JPS60207924A - Structure of input board of tablet input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To replace a flexible substrate simply by forming an insulating projection for regulating an interval between a fixed substrate and the flexible substrate and using magnetic attracting force for the fixing of both the substrates. CONSTITUTION:To adsorb the flexible substrate 40, the flexible substrate 40 is mounted and positioned on the fixed substrate 30. Then, a press plate 12 is mounted so as to correspond to the peripheral edge of a board 20. Consequently, magnetic attracting force is generated between a magnetic sheet of the press plate 12 and an iron plate 21 of the board 20 and the press plate 12 is attracted to the board 20. Consequently, the flexible substrate 40 is held and fixed between the press plate 12 and the board 20. The interval between the substrates 40 and 30 is controlled by the insulating projection 34. In said formation, the flexible substrate can be simply replaced.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a tablet input device suitable for inputting information by detecting handwriting such as characters and figures written on an input panel according to the carver. Regarding input panel structure.

[Technical background of the invention]

In this type of device, each pair of flat electrodes is placed opposite to each other while maintaining an electrically insulated state, and when one point of the flat electrode is pressed, conduction occurs between the flat electrodes at that position. Recorded information is input by electrically detecting the seat pillow in the conductive position, and the following two types of input panel structures are conventionally known.

That is, in the first method, one plane electrode is formed on a fixed substrate, and the other plane electrode is formed on a sheet-like flexible substrate. This is a so-called air gap method in which the flat iIu electrodes are fixed under tension to maintain a constant spacing between them. On the other hand, the second type is a so-called pressure-sensitive sheet type in which a fixed substrate and a flexible substrate each having a planar electrode formed thereon are integrated with a pressure-sensitive conductive sheet sandwiched therebetween.

[Problems with background technology]

However, each of these conventional structures has the following drawbacks.

(1) First of all, with the air gap method, the sheet-like flexible substrate that serves as the writing surface is held in a tensioned state and fixed to the peripheral edge of the fixed substrate, so the position of the sheet, for example, The tension state is different between the central part and the peripheral part near the fixed position, and this causes the input sensitivity to differ even if the pen pressure is constant.

In addition, it is structurally difficult to apply a constant tension force to the flexible substrate at each peripheral edge, so the difference in tension tends to cause wrinkles and sag in the flexible substrate. Even if this were possible, the substrate would expand and contract due to changes in temperature and humidity, causing changes in the tension state, resulting in variations in input sensitivity.

Especially in recent years, 1m! Devices that have the above-mentioned input areas and can be used in the same way as blackboards are beginning to be developed, but in devices with such large input areas, it is difficult to stretch the flexible substrate under constant tension without causing wrinkles or sagging. is extremely difficult and practically impossible.

(i+ On the other hand, as mentioned above, the pressure-sensitive sheet method fixes the fixed substrate and the flexible substrate by sandwiching the pressure-sensitive conductive sheet, so compared to the air gap method described above, the flexible substrate However, since the flexible substrate is a thin film-like sheet, and this sheet is stretched by screws or adhesives, it is still possible to avoid wrinkles or wrinkles when stretched. This causes slack, which causes a decrease in input sensitivity.

(Ill) Furthermore, the flexible substrate needs to be replaced periodically as the durability against writing pressure and the abrasion resistance of the writing device deteriorate. However, in the case of the air-gap method, as mentioned above, it is extremely difficult to stretch the flexible substrate under constant tension without causing wrinkles or sagging, and therefore it is not possible to replace only the flexible substrate. Almost the same thing applies to pressure-sensitive sheet type devices. For this reason, when it becomes necessary to replace the flexible printed circuit board of these conventionally structured input boards, the entire input board is replaced. However, replacing the entire input panel in this way increases maintenance costs because the replacement input panel is expensive, which has been a major bottleneck in practical implementation.

In particular, pressure-sensitive conductive sheets are inexpensive for pressure-sensitive conductive sheets, and for manufacturing reasons, each pressure-sensitive conductive sheet is small, about 50 cm square, so multiple sheets are used. As a result, the input panel was extremely expensive.

[L” of invention]

The present invention makes it possible to easily replace the flexible circuit board while maintaining the human power sensitivity uniformly in the entire human power range, thereby eliminating the need to replace the entire input panel, reducing maintenance costs, and providing tablet input with high input performance. The purpose is to provide an input panel structure for the device.

[Outline and summary of the invention]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a plurality of insulating protrusions distributed in the electrode formation area of a fixed substrate or a flexible substrate, and defines the mutual spacing between the electrodes of each substrate by these insulating protrusions. A magnetic material or a magnet is provided on the outer periphery of the electrode formation area of the fixed substrate, and a frame-shaped fixing member provided with the magnet or magnetic material is prepared, so that the magnetic connection between this fixing member and the fixed substrate is The flexible substrate is fixedly held on the fixed substrate by suction force.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Figures 1 (al and bl) show the external appearance of a tablet input device according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) is a front view and (b) is a side view. It is attached to a frame body 2, and this frame body 2 is attached to legs 3 with casters in the form of a blackboard, and the input panel 1 has a writing input section 1 that can be written on with chalk or a water-based pen, and is attached to its outer peripheral surface. It consists of a frame-shaped presser plate 12 and an operation section 13. Reference numeral 4 denotes a cable for transmitting human power information;
6 indicates an input pen.

On the other hand, FIG. 2 schematically shows the circuit configuration of the tablet human power device according to the present embodiment, in which a pair of plane electrodes 71 U and 111 made of resistor sheets are arranged facing each other with a certain open space. ), and these planar electrodes 11
One of a and llb is grounded, and detection electrodes X, , X, , Y, , Y are provided on each side of the other. Of these detection electrodes, electrodes X facing each other,
,X, and Y, ,Y! Connect them to each other and use them as a switching circuit SW+, or alternatively as a constant current source■. is connected to. Therefore, the planar electrodes 11a, l
When you press any point P on Jthlla, which is the writing surface of lb, with the input pen 5, each detection electrode
,X.

and the city flowing out from Y,, Y, the flow value ■xI+Ix,
,Iy,,Iy! changes. These current values are detected separately in the X and Y directions by switching the switching circuit SW, and the position coordinates of the pressing point P (x+y
). In this way, the handwriting of characters and figures drawn is input into the handwriting input section 11. Note that the writing input section 1
When erasing the characters drawn in 1, switch the input erase switch fSW of the operation unit 13 to the erase side, and in this state specify the area to be erased with the eraser to erase the input information. will be deleted.

Now, the military input section 1 and the holding plate 12 of the input panel 1
is structured as follows. FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing the configuration. In the figure, reference numeral 20 denotes a board on which a thin iron plate 21 as a magnetic material is adhered, and a fixed substrate body 30 is adhered to this board 20 with an adhesive tape. As shown in FIG. 4, for example, this fixed substrate main body 30 has a polyester film base having a thickness of 100 μm and has planar electrodes formed on three surfaces thereof. This planar electrode has a protective film 33 made of carbon formed on an aluminum layer 32. As shown in FIG.
4 has a diameter of 700 to 900 μm and a height of 100 to 15
They are made of hemispherical silicon members with a diameter of about 0 μm, and the spacing between them is set at 4 to 8 mm. Note that these insulating protrusions 34 are formed by silk printing. Further, numeral 35 in the figure indicates an adhesive tape.

On the other hand, on the fixed board main body 30, there is a flexible base &4
0 are arranged opposite to each other. This flexible substrate 40 has a resistor layer 42 as a flat Ifn'Q+c pole made of carbon having a thickness of about 10 to 20 μm formed on the back side of a polyester film base material 4) with a thickness of 100 μm, and a coating pattern on the front side. 43 was formed.

This coat costs $443) and is processed to make it writeable with commercially available chalk or water-based whiteboard pens.

By the way, a frame-shaped presser plate 12 is attached to the peripheral edge of the board 20.

This holding plate 12 is made of a thin vinyl chloride sheet with a magnetic sheet attached to the back side, and is
The flexible substrate 40 is attracted to the boat 20 by the magnetic attraction force generated between the flexible substrate 40 and the iron plate 2 .

Because of this structure, in order to attach the flexible substrate 40, first place the flexible substrate 40 on the surface of the fixed substrate main body 30, align the position, and then
is placed so as to correspond to the peripheral edge of the board 20, that is, the position corresponding to the outer peripheral portion of the solid layer position of the fixed substrate main body 30. Then, a magnetic adsorption force 1 is generated between the magnetic sheet of the holding plate 12 and the iron plate 2) of the board 20, and the holding plate 12 is attracted to the board 20. As a result, the flexible substrate 40 is attached to the holding plate 12 and the board 20. 20 and is held fixed as it is. Therefore, it is possible to extremely easily attach the flexible substrate 40 when assembling the input panel and when replacing the flexible substrate 40.

Also, at this time, the flexible substrate 4o is connected to the fixed substrate main body 3.
Since the flexible substrate is supported by a large number of insulating protrusions 34 formed at zero, there is no need to tighten the flexible substrate uniformly and with a large force as in the case of the air-gap method. Coupled with fixation by suction, flexible substrates can be attached with simple work while maintaining a constant tension state and with extremely little wrinkles, sagging, etc.

In this embodiment, since the insulating protrusion 34 is provided to support the flexible substrate 40, the locus near the insulating protrusion 34 will not be input when characters or figures are drawn. This can be compensated for by signal processing, so there is no problem. Furthermore, even if extraction pressure is not applied, the insulating protrusion 34 is extremely small as described above, so there is no problem in practice with the resolution of a normal display monitor or printer.

In this way, in this embodiment, the flexible substrate 4θ
are arranged facing each other while being supported by the insulating protrusions 34 provided on the fixed board main body 3Q, and the flexible board 40 is fixed by the holding plate 12 to which the Madai sheet is attached, so that the flexible board 40 can be uniformly distributed. It can be installed extremely easily under tension and without causing any tension or sagging. Therefore, it is not necessary to replace the entire input panel as in the conventional case, and the cost of maintenance can be significantly reduced. In addition, as mentioned above, since the attachment condition of the flexible board 40 can be maintained at a good J-J, the change in input sensitivity depending on the input position can be suppressed to a low level, and as a result, information input in Takashinaga is easy. I can do something.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, in the above embodiment, the presser plate 12 is connected to the flexible substrate 4.
Although the iron plate 21 of the port 20 can be directly attracted to the iron plate 21 through the iron plate 21, other ferromagnetic materials may be used instead of the iron plate 21. Also, if the attraction force is sufficiently large, the fixed board body can be directly attracted to the iron plate 21 of the fixed board 20 by 3 degrees. It may also be adsorbed by

In addition, the magnet tip may not be provided on the holding plate [11], but may be provided on the board 2o (lj+j, or even on both sides.Furthermore, as a perfect protrusion, a protrusion like the one in Example 1; J) may be provided. In addition, the fixed substrate and the flexible substrate may be made of a more flexible material, so that they can be insulated by pressure and the edge protrusions are buried in the substrate. This can make the writing feel even smoother.Also, in addition to the flat electrode structure, the structure of the electrode may be one in which X and Y volume output lines are spread over the entire surface of the manual force area. , one with a flat surface/U pole and the other with a switch type may be used inside the j.In addition, the structure, material, shape, etc. of the fixing member, insulating protrusion, fixed board, flexible board, etc. are also covered by the present invention. It can be implemented in various ways without departing from the gist of the above.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described in detail above, the present invention provides a plurality of insulating protrusions distributed in the electrode forming area of a fixed substrate or a flexible substrate, and these insulating protrusions define mutually facing open surfaces of the planar electrodes of each substrate. In addition, a magnetic material or a magnet is provided on the outer periphery of the electrode formation area of the fixed substrate, and a frame-shaped fixed portion side provided with the magnet or magnetic material is prepared, and this fixed member and the fixed substrate described in 2. The flexible substrate is fixedly held on the fixed substrate by the magnetic attraction force.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the flexible board can be easily used, and the input sensitivity can be maintained uniformly in the entire input area, and the plug can be replaced, thereby reducing maintenance costs and reducing the need to replace the entire input panel. It is possible to provide an input panel structure for a tablet input device that is large and has high input performance.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

(b) shows the external appearance of a tablet input device according to an embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a front view thereof, (bl is a side view, and FIG. 2 is a circuit configuration of the device. Figure 3 is an exploded side sectional view showing the structure of the input panel, Figure 4 is an enlarged side sectional view of a part of the same structure, and Figure 5 is the same as shown in Figure 3. It is a plan view showing a part of the fixed board main body of the manual panel in an enlarged manner. 1... Input panel, 2... Frame body, 3... Legs, 4...
Input information transmission cable, 5... Input pen, 11...
・Writing input section, 12...pressing plate, 13...operation section,
11a. 11b... Planar electrode, 20... Board, 2)...
Iron plate, 30... Fixed board body, 31... Base material, 32
...Aluminum layer, 33...Protective film, 34...
Insulating protrusion, 35. Adhesive tape, 40... Flexible substrate, 41... Par, 42... Resistor layer, 43.
...The court is the applicant's representative, patent attorney Suzue Takehiko No. 11゛1

Claims (1)

[Claims] a fixed substrate having a first electrode formed on one surface; a flexible substrate having a second electrode forming a pair with the first electrode formed on a surface opposite to the first electrode forming surface; a plurality of insulating protrusions that are distributed over the entire surface of the information input area of the flexible substrate and make the first electrode and the second electrode face each other at a constant interval; The outer periphery of the information manual area of the flexible substrate is pressed and fixed to the fixed substrate by the attraction force between the provided magnetic material or magnet and the magnetic material or red mat of the fixed substrate provided with the magnet or magnetic material. An input panel structure for a tablet input device, characterized by comprising a frame-shaped fixing member.