JP6124301B2 - Capacitive input device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a capacitive input device that specifies an object position by using electrodes arranged on a substrate.

A conventional capacitive input device includes an electrode group in which three or more electrodes are arranged, and can detect a distant object by switching the connection destination of the electrode, and can detect an object with high resolution in the vicinity. (See, for example, Patent Document 1).

Hereinafter, the object detection apparatus described in Patent Document 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of the object detection apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 4, the object detection apparatus 100 described in Patent Document 1 includes an electrode group 101 in which three or more electrodes 111 are arranged, and the connection destination of the electrode 111 based on an electrode switching signal as a first contact. The electrode switching unit 135 that can be switched to either the 133 or the second contact 134, the capacitance measuring means 102 connected to the first contact 133 and the second contact 134, and the electrode switching unit 135 are controlled. A processor 104 that outputs an electrode switching signal and detects the position of an object based on the output of the capacitance measuring means 102 is provided.

JP 2006-145488 A

  However, in the conventional object detection apparatus, it is necessary to enlarge one electrode in order to increase the spatial distance in which an object can be detected, and there is a limit to increase the number of electrodes due to design restrictions. For this reason, there is a problem that the spatial distance at which an object can be detected cannot be further increased.

The present invention solves the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a capacitance-type input device with an increased spatial distance for detecting an object.

In order to solve this problem, the capacitance type input device according to claim 1 includes a case formed with an opening, made of a conductive material, a substrate and a plurality of electrodes mounted on the substrate, A sensor unit attached to the case such that a plurality of the electrodes are positioned in the opening, and a change in capacitance is detected by applying a voltage to the plurality of electrodes, and an object close to the sensor unit is detected. And a control means for detecting a position, wherein the control means detects a change in electrostatic capacity by applying a voltage using the case as a drive electrode, and detects the change in the sensor section. Detecting the presence of a nearby object.

  In the capacitance type input device having this configuration, the case having a larger area than the sensor unit is used as the electrode, so that the detectable distance can be further increased.

  In the capacitance type input device according to claim 2, the case is surrounded by an insulating protective material.

  In the capacitive input device having this configuration, since the case surface is insulated, it is possible to prevent a problem that current flows when the case surface is touched.

  According to the present invention, a case having a larger area than the sensor unit is used as an electrode, thereby increasing the spatial distance for detecting an object without increasing the number of electrodes or increasing the electrode area. A capacitive input device can be provided.

1 is a perspective view showing a capacitive input device 1. FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a capacitive input device 1. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional configuration diagram of a capacitive input device 1. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an object detection device 100 according to Patent Document 1. FIG.

  The first embodiment of the present invention will be described below. In each drawing, the description will be made with the X1 direction as the left direction, the X2 direction as the right direction, the Y1 direction as the front, the Y2 direction as the rear, the Z1 direction as the upper side, and the Z2 direction as the lower side.

  A configuration of the capacitive input device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a capacitive input device 1. FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram of the capacitive input device. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional configuration diagram of the capacitive input device 1.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the capacitive input device 1 includes a sensor unit 2 and a case 3.

The case 3 is made of a conductive material, has an opening 4 on the upper surface, and is electrically connected to the control means 7. Further, the case 3 is surrounded by an insulating protective material 9.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the sensor unit 2 includes a substrate 5, an electrode 6 provided on the substrate 5, and a protective sheet 8 that protects the surface of the electrode 6. The sensor unit 2 is attached so as to be exposed, and when an object such as a user's fingertip (not shown) approaches or comes into contact with the sensor unit 2, the proximity state or contact position of the object can be detected.

As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of electrodes 6 are arranged in a matrix on the substrate 5, and are electrically connected to the control means 7 by wirings W, respectively. In the embodiment of the present invention, 16 electrodes arranged in a 4 × 4 matrix are provided, and the electrodes 611, 621, 631, 641 and 641 are arranged from the left rear to the right rear. An electrode 612, an electrode 613, and an electrode 614 are arranged in the forward direction.

  The control means 7 applies a voltage to the electrode 6 and the case 3 of the sensor unit 2 and detects a change in capacitance to detect the proximity state or contact position of the object.

Next, an object detection operation in the capacitive input device of the present invention will be described.

First, a detection operation for specifying the position of an object that is in close proximity to and in contact with the sensor unit of the capacitive input device will be described. The control means 7 determines one of the 16 electrodes 6, for example, the electrode 611 as a detection electrode, determines the electrodes 612 and 621 around the detection electrode as drive electrodes, and applies a voltage to the drive electrodes. By detecting the voltage change of the detection electrode, the capacitance change between the electrodes is detected, and the proximity or contact of the object near the electrode 611 is detected.

Then, the control means 7 shifts the detection electrode by one to the right to determine the electrode 621, determines the electrode around the detection electrode as the drive electrode, applies a voltage to the drive electrode, and detects a voltage change of the detection electrode. Thus, the change in capacitance between the electrodes is detected, and the proximity or contact of an object in the vicinity of the electrode 621 is detected. Similarly, the position of the object can be specified by moving the detection electrode in the left-right and front-back directions to detect the proximity or contact of the object for each electrode.

  Next, the detection operation when detecting an object located at a position away from the sensor unit of the capacitive input device will be described. The control means 7 sets all the electrodes of the 16 electrodes 6 as detection electrodes, determines the case 3 as a drive electrode, and applies a voltage to the case 3. When a voltage is applied to the case 3, the electric field formed between the case 3 and the detection electrode is much larger than that formed between the electrodes of the sensor unit, and a long distance can be detected.

As described above, the capacitive input device 1 of the present invention includes the case 3 formed with the opening 4 and made of the conductive material, the substrate 5, and the plurality of electrodes 6 mounted on the substrate 5. A voltage is applied to the sensor unit 2 attached to the case 3 so that the electrode is positioned in the opening 4 and a plurality of the electrodes 6 to detect a change in capacitance, and the sensor unit 2 A capacitance type input device including a control means 7 for detecting the position of an adjacent object, wherein the control means 7 applies a voltage to the case 3 to detect a change in capacitance. I made it.

As a result, the case 3 having a larger area than the electrode 6 can be used as the electrode, and the effect that the detectable distance of the object can be further increased can be achieved.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the capacitance detection device using the mutual capacitance detection method has been described. However, the capacitance detection device using the self-capacitance detection method in which the drive electrode and the detection electrode are combined is also described. All the electrodes and the case 3 may be connected to form a single giant electrode, and can be changed as appropriate without departing from the scope of the object of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Capacitance type input device 2 Sensor part 3 Case 4 Opening part 5 Board | substrate 6 Electrode 7 Control means 8 Protection sheet 9 Insulation protective material

Claims (2)

A case in which an opening is formed and made of a conductive material;
A sensor unit comprising a substrate and a plurality of electrodes mounted on the substrate, wherein the plurality of electrodes are attached to the case so as to be positioned in the opening;
A capacitance type input device comprising: a control unit that detects a change in capacitance by applying a voltage to the plurality of electrodes and detects a position of an object close to the sensor unit;
The control means detects a change in capacitance by applying a voltage using the case as a drive electrode, and detects the presence of an object in proximity to the sensor unit. 2. The capacitive input device according to claim 1, wherein the case is surrounded by an insulating protective material.