JP6784573B2 - Input device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an input device in an information presentation system.

A touch sensor can be used to use finger contact as an input operation in an information presentation system. Such touch sensors are used, for example, as switches for elevators, doors, desk lights, and the like. In addition, a touch pad that can detect the position touched by a finger enables pointing operation, and a touch panel that integrates a display and a touch sensor enables direct touch selection of the operation target. be able to. By arranging a plurality of such touch sensors, it is possible to select by touch position, detect gestures, and the like, and the types of information that can be input at one time increase, so that quick input becomes possible.

According to the prior art, a technique has been proposed in which a plurality of electrodes are installed and each of them is used as an individual touch sensor (see Patent Document 1). However, in this technology, each electrode is individually connected to the detection circuit, but in manufacturing a touch sensor, it is desirable that the number of connections is small. Further, a technique has been proposed in which the configuration of the detection circuit is simplified by sequentially switching the target electrodes to be monitored by using a switching device instead of constantly monitoring the touch of all the electrodes (Patent Documents). 2). Further, a technique has been proposed in which the total number of connections is reduced by using a matrix circuit that determines a target electrode to be monitored by a combination of vertical and horizontal connections (see Patent Document 3). Further, a technique has been proposed in which a plurality of electrodes are connected in series via a resistor and a short circuit between the ground electrode and the above electrode is detected by finger contact, which is effective in reducing the total number of connections (non-patented). Reference 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-66338 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-204028 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-164607

Karatas et al., “Printing Multi-key Touch Interfaces”, Proc. UbiComp'15, pp.169-179, 2015

Using multiple touch sensors is effective in increasing the types of information that can be input, but if each touch sensor is installed in an arbitrary location, the number of connections will increase and it will be easy. Difficult to make. For example, in a plurality of touch sensors called touch panels, touch pads, etc., which are arranged vertically and horizontally on a plane, a matrix circuit can be applied, but it is difficult to install individual electrodes at arbitrary locations. Further, although it is possible to reduce the number of connections between the switching machine and the detection circuit by using the switching machine, it is not easy to manufacture because individual connections are required between each electrode and the switching machine. .. Further, the method of connecting the electrodes in series via a resistor disclosed in Non-Patent Document 1 needs to be designed so that the finger short-circuits the two electrodes, although the number of connections can be reduced. There were restrictions on the electrode shape.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to improve the ease of manufacture of an input device using a plurality of electrodes while reducing restrictions on the installation position of the electrodes and restrictions on the electrode shape. To do.

The input device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an electric circuit composed of a plurality of electrodes connected in series via a capacitor or a resistor, and connected to both ends of the electric circuit, and any electrode and a finger. The present invention includes a detection circuit that detects the contact between the electrode and the finger based on the change in the capacitance of the electric circuit caused by the contact with the electrode.

In the above input device, the electric circuit is composed of a plurality of electrodes connected in series via a capacitor or a resistor, and the detection circuit is connected to both ends of the electric circuit, and one of the electrodes is in contact with a finger. Based on the change in the capacitance of the electric circuit caused by the above, the contact between the electrode and the finger is detected. Examples of the "detection regarding contact between the electrode and the finger" include detection of whether or not the finger has contacted the electrode and detection of which electrode the finger has contacted when the finger has contacted. Be done. In the input device as described above, there is no restriction on the electrode installation position, for example, the electrodes are vertically and horizontally aligned on a plane, and the restriction on the electrode installation position can be reduced. Further, regarding the electrode shape, for example, it is not necessary to design the finger to short-circuit the two electrodes, and the restrictions on the electrode shape can be reduced. In addition, since the detection circuit is connected to both ends of the electric circuit, each electrode and the detection circuit are connected by a single closed loop, and the number of connections is kept to the minimum necessary, for example, for each electrode. There is no need to provide individual connections, and the ease of manufacturing can be improved.

According to the present invention, in an input device using a plurality of electrodes, it is possible to improve the ease of manufacturing while reducing the restrictions on the installation position of the electrodes and the restrictions on the electrode shape.

It is a block diagram of the input device which concerns on embodiment of an invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the operation principle. It is a figure which shows the configuration example which arranged the ground electrode. It is a figure which shows the structural example in the case of mounting an electric circuit on a dielectric, (A) is a plan view, (B) is a sectional view along the line AA of (A). It is a figure which shows the configuration example when the multi-core cable which substitutes a capacitor is used. It is a figure which shows the configuration example in the case of using the connection with low conductivity instead of a resistor. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware configuration of the detection determination part.

Hereinafter, an input device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[Input device configuration example]
FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of an input device in which a plurality of electrodes are connected in series via a capacitor, and the plurality of electrodes operate as a plurality of touch sensors according to an operation principle described later. As shown in FIG. 1, the input device 1 includes an electric circuit 20 and detection circuits 10 connected to both ends of the electric circuit 20, and the electric circuit 20 is connected in series on a single closed loop 23. In addition, a plurality of electrodes 21A to 21E (collectively referred to as electrodes 21) and a plurality of capacitors 22A to 22D (collectively referred to as capacitors 22) are included, and capacitors 22 are connected in series between adjacent electrodes 21 in series connection. There is. Since the detection circuit 10 is connected to both ends of the electric circuit 20, each electrode 21 and the detection circuit 10 are connected by a single closed loop 23, and the number of connections is kept to the minimum necessary. The electrode 21 here means a configuration that integrally includes an electrode body shown by a quadrangle in FIG. 1 and a conducting wire connecting the electrode body and the closed loop 23.

Further, FIG. 2 shows a configuration example of the detection circuit 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the detection circuit 10 includes a pulse signal generator 11, a resistor 12, a detection determination unit 13, a capacitor 14, and a switch 15, of which the pulse signal generator 11 and the resistor are included. 12, the capacitor 14 and the switch 15 are connected in series. The switch 15 switches the contact between both ends of the electric circuit 20 and the detection circuit 10. The detection determination unit 13 is connected to a connection point between the resistor 12 and the capacitor 14, observes a signal at the connection point, performs detection and determination described later, and outputs the result to an external information processing device or the like. Such a detection determination unit 13 may be configured by an electric circuit element as hardware, or may be configured by, for example, a computer including a processor as shown in FIG. 7. A configuration example of FIG. 7 will be described later.

Here, the operating principle of the input device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The pulse signal generated by the pulse signal generator 11 shown in FIG. 2 is sent to the plurality of electrodes 21 via the resistor 12, the capacitor 14, and the switch 15. For convenience of explanation, the plurality of electrodes 21 are described as a total of n electrodes 1 to n.

At this time, since the parasitic capacitance generated between the resistor 12, the capacitor 14 and the electrode 21 and the ground forms a low-pass filter, the pulse signal output from the pulse signal generator 11 is formed at the connection point between the resistor 12 and the capacitor 14. The signal from which the high frequency component has been removed is observed by the detection determination unit 13. When the finger 30 touches any of the electrodes 21 (for example, the electrode 3 in FIG. 2), a capacitor having a large capacitance C2 is connected between the electrode 3 and the ground, and the cutoff frequency of the low-pass filter becomes low. .. As a result, it takes more time for the signal to rise / fall observed from the connection point between the resistor 12 and the capacitor 14.

Utilizing the above phenomenon, the detection determination unit 13 measures the time until the signal observed from the connection point between the resistor 12 and the capacitor 14 reaches a certain level, and the measured time and the finger 30 By comparing with the time measured when no electrode 21 is touched, whether or not a capacitor with a large capacitance C2 is connected and the capacitance changes, that is, whether the finger 30 is any It is detected whether or not the electrode 21 is touched. Such a method is also used in a general capacitance type touch sensor, and there is also a method utilizing the fact that the oscillation frequency changes due to a change in capacitance. In the present embodiment, any method may be used as long as it can detect a change in capacitance.

Further, in the configuration example of FIG. 2, the contact between both ends of the electric circuit 20 and the detection circuit 10 can be switched by the switch 15. With such a configuration, when the finger 30 touches any of the electrodes 21, the pulse signal is on the electrode 1 side of FIG. 2 (that is, the electrode closest to the terminal 15A of one of the electrodes connected in series). When the change in capacitance measured when input to is input to the electrode n (that is, the electrode closest to the other terminal 15B among the electrodes connected in series) side of FIG. 2 and the pulse signal is input. It becomes possible to detect a total of two changes, that is, the change in the measured capacitance.

Here, consider the case where the finger 30 is touching the electrode 1. The capacitance C of the capacitor between the adjacent electrodes in the series connection is set to a value sufficiently smaller than the capacitance C2 generated by the contact of the finger 30, so that the pulse signal is input to the electrode 1 side. However, the change in capacitance measured when the pulse signal is input to the electrode n side is the change in capacitance measured when the pulse signal is input to the electrode 1 side. It is relatively smaller than the change in capacitance of. This is because when the pulse signal is input to the electrode 1 side, a large capacitance C2 generated by the contact of the finger 30 is added without passing through the capacitor between the adjacent electrodes, so that when viewed from the detection circuit 10. On the other hand, when a pulse signal is input to the electrode n side while the finger 30 is touching the electrode 1, a plurality of electrodes connected in series are connected to each other. Since the large capacitance C2 generated by the contact of the finger 30 is added after passing through the capacitor, the change in the combined capacitance is the capacitance when the above-mentioned pulse signal is input to the electrode 1 side. This is because it is relatively smaller than the change in capacitance.

Next, considering the case where the finger 30 is touching the electrode n, the change in capacitance in the above two cases (that is, the change in capacitance when the pulse signal is input to the electrode 1 side and the pulse The change in capacitance when a signal is input to the electrode n side) is in the opposite state to that when the finger 30 is touching the electrode 1.

Further, considering the case where the finger 30 is touching an electrode intermediate between the electrode 1 and the electrode n (for example, the electrode 5 when n = 9), the changes in capacitance in the above two cases are almost equal. Become.

Based on the above phenomenon, the detection determination unit 13 may use, for example, as a specific numerical value representing the "change in capacitance" in the above two cases when the finger 30 touches each of the electrodes 1 to n. By measuring the "ratio of change in capacitance" in each of the two cases in advance and comparing the previously measured ratio with the actually measured ratio, which of the electrodes 1 to n It is possible to easily detect whether the finger 30 touches the electrode.

At this time, the detection accuracy can be improved by measuring the ratio of the change in capacitance a plurality of times. For example, the change in capacitance measured when the pulse signal is input to the electrode 1 side is x1, x2, x3, and the change in capacitance measured when the pulse signal is input to the electrode n side is x1, x2, x3. If is y1, y2, y3, the changes in capacitance measured by the detection circuit 10 are x1, y1, x2, y2, x3, y3 in chronological order. Of these, only the ratio of x1 and y1 can be obtained, and it is possible to detect which electrode the finger 30 is touching from only the ratio. However, the ratios of adjacent ones in chronological order (ie, the ratio of x1 and y1, the ratio of y1 and x2, the ratio of x2 and y2, the ratio of y2 and x3, and the ratio of x3 and y3. Even if the ratio) is obtained and it is detected which electrode the finger 30 is touching based on the obtained ratios (for example, using the average value, the median value, etc. obtained from the plurality of ratios). Good. In addition to the above, it is possible to detect which electrode the finger 30 is touching from each of a plurality of ratios (for example, the ratio of x1 and y1, the ratio of x2 and y2, and the ratio of x3 and y3). Then, when the detection results (identified electrodes) of the plurality of times all match, the detection result may be determined. In this way, by detecting the electrode touched by the finger 30 based on the results of a plurality of detections, the detection accuracy can be dramatically improved.

With the configurations of FIGS. 1 and 2 described above, it is easy and more accurate (with higher error tolerance) to determine whether or not the finger touches the electrode, and if so, which electrode the finger touches. Can be detected. Further, by detecting which electrode the finger touches based on the "ratio" of the change in capacitance, more accurate detection using a specific numerical value can be performed.

Although FIG. 2 shows an example in which the switch 15 is provided in the detection circuit 10, it is not essential to provide the switch 15. Here, it is assumed that the switch 15 is not provided and the pulse signal is input to the electrode 1 side of FIG. 2 (that is, the electrode closest to one terminal 15A among the electrodes connected in series). In this configuration, when the finger 30 touches the electrode 1, a large capacitance C2 generated by the contact of the finger 30 is added without passing through the capacitor between the adjacent electrodes. Therefore, when viewed from the detection circuit 10. , It is grasped that the capacitance has changed significantly. On the other hand, when the finger 30 touches the electrode n, a large capacitance C2 generated by the contact of the finger 30 is added after passing through a plurality of capacitors connected in series between adjacent electrodes, so that the composition is synthesized. The change in capacitance is relatively smaller than the change in capacitance when the finger 30 touches the electrode 1. Based on such a phenomenon, the detection determination unit 13 can detect which of the electrodes 1 to n the finger 30 touches, depending on the degree of change in capacitance. Specifically, the detection determination unit 13 measures in advance the change in capacitance when the finger 30 touches each of the electrodes 1 to n, and the previously measured "change in capacitance". By collating with the actually measured "change in capacitance", it is possible to detect which of the electrodes 1 to n the finger 30 touches.

Further, although FIG. 2 shows an example of measuring the change in capacitance in two cases, the change in capacitance in three or more cases may be measured, and in this case, the detection accuracy is further improved. Can be done. For example, when n = 20 in FIG. 2 (when 20 electrodes are provided), the pulse signal is input not only to the electrode 1 and the electrode 20 but also to the electrode 10 substantially intermediate between the electrode 1 and the electrode 20. A three-circuit changeover switch is installed in. In this case, the change in capacitance in the three cases can be measured, and by using the change in capacitance in these three cases, it is possible to more accurately detect which electrode the finger touches.

[Application example according to the embodiment of the invention]
Hereinafter, application examples according to the embodiment of the invention will be described in order.

(Application example 1)
The detection circuit 10 may detect the contact between the electrode and the finger based on the change in the plurality of capacitances at different frequencies when the frequency of the electric signal output to the electric circuit 20 is changed. .. For example, when two types of oscillation frequencies f1 and f2 are used, the ratios of changes in the two capacitances r1 and r2 in each case can be obtained, and the ratios of changes in a plurality of capacitances at different frequencies can be obtained. Therefore, it is possible to more accurately detect which electrode the finger touches.

(Application example 2)
In FIG. 2, an example of touching an electrode and identifying the touching electrode is shown based on a change in self-capacity, but the present invention shows not only a change in self-capacity but also a change in mutual capacitance. Based on this, it is also possible to touch the electrodes and identify the electrodes that are touching. The configuration diagram for that purpose is shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the input device 1, ground electrodes 24 are arranged in the vicinity of the plurality of electrodes 21, and the ground electrodes 24 are connected to the ground of the detection circuit 10. Further, the ground electrode 24 and the plurality of electrodes 21 are covered with an insulating material so as not to be directly touched by a finger. In such a configuration, each electrode 21 has a parasitic capacitance between the electrode 21 and the ground electrode 24. When a finger touches the electrode 21 through the insulating material covering the surface, a large capacitance is added between the electrode 21 and the ground electrode 24, and the capacitance when viewed from the detection circuit 10 Changes greatly. Therefore, using this phenomenon, based on the change in capacitance detected by the detection circuit 10, whether or not the finger is touching the electrode and touching it, as in the examples of FIGS. 1 and 2 described above. It is possible to detect which electrode is touching when it is. This method has an advantage that it can be detected more accurately (with higher error tolerance) without depending on the surrounding environment.

(Application example 3)
When a plurality of electrodes are mounted on one surface of a dielectric (paper, plastic sheet (film, etc.), etc.), the capacitors arranged between the electrodes can be easily mounted as follows. That is, in a series connection, conductors are arranged so that the positions on the other side of the dielectric corresponding to the positions of the adjacent electrodes are connected on the other side, and one of the adjacent electrodes and the dielectric are connected. One capacitor is formed between the conductors arranged so as to sandwich the dielectric, and another electrode is formed between the other electrode of the adjacent electrodes and the conductor arranged so as to sandwich the dielectric material. May be adopted.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4A, a plurality of electrodes 21A to 21E made of conductors are arranged on the front surface of the dielectric 25, and are shown by dotted lines in FIG. 4A on the back surface of the dielectric 25. Conductors 26A to 26D (collectively referred to as conductors 26) are arranged. 4 (B) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 4 (A), and as is clear from these FIGS. 4 (A) and 4 (B), the conductor 26A is an electrode adjacent to each other in a series connection. The positions on the back surface side corresponding to the positions of 21A and 21B are arranged so as to be connected on the back surface side. At this time, the electrode 21A forms one capacitor with the conductor 26A arranged across the dielectric 25, and the electrode 21B is different from the conductor 26A arranged across the dielectric 25. Form a capacitor. Such a configuration is the same for the conductors 26B to 26D. The electrode 21A is connected to the single closed loop 23 of FIG. 1 at the contact 27A, and the electrode 21E is connected to the single closed loop 23 at the contact 27B.

With such a configuration of FIGS. 4A and 4B, it is not necessary to newly prepare a capacitor as another electronic component, and the ease of manufacturing the input device can be further improved. Further, by arranging the conductor 26 corresponding to the wiring between the adjacent electrodes on the back surface of the dielectric 25, the wiring between the electrodes (conductor 26) can be hidden on the back surface, so that the degree of freedom in design is improved. There are also advantages. However, the components arranged on the front surface side and the back surface side of the dielectric 25 may be reversed, the conductor 26 may be arranged on the front surface side of the dielectric 25, and the electrode 21 may be arranged on the back surface side.

In FIGS. 1 to 3 described above, an example in which a single capacitor is inserted between adjacent electrodes in a series connection is shown, but in the examples of FIGS. 4A and 4B, two capacitors are inserted between adjacent electrodes. A capacitor is inserted, and the combined capacitance of the two capacitors may be considered as the capacitance of the capacitor in this case.

Further, the capacitance of the formed capacitor increases as the area where the conductor 26 and the electrode 21 overlap is wide, and the capacitance of the dielectric 25 is higher than that of the dielectric 25. The thinner the thickness, the larger the size. As a result, by appropriately adjusting one or more of the area where the conductor 26 and the electrode 21 overlap, the dielectric constant of the dielectric 25, and the thickness of the dielectric 25, a capacitor having an appropriate capacitance is used. Can be formed.

(Application example 4)
Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the capacitors arranged between the adjacent electrodes in the series connection are connected between one cable and another cable in each of the multi-core cables 28A to 28D (collectively referred to as the multi-core cables 28). It can be substituted by the capacitance. FIG. 5 shows an example in which a 2-core cable is used as the multi-core cable 28, but a cable having 3 or more cores may be used, and two cables to be used may be selected from the cables having 3 or more cores.

In this case, it is not necessary to newly prepare a capacitor as another electronic component, and the ease of manufacturing the input device can be further improved. Since the capacitance between adjacent electrodes varies depending on the characteristics and length of the cable used, the capacitance between adjacent electrodes can be adjusted appropriately by appropriately selecting the type and length of the cable used. Capacitance can be adjusted.

(Application example 5)
In the examples of FIGS. 1 to 5 described above, an example in which a capacitor is inserted between adjacent electrodes in a series connection is shown, but a resistor can be used instead of the capacitor. When a resistor is used, a configuration may be adopted in which adjacent electrodes are connected by a wire whose conductivity is lower than a predetermined value and acts as a resistor. In this case, the resistor arranged between the electrodes can be replaced by a connection having a low conductivity (conductivity is lower than a predetermined value), so that it is not necessary to newly prepare a resistor as another electronic component. The ease of manufacturing the input device can be further enhanced. As an example, as shown in FIG. 6, conductive inks 29A to 29D (collectively referred to as conductive ink 29) having a relatively high electrical resistance value (that is, a conductivity lower than a predetermined value) are formed between the electrodes 21. By connecting the wires, the same effect as when a resistor is inserted between the electrodes can be obtained. Since the electrical resistance value varies depending on the thickness and length of the connection, it is possible to insert a resistor having an appropriate electrical resistance value between adjacent electrodes by appropriately selecting these.

Finally, a configuration example in the case where the detection determination unit 13 of FIG. 2 is configured by a computer including a processor will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, the detection determination unit 13 may be physically configured as a computer device including a processor 13A, a memory 13B, a storage 13C, an input unit 13D, an output unit 13E, a bus 13F, and the like.

The word "device" can be read as a circuit, device, unit, or the like. The hardware configuration of the detection determination unit 13 may be configured to include one or a plurality of each configuration unit shown in FIG. 7, or may be configured not to include a part of the configuration components.

For each function in the detection determination unit 13, by loading predetermined software (program) on hardware such as the processor 13A and the memory 13B, the processor 13A performs an operation, and the data in the memory 13B and the storage 13C is read and / or Or it is realized by controlling the writing.

The processor 13A operates, for example, an operating system to control the entire computer. The processor 13A may be composed of a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with a peripheral device, a control device, an arithmetic unit, a register, and the like. Processor 13A may be mounted on one or more chips.

The memory 13B is a computer-readable recording medium, and is composed of at least one such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), an EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), an EPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), and a RAM (Random Access Memory). May be done. The memory 13B may be called a register, a cache, a main memory (main storage device), or the like. The memory 13B can store a program (program code), a software module, or the like capable of executing the process according to the embodiment of the invention.

The storage 13C is a computer-readable recording medium, and is, for example, an optical disk such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, or a magneto-optical disk (for example, a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, or a Blu-ray). It may consist of at least one (registered trademark) disk), smart card, flash memory (eg, card, stick, key drive), floppy (registered trademark) disk, magnetic strip, and the like. The storage 13C may be referred to as an auxiliary storage device. The storage medium described above may be, for example, a database, server or other suitable medium containing the memory 13B and / or the storage 13C.

The input unit 13D is an input device that receives signals, information, etc. from the outside, and the output unit 13E is an output device that outputs signals, information, etc. to the outside. Further, each device such as the processor 13A and the memory 13B is connected by the bus 13F for communicating information. The bus 13F may be composed of a single bus, or may be composed of different buses between the devices.

Further, the detection determination unit 13 includes hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP: Digital Signal Processor), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), and an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). It may be configured by, and a part or all of each functional block may be realized by the hardware. For example, processor 13A may be implemented on at least one of these hardware.

Although the present embodiment has been described in detail above, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the present embodiment is not limited to the embodiment described in the present specification. This embodiment can be implemented as a modified or modified mode without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention determined by the description of the claims. Therefore, the description of the present specification is for the purpose of exemplification and does not have any restrictive meaning to the present embodiment.

The order of the processing procedures, sequences, flowcharts, etc. of each aspect / embodiment described in the present specification may be changed as long as there is no contradiction. For example, the methods described herein present elements of various steps in an exemplary order, and are not limited to the particular order presented.

The input / output information and the like may be stored in a specific location (for example, a memory), or may be managed by a management table. Input / output information and the like can be overwritten, updated, or added. The output information and the like may be deleted. The input information or the like may be transmitted to another device.

The determination may be made by a value represented by 1 bit (0 or 1), by a boolean value (Boolean: true or false), or by comparing numerical values (for example, a predetermined value). It may be done by comparison with the value).

Each aspect / embodiment described in the present specification may be used alone, in combination, or may be switched and used according to the execution. Further, the notification of predetermined information (for example, the notification of "being X") is not limited to the explicit one, but is performed implicitly (for example, the notification of the predetermined information is not performed). May be good.

The information, signals, etc. described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description may be voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or photons, or any of these. It may be represented by a combination of.

In addition, the terms described in the present specification and / or the terms necessary for understanding the present specification may be replaced with terms having the same or similar meanings.

As used herein, the terms "determining" and "determining" may include a wide variety of actions. "Judgment", "decision" is, for example, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (eg, table, database or another). It can include searching in the data structure), and considering that confirming is "judgment" and "decision". Also, "judgment" and "decision" are receiving (for example, receiving information), transmitting (for example, transmitting information), input (input), output (output), and access. (Accessing) (for example, accessing data in memory) may be regarded as "judgment" or "decision". In addition, "judgment" and "decision" mean that "resolving", "selecting", "choosing", "establishing", "comparing", etc. are regarded as "judgment" and "decision". Can include. That is, "judgment" and "decision" may include that some action is regarded as "judgment" and "decision".

The phrase "based on" as used herein does not mean "based on" unless otherwise stated. In other words, the statement "based on" means both "based only" and "at least based on".

As long as "include", "including", and variations thereof are used within the scope of the present specification or claims, these terms are similar to the term "comprising". Is intended to be inclusive. Furthermore, the term "or" as used herein or in the claims is intended not to be an exclusive OR.

In the present specification, a plurality of devices shall be included unless the device has only one device apparently in the context or technically.

1 ... Input device, 10 ... Detection circuit, 11 ... Pulse signal generator, 12 ... Resistance, 13 ... Detection judgment unit, 13A ... Processor, 13B ... Memory, 13C ... Storage, 13D ... Input unit, 13E ... Output unit, 13F ... Bus, 14 ... Capacitor, 15 ... Switch, 15A, 15B ... Terminal, 20 ... Electric circuit, 21 ... Electrode, 22 ... Capacitor, 23 ... Closed loop, 24 ... Ground electrode, 25 ... Dielectric, 26 ... Conductor, 27A, 27B ... contacts, 28 ... multi-core cables, 29 ... conductive ink, 30 ... fingers.

Claims (7)

An electric circuit composed of a plurality of electrodes connected in series via a capacitor or a resistor.
A detection circuit connected to both ends of the electric circuit and detecting the contact between the electrode and the finger based on the change in the capacitance of the electric circuit caused by the contact between one of the electrodes and the finger.
With
The detection circuit
A switch that switches the connection state between both ends of the electric circuit and the detection circuit,
Including
The detection circuit detects contact between an electrode and a finger based on a change in a plurality of capacitances when an electric signal is output to the electric circuit in a plurality of connected states switched by the switch. Detects whether or not it touched an electrode, and if so, which electrode it touched.
Input device. The detection circuit detects which electrode the finger touches based on the rate of change of the plurality of capacitances.
The input device according to claim 1 . The detection circuit detects the contact between the electrode and the finger based on the change of a plurality of capacitances at different frequencies when the frequency of the electric signal output to the electric circuit is changed.
The input device according to claim 1 or 2 . The input device is
A ground electrode arranged in the vicinity of the plurality of electrodes and connected to the ground of the detection circuit,
With more
The ground electrode and the plurality of electrodes are covered with an insulating material.
The input device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 . The plurality of electrodes are arranged on one surface of the dielectric and
A conductor is arranged so as to connect the position on the other side of the dielectric corresponding to the position of the adjacent electrodes in the series connection on the other side.
A capacitor is formed between one of the adjacent electrodes and a conductor arranged across the dielectric.
Another capacitor is formed between the other electrode of the adjacent electrodes and the conductor arranged across the dielectric.
The input device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the input device is characterized by the above. In series connection, adjacent electrodes are connected by a multi-core cable,
One electrode in the adjacent electrode and one cable constituting the multi-core cable are connected to each other.
The other electrode and another cable constituting the multi-core cable are connected.
The input device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the input device is characterized by the above. In series connection, adjacent electrodes are connected by a connection whose conductivity is lower than a predetermined value.
The input device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the input device is characterized by the above.

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