electrode 3. I do. Therefore, the position of the counter electrode 6 surely appears in the capacitance values of the capacitance components 7 to 9.

Therefore, even if the counter electrode 6 is moved by operating the stick 10 in the direction of arrow A in FIG.
Is constant, and its combined capacitance does not fluctuate. However, when the opposing electrode 6 is moved by the operation of the stick 10 in the direction of arrow B in FIG. Therefore, the combined capacity changes accordingly.

Conversely, the combined capacitance of the capacitance components 8, 9 formed by the overlapping of the second electrode group 5 and the counter electrode 6 fluctuates according to the amount of operation of the stick 10 in the direction of arrow A in FIG. However, the operation in the direction of arrow B does not change.

Therefore, the displacement of the counter electrode 6, ie, the displacement of the stick 10, is indicated by the value of the respective combined capacitances formed by the first and second electrode groups. That is, the value of the combined capacitance formed by the first electrode group 4 indicates a displacement in the direction of arrow B (second reference direction),
The value of the combined capacitance formed by the electrode group 5 indicates the displacement in the direction of arrow A (first reference direction).

Reference numerals 14 to 17 are resistors, and the resistors 15 and 17 are variable resistors. Each of the resistors 14 to 17 has a similar resistance value (about 10 kΩ in this example).

Variable capacitance capacitors 18 and 19 are respectively grounded. In this case, the value of the capacitance of the capacitor 18 is determined when the combined capacitance of the capacitance components 7 and 8 is maximum, that is, the counter electrode 6 Is set to a value that is 合成 of the combined capacitance when moving to the maximum in the direction of arrow B, and the value of the capacitance of the capacitor 19 is determined when the combined capacitance of the capacitance components 8 and 9 is the maximum, that is, The value is set to の of the combined capacitance when the counter electrode 6 moves to the maximum in the direction of arrow A.

Therefore, since the resistances of the resistors 14 to 17 are set to the same value, the delay time of the integrating circuit composed of the variable capacitor 18 and the resistor 17 is reduced by the capacitance components 7 and 8 and the resistor 14. , 15 are equal to the maximum delay time in the integrating circuit, and the variable capacitor 1
The delay time of the integrating circuit composed of 9 and the resistor 17 is equal to the maximum delay time of the integrating circuit composed of the capacitance components 8 and 9 and the resistors 15 and 16.

Numeral 20 denotes a switch, which comprises switches 21 and 22. When the level of the input signal is "1", switch 2 is switched.
1 and 22 are connected to terminals x1 and x2, respectively, and when the level of the input signal is "0", they are connected to terminals y1 and y2.

Reference numerals 23 and 24 denote Schmitt trigger type inverters.

Reference numeral 25 denotes a gate circuit constituting the comparing means, 2
Reference numeral 6 denotes a gate circuit constituting a detection circuit. The gate circuits 25 and 26 constitute detection means.

Reference numeral 27 denotes an oscillator, and reference numeral 28 denotes a frequency divider.

FIGS. 4 to 6 show specific examples of the movement of the counter electrode 6. When the stick 10 is released as shown in FIG. 2, the counter electrode 6 is located at the center as shown in FIG. 4, and the overlapping area with the electrodes 1 to 3 is almost equal. It has the same capacitance. As shown in FIG. 3, when the stick 10 is moved rightward in the drawing, the counter electrode 6 moves leftward in the opposite direction as shown in FIG. 5, and the value of the combined capacitance of the capacitance components 7 and 8 does not change. The value of the combined capacitance of the capacitance components 8 and 9 decreases. When the stick 10 is further moved downward from this state, the counter electrode 6 moves upward in the opposite direction as shown in FIG. 6, and the value of the combined capacitance of the capacitance components 8 and 9 does not change as compared with the case of FIG. Are capacitive components 7 and 8
Increase in the value of the combined capacitance. Stick 10 like this
The displacement of the counter electrode 6 and the overlapping area of each of the electrodes 1 to 3 change. The amount of movement in the direction of arrow B is the value of the combined capacitance of the capacitance components 7 and 8, and the amount of movement in the direction of arrow A is the capacitance component. It can be seen that the values are reflected in the values of the combined capacitances of 8 and 9, and these are determined independently of each other.

Next, the operation will be described with reference to FIG.

Now, it is assumed that the counter electrode 6 is at the position shown in FIG. The output of the oscillator 27 is frequency-divided by the frequency divider 28 to generate a rectangular wave having a duty of 1/2 as shown in FIG. 7A at a point a in FIG. The pulse width of the rectangular wave output from the frequency divider 28 depends on the delay time of the integrating circuit composed of the variable capacitor 18 and the resistor 17 and the delay time of the integrating circuit composed of the variable capacitor 19 and the resistor 17. It is set longer than the time. That is, the pulse width of the rectangular wave output from the frequency divider 28 is formed by the delay time of the integrating circuit formed by the capacitance components 7 and 8 and the resistors 14 and 15 and by the capacitance components 8 and 9 and the resistors 15 and 16. Is set longer than the delay time of the integration circuit to be performed, so that the rising or falling of the pulse output from the frequency divider 28 is input to each integrating circuit, and then the falling or rising of the next pulse is performed. Before the input, the output level of each integrating circuit is “1” or “0”.
Is reached.

The switch 20 is connected between t1 and t2 in FIG.
Since the level of the input signal is "1", the switches 21, 22
Are connected to terminals x1 and x2, respectively.

Therefore, the pulse P1 shown in FIG.
The output is delayed as shown in FIG. 7 (b) at the point b since the delay is caused by the integration circuit composed of the components 4 and 15 and the capacitance components 7 and 8 and the integration circuit composed of the resistor 17 and the capacitor 18, respectively. , C, an output as shown in FIG. 7C is generated.

The delay time at point b is determined by resistances 14 and 15
Are set to the same value, the capacitance components 7 and 8
Fluctuates according to the value of the combined capacitance of As described above, the value of the combined capacitance of the capacitance components 7 and 8 indicates the displacement of the counter electrode 6 and the stick 10 in the direction of the arrow B. Therefore, the delay time at point b indicates the displacement of the counter electrode 6 and the stick 10 in the direction of the arrow B. It will be shown.

The delay time at the point c is such that the resistor 17 is set to the same resistance value as the resistors 14 and 15, and the capacitor 1
Of the maximum combined capacitance of the capacitance components 7 and 8
Since the value is set to 2, the delay time is the same as the delay time at the point b when the counter electrode 6 moves to the maximum in the direction of arrow B.

The outputs generated at points b and c are input to inverters 23 and 24, respectively, and are converted and output as shown in FIGS. 7 (d) and 7 (e). That is, the inverters 23 and 24 correspond to the arrows A and B of the counter electrode 6, respectively.
The pulse P1 in FIG. 7A is a time corresponding to the moving amount in the direction.
Is inverted and output.

The gate circuit 25 includes inverters 23 and 24
Is input as shown in FIG. 7 (f).
A pulse P2 having a pulse width corresponding to the difference between the delay times of the two signals is generated and output to the gate circuit 26.

The gate circuit 26 opens the gate only while the pulse P2 is being input, and passes the pulse output from the oscillator 27 as shown in FIG. 7 (g).

The pulse width of the pulse P2 in FIG. 7 (f) follows the movement of the counter electrode 6 in the direction of arrow B, ie, the first pulse width.
Becomes narrower as the value of the combined capacitance formed by the electrode group 4 becomes larger.

Accordingly, the number of pulses passing through the gate circuit 26 changes according to the pulse width of the pulse P2 in FIG. 7 (g), and the number of passed pulses indicates the position information of the counter electrode 6 in the direction of arrow B. become.

In the time period from t2 to t3 in FIG. 7, when the level at the point a becomes "0", the switch 20
1 and 22 are switched to terminals y1 and y2, respectively. At this time, the levels at the points b and c are both "1" as described above.

Therefore, the pulse P3 in FIG. 7A is delayed by the integrating circuit composed of the resistors 15, 16 and the capacitance components 8, 9 and the integrating circuit composed of the resistor 17 and the capacitor 19, respectively, as described above. You.

Thereafter, the same operation as described above is performed, and the gate circuit 25 outputs a pulse P4 as shown in FIG.

The pulse width of the pulse P4 in FIG. 7 (f) depends on the movement of the counter electrode 6 in the direction of arrow A,
Becomes smaller as the value of the combined capacitance formed by the electrode group 5 increases, so that the number of pulses passing through the gate circuit 26 during the generation of the pulse P3 is equal to the arrow A of the counter electrode 6.
This indicates the position information of the direction.

As described above, the non-contact type detection of detecting the displacement of the counter electrode 6, ie, the displacement of the stick 10, from the value of the combined capacitance of the capacitance components formed by the first and second electrode groups is performed. Therefore, erroneous detection due to a contact failure due to contact wear or the like can be eliminated as compared with a conventional switch using a switch, durability can be improved, and multi-directional position detection can be performed with a simple configuration.

In the above example, the electrodes 1 to 3 are fixed and the opposing electrode 6 connected to the stick 10 is movable. Conversely, the opposing electrode 6 is fixed and the electrodes 1 to 1 are fixed.
3 may be connected to the stick 10 so as to be movable. However, in this case, in order to prevent the electrodes 1 to 3 displaced in accordance with the movement of the stake 10 from coming into contact with the guide portion 12 due to the movement, the electrodes 1 to 3 are moved from the sphere upper part 11 as shown in FIG. It is necessary to make the length of the stick 10 up to 3 longer than that described above (FIGS. 2, 3). That is, in the above-mentioned device, the plurality of electrodes 1 to 3 are fixed, and the opposing electrode 6 can be moved in accordance with the operation of the stick 10, thereby realizing the downsizing of the configuration. Further, since the counter electrode 6 is formed smaller than the whole of the plurality of electrodes 1 to 3, the operability of the stick 10 can be improved by fixing the counter electrode 6 to the stick 10 described above.

Next, a reference example will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 1, reference numerals 29 to 32 denote electrodes.
Have the same shape as the electrodes 1 to 3 and form the capacitance components 33 to 36 by overlapping with the counter electrode 6.

Reference numerals 37 to 40 denote capacitance comparing circuits for comparing two capacitance values among the capacitance components 33 to 36, respectively.

Reference numeral 41 denotes a moving direction detecting circuit which constitutes a moving direction detecting means, and detects a moving direction of the counter electrode 6.

Reference numeral 42 denotes a moving distance detecting circuit which constitutes a moving distance detecting means, and detects a moving distance of the counter electrode 6.

The counter electrode 6 is connected to the stick 10 and held by the bellows 13 in the same manner as in the above embodiment. When the counter electrode 6 is released, as shown in FIG.
To 32, that is, the capacitance component 33 to
36 are held at such positions that the capacitance values become equal.

Next, a specific configuration of the capacitance comparison circuits 37 to 40 will be described with reference to FIG. Although FIG. 11 shows only the configuration of the capacitance comparison circuit 37, the capacitance comparison circuits 38 to 40 have the same configuration.

In the figure, reference numeral 43 denotes a pulse generating circuit for generating a pulse having a constant period.

Reference numerals 44 to 46 denote delay circuits each including a resistor having the same resistance value, a Schmitt circuit, and the like. The delay circuits 44 and 45 are connected to the capacitance components 34 and 33, respectively, and the delay times are set according to the capacitance values of the capacitance components 34 and 33. The delay circuit 46 includes the variable capacitor 4
7, and the delay time changes according to the value of the capacitance. In this example, the variable capacitor 47 is used.
When the capacitances of the capacitance components 33 to 36 are equal, that is, when the counter electrode 6 is released and the electrodes 29 to 3
The capacitance is set to a value slightly larger than the respective capacitances when they overlap with the same area as 2.

Numerals 48 and 49 denote phase detectors constituting the magnitude determining means. In this embodiment, flip-flops are used.

Reference numerals 50 and 51 denote phase difference detectors constituting output generating means. In this embodiment, gate circuits are used.

It is to be noted that components having the same numbers as those in the previous drawings are the same.

Next, the operation of FIG. 11 will be mainly described with reference to FIG.

Now, the counter electrode 6 is released, and FIG.
It is assumed that it is at the position indicated by 0.

When the pulse P4 as shown in FIG. 12A is generated from the pulse generation circuit 43, the delay circuits 44, 4
5 and 46 delay and output the pulse P4 by a time corresponding to the capacitance of the capacitance components 33 and 34 and the capacitance of the variable capacitance capacitor 47, respectively.

In this case, since the capacitance values of the capacitance components 33 and 34 are equal, the delay time t of the delay circuits 44 and 45 as shown by the pulses P5 and P6 shown in FIGS.
4 and t5 are equal to each other, and the delay time t6 of the delay circuit 46 is equal to the delay time t like the pulse P7 shown in FIG.
4, a time slightly longer than t5.

Therefore, the inverted outputs of the phase detectors 48 and 49 triggered by the rise of the pulse P7 in FIG. 12B become "0" as shown in FIGS. 12E and 12F.

The moving direction detecting circuit 41 shown in FIG.
The direction of movement of the counter electrode 6 is detected from the outputs of the phase detectors 48 and 49.

The operation for detecting the moving direction will be described in detail.

For example, when the stick 10 is moved to the left side of the drawing as shown in FIG. 13, the positional relationship between the electrodes 29 to 32 and the counter electrode 6 becomes as shown in FIG.
The capacitances of the capacitance components 34 and 35 are larger and the capacitances of the capacitance components 33 and 36 are smaller than in the case of.

Therefore, the delay time t7 of the delay circuit 44 becomes longer than the delay time t6 of the delay circuit 46 as in the pulse P8 in FIG. 12C, and the delay time of the delay circuit 45 as in the pulse P9 in FIG. The delay time t8 is smaller than the delay time t6 of the delay circuit 46.

Therefore, the inverted outputs of the phase detectors 48 and 49 become "1" and "0" as shown in FIGS. That is, the output levels of the phase detectors 48 and 49 change with the movement of the counter electrode 6.

The change in the output level accompanying the movement of the counter electrode 6 occurs not only in the capacitance comparison circuit 37 but also in the capacitance comparison circuits 38 to 40.

Therefore, the moving direction detecting circuit 41 determines the moving direction in accordance with the change of eight kinds of output levels accompanying the movement of the counter electrode 6 outputted by the capacitance comparing circuits 37 to 40. For example, when the stick 10 is released, the levels input to the movement direction detection circuit 41 of FIG. 10 are all “0”, so that the movement direction detection circuit 41 determines “stick center” and When in the position, the input level is “1” in order from the top of FIG.
“0” “1” “1” “0” “1” “0” “0”
In the case of FIG. 15, "1""0""1""0""0""1"
It becomes "0" and "1", and is determined as "stick left" and "stick upper left", respectively.

Hereinafter, the moving direction detecting circuit 41 outputs an output signal of a predetermined format according to the determination to an arithmetic circuit (not shown) such as a CPU. When there is no predetermined input to the movement direction detection circuit 41, a detection error signal is output to an arithmetic circuit such as a CPU.

Next, the operation of the moving distance detecting circuit 42 will be described.

Since the moving distance detecting circuit 42 detects the moving distance based on the outputs of the phase difference detecting circuits 50 and 51 in FIG. 11, first, the operation of the phase difference detecting circuits 50 and 51 is shown in FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

The phase difference detection circuits 50 and 51 operate after the pulse is generated from the delay circuit 46, respectively.
The gate is open until the generation of the third pulse stops.

Therefore, the phase difference detection circuits 50 and 51 operate when the delay time of the delay circuits 44 and 45 becomes larger than the delay time of the delay circuit 46, that is, when the counter electrode 6 moves and the capacitance components 33 and 34 become static. When the value of the capacitance increases, a pulse having a pulse width corresponding to the increased value is output.
The generation of the pulse according to the magnitude of the moving distance of the counter electrode 6 is caused not only by the capacitance comparison circuit 37 but also by the
This also occurs in the capacitance comparison circuits 38 to 40, respectively, and is input to the movement distance detection circuit 42.

The moving distance detecting circuit 42 determines the moving distance of the counter electrode 6 and the stick 10 from the pulse width of the input pulse, and outputs an output signal of a predetermined format according to this determination to the CPU or the like in the same manner as described above. Output to an arithmetic circuit (not shown).

For example, when the counter electrode 6 is located at the position shown in FIG. 14, the phase difference detection circuit 50 responds to the value of the increased capacitance of the capacitance component 34 like the pulse P10 shown in FIG. The phase difference detection circuit 51 does not output a pulse because the capacitance value of the capacitance component 33 has decreased. In this case as well, when there is no predetermined input to the moving distance detection circuit 42, a detection error signal is output to an arithmetic circuit such as a CPU.

As described above, the displacement of the counter electrode 6, that is, the moving direction and the moving distance of the stick 10 can be determined in a non-contact manner, and erroneous detection due to a contact failure due to abrasion of the contact can be eliminated as compared with the conventional switch. It is possible to improve the durability and detect the position in multiple directions with a simple configuration.

In this case, a larger number of electrodes are required as compared with the previous embodiment, and the configuration becomes complicated. However, the greater the number of electrodes, the higher the error checking capability.

In the above example, the moving distance is delayed by the delay circuit 46 and the pulse output from the delay circuit 44,
The detection is performed based on the phase difference between the pulse output from the delay circuit 45 and the pulse output from the delay circuit 45.
5 pulse output delayed and pulse generation circuit 43
The moving distance may be detected from the phase difference from the pulse generated from.

In this example, the counter electrode 6 is grounded so that the change in capacitance can be stably increased. However, without grounding the counter electrode, as shown in FIG.
A grounded comb-shaped reference electrode 6a may be provided, and the electrodes 29 to 32 having a shape corresponding to the reference electrode 6a may be formed on the same surface as the electrode 6a. In this case, although the change in the capacitance is small, it is not necessary to ground the counter electrode, and the configuration can be simplified.

Further, in this example, the phase detection section only determines the magnitude of the capacitance, but in addition to this,
It may be determined that the capacitances are substantially equal within a predetermined range and output.

In each of the above examples , the electrodes are arranged in a curved shape. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The electrodes may be flat. In this case, the opposing electrode may be moved on the spherical surface by moving the stick in the same manner as in the above example, or may be configured to move in parallel to the flat electrode portion.

The movement of the electrode is not limited to the stick,
The electrodes may move according to the movement of a machine or the like, or the electrodes may move according to the movement of a slide switch.

[0088]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the displacement of the electrode can be obtained without contact, reliability and durability can be improved. For example, when the present invention is used for detecting the operation state of the joystick. In addition, erroneous detection due to poor contact can be prevented as compared with a conventional switch using a mechanical switch.

[0089]

[0090]

Further, the relative displacement between the opposing electrode and the plurality of electrodes is detected according to the values of the two types of combined capacitances formed by the first electrode group and the second electrode group, respectively. , More accurate relative position detection can be performed.

Further, since the amount of movement in two directions can be detected, the relative displacement can be detected in more detail.

Further, since these two directions are orthogonal to each other, the relative displacement can be detected very easily two-dimensionally.

[0094]

Further, since the plurality of electrodes are formed on the same spherical surface or on the same plane, the size of the structure can be reduced.

Further, by fixing a plurality of electrodes and enabling the opposing electrode to move in accordance with the operation of the stick, compared with a case where the opposing electrode is fixed and the plurality of electrodes can be moved in accordance with the operation of the stick. High operability can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block circuit diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a detailed view of a main part of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a detailed view of a main part of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a detailed view of a main part of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a detailed view of a main part of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a detailed view of a main part of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a detailed view of a main part of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a detailed view of a main part of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a block circuit diagram showing a reference example of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a detailed view of a main part of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is a detailed view of a main part of FIG. 10;

FIG. 14 is a detailed view of a main part of FIG. 10;

FIG. 15 is a detailed view of a main part of FIG. 10;

FIG. 16 is a view showing another embodiment of the electrode of FIG. 10;

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 to 3 electrodes 4 first electrode group 5 second electrode group 6 counter electrode 7 to 9 capacitance component 10 stick 25 comparison means 26 detection circuit 25, 26 detection means

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-7-77402 (JP, A) Japanese Utility Model Application Hei 6-37929 (JP, U) Table 2-2-504079 (JP, A) (58) Fields surveyed (Int) .Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 3/033 330 G01D 5/24

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of electrodes, a counter electrode facing the plurality of electrodes, and one of the counter electrode and the plurality of electrodes is movable while maintaining a predetermined interval with respect to the other. A plurality of capacitance components formed by overlapping the counter electrode and the respective electrodes, and a relative capacitance between the counter electrode and the plurality of electrodes according to a capacitance value of the plurality of capacitance components. and detecting means for detecting the displacement, first made in a desired plurality of electrodes among the plurality of electrodes
A first electrode group, wherein the first electrode group has a first reference direction with respect to the counter electrode.
Relative movement to the
And the combined capacitance of the capacitance components formed by
The second electrode group is arranged so as to have a constant value regardless of the position, and the second electrode group is arranged in a second reference direction with respect to the counter electrode.
Relative movement to the
And the combined capacitance of the capacitance components formed by
The detection means is arranged so as to be constant irrespective of the position.
The value of the composite capacitance and the composite capacitance formed by the second electrode group
Depending on the value of the amount, the phase of the counter electrode and the
A signal generation device for detecting a pairwise displacement . 2. The method of claim 1, said detecting means, the upper
The value of the combined capacitance formed by the first electrode group and the value of the
A comparing means for comparing the value of the combined capacitance formed by the two electrode groups with a desired reference value, and a relative displacement between the counter electrode and the plurality of electrodes according to an output of the comparing means. A signal generator comprising: a detection circuit for detecting. 3. An apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, the relative
Is the amount of movement in the first and second reference directions.
Signal generator, characterized in that illustrates Te. 4. The method according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein
The first reference direction and the second reference direction are orthogonal to each other.
Signal generator which is a direction that. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein
The plurality of electrodes are configured on the same spherical surface or on the same plane.
Signal generating apparatus characterized by some. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein
The plurality of electrodes are fixed, and the counter electrode is
A signal generating device which is movable in accordance with a lock operation .