JPH11338630A - Electrostatic capacity device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a device which has superior operability while keeping it thin by putting a 2nd electrode closer to a 1st electrode across a projection and an insulating film and varying the electrostatic capacity. SOLUTION: This device has a plate type substrate 11, a fixed electrode 12 spread over it, and the insulating film 13 covering it. A sheet 15 faces the substrate 11 across a spacer 14 having a hole 14a larger than the fixed electrode 12 and a movable electrode 16 spreads on the surface, which faces the substrate 11, opposite the fixed electrode 12. Further, a dot spacer 17 formed of an insulator on the movable electrode 16 is smaller than the movable electrode which is printed in insulating ink and thinner than the spacer 14. Rubber 18 presses the rear surface of the sheet 15 against the top surface facing the substrate 11 with a free pressing force.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a capacitive device suitable as a pointing device for inputting a coordinate position on a screen or operating an icon.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the spread of notebook type computers and mobile computers, a capacitance which can be built in a keyboard of such a computer instead of a mouse which requires an installation space different from that of the computer. A type of pointing device has attracted attention. A conic ring (conical spring member) is used as such a capacitive pointing device.
A conical spring type pointing device that changes the capacitance of the movable electrode by changing the electrode area of the movable electrode according to the stroke (approximately 3 mm) is known (JP-A-9-2048).
No. 46). In addition, a spherical conductive rubber is used as a movable electrode, and the stroke of the conductive rubber (about 2 m) is used.
A conductive rubber pointing device that changes the capacitance by changing the electrode area according to m) is also known (see JP-A-9-245557). Such a conical pointing device or a conductive rubber pointing device generally has four electrodes at 90 ° intervals on a substrate, and this pointing device is built into a keyboard of a notebook computer or a mobile computer. By operating the built-in pointing device to change the area of these four electrodes and measure their capacitance, the cursor displayed on the screen of the computer can be moved up, down, left and right ( + X, -X, + Y, -Y) are controlled.

[0003]

As the keyboard of a notebook computer or a mobile computer becomes thinner, a pointing device used by being built in the keyboard must be made thinner. However, in the conical spring type pointing device and the conductive rubber type pointing device described above, a structure having a stroke of 2 mm to 3 mm or a structure holding the conductive rubber requires a dimension equal to or higher than a predetermined height, and is thin. There is a problem that conversion is difficult. Further, in these pointing devices, air flows in or out according to a stroke of 2 mm or 3 mm, so that there is a possibility that dust may be sucked in. In this case, a problem that a desired capacitance cannot be obtained. Occur. In order to solve such a problem, there has been proposed a pointing device in which membrane sheets on which electrodes are formed are arranged to face each other. However, with this pointing device,
The capacitance is changed by changing a small gap formed between the electrodes. It is difficult to finely adjust the capacitance, and the operability is poor because the movable range is very small. There is. In view of the above circumstances, the present invention
An object of the present invention is to provide a capacitance-type device excellent in operability while maintaining the same thickness as a device in which the above-mentioned membrane sheets are arranged to face each other.

[0004]

According to the present invention, there is provided a capacitive device comprising: (1) a substrate; (2) a first electrode extending on the substrate; and (3) a first electrode on the substrate. (4) A sheet facing the substrate with the spacer interposed therebetween. (5) The first surface of the sheet facing the substrate side of the sheet.
(6) an insulating film interposed between the first electrode and the second electrode; (7) a second electrode extending between the first electrode and the second electrode; It is characterized by having a projection interposed therebetween. Here, the substrate (1) may be a plate-like substrate, or may be a film-like flexible substrate or the like. The above (2)
May be formed on a part of the sheet with a material different from that of the sheet. However, the present invention is not limited to this. May be made to act as an electrode. The present invention includes such an embodiment.

[0005] In the capacitance type device of the present invention, the second electrode spreading on the sheet is brought close to the first electrode spreading like a substrate with the protrusion and the insulating film interposed therebetween, and the electrostatic capacitance device is moved to the first electrode. Since the capacitance is changed, the first electrode and the second electrode do not suddenly approach each other, so that a rapid change in capacitance is prevented. Therefore, the capacitance can be gradually changed in an analog manner while maintaining the thinness, and the operability is improved. Here, it is preferable that the insulating film is an insulating film covering the first electrode, and the protrusion is a protrusion formed on the second electrode.

With such a configuration, for example, a resist can be applied to the first electrode formed on the substrate, and a projection can be printed on the second electrode formed on the sheet with insulating ink. Thus, the manufacturing process and configuration can be simplified. It is also a preferable embodiment that the protrusion is made of an insulator. When the projections are made of an insulator, the capacitance can be more analogously changed than when the projections are made of a conductor. Further, an operation member for pressing the back surface of the sheet with respect to the front surface facing the substrate side may be provided. When such an operation member is provided, the minute movement between the electrodes is enlarged, so that the operability can be further improved.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a capacitance-type device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 includes a plate-shaped substrate 11, a fixed electrode 12 (an example of a first electrode according to the present invention) extending on the substrate 11, and an insulating film 13 covering the fixed electrode 12. Having. The capacitive device 10 includes a spacer 14 having a hole 14 a having a shape larger than the shape of the fixed electrode 12, which is arranged so that the fixed electrode 12 is exposed, and a substrate 11 with the spacer 14 interposed therebetween. And a movable electrode 16 (an example of a second electrode according to the present invention) that extends to a position facing the fixed electrode 12 on a surface of the sheet 15 facing the substrate 11 side. Further, the capacitance type device 10
Has a dot spacer 17 (an example of a protrusion according to the present invention) formed on the movable electrode 16 and made of an insulator. The dot spacer 17 has a smaller size than the shape of the movable electrode 16 printed with insulating ink, and has a thickness smaller than the thickness of the spacer 10. In addition, the capacitive device 10 includes a substrate 11 on a sheet 15.
A rubber 18 is provided for pressing the back surface against the surface facing the side so as to be able to freely press the back surface. The rubber 18 has an outer dimension smaller than the dimension of the hole 14a surrounded by the spacer 14, and has a small stroke (about 0.5 mm).
Having. Furthermore, at the top of FIG.
An operator 19 having a fulcrum 19a is mounted. still,
Each of the holes 14a on the spacer 14 is provided with an air passage so that air can move with respect to each other.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing how the capacitance of the capacitance type device according to the present embodiment changes in accordance with the force with which the rubber is pressed. Operate the operating element 19 to set the rubber 1
Press 8. Then, as shown in FIG. 2A, the sheet 15 is pushed into the hole 14 a of the spacer 14, and the movable electrode 16 spreading on the sheet 15 approaches the fixed electrode 12,
The capacitance changes in an increasing direction. In addition, sheet 1
When 5 is pushed in, the dot spacer 17 comes into contact with the insulating film 13 formed on the fixed electrode 12. For this reason,
A sudden change in capacitance is prevented. In addition, sheet 1
5 is pressed, the sheet 15 is
7, the peripheral portion of the movable electrode 16 spreading on the sheet 15 other than the central portion around the dot spacer 17 approaches the fixed electrode 12, and the capacitance changes in a direction to further increase. When the strong force is further applied to the rubber 18 by the operation of the operation element 19 as shown in FIG. 2B, the central portion of the rubber 18 is deformed, and the central portion of the sheet 15 where the dot spacer 17 is formed is formed. , And the capacitance changes in a direction to further increase. Here, when the finger is released, the rubber 18 and the sheet 15 are released.
Is returned, the operator 19 returns. Therefore, like a pointing device using a conventional piezoelectric element,
There is no problem that the cursor keeps moving for a while even if the finger is released from the operator. The capacitance type device 10 of the present embodiment changes the capacitance by bringing the movable electrode 16 close to the fixed electrode 12 while bringing the dot spacer 17 into contact with the insulating film 13 formed on the fixed electrode 12. Therefore, the capacitance can be gradually changed in an analog manner. In addition, due to the rubber 18 and the operation element 19, the delicate movement is enlarged, and the operability is improved while maintaining the thinness.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a capacitance type pointing device in which four capacitance type devices shown in FIG. 1 are incorporated. FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the capacitance type pointing device shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view, and FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating four movable electrodes formed on a sheet of the capacitive pointing device shown in FIG. In order to produce the capacitive pointing device 20 shown in FIG. 3, first, four movable electrodes 16 are formed on the sheet 15 at 90 ° intervals as shown in FIG. Next, of the sheet 15,
The spacer 14 is bonded to the side where the movable electrode 16 is formed. Further, the sheet 15 to which the spacer 14 is adhered is
The cover 21 is mounted on the substrate 11 on which the fixed electrodes 12 are formed, and the four rubbers 18 and the operators 19 are sequentially placed on the sheet 15 to fix the cover 21 to the substrate 11. In this manner, the capacitive pointing device 2 shown in FIG.
Get 0. This capacitive pointing device 2
At 0, the operator 19 is freely operated in a desired direction by operating a finger around the fulcrum 19a (see FIG. 1) of the operator 19, and each of the electrode pairs including four fixed electrodes 12 and movable electrodes 16 is operated. Of the cursor displayed on the screen (not shown) in accordance with the change in the capacitance.
(X, + Y, -Y) coordinate position and speed are controlled. Since the four electrode pairs are formed at 90 ° intervals, the coordinate position and speed of the cursor can be easily controlled.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing examples of dot spacers formed on the movable electrode, which are different from the dot spacers of the capacitance type device of the present embodiment. In FIG. 6A,
Disc-shaped dot spacers 27 are printed at the center of the movable electrode 16, and dot-shaped dot spacers 37 are printed at 90 ° intervals at the center of the movable electrode 16 in FIG. In FIG. 6C, a ring-shaped dot spacer 47 is printed on the movable electrode 16. As described above, when dot spacers having various shapes are printed at the center of the movable electrode 16, the capacitance forming characteristics can be changed.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a part of a capacitive pointing device different from the capacitive pointing device shown in FIG. 3, and FIG. 8 is a top view of the rubber stick shown in FIG. a), a sectional view (b), and a bottom view (c). The capacitance type pointing device 30 shown in FIG. 7 is different from the capacitance type pointing device 20 shown in FIG.
The difference is that the cover 31 is formed with the cover 1a and the rubber stick 22 is provided.
As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the rubber stick 22 includes a rubber cup 22a, a rubber base 22b, and four protrusions 22c. To attach the rubber stick 22 to the operator 19, the tip of the operator 19 is inserted into the rubber cup 22a, and each of the four protrusions 22c is inserted into each of the holes 31a of the cover 31. This capacitance type pointing device 30
Is a capacitive pointing device 2 shown in FIG.
Compared with 0, it is excellent in the following points.

An electrostatic capacitance type pointing device 20
Then, in order to return the operated operator 19, the cover 2
It depends on the return of the rubber 18 (four pieces) and the seat 15 mounted in the unit 1, and it is difficult to increase or decrease the strength of the operation force and the strength of the return force. Also, the reliability of return is poor. On the other hand, a capacitive pointing device 3
In the case of 0, since the rubber stick 22 is attached to the operation element 19, even if the operation element 19 is tilted or pushed in and operated, the operation element 19 automatically returns by returning the rubber cup 22a. Therefore, the operator 19 can be more reliably returned. Further, since the protrusion 22c of the rubber stick 22 is inserted into the hole 31a of the cover 31, the movement of the rubber stick 22 itself is prevented. Further, since the hole 31a of the cover 31 is covered with the rubber stick 22, it can be expected to be resistant to dust and liquid. In addition, finger slippage can be prevented, and operability is improved. When the material of the rubber stick 22, the rubber hardness, and the shape of the rubber cup 22a are freely selected, the operator 2
1, the operating force, the returning force, and the feeling of operation can be adjusted.

FIG. 9 is a view showing a keyboard provided with the capacitive pointing device shown in FIG. A capacitance-type pointing device 20 is provided on the right side of the center of the keyboard 100 shown in FIG. Further, key switches 101 and 102 are provided on the upper right of the keyboard 100 where the capacitive pointing device 20 is provided. These capacitive pointing device 20 and key switch 1
The mouse is realized by 01 and 102. By operating the operator 19 of the electrostatic capacitance type pointing device 20 with the index finger, the cursor displayed on the screen (not shown) is freely moved to specify a desired icon, and the middle finger is used to move the left mouse button. By pressing the corresponding key switch 101, the icon can be selected.

In the present embodiment, an example in which the insulating film 13 is formed on the fixed electrode 12 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the insulating film 13 may be formed on the movable electrode 16. Alternatively, the insulating film 13 may be placed on the fixed electrode 12, and the insulating film 13 only needs to be interposed between the fixed electrode 12 and the movable electrode 16. Furthermore, although the example in which the dot spacer 17 is formed on the movable electrode 16 has been described,
The present invention is not limited to this. The dot spacer 17 may be formed on the insulating film 13, or the dot spacer 17 may be placed between the movable electrode 16 and the insulating film 13. In short, it suffices if it is interposed between the fixed electrode 12 and the movable electrode 16. The movable electrode 16 is formed on a part of the sheet 15 with a material different from that of the sheet 15. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It may function as the movable electrode 16. Also,
In the present embodiment, the pointing device for inputting the coordinate position on the screen or operating the icon has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the capacitive pointing device 20 of the present embodiment is not limited to this. 30
May be used as a sensor for detecting an analog amount according to the pressing force.

[0015]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to provide a capacitance-type device excellent in operability while maintaining a low profile. Also, it can be mounted on a keyboard. In addition, the dust is strengthened. Further, by changing the shape and size of the projection, it is possible to have a plurality of analog output levels of the capacitance. Further, as compared with a track pointer (pressure-sensitive or strain gauge), the track pointer does not move the operation element, but in the present invention, the operation element moves to some extent, so that the operability is excellent. Furthermore, it is possible to prevent a problem with the track pointer, that is, a movement of the cursor even when the finger is released.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a capacitance type device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating how the capacitance of the capacitance-type device according to the present embodiment changes in accordance with the force with which the rubber is pressed.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a capacitive pointing device in which four capacitive devices shown in FIG. 1 are incorporated.

4 is an exploded perspective view of the capacitive pointing device shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing four movable electrodes formed on a sheet of the electrostatic capacitance type pointing device shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing each example of a dot spacer formed on a movable electrode, which is different from the dot spacer of the capacitance type device of the present embodiment.

7 is a perspective view showing a part of a capacitive pointing device different from the capacitive pointing device shown in FIG. 3;

8 is a top view (a), a sectional view (b), and a bottom view (c) of the rubber stick shown in FIG.

9 is a diagram showing a keyboard in which the electrostatic capacitance type device shown in FIG. 3 is built.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Capacitance type device 11 Substrate 12 Fixed electrode 13 Insulating film 14 Spacer 14a, 31a Hole 15 Sheet 16 Movable electrode 17, 27, 37, 47 Dot spacer 18 Rubber 19 Operator 19a Support point 20, 30 Pointing device 21, 31 Cover 22 Rubber stick 22a Rubber cup part 22b Rubber base part 22c Projection part 100 Keyboard 101, 102 Key switch

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A substrate, a first electrode spreading on the substrate, a spacer arranged on the substrate so that the first electrode is exposed, and a sheet facing the substrate with the spacer interposed therebetween. And a second electrode extending to a position facing the first electrode on a surface of the sheet facing the substrate, and an insulating film interposed between the first electrode and the second electrode And a projection interposed between the first electrode and the second electrode. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the insulating film is an insulating film covering the first electrode, and the protrusion is a protrusion formed on the second electrode. Capacitive devices. 3. The capacitance-type device according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion is made of an insulator. 4. The electrostatic device according to claim 1, further comprising an operation member for pressing a back surface of the sheet with respect to a surface facing the substrate side so as to be able to freely press the sheet. Capacitive device.