JPH0659795A - Input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the input device suitable for the input means of a music sound controller especially for an electronic instrument by eliminating a dead zone on an input panel and using the entire surface of a panel as exact position detecting area regardless of a form of a contact control unit and detecting the pressure. CONSTITUTION:A position detection layer 1 having a resistance body 14 uniformly distributed across a pair of electrodes 3,4 and a pressure detection layer 6 consisting of a pressure sensitive sensor 16 having the ultimate resistance in the surface direction and where the resistance changes according to the pressing power in the direction crossing at right angles with the surface are stacked.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an input device for inputting position coordinate information, pressure information and the like to various electronic devices.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A touch panel is used as an input device of an electronic device. In a conventional touch panel, a conductive resin layer, which is a resistor, is laminated on an insulating layer such as a polyester film to form a substrate, two substrates are arranged facing each other, and a dot-shaped spacer is interposed between the two substrates. It is a structure in which substrates are laminated. In such a structure, by pressing the touch panel with a finger, an electronic pen, or the like, the substrates at the pressed positions are brought into conduction with each other, and an output corresponding to the position is obtained.

[0003]

However, in the conventional touch panel structure, when the dot position serving as the spacer is pressed, the upper and lower substrates do not come into contact with each other and a dead zone is not obtained, so that a detection output cannot be obtained. In this case, it is possible to widen the spacer interval to reduce the dead zone, but in order to maintain the insulation between the upper and lower substrates, the dot pitch is practically limited to 6 mm. The two are always in conduction. Therefore, the dot pitch must be set to a narrow interval of 6 mm or less, and therefore, when the touch panel is operated with a finger or the like having a size larger than the dot pitch, it is impossible to perform a reliable input operation due to the dead zone of the spacer portion. was there.

On the other hand, as a sound source circuit for an electronic musical instrument, a physical sound source circuit for generating a musical sound similar to a natural musical instrument using an electronic circuit has been developed. Such an electronic circuit is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-192395. In such an electronic circuit, if a sound source circuit similar to a stringed instrument is constructed, various musical tone parameters are controlled based on the information corresponding to the bow pressure and the information corresponding to the bow speed to create an electronic sound. . Therefore, an input device that can reliably obtain the position information signal and the pressure information signal corresponding to the control parameter is desired.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and eliminates the dead zone on the input panel and can use the entire surface of the panel as a reliable position detection area regardless of the form of the contact operation element, and at the same time can detect pressure. It is an object of the present invention to provide an input device suitable as an input means for a musical tone control device of an electronic musical instrument.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an input device according to the present invention comprises a position detection layer having a uniformly distributed resistor between a pair of electrodes, and an infinite resistance in the plane direction. Is an input device having a structure in which a pressure detection layer composed of a pressure sensitive sensor whose resistance changes in response to a pressing force is laminated in a direction perpendicular to the holding surface.

[0007]

[Function] When an input panel is constructed by laminating a position detection layer and a pressure detection layer, and when this panel is pressed, the pressure from the pressure-sensitive sensor corresponding to the pressing force together with the position information signal corresponding to the resistance value of the pressed position An information signal is obtained.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the construction of the main part of an input device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional construction view thereof. This input device includes a first electrode layer 1 and a second electrode layer 2
The intermediate layers 6 and 7 are interposed between and. The first electrode layer 1 has a structure in which a resistor layer 14 having a uniform distribution is provided on an insulating layer 13 such as a polyester film, and a pair of electrodes 3 and 4 are formed at both ends of the resistor layer 14. Insulation layer 1
3 acts as a protective film. The resistor layer 14 is made of conductive plastic, for example. The electrodes 3 and 4 are, for example, silver electrodes. Each of the electrodes 3 and 4 is connected to an external circuit via the lead wire lead-out portion 5. As will be described later, the first electrode layer 1 has an X-position at the pressing position when the input panel surface made of the above-mentioned laminated body is pressed by a finger or another operator.
A position detection layer for detecting directional coordinates.

Each of the intermediate layers 6 and 7 has a structure in which a pressure sensitive ink layer 16 is provided on both surfaces of a metal plate 15. The metal plate 15 is made of a conductive material (i.e., the lower the electric resistance, the better), which is flexible and thin enough to be elastically restored, for example, phosphor bronze. The pressure-sensitive ink layer 16 is a material that has an infinite resistance in the spreading direction of the surface and has anisotropy in electrical resistance characteristics such that the resistance changes in the direction perpendicular to the surface according to the pressing force. . The pressure-sensitive ink layer 16 is the resistor layer 1 described above.
It is desirable to form the print by a little wider than No. 4. Such a pressure-sensitive ink layer 16 acts as an insulator in the state where no pressing force is applied, and when the pressing force is applied, it conducts in the vertical direction (pressing direction) with a resistance value according to the pressing force. The metal plate 15 of each of the intermediate layers 6 and 7 is connected to an external circuit via the lead portions 8 and 9.

The second electrode layer 2 has basically the same structure as the first electrode layer 1, and comprises an insulating protective layer 17 made of a polyester film or the like and a resistor layer 18, and the resistor layer 1
8 is provided with a pair of electrodes 10 and 11 at both ends. The electrodes 10 and 11 are for detecting the position in the Y direction, and are arranged orthogonal to the electrodes 3 and 4 of the first electrode layer 1. Each of the electrodes 10 and 11 has a lead wire lead-out portion 1
2 is connected to an external circuit.

FIG. 3 shows an equivalent circuit of the input device having the above configuration. A pair of electrodes 3, 1 of each of the first and second electrode layers 1, 2.
One of 4, 10, 11 is connected to the reference voltage 5V,
The other is connected to ground. As a result, a voltage gradient of 0 to 5 V is formed on the resistor layers 14 and 18 along the X direction and the Y direction. Therefore, by pressing the input panel surface with an operator or a finger, an output corresponding to the potential at that position is obtained, and the position coordinates in the X direction and the Y direction are detected. The electric potential at this pressing position is the intermediate layer 6,
7 through the pressure-sensitive ink layer 16 of the amplifier 1
The signals are amplified by 9 and 20 and output as position and pressure information signals in the X and Y directions, respectively.

In the input device having the above structure, normally, the resistor layers 14 and 18 of the electrode layers 1 and 2 and the metal plate 15 of the intermediate layers 6 and 7 are insulated via the pressure-sensitive ink layer 16. . By pressing the input panel surface, the pressure-sensitive ink layer 16 becomes conductive at the pressing position, and the upper and lower resistor layers 14,
18 and the metal plate 15 in the middle are brought into conduction, and an output signal corresponding to the position is obtained. In this case, since the spacer is not provided unlike the conventional case, the dead zone at the spacer position is not formed, and the entire input panel is used as an effective detection area.

Although the intermediate layers 6 and 7 are formed in two layers in the above embodiment, they may be provided in only one layer. If the number of intermediate layers is increased and the number of pressure-sensitive ink layers 16 is increased, the sensitivity of pressing force detection is increased and more precise control becomes possible. Also, X
If it is necessary to separate the detection circuit in the Y direction and the detection circuit in the Y direction, use a polyester film with electrodes as the base of the pressure-sensitive ink, apply the pressure-sensitive ink on this film, and attach this polyester film to a metal plate. Thus, the pressure-sensitive ink and the metal plate may be insulated.

The input device having the above structure is applied to, for example, an electronic musical instrument, and various musical tone parameters (pitch, tone color, tremolo, depth and speed of vibrato, depth of reverb, PA).
N, PCM and FM weighting, volume balance, and key scaling such as volume and pitch) can be used for non-real time or real time control.

Further, it can be connected to a physical tone generator circuit of an electronic musical instrument to control various musical tone parameters and can be used as an input means of velocity data and pressure data for producing an electronic tone.

[0016]

As described above, in the present invention, since the conductor layers are laminated via the pressure-sensitive ink, the dead zone as in the case of using the conventional dot spacer is not formed, and the entire input panel is formed. Is effectively used as a detection area, and a reliable output signal can be obtained from any position on the entire panel surface. Further, regardless of the form of the operator pressing the panel, an output signal can be reliably obtained by contacting and pressing the panel. Further, the panel can be pressed with a finger instead of the operator.

Further, since the pressure-sensitive ink layer can be easily formed on the metal plate by coating or printing, the workability of manufacturing is increased and the yield is improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration explanatory diagram of an input device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional configuration explanatory diagram of an input device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an equivalent circuit diagram of the input device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 2; electrode layer, 3, 4, 10, 11; electrode, 6, 7;
Intermediate layer, 13, 17; insulating layer, 14, 18; resistor layer,
15: metal plate, 16: pressure-sensitive ink layer.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A position detection layer in which a resistor having a uniform distribution is provided between a pair of electrodes, and a resistance that is substantially infinite in the surface direction and that changes in the direction perpendicular to the surface depending on the pressing force. An input device in which a pressure detection layer composed of a pressure sensitive sensor is laminated.