JPS5890235A - Position detector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To decrease the power consumption and to increase the accuracy of position detection for a flat plate type position detector, by providing an electrode plate containing an array of plural parallel thin electrode elements and applying different potentials to these electrode elements, respectively. CONSTITUTION:Plural parallel thin electrode elements 3-1-3-n and 8-1-8-n are arrayed equidistantly on the insulated substrates 2 and 9. Then the pressure- sensitive conductive sheets 4 and 6 are set in proximity to the surface containing the thin electrode elements. Furthermore, a conductive plate 5 is set in proximity to the sheets 4 and 6. The different potentials are applied to those parallel thin electrode elements so that the potentials of these electrode elements at the pressed areas are transmitted to the plate 5 via the sheets 4 and 6. Thus the pressed position is detected by detecting the potential of the plate 5.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a position detection device that includes an electrode plate and a pressure-sensitive conductive sheet and detects a pressed position on the electrode plate. The present invention relates to an improved position detection device in which a thousand rows and strips of pole elements are arranged.

A conventional flat-plate detection device consists of a flat resistor to which a predetermined potential difference is applied between opposing ends, a pressure-sensitive conductive sheet placed closely on the lower surface of the flat resistor, and a pressure-sensitive conductive sheet disposed closely on the lower surface of the flat resistor. A conductive plate is disposed closely on the lower surface of the pressure-sensitive conductive sheet, and when this flat resistor is pressed, the pressed portion of the flat resistor and the conductive plate are connected to the pressure-sensitive conductive sheet. Therefore, it is electrically connected, and the potential of the conductive plate at this time, that is, the potential of the flat resistor, is reflected, and the pressed position is detected based on this. However, in such devices,
In order to obtain the potential at the pressing point, it is necessary to flow a current through the entire flat resistor, which results in unnecessary power consumption. Additionally, in this case, a potential difference is applied to the flat resistor through a diode or the like in order to form a uniform distribution of equipotentials parallel to the direction orthogonal to the direction in which the potential difference is applied to the flat resistor. However, even when diodes are used in this way, due to variations in forward voltage drop of individual diodes, etc., and furthermore, due to the non-uniformity of the flat resistor, the uniform distribution of parallel equipotential lines cannot be achieved. It is difficult to obtain this in good condition, and it has not been possible to achieve sufficient accuracy and resolution for position detection. .

The present invention was made to solve these problems, and instead of the conventional flat resistor, an electrode plate having a plurality of parallel strip electrode elements arranged thereon is arranged, and the plural parallel strip electrode elements are arranged. It is an object of the present invention to provide a position detection device that can reduce power consumption and improve position detection accuracy by applying different potentials to the strip electrode elements.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing details of an example of a position detecting section used in a position detecting device according to the present invention. In the figure, 1 indicates an electrode plate, and this electrode plate 1 has a plurality of strip electrode elements 3-1-3-n formed in parallel and at equal intervals on the upper surface of an insulating substrate 2. . An applied conductive sheet 4 made of pressure-sensitive conductive rubber is disposed in close contact with the electrode element forming surface of the electrode plate 1, and a flexible conductive plate is disposed on the upper surface of the pressure-sensitive conductive sheet 4. 5 are arranged closely together. A pressure-sensitive conductive sheet 6 similar to the pressure-sensitive conductive sheet 4 described above is disposed closely on the upper surface of the conductive plate 5, and further,
A plurality of strip electrode elements 8-1 to 8-n are arranged parallel to each other on the lower surface of the flexible insulating substrate 7 in close contact with the upper surface thereof.
Furthermore, a protective film 10 is provided on the upper surface of the insulating substrate 7 on which electrode plates 9 formed at equal intervals are arranged.

Here, the direction of the parallel strip electrode element 3-1-3-n and the direction of the parallel uppermost electrode element 8-1-8-n are made perpendicular to each other to form an X-Y matrix. It is being done.

When a pressing force is applied in the direction of the arrow from above a predetermined portion of the protective film 10 as shown in FIG. The sheet 6 is pressed, and as a result, the resistance of the pressure-sensitive conductive sheet 6 at the pressed portion decreases, and the electrode elements formed on the insulating substrate 7 of the electrode plate 9, for example, 8-3 and the conductive plate 5 are electrically connected to each other through the pressure-sensitive conductive sheet 6, and furthermore, an electrode element, for example 3-1, formed on the conductive plate 5 and the electrode plate 1 in the same manner is also connected through the pressure-sensitive conductive sheet 4. Therefore, by pressing a predetermined portion on the protective film 10, any one of the electrode elements 3-1 to 3-n and the conductive plate 5 are electrically connected, and the electrode element 8-1
- 8-n and the conductive plate 5 are electrically connected, for example, the X coordinate axis position can be detected based on the electrode elements 3-1 to 3-n, and the electrode element 8- 1-8
-n, the Y coordinate axis position can be detected.

An example of a position detecting device according to the present invention using a position detecting section based on such an operating principle has a circuit configuration as shown in FIG. For convenience of explanation, it is assumed that six electrode elements 3-1 to 3-n and six electrode elements 8-1 to 8-n are formed. Electrode elements 3-1 to 3-6 formed on the insulating substrate 2 of the above-mentioned electrode plate 1
Resistors R1-R5 are connected between each of the resistors R
1 and electrode element 3-1 is connected to the positive side of DC power supply E1 via switch circuit S2, and a resistor R
5 and the electrode element 3-6 is connected to the negative side of the DC power source E1 via a series circuit consisting of a resistor R6 and a switch circuit S1, and is further formed on the insulating substrate 7 of the electrode plate 9. Resistors R1' to R5' are connected between each of the electrode elements 8-1-8-6.
The contact point with 1 is connected to the DC power supply E2 via the switch circuit S3.
It is also connected to the positive side of resistor R5' and electrode element 8.
-A is connected to the negative side of the DC power source E2 via a series circuit including a resistor R6' and a switch circuit S4. .

On the other hand, the input terminal of an A/D converter (analog-1-digital converter) 11 is connected to the aforementioned conductive plate 5,
The output terminal of this A/D converter 11 is connected to the input terminal of a switching circuit 12. The switching circuit 12 is connected to the electrode element 3-1.
- X coordinate axis data detected based on 3-6 (hereinafter referred to as X data) and Y coordinate axis data detected based on electrode element 8-1-8-6 (hereinafter referred to as Y data) )
This is for selectively outputting, respectively. Also,
The pair of switch circuits S1 and S, the pair of switch circuits S3 and S4, and the switching circuit 12 receive the control signal a from the control circuit 13.
, b and c, respectively, and the pair of switch circuits S1 and S2 and the pair of switch circuits S3 and S4 are selectively turned on.

The operation of an example of the position detection device according to the present invention configured as described above will be explained with reference to the waveform diagram of FIG. 4.

First, the operation when extracting the X data, that is, when the control signals a and c from the control circuit 13 are at high level and the control signal b is at low level, as shown in FIG. 4, will be described. In this case, switch circuits S3 and 4Z are off, switch circuits S1 and S2 are on, and the DC power supply E
A voltage of 1 is applied across a series circuit made up of resistors R1 to R6. If the voltage of the DC power source E1 is, for example, 6V, and the resistance values of the resistors R1 to R6 are all the same value,
Electrode element 3-1 is 6V, electrode element 3-2 is 5V, electrode element 3-3 is 4V, electrode element 3-4 is 3V, electrode element 3-
5 has a potential of 2V, and the electrode element 3-6 has a potential of 1. Therefore, if, for example, point P is pressed in these conditions, the electrode element 3-3 is connected to the conductive plate 5, and the electrode element 3-6 is 3
A 4V potential of -3 is transmitted to the conductive plate 5, which is supplied to the A/D converter l1 as a 4V voltage input. This 4V voltage is converted into a digital signal by the A/D converter 11, and is further obtained as X data indicating the X coordinate axis position of the pressing point P via the switching circuit 12, and sent to a signal processing circuit (not shown). Next, the operation when extracting Y data, that is, when the control signal a and the control signal c from the control circuit 13 are at a low level and the control signal b is at a high level, will be described.

In this case, switch circuits S1 and S2 are turned off and switch circuits S3 and S4 are turned on, and the voltage of DC power supply E2 is applied to both ends of the series circuit made up of resistors R1' to R6'. The voltage of the DC power supply E2 is also set to 6V, for example, and the resistor R1
~R6, the respective resistance values are the same value, electrode element 8-1 is 6V, electrode element 8-2 is 5V, electrode element 8-3
is 4V, electrode element 8-4 is 3■, electrode element 8-5 is 2■
, the electrode element 8-6 has a potential of 1V. Therefore, for example, when pressing point P, the electrode element 8-3 and the conductive plate 5
are electrically connected, and the 4V potential of the electrode element 8-3 is transmitted to the conductive plate 5, which is applied as a 4V voltage input to the A/
The signal is supplied to the D converter 11. This 4V voltage is A/
It is converted into a digital signal by the D converter 11,
Furthermore, it is obtained as X data indicating the Y-coordinate axis position of the pressing point P via the switching circuit 12, and sent to a signal processing circuit (not shown).

Also, at points other than the pressing point P, as described above, the potential of any of the electrode elements 3-1 to 3-6 at the portion corresponding to the pressing point is used as X data, and the potential of any of the electrode elements 8-1 to 8 −
6 will be selectively sent out as X data via the A/D converter l1 and the switching circuit 12.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a circuit block for displaying the position detected by the position detecting device configured and operated as described above on a display device. In Figure 5, 50
is the above-mentioned position detecting device, and is configured to send out X data and Y data as digital signals in response to pressure on the position detecting section.

20 is an interface circuit for supplying X data to the address register, and interface circuit 2
0 is connected to the address register 22 for Y data. Further, 21 is an interface circuit for supplying X data to an address register, and the interface circuit 21 is connected to an address register 23 for X data. These address registers 22 and 23 are connected to a video memory (RAM) 24, and data is written to and read from the video memory 24 based on the outputs of the address registers 22 and 23, respectively. It's becoming like that. 25 is a control circuit;
On the input side, there are three types of key switches 26 to 28: a memory erase key switch 26 for erasing data stored in the video memory 24, a key switch 27 for display operation, and a key switch 28 for checking memory contents. is connected to 3, and the output side is address register 2.
2 and 23 to supply control signals thereto, and is further connected to a write/read control circuit 29.

The write/read control circuit 29 controls data writing and reading from the video memory 24 based on control signals sent from the control circuit 25. 30 is a video interface circuit for supplying data read from the video memory 24 to the display device 31 for display.

In the case where the display device configured as described above is used for display purposes, when the key switch 27 for display operation is operated to enter the display mode, the position detection device 50
Y data, which is converted into a digital signal obtained by pressing an arbitrary point on the detection section, is transmitted via an interface circuit 20 to an address register 22 that operates in response to a control signal from a control circuit 25. Similarly to the above, the X data is also supplied via the interface circuit 21 to the address register 23 which operates in response to a control signal from the control circuit 25. Based on the output from each of the address registers 22 and 23, writing is performed to a predetermined address position of the video memory 24 controlled by a write/read control circuit 29, and synchronization control with the display device 31 is performed. The data is read out from there, and the read data is supplied to the display device 31 via the video interface circuit 30, and is displayed on the display surface corresponding to the pressed point on the above-mentioned detection section. A spot display is performed.

Next, when a point on the position detection unit of the position detection device 50 that is different from the above-mentioned pressure point is pressed, the display device 31 is When a spot display is performed on a different part of the display surface from the above and the pressing point on the position detecting section of the position detecting device 50 is continuously moved, the display of the display device 31 changes in accordance with the movement. A continuous spot display will be made on the surface.

FIG. 6 shows another example of the electrode plate 1 in FIG. 1. In this row of electrode plates 1, a plurality of strip electrode elements 3-1 to 3-n are formed in parallel on the surface of an insulating substrate 2', and the electrode elements 3-1 to 3-n have different potentials. The resistors R1 to Rn serving as means for providing the same are formed in the form of film resistors in the arrangement shown in the figure. One end of the resistor R1 is connected to the right end of the electrode element 3-1, and the other end of the resistor R2 is connected to the terminal 3. Further, one end of the resistor R2 is connected to the left end of the electrode element 3-2, and the other end of the resistor R2 is connected to the left end of the electrode element 3-2.
It is connected to the left end of 2. Furthermore, in the electrode elements 3-3 to 3-n after the electrode element 3-2, resistors R3 to Rn are connected in the same manner as described above, and the terminal 3'' is connected to the left end of the final electrode element 3-n. The terminals 3' and 3'' of the electrode plate 1 configured in this manner serve as the switch circuit S1 and the switch circuit S in the circuit shown in FIG. 3, respectively.
Connected to 2.

Note that the electrode plate 9 in FIG. 1 may also be constructed in the same manner as the example of the electrode plate 1 described above, and in that case, a flexible insulating substrate may be used as the one corresponding to the insulating substrate 7. It is necessary to use it.

FIG. 7 shows still another row of electrode plates 1. In this example, a plurality of parallel current elements 3-7 to 3-7 are provided on the insulating substrate 2''.
3-n was formed, and each electrode element 3-1 to 3-n was divided into two, an even-numbered one and an odd-numbered one, and a thin film resistor was formed between each system. resistance r1
~rn and resistors r1 to rn' are connected as shown. Further, a terminal 3' is connected to each of the resistors r1 and r1', and a terminal 3'' is connected to each of the resistors rn and rn'. The voltage applied between terminals 3' and 3'' is applied to electrode elements 31'' and 3''.
The resistance value is set to equally divide and supply to o11. Terminal 3' and terminal 3'' of electrode plate l configured in this way
are connected to switch circuit S1 and switch circuit S2 in a circuit such as that shown in FIG.

Note that, as described above, the electrode plate 9 is also the same as the electrode plate l described above.
An example formed similarly to the above example can be constructed using a flexible insulating substrate.

Next, other examples of the position detection section shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be explained using FIG.
Parts corresponding to the parts shown in the figure are given the same reference numerals as in Fig. 2, and their explanations are omitted.
In place of the conductive plate 5 in the figures and FIG. 2, a first conductive plate 5
A, a three-layer structure including an insulating plate 5B and a second conductive plate 5C is used.

The first conductive plate 5A is disposed in close contact with the upper surface of the pressure-sensitive conductive sheet 4, and the second conductive plate 5C is disposed in close contact with the lower surface of the pressure-sensitive conductive sheet 6.

By configuring in this way, the electrode elements 3-1 to 3-n
Any one of the potentials can be taken out from the first conductive plate 5A, and the potential of any of the electrode elements 8-1 to 8-n can be taken out separately from the second conductive plate 5C. In the example, the control circuit 13 and switching circuit 12 for switching between X data extraction and Y data extraction shown in FIG. 3 can be omitted.

In the position detection section in the embodiment described above, the electrode plate 1 for detecting X data and the electrode plate 9 for detecting Y data are each separate, but these two types An example in which the number of electrode plates is one is shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view, and FIG. 70 is an enlarged sectional view. In FIGS. 9 and 10, 40 is an electrode plate, and this electrode plate 40 has parallel strip electrode elements 42-1 to 42-n on an insulating substrate 41 and parallel strip electrode elements 43-n orthogonal thereto. 1 to 43-n are arranged. In this case, in the region where these electrode elements 42-1 to 42-n and electrode elements 43-1 to 43-n are orthogonal to each other,
As shown in detail in FIG. 10, an insulating material 41' is provided to maintain insulation between the two. A pressure-sensitive conductive sheet 44 is disposed on the upper surface of this electrode plate 40, and a flexible conductive plate 45 is disposed on the upper surface of this pressure-sensitive conductive sheet 44. An error protection film 46 is formed.

In order to perform position detection using the position detecting section configured in this way, each of the electrode elements 42-1 to 42-n and 43-
1 to 43-n, and the electrode elements 42-1- are transmitted to the conductive plate 45 obtained when the detection portion is pressed from the protective film 46 side via the pressure-sensitive conductive sheet 44.
X data and Y data corresponding to the pressed position may be obtained by detecting the potential of any one of 42-n and 43-1 to 43-n.

As is clear from the above description of the embodiments, according to the present invention, a plurality of parallel strip electrode elements are arranged on an insulating substrate at regular intervals, and the electrode elements are closely spaced on the surface on which the electrode elements are arranged. A pressure-sensitive conductive sheet is further provided with a conductive plate in close contact with the pressure-sensitive conductive sheet, and a different potential is applied to each of the parallel strip electrode elements, so that the potential of these electrode elements at the pressed area is sensitive to the pressure-sensitive conductive sheet. The electric potential is transmitted to the conductive plate via the piezoconductive sheet, and the suppressed position is detected by the wheel that detects the electric potential of the conductive plate, so the equipotential line distribution at each part within the position detection plane is completely accurate. This means that the position can be set parallel to and uniformly, and position detection can be performed with high accuracy. Furthermore, power consumption in the position detection section can be made extremely small compared to conventional devices. Furthermore, the device according to the invention has the advantage that the detection resolution can be set as desired by the arrangement of the parallel strip electrode elements.

Note that the pressure-sensitive conductive sheet is not limited to one made of applied conductive rubber, and various other materials can be used. Of course, various embodiments may be adopted without departing from the scope of the invention.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a row of position detection units used in a position detection device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the example shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a wave diagram used to explain the operation of the example shown in FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an application example of the position detection device according to the present invention, and FIGS. The figure is a plan view showing an example of the electrode plate according to the present invention different from that shown in FIG. 1, and FIGS. 3 and 9 are respectively the position detection unit shown in FIG. 10 is an enlarged sectional view of the example shown in FIG. 9. FIG. 10 is an enlarged sectional view of the example shown in FIG. In the figure, 1, 9, 40 are electrode plates, 2, 2', 2'', 7, 4
1 is an insulating substrate, 3-1 to 3-n, 8-1 to 8-n, 42
-1 to 42-n, 43-1-43-n are strip electrode elements 4
, 6, 44 are pressure-sensitive conductive sheets, 5, 5A, 5C, 45 are conductive plates, 11 is an A/D converter, 12 is a switching circuit,
13 is a control circuit, R1-Rn, R1'-Rn', r1-
rn, r1' to rn' are resistances.

Claims (1)

[Claims] An electrode plate having a plurality of mutually parallel strip electrode elements arranged on the plate surface of a continuous substrate, and one surface of the electrode plate arranged in close contact with the surface on which the strip electrode elements are arranged. a pressure-sensitive conductive sheet, a conductive plate disposed in contact with the other surface of the pressure-sensitive renga sheet, means for applying different potentials to each of the strip electrode elements, and the pressure-sensitive conductive sheet. Detects the potential of the conductive plate when it is pressed through the upper power distribution binding plate or the conductive plate, and outputs an output corresponding to the suppression position based on the detected potential. A position detection device comprising a means for generating a signal.