JPS5855645B2 - Atsushi Yokusei Gyoden Atsubun Atsuki Souchi - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a method for adjusting volume for various audio amplifiers.
It relates to a voltage divider, often used as a potentiometer, and in particular to a voltage divider whose voltage can be selected within a preset voltage range and which is controlled by a finger touch on the device.

Conventionally, a volume control device such as an audio amplifier generally has a configuration including an elongated resistive element having three terminals, and the three terminals are two terminals at both ends of the resistive element and one terminal at each end of the resistive element. It is constituted by a third terminal that can be moved and adjusted along the length direction.

On the other hand, each pole of the power supply is connected to the terminals formed at both ends of the resistor element, so that a potential difference is obtained through the resistor element, and the third terminal is connected to the terminals formed at both ends of the resistor element. Adjustment of said third terminal in the prior art is typically done by means of a rotary knob that adjusts the third terminal along the resistive element. Physically moving the terminal often requires a complex mechanical linkage between the knob and the third terminal.

Furthermore, the electrical contact between the third terminal and the resistive element is brought about by frictional contact, which causes accelerated wear of the frictional contact.

An object of the present invention is to provide a voltage divider that can be activated by touching it with a finger.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a voltage divider designed to divide the output voltage without providing frictional contact between the regulating terminal and the resistive element.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a voltage divider that is free from friction damage.

On the other hand, as described above, the present invention has a structure in which a frictional contact portion is provided between a resistive element and a third terminal that moves along the resistive element in the device of the prior art. This is a voltage divider that has been improved to have a completely new structure that does not have any noise, and is designed to eliminate noise signals as much as possible.

Furthermore, in the conventional voltage divider, when changing from a setting state once set between the third terminal and the resistive element to another different setting state, the steps of the change are continuous and linear. Therefore, it is not possible to instantaneously change to the other setting state.

Accordingly, a further object of the present invention is to provide a voltage divider that allows the set state to be changed instantaneously.

Furthermore, in the prior art devices, the device is necessarily operated by operating a knob or lever, and the amount of operational displacement cannot be clearly confirmed when the device is operated.

It is therefore a further object of the present invention to provide a voltage divider that does not require knobs or levers for operation.

In achieving the above-mentioned objects of the present invention, the voltage divider of the present invention has a specific configuration including a resistor element having a resistor surface having an arbitrary length, and a resistor element having a resistor surface having a resistor surface having an arbitrary length, and a resistor element having a resistor surface having a resistor surface having an arbitrary length; and a conductor element having a conductor surface having a length corresponding to the length of the resistor surface arranged at a certain interval and close to each other, and the length of the resistor element surface can be adjusted by touching with a finger. an electrical contact is selectively formed between any point along the longitudinal direction and a corresponding point along the longitudinal direction of the conductive element surface, and the supply voltage source The voltage divider device is connected to both ends of the resistor element to form a voltage change along the resistor element with respect to a ground point.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The voltage divider device according to the present invention will be described in detail below based on embodiments shown in the drawings.

First, the basic device of the present invention shown in FIG.
It is formed by 2.

The control element 10 shown in FIG. 1 is shown as a cross section along the length direction of a resistor element 11 and a conductor element 12, respectively.

As shown in this figure, the resistive element 11 and the conductive element 12 constituting the control element 10 are interconnected with substantially equal extent by means of an insulating frame 13.

A portion indicated by reference numeral 14 in FIG. 1 is formed when the lower surface of the conductive element comes into contact with the upper surface of the resistor element 11 by pressing the flexible conductive element from the upper surface. The contact point 14 is an electrical contact between a point along the length of the resistor surface and a corresponding point along the length of the conductor surface. arbitrarily formed between.

The size of the control element 10, especially the dimensions in the width direction and the length direction, is a size suitable for touching the upper surface of the conductor element 12 with an operator's finger. As shown at 14, the conductive element 1
2 is set to a desired size sufficient to bend the conductive element 12 until its lower surface touches a corresponding point on the upper surface of the resistive element 11.

As shown in FIG. 1, a first voltage v1 supplied by a voltage source (not shown) is connected to one end of the resistive element 11, while a second voltage v1 supplied by the voltage source is connected to one end of the resistive element 11. A voltage v2 is connected to the other end, and a continuous ramp voltage is applied along the length of the resistance element.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the first voltage value v1
is set to a value lower than the second voltage value (2).

Therefore, when the conductor element 12 is bent and the lower surface of the conductor element 12 contacts the upper surface of the resistor element 11 to form the contact point 14, the voltage between voltage values v1 and v2 is added to element 12.

If the resistance value of the resistive element 11 changes linearly from one end to the other, it is possible to bend the conductive element 12 as described above so that the resistance value changes linearly from one end to the other end. When a contact is formed on the resistive element 11 at a point, a corresponding voltage is applied to the conductive element 12.

In this case, the voltage applied to the conductive element 12 is
1 continuously changes between the voltage value v1 applied to one end and the voltage value v2 applied to the other end.

When the resistance value of the resistive element 11 changes non-linearly from one end to the other end, the amount of voltage change on the conductive element 12 also changes non-linearly accordingly.

Here, the voltage values ■1 and v2 are both higher than the ground voltage, or both are lower than the ground voltage, and furthermore, either one of the voltage values ■1 and v2 is the ground voltage. and the other is marked by a voltage lower or higher than the ground voltage.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is for the case where both voltage values (1) and (2) are higher than the ground voltage, and the conductive element is connected to the ground via the resistor R1. It is.

Therefore, by bending the conductive element 12,
When the lower surface of the conductor element contacts the resistor element 11 to form a contact 14, the conductor element 12 is connected through the resistor R1.
A voltage is applied to.

The voltage in this case is higher than the voltage value v1 as described above,
It is also lower than the voltage value v2.

As shown in FIG. 1, when a voltage is applied through the resistor R1, the voltage is applied to one contact side of the normally open switch means S1 via the voltage comparator means A1 and the diode D1.

A resistor R2 is connected to ground from the contact point between the diode D1 and the switch means S1 for purposes described below.

On the other hand, voltage relative to the ground point is applied to the voltage comparator circuit A1 through the resistor R1 every time the normally open switch S1 is closed.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 1, voltage storage means formed by capacitor C1 are connected between the other contact of switch S1 and ground.

Therefore, the switch means S1 is connected to the voltage comparator means A1
The voltage across resistor R1 is closed by diode D1.
via resistor R2 and capacitor C1.

If the voltage applied through resistor R1 is
, the capacitor C1 is charged with an even higher voltage.

On the other hand, if the voltage applied across resistor R1 is lower than the voltage already present on capacitor C1, it will be discharged to ground via resistor R2.

As shown in FIG. 1, the resistance element 11 of the control device 10 is
For example, it consists of a piece of carbon, and the electrical conductor element 12 of the control device 10 is formed by a metal wheel.

Resistor element 11 and conductor element 1 of the control element 10
Contrary to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the mechanical characteristics of No. 2 are such that, as shown in FIG. 2, the resistor element 11 side is made of a bendable material, and the conductor element 12 side is made of a rigid material. It may be something that has been done.

In FIG. 2, 20 is a control element, and the control element 2
0 is formed by a metal plate-shaped conductive element 22 fixed to the upper surface of an insulating piece 25.

The resistance element 21 of the control element 20 is a flexible film 2
The film is fixed to the upper side of the metal plate 22 by an insulating frame 23.

Therefore, as described above, an electrical contact can be formed by bending the film 26 with a finger and bringing any point on the resistor element 21 into contact with the upper surface of the conductor element 22.

The electrical contacts of the resistive element 21 in the control element 20 are similar to the electrical contacts in the resistive element 11 of the control element 10, and the electrical contacts of the conductive element 22 in the control element 20 are similar to the electrical contacts of the resistive element 21 in the control element 10. This is similar to the electrical contact of the body element 12.

Furthermore, either the resistive element or the conductive element of the control element is formed of a flexible material.

A control element 30 according to another embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 3 has a resistive element 31 and a conductive element 32 arranged side by side on an insulating substrate 35.

As shown in FIG. 3, the means for forming the contacts are fixed on the element by an insulating frame 33 with a conductor surface 34 on a flexible insulating film 36. As shown in FIG.

Therefore, by touching the insulating film 36 with a finger, the conductor means 34 and the conductor element 32 and the resistance element 31 are bridged.

Once again, the voltage contacts of the resistive element 31 in the control element 30 are similar to those shown in FIG.
The electrical contacts of the conductive element 32 in are similar to the electrical contacts of the conductive element 12 in the control element 10 shown in FIG.

The terms "resistance" and "conductivity" as used herein are comparative terms given to the control elements of this invention.

Therefore, as far as this invention is concerned, the resistive element IL
21 and 31 are indispensable, and the same applies to conductor elements 12, 22 and 32.

The resistive elements 11.21 and 31 are chosen to have a much greater electrical resistance than the conductive element 12.22.32.

Further, the resistance value of the resistor R1 in the electric circuit is much larger than the electric resistance of the conductive elements 12, 22 and 23.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram for explaining one embodiment of the present invention.

In this figure, reference numeral 40 denotes a control element, which includes a resistance element 41 in the form of a flexible insulating film continuously coated with carbon particles, and a conductor element 42 made of bare copper.
It consists of

Said resistive element 41 is shown above the conductive element 42 by suitable means (not shown).

The amount of voltage change in the device in this case is set along the resistance element 41 by applying different voltages of voltage values (1) and (2) to the ground point.

Resistor R1 is connected between conductive element 42 and a ground point.

Conductive element 42 is connected to one input side of voltage comparator A1, and one end of resistive element 41 is connected to the other input side of voltage comparator A1.

As mentioned above, voltage comparator A1 is mounted to close normally open switch S1 and a voltage relative to ground is applied to conductive element 42.

According to this embodiment, the conductive element 42 is a diode D1
and one contact of the normally open switch S1 via a buffer amplifier A2.

Also, an RC network consisting of capacitor C2 and resistor R2 is connected between diode D1 and buffer amplifier A2.

A voltage storage capacitor C1 is connected between the other contact of the normally open switch S1 and ground.

DC voltage is usually applied to the voltage sources (1) and (v2) in this device.

The switch means S1 is a mechanical switch, and the voltage comparator A1 includes an induction coil and outputs a signal for operating the switch means S1 in response to inputs from the resistive element 41 and the conductive element 42.

As the switch means, a switch means that operates in about 50 milliseconds is used.

A second buffer amplifier A3 is connected to the other contact of the normally open switch S1 and provides a stored voltage on the capacitor C1.

According to this embodiment, a positive feedback voltage is applied to the input side of the second buffer amplifier A3 for the purpose of maintaining the charging voltage of the capacitor C1.

47 is a positive feedback circuit means for this purpose.

Therefore, the output voltage of the second buffer amplifier A3 is set according to the movement of a contact formed by a finger touch between the resistive element 41 and the conductive element 42 in the control element 40.

The output voltage of the buffer amplifier A3 is reset by forming contacts at different points along the length of the resistive element 41 and the conductive element 42 in the control element 40.

The output voltage of the buffer amplifier A3 is derived by various means.

First, according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the output voltage is
It is used as the control voltage for the voltage controlled amplifier A4 in the audio amplifier system.

Therefore, the magnitude of the audio signal output in the voltage amplifier A4 is set by touching on the resistive element 41 in the control element 40.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, this embodiment is provided with means for visually indicating the reset state of the control element 40.

According to this embodiment, a series of light emitting diodes 48a are used as means for indicating the status of the set of voltage control elements.
, 48b.

48c...48n are used.

The light emitting diodes are physically arranged along the length of the control element and are electrically connected to each other, and emit light accordingly when different critical voltages are reached. are connected like this.

As shown in FIG. 4, the output voltage of the buffer amplifier A3 is applied to the series of light emitting diodes.

Assuming that the voltage v1 is lower than the voltage v2, the series of light emitting diodes 48a.

48b, 48c, . . . , 48n are connected to cause the light emitting diode 48n to emit light.

This occurs when the voltage present on the conductor element 42 in the control element 40 is matched.

All light emitting diodes 48a, 48b. 48c...
. . 48n respectively emit light when the output voltage of the buffer amplifier A3 matches the voltage applied to the conductive element 42 in the control element 40.

Of course, voltage 3 is connected to the series of light emitting diodes in the range of the output voltage of the buffer amplifier A3.

A visual indication of the set state of the control element 40 is thus provided by said series of light emitting diodes.

Furthermore, this means can also be easily designed using other visual means.

Next, the present embodiment will be explained based on FIG. 5. Said FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, and reference symbols in FIG. 4 are attached as they are. .

One end of the resistive element 41 in the control element 40 is connected to a power source providing a direct current voltage of 10 volts.

The other end of the resistive element 41 is connected, for example, to the anode of a germanium diode 50 commercially available under the name IN34.

The cathode of the diode 50 is, for example, IN91
It is connected to the anode of a silicon diode 51 commercially available under the name No. 4, and its cathode is connected to ground.

The other end of the resistance element 41 is a resistance 52 having a value of IOK, Q.
via a power supply supplying a direct current voltage of 10 volts.

The other end of the control element 40 is 3.3M,! It is connected to the negative input terminal of the voltage comparator A1 via a resistor 53 of Q.

Therefore, a constant reference voltage is supplied to one end of the resistive element 41 in the control element 40, which is applied to the voltage comparator A.
It is applied to the negative input terminal of 1.

The negative terminal of the voltage comparator A1 circuit is grounded via a silicon diode.

Therefore, germanium diodes 5 connected in series
0 and silicon diode 51 are guaranteed by a reference voltage and are at a slightly positive voltage with respect to ground.

The conductor element 42 in the control element 40 is, for example, I
M, 52 is connected to ground via a resistor R1.

Furthermore, the conductor element 42 in the control element 40 is connected to the positive input terminal of the voltage comparator A1 via a resistor 54, for example IM,2.

Further, the conductor element 42 is, for example, ■N914
The anode of the silicon diode D1 is connected to the anode of the silicon diode D1.

When an electrical contact is formed between the conductive element 42 and the resistive element 41 in the control element 40, a voltage corresponding to the position of the contact point is applied via the resistor R1 to the positive input of the voltage comparator A1 via the resistor 54. Applied to the terminal.

In this way a voltage is applied to the anode side of diode D1.

The cathode of the diode D1 is connected via a resistor 55 to the positive input terminal of the buffer amplifier A2.

Further, on the cathode side of the diode D1, for example, 0
．． A 1 μF capacitor C2 is connected and grounded via the capacitor C2.

According to this embodiment, the resistor R2 is used to increase the internal resistance of the buffer amplifier A2 circuit, and is shown as an apparent resistance between the positive input side of the buffer amplifier A1 and the ground point shown in FIG. It will be done.

The value of the capacitor C2 is provided and selected by the time constant as described above.

A resistor 56 is located between the output of the buffer amplifier A2 and its negative input and is connected, for example to 560, as an O resistor.

According to the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG.
is provided by a transistor commonly known as ZN3638 and operates at a rated voltage of 20 volts.

C1 is a capacitor with a value of 10 μF.

The output side of the voltage comparator A1 is connected to the base of the transistor S1 via a resistor 57 of, for example, 4.7 KjQ.

Further, the output side of the buffer amplifier A2 is connected to the emitter of the transistor S1, and the capacitor C1 is connected to the emitter of the transistor S1.
One pole of the transistor S1 is connected to the collector side of the transistor S1.

On the other hand, the other pole of the capacitor C1 is connected to ground.

Transistor S1 is therefore biased into conduction by the output of voltage comparator A1, and in each case a voltage is applied to conductor element 42 in control element 40.

At the same time, that voltage is applied to capacitor C1 via diode D1, amplifier A2 and transistor S1.

If the voltage applied to the conductor element 42 in the control element 40 is lower than the voltage already present on the capacitor C1, then the charging voltage of the capacitor C1 is discharged via the transistor S1 and the internal resistance R2 of the buffer amplifier A2. Ru.

The charge voltage present in capacitor C1 is, for example, ZN3
It is added to the control pole of a field effect transistor 58 (hereinafter abbreviated as FET), known under the name 819.

When the voltage on capacitor C1 is applied to the control pole of FET 58, a voltage drop occurs across the FET corresponding to the voltage on capacitor C1.

One side of the FET 58 is connected to a power supply (not shown) and the other side is connected to ground via a resistor 59 of O, for example 10.

Further, a channel network consisting of transistors 60 and 61 and resistors 62, 63 and 64 is connected to the side of the FET 58 connected to the resistor 59.

The tap point voltage of the tap resistor 59 changes in proportion to the voltage of the capacitor C1.

Further, the tap point voltage is, for example, a resistor 6 of IMg.
5 to the positive input of operational amplifier A3.

The output side of the operational amplifier A3 is connected via a variable resistor 66 and a fixed resistor 67 to the negative input side of the operational amplifier A3.

The values of the variable resistor 66 and the fixed resistor 67 are set variably through the operational amplifier A3 to ensure a larger gain than the operational amplifier A3.

The output of the operational amplifier A3 is feedback connected to the capacitor C1 via a resistor 68 of IOM, Q, for example.

The output of operational amplifier A3 is output as output 69 of network 75.

The output 69 is controlled in a voltage controlled amplifier as described in FIG.

Voltage comparator A1, buffer amplifiers A2 and A3, and voltage control amplifier A4 are L
Each package contains a different quadrant integrated circuit known as M3900.

As shown in FIG. 5, the output of the device is LITR-ONI
Light emitting diodes 48a-48n, known as X(R) type 209, are added to the network.

On the other hand, in the case of the embodiment shown in FIG. Each light emitting diode can be fitted with a blade.

A common power source (not shown) is connected to each of the comparator circuits 72a-72n via one of a plurality of resistors 73a-73n having different values.

Therefore, each of the light emitting diodes receives a different comparison voltage and operates according to the comparison voltage.

Due to the selective design of the resistors 73a to 73n, when the output voltage of the device increases from the minimum value to the maximum value, the voltage comparator circuits 72a to 72n increase the voltage of the light emitting diode 48a.
~48n is activated.

Similarly, a light emitting diode shuts down when the output voltage of the device decays from a maximum value to a minimum value.

Therefore, the output voltage is applied to the light emitting diode through the aforementioned electrical elements by the displacement of the contact point formed between the resistive element 41 and the conductive element 42 in the control element 40, and the output voltage is applied to the light emitting diode corresponding to the contact point. operates,
A visual display is provided.

Next, another embodiment shown in FIG. 6 will be described.

This embodiment is based on the switch S in the embodiment shown in FIG.
1. This circuit is substituted for the capacitor C1 and the buffer amplifier circuit.

In the circuit shown in FIG. 6, points A and B shown in the circuit are connected to points A and B of the circuit shown in FIG. 5, respectively.

Therefore, the output of the buffer amplifier A2 is connected to one side input of the voltage comparators A5 and A6 in such a manner that they cancel each other out by the small voltages of the ideal oscillators E1 and E2 shown in FIG.

The output of digital clock or oscillator 76 is connected to gate 7
Connected to one input side of 7.

The output of the voltage comparator A1 shown in FIG.
The output of gate 77 is connected to the input side of each one of a pair of gates 78 and 79.

The output of voltage comparator A6 shown in FIG. 6 is applied to the other input of gate 78, and the output of voltage comparator A5 is applied to the other input of gate 79.

The output of gate 78 is applied to the ``up'' terminal of an 8-bit up/down counter 80, and the output of gate 79 is applied to the ``down'' terminal of said counter 80.

The output lines 81 to 88 of the 8-bit up/down counter 80 are connected to a digital to analog converter 90.
It is connected to the.

The output of the digital-to-analog converter 90 is applied to the + side inputs of voltage comparators A5 and A6, and
Provides the output voltage of the device.

The digital-to-analog converter 90 has a fixed minimum output corresponding to one count of the 8-bit up/down counter 80.

In the circuit shown in FIG. 6, when a voltage is applied to input points A and B, gate 77 opens and the output of oscillator 76 is applied to one input side of each of gates γ8 and 79.

At the same time, the voltage at input point A is converted to digital/analog converter 9
0 output voltage.

If the voltage at input point A is higher than the input voltage of the digital-to-analog converter, voltage comparator A6 applies a signal to one input of gate 78, which opens the gate and increases the output by 8 bits.・Down counter 8
The output of the oscillator 76 is applied to the 0's "up" terminal.

The output point of voltage comparator A6 is at the cutoff point and voltage comparator A5 tends to provide an output.

The output of the voltage comparator A5 opens the gate 79 and applies the output of the oscillator 76 to the down terminal of the 8-bit up/down counter 80.

If a low voltage is applied to the inputs A and B, the 8-bit up/down counter 80 will produce an output corresponding to the low voltage.

An offset voltage is set corresponding to the smallest order of the 8-bit up/down counter 80, and the ideal oscillator E1. Supplied to E2.

As soon as the operator's finger leaves the control element 40,
The voltages at input points A and B disappear.

The 8-bit up-down counter 80 is then maintained at a constant count with the order of count corresponding to the sustained voltage applied to input point A.

The constant voltage output from the digital to analog converter 90 is
The output corresponds to the sustained voltage applied to the input point A, and the output is maintained until it is set as a new voltage.

This is done by touching different points on the control element 40 and inputting A
It can be changed by applying different voltages to point and point B.

As shown in FIG. 5, the output of the digital to analog converter is applied to a light emitting diode network.

Here, the 32-bit code decoder 91 shown in FIG.
It has two most significant order terminals, which are provided for addition to the outputs 84-88 of an 8-bit up/down counter 80.

Each of the 32 outputs of the 32-bit code decoder 91 is connected to a different base of a plurality of transistors T1 to T32.

According to this embodiment, all light emitting diodes L1 to L3
2 is connected in series to the cathode of the first light emitting diode L1, and is connected to the negative terminal of a power supply (not shown).

And the cathode of the last light emitting diode L32 is 3
It is connected to the collector of a transistor T32 which is connected to the output of the 2-bit code decoder 91.

The emitters of all transistors T1-T32 are connected in parallel to the positive terminal of a power supply (not shown).

The collector of the transistor T1 is connected to the anode of the light emitting diode L1, the collector of the transistor T2 is connected to the anode of the light emitting diode L2, and the collector of the transistor T3 is connected to the anode of the light emitting diode L1.
2 and the light emitting diode L32 are connected in the same manner.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, when any one of the 32 outputs of the 32-bit code decoder 91 is generated, the light emitting diodes L1 to L32 are activated according to the output of the 32-bit code decoder 91. to emit light.

As shown in FIG. 7, by arranging the light emitting diodes L1 to L32 in relation to the control element 40, a visual display device using light emitting diodes can be provided.

This visual display device using light emitting diodes has the advantage of being able to operate with a small amount of current, and is a device that uses the current to obtain optical signals from the light emitting diodes.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of a voltage divider device according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 shows a cross section of a control element according to an embodiment of the present invention, and a block diagram schematically showing the related electrical configuration. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a control element according to another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a control element according to still another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the details of the electric circuit in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the voltage storage means according to yet another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a schematic circuit diagram showing the display means in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6. 10.20, 30.40...Control element, 11°21.31.41...Resistor element, 12,22
゜32.42... Conductor element, 13, 23.3
3...Insulation frame, 48a to 48n...
...Light emitting diode group, AI, A5. A6...
・Voltage comparator, A2゜A3...Buffer amplifier, A
4... Voltage control amplifier, 76... Oscillator, 80... 8-bit up/down counter, 90... Digital analog converter,
91...32-bit code decoder.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1 (a) a resistor surface having an arbitrary length; (b) a length of the resistor surface that is substantially coextensive with the resistor surface and arranged at a position close to the resistor surface at a constant interval; (c) touch any point along the length of the resistor surface with a finger and a point along the length of the conductor surface corresponding to the point; (clJ) a supply voltage source connected across said resistor surface for producing a voltage change along said resistor surface with respect to ground; , (e) a voltage storage device; (f) a first electrode connected between the conductor surface and ground;
an apparatus for detecting a voltage on said conductive surface relative to earth, comprising a resistor and a voltage comparator circuit arranged to produce an electrical output when a voltage relative to earth is present on said conductive surface; g) being in a normally open position connected between said conductive surface and a voltage storage device and being turned into a closed state by an electrical output of said voltage comparator circuit for making an electrical connection between said conductive surface and a voltage storage device; 1. A voltage divider device comprising an electrical switch for varying the voltage stored by the voltage storage device with respect to earth. (2) (a) a resistor surface having an arbitrary length; (b) a length corresponding to the length of the resistor surface disposed at a position close to the resistor surface at a constant distance with substantially the same extent as -L with respect to the resistor surface; (C) between any point along the length of the resistor surface by touching with a finger and a point along the length of the conductor surface corresponding to the point; (d) a supply voltage source connected across said resistor surface for effecting voltage changes along said resistor surface with respect to earth; ) A first wire connected between the conductor surface and the ground.
and a first voltage comparator configured to produce an electrical output when the electrical base is present on the conductive surface with respect to earth. (f) a first gating device connected to said first voltage comparator for detecting the presence of a voltage on one of said conductive surfaces; (g) said first gating device; (h) a pair of voltage comparators each having one of its inputs connected to said conductor surface via a device for providing a small voltage offset; , (1) a second gate device, one input side of which is connected to one output side of the pair of voltage comparators, and the other input side connected to the output side of the first gate device; ) a third gate device, one input side being connected to the other outlet side of the pair of voltage comparators, and the other inlet side being connected to the output side of the first gate device; (k) a third gate device; A digital terminal having an up terminal connected to the output side of the gate device and a down terminal connected to the output side of the third gate device.
Up-Down Counter (1) A digital device connected to the digital output terminal of the digital up-down counter, whose output side is connected to the other input side of the pair of voltage comparators and provides the output side of the device. - A voltage divider device characterized by having an analog converter.