JPH0876910A - Sensor for detecting coordinates of contact - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To grasp an accurate shape by mutually superposing a Y axis direction conductive mesh and an X axis direction conductive mesh through a sheet capable of holding insulation at the time of non-depression and connecting one-end parts of respective conductors to an external circuit. CONSTITUTION: The Y axis direction conductive mesh 3 and the X axis direction conductive mesh 4 are meshes woven by using either one of conductive strings 1, 2 as vertical strings and the other as lateral strings. It is preferable to superpose the mesh 3 to the mesh 4 so that respective conductive strings mutually cross at right angles. The one-end parts of respective conductive strings in the meshes 3, 4 are connected to an external electric signal control circuit. A sheet 5 capable of holding insulation at the time of non-depression is formed between both meshes 3, 4 to mutually separate both meshes 3, 4, so that insulation between the meshes 3, 4 can be held except that the meshes 3, 4 are depressed. A pressure sensitive conductive rubber sheet, an insulating mesh sheet, etc., can be used as the sheet 5.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a contact coordinate detection sensor used for detecting a contact point contacted by pressing as a coordinate, and further for grasping the shape of a pressed object from the contact point detected as a coordinate. is there.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as one of the sensors for detecting contact coordinates, a conductive wire in the Y-axis direction and a conductive wire in the X-axis direction are superposed via a spacer, and one end of each conductive wire is an external electric signal. There was a configuration connected to the control circuit. A resin film was used as a support for the conductive wire. That is, two pieces of resin film on which conductive wires are printed and formed at regular intervals are prepared, and the printed surfaces of the conductive wires face each other.
The conductive wires formed on the respective resin films were arranged so as to be orthogonal to each other, and were superposed through a spacer (see FIG. 3). To detect the contact coordinates, the Y-axis conductive line and the X-axis conductive line are brought into contact by pressing from the non-printing surface side of the resin film, and the closed circuit generated by the contact is electrically connected. The scanning was performed in the signal control circuit, and the contacts were read as coordinates.

[0003]

The above-mentioned contact coordinate detecting sensor has been frequently used as an input means of a computer, but the inventor of the present invention detects this contact coordinate to grasp the shape of a pressed object. I tried to use the sensor for the. That is, a plurality of contact points are detected as coordinates and image processing is performed by using a computer to connect the set of contact points to grasp the shape.

Conventionally, when it is used as an input means of a computer, the contact coordinate detecting sensor is pressed from the non-printing surface side of the resin film with a pointed object such as an input pen or a fingertip. Input was made by. In inputting with a simple-shaped pressed object such as an input pen or fingertip, erroneous input hardly occurred.
However, when the contact coordinate detection sensor is used to grasp the shape of the pressed object, a pressed object having a complicated shape may be used. For example, in order to grasp the meshing of the upper and lower teeth of a human (hereinafter referred to as the tooth row shape), a contact coordinate detection sensor may be input by gripping the upper and lower teeth. But,
In the conventional contact point coordinate detection sensor, since the resin film is used as the support of the conductive wire, erroneous input frequently occurs in the input by the pressing object having such a complicated shape,
I could not grasp the exact shape. The possible causes are as follows. That is, in the case of a planar object such as a resin film, when three or more points apart from each other are pressed, a planar distortion that connects the multiple points is generated. The distortion propagates to a portion other than the pressing portion and causes an erroneous input.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks and to provide a contact coordinate detecting sensor capable of accurately grasping a shape without causing an erroneous input even when an input is made by a pressing object having a complicated shape. There is.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the contact coordinate detecting sensor of the present invention has a longitudinal yarn made of a conductive yarn and a transverse yarn made of an insulating yarn. The Y-axis direction conductive mesh and the X-axis direction conductive mesh in which the lengthwise threads are made of insulating threads and the horizontal threads are made of conductive threads are superposed via the insulating holding sheet when not pressed, One end of each conductive thread is connected to an external electric signal control circuit.

A pressure-sensitive conductive rubber sheet may be used as the non-pressing insulating holding sheet.

Further, a Y-axis direction conductive mesh in which the longitudinal yarn is a conductive yarn and the lateral yarn is an insulating yarn, and the longitudinal yarn is an insulating yarn and the lateral yarn is a conductive yarn. And the X-axis direction conductive mesh consisting of
The Y-axis direction conductive mesh and / or the X-axis direction conductive mesh are either partially or partially coated with an insulating coating, and one end of each conductive thread is connected to an external electric signal control circuit. It may be configured as described above.

The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a contact coordinate detection sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which each component is separated. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the contact coordinate detecting sensor according to another embodiment of the present invention, in which each component is separated. 1 is a conductive thread, 2 is an insulating thread,
3 is a Y-axis direction conductive mesh, 4 is an X-axis direction conductive mesh, 5 is a non-pressing insulating holding sheet, and 6 is an insulating coat.

The conductive thread 1 is made of metal such as stainless steel, copper and brass, or fiber such as polyester and gold,
A thread made of a conductive material plated with a flexible metal such as silver is used. The thickness of the conductive thread 1 may be selected depending on the type of the pressed object and the use of the contact coordinate detection sensor. Generally, when it is necessary to obtain a high degree of accuracy for grasping the shape, such as a tooth row shape, it is preferable to use a wire diameter of 20 to 30 μm and a mesh number of 500 to 300 mesh. Also, even when the purpose is to grasp the shape,
If accuracy is not required, a thicker one can be used. Furthermore, even in the case of the conventional purpose of only detecting the contact coordinates, the wire diameter is 20 to 200μ depending on the required accuracy.
m, the number of meshes can be selected from 500 to 50 mesh. When the wire is used for detecting whether it is simply on or off, a wire having a wire diameter larger than 200 μm and a coarse mesh may be used.

As the insulating thread 2, it is preferable to use a plastic single fiber such as polyester, nylon or acrylic. The thickness of the insulating thread 2 is the same as that of the conductive thread 1,
The wire diameter may be selected depending on the type of the pressed object and the application of the contact point coordinate detection sensor, but it is preferable to select a wire having a wire diameter substantially equal to that of the conductive thread 2 in view of the stability of the mesh.

The Y-axis direction conductive mesh 3 and the X-axis direction conductive mesh 4 are meshes in which the conductive yarn 1 and the insulating yarn 2 are used, and one of them is woven as a warp yarn and the other is a weft yarn. The distinction between the Y-axis direction conductive mesh 3 and the X-axis direction conductive mesh 4 is that when the two meshes are superposed, the yarn whose longitudinal direction is a conductive yarn is the Y-axis direction conductive mesh 3 and the lateral direction. The X-axis direction conductive mesh 4 is made of a conductive thread. Y-axis direction conductive mesh 3 and X
It is preferable that the axial conductive meshes 4 are stacked so that the conductive yarns of the axial conductive meshes 4 are orthogonal to each other. This is because the contact coordinates can be detected easily and with high accuracy. Y-axis direction conductive mesh 3
One end of each conductive yarn of the X-axis direction conductive mesh 4 is connected to an external electric signal control circuit.

The non-pressing insulating holding sheet 5 is formed between the Y-axis direction conductive mesh 3 and the X-axis direction conductive mesh 4 and separates them from each other, and insulates between the two meshes except when pressed. It is for keeping. As the non-pressing insulating holding sheet 5, a pressure sensitive conductive rubber sheet, an insulating mesh sheet, or the like can be considered. The pressure-sensitive conductive rubber sheet has an insulating function except when pressed, and also exerts a conductive function only in the pressing direction when pressed. Examples of such a pressure-sensitive conductive rubber sheet include PCR (trade name) manufactured by Bridgestone Corporation. The insulating mesh sheet is a mesh sheet in which longitudinal and transverse threads are knitted with a plastic single fiber such as polyester, nylon, or acrylic. The insulating mesh sheet has an insulating function because it separates the Y-axis direction conductive mesh 3 and the X-axis direction conductive mesh 4 except during pressing, and also has a Y-axis direction from between the meshes of the insulating mesh sheet when pressing. Since the conductive thread of the directional conductive mesh 3 and the conductive thread of the X-axis directional conductive mesh 4 can come into contact with each other, the conductive function is exhibited.

In order to maintain insulation between the Y-axis direction conductive mesh 3 and the X-axis direction conductive mesh 4 without using the insulating holding sheet 5 when not pressed, the Y-axis direction conductive mesh 3 and the X-axis direction mesh are kept. It is also possible to adopt a structure in which the insulating coat 6 is partially applied to both or one of the conductive threads of the conductive mesh 4 (see FIG. 2). As the insulation coat 6,
Insulating materials such as rubber and plastics may be used as the coating agent. According to this structure, the portion having the insulating coat 6 is in contact with the conductive yarn except when pressed, and thus has an insulating function, and the mesh is slightly displaced by the pressing when the conductive yarn is pressed. Insulation coat 6
The parts that have not been subjected to contact with each other exhibit a conductive function.

It is most preferable to use a pressure-sensitive conductive rubber sheet in order to reduce the uninputtable portion as much as possible.

[0016]

Since the above-mentioned Y-axis direction conductive mesh and X-axis direction conductive mesh are used in place of the conventional resin film sheet on which conductive wires are printed and formed at regular intervals,
When three or more distant multi-points are pressed, some distortion occurs in the line connecting the multi-points, but no planar distortion occurs. Therefore, the distortion of the resin film of the pressing portion hardly propagates to the portion other than the pressing portion to cause an erroneous input.

There are various methods for detecting the contact point contacted by pressing as coordinates, but for example, the following method is possible. Y
The conductive threads of the axial conductive mesh are provisionally numbered from one end to correspond to the X coordinate. In addition, the conductive threads of the conductive mesh in the X-axis direction are similarly numbered to correspond to the Y coordinate. Information from one of the Y-axis direction conductive mesh and the X-axis direction conductive mesh conductive thread is brought into contact by pressing the Y-axis direction conductive mesh conductive thread and the X-axis direction conductive mesh conductive thread. Thus, the closed circuit generated by the contact is scanned in the electric signal control circuit, and the contact is read as coordinates.

In order to use this contact point coordinate detection sensor for grasping the shape of the pressed object, a plurality of contact points are detected as coordinates and image processing is performed using a computer,
The set of contact points is connected to grasp the shape.

The sensor for detecting the contact point coordinates of the present invention is used for detecting the contact point coordinates, grasping the shape of the pressed object, and simply turning on / off.
It can also be used to detect whether it is off.

[0020]

Example A stainless thread having a wire diameter of 25 μm and a polyester thread having a wire diameter of 25 μm were used and woven so as to be orthogonal to each other at 500 stitches / inch (so-called 500 mesh). This is punched into 50 mm square to obtain two meshes. One is arranged so that the conductive yarn is positioned in the longitudinal direction and the other is arranged so that the conductive yarn is positioned in the lateral direction. Between 0.5mm
A thick pressure-sensitive conductive rubber sheet PCR (manufactured by Bridgestone Corporation) was sandwiched and laminated.

In order to grasp the tooth row shape by using this contact point coordinate detection sensor, the contact point coordinate detection sensor is bitten by the upper and lower teeth, and the contact point that is contacted by the pressing when biting is detected as the coordinates. By performing image processing on a plurality of contact points detected as coordinates using a computer, the shape of the dentition could be grasped almost accurately.

Comparative Example Using a polyethylene terephthalate resin film having a thickness of 25 μm laminated with a copper foil having a thickness of 9 μm, two conductive wires each having a thickness of 25 μm were formed at intervals of 25 μm by a photosensitive process. The surfaces on which the lines were formed were opposed to each other, and the conductive lines formed on the respective resin films were arranged so as to be orthogonal to each other, and they were superposed with a spacer interposed therebetween (see FIG. 3).

In order to grasp the shape of the tooth row by using this contact point coordinate detection sensor, the contact point coordinate detection sensor is bitten by the upper and lower teeth, and the contact point that is contacted by the pressing when biting is detected as the coordinates. Image processing of a plurality of contact points detected as coordinates was performed using a computer, but the tooth row shape could not be accurately grasped. In particular, regarding the contour shape of the tooth, a portion corresponding to the concave portion of the tooth also appeared as an image. It can be judged that this is the result of the distortion of the resin film caused by the multi-point pressing being propagated inside the multi-point pressing part and the part corresponding to the tooth recess being pressed.

[0024]

Since the contact coordinate detecting sensor of the present invention has the above-described structure and operation, it is possible to accurately grasp the shape without causing an erroneous input even when an input is made by a pressing object having a complicated shape. became.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a contact coordinate detection sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention with its constituent parts separated.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the contact coordinate detecting sensor according to another embodiment of the present invention with its constituent parts separated.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view in which each component of a conventional contact point coordinate detection sensor is separated.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Conductive thread 2 Insulating thread 3 Y-axis direction conductive mesh 4 X-axis direction conductive mesh 5 Insulation holding sheet when not pressed 6 Insulation coat

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A Y-axis direction conductive mesh in which the longitudinal yarn is a conductive yarn and the lateral yarn is an insulating yarn, and the longitudinal yarn is an insulating yarn and the lateral yarn is a conductive yarn. X-axis direction conductive mesh consisting of is superposed through an insulating holding sheet when not pressed, and one end of each conductive thread is connected to an external electric signal control circuit. Coordinate detection sensor. 2. The contact coordinate detecting sensor according to claim 1, wherein a pressure-sensitive conductive rubber sheet is used as the non-pressing insulating holding sheet. 3. A Y-axis direction conductive mesh in which the longitudinal yarn is a conductive yarn and the transverse yarn is an insulating yarn, and the longitudinal yarn is an insulating yarn and the transverse yarn is a conductive yarn. And the X-axis direction conductive mesh, which is made of, are superposed on each other, and either or both of the Y-axis direction conductive mesh and the X-axis direction conductive mesh are partially coated with an insulating coat. A contact coordinate detection sensor, wherein one end of the conductive thread is connected to an external electric signal control circuit.