Tactile presentation device, tactile presentation touch panel, and tactile presentation touch display

Abstract

A tactile presentation device for presenting tactile sensation to a user comprises: a touch detection circuit for detecting when a user touches a tactile presentation button and outputting position information of the tactile presentation button; a press detection circuit for detecting the amount of pressure applied to an operating surface by the tactile presentation button; a tactile control circuit for determining a voltage signal for generating a frictional force between the tactile presentation button and the operating surface; and a press amount calculation circuit for calculating the press amount based on the push amount detected by the press detection circuit and adding the calculation to the press information, wherein the tactile presentation device generates a tactile sensation caused by a change in the frictional force between the tactile presentation button and the operating surface using the voltage signal determined by the tactile control circuit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to techniques for presenting tactile sensations to a user via a tactile presentation knob. Background Art

[0002] Touch panels are widely known as devices that detect and output the position indicated by a user's finger or pen or other indicator on a touch screen (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the "touch position"). As a touch panel using a capacitive method, there is a projected capacitive touch panel (PCAP: Projected Capacitive Touch Panel). Even if the surface of the touch screen on the user's side (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the "surface side") is covered by a protective plate such as a glass plate with a thickness of about several mm, PCAP can detect the touch position. In addition, PCAP has the following advantages: excellent durability because a protective plate can be arranged on the surface side, and long life because there is no movable part.

[0003] The touch screen of the PCAP includes: a row-direction wiring layer for detection, which detects the coordinates of the touch position in the row direction; and a column-direction wiring layer for detection, which detects the coordinates of the touch position in the column direction. In the following description, the row-direction wiring layer for detection and the column-direction wiring layer for detection are sometimes collectively referred to as "detection wiring layer".

[0004] In addition, a component provided with a detection wiring layer is called a “touch screen”, and a device in which a detection circuit is connected to a touch screen is called a “touch panel.” Furthermore, an area in a touch screen where a touch position can be detected is called a “detectable area.”

[0005] As a detection wiring layer for detecting electrostatic capacitance (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "capacitance"), a first series of conductor elements formed on a thin dielectric film and a second series of conductor elements formed on the first series of conductor elements via an insulating film are provided. There is no electrical contact between the conductor elements, and although one of the first series of conductor elements and the second series of conductor elements overlaps with the other when viewed from above when viewed from the normal direction of the surface side, there is no electrical contact between the two and they are three-dimensionally crossed.

[0006] The coordinates of the touch position of the indicator are determined by detecting the capacitance formed between the indicator and the conductor element as the detection wiring (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "touch capacitance") by the detection circuit. In addition, the touch positions between the conductor elements can be interpolated by the relative values ​​of the detection capacitances of one or more conductor elements.

[0007] In recent years, touch panels, which are operating panels including switches, have gradually replaced mechanical switches and are used in many devices around us. However, since touch panels do not have bumps and depressions like mechanical switches and feel the same, the surface shape will not be deformed by operation. Therefore, the entire operation process from confirming the position of the switch to executing and completing the operation must rely on vision. When operating in parallel with other operations such as operating the audio system during driving, there are technical issues such as the reliability of blind operation and operability for visually impaired people.

[0008] For example, in vehicle-mounted equipment, from the perspective of design, touch panels have been gradually widely used, so it is difficult to operate vehicle-mounted equipment by blind touch during driving. From the perspective of ensuring safety, attention to touch panels with functions that can be operated by blind touch is increasing. In addition, in civilian equipment, touch panels have been mostly used as operating panels in home appliances and electronic devices. Furthermore, from the perspective of design, the number of devices equipped with PCAPs with a cover glass protecting the surface is also increasing. However, since the surface of the touch panel is smooth, there is a technical problem that the position of the switch cannot be confirmed by hand and it is difficult to support general design. In the case of PCAP, the glass surface is required to be smooth for design, and it is difficult to support general designs such as processing convex and concave surfaces on the glass surface corresponding to the switch position.

[0009] As a countermeasure, there is a method of notifying the user of the receipt and completion of an operation by voice. However, due to privacy and noise issues, the environment in which the voice function can be used is limited, and the function and versatility equivalent to mechanical switches have not yet been achieved. If the touch panel has the function of displaying the position of the switch and the function of providing feedback to the user through tactile sensation on the receipt and completion of the operation, it will be possible to achieve blind touch operation and support universal design.

[0010] In order to improve the reliability of operation and operability independent of vision, cellular phones and smartphones are sometimes equipped with a tactile feedback function based on vibration. It is expected that feedback functions based on vibration linked to user operations will quickly become common, and the demand for more advanced tactile feedback will also increase.

[0011] There are three ways to generate tactile sensation: vibration, ultrasonic, and electrical. The vibration method is characterized by its ability to coexist with PCAP and its low cost, but it is not suitable for embedding the vibrator into the frame to allow the entire device to vibrate fully, and the area cannot be increased due to the output limit of the vibrator. The ultrasonic method can produce tactile sensations that cannot be generated by other methods, such as slippery feeling, but for the same reasons as the vibration method, it is not suitable for embedding into the frame, and it also has the disadvantage of being unable to increase the area. As electrical methods, there are electrostatic friction methods that use electrostatic friction to generate tactile sensations and electrical stimulation methods that directly apply electrical stimulation to the fingers. These can generate tactile sensations at any part, can achieve area increase, and support multi-point touch.

[0012] This method is described below. In addition, the component in which the tactile electrodes are arranged on the transparent insulating substrate is referred to as a "tactile presentation screen", and the device in which the detection circuit is connected to the tactile presentation screen is referred to as a "tactile presentation panel". In addition, the area in the tactile presentation screen that can present tactile sensation is referred to as a "tactile presentation area".

[0013] Regarding a tactile output device for a rotation knob, for example, in patent document 1, the tactile output device has an electrode, a dielectric material arranged on the electrode, and a controller that inputs a signal to the electrode. The dielectric material has micro-patterned concave and convex surfaces on the surface touched by the user. When the controller inputs a signal to the electrode, the convex portion of the micro-patterned dielectric material is charged, generating an electrostatic force between the rotary knob and the tactile sense, which can give the user a sense of touch.

[0014] Prior art literature

[0015] Patent Literature

[0016] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-168104 Summary of the invention

[0017] Technical issues to be solved by the invention

[0018] According to Patent Document 1, the amount of pressure applied to the rotary knob by the user during rotational operation varies depending on the angle of the arm and wrist when operating the rotary knob due to the user's physique and posture during operation, and a stable tactile sensation may not be obtained.

[0019] The present disclosure is made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a tactile presentation panel that can present a tactile sense with constant clarity and tactile strength without being affected by differences in the angles of the arm and wrist during operation.

[0020] Technical solutions for solving technical problems

[0021] The tactile presentation device disclosed in the present invention is a tactile presentation device that places a tactile presentation button on an operation surface and presents tactile sensation to a user via the tactile presentation button, and comprises: a touch detection circuit that detects that the user touches the tactile presentation button, detects the position of the tactile presentation button on the tactile presentation device and outputs it as position information; a press detection circuit that detects the amount of pressure that the user presses on the operation surface via the tactile presentation button and outputs it as press information; and a tactile control circuit that determines to generate a tactile control based on the position information output from the touch detection circuit and the press information output from the press detection circuit. a voltage signal of the frictional force between the tactile presentation button and the operating surface; and a pressing amount calculation circuit, which calculates the pressing amount based on the pushing amount detected by the pressing detection circuit and adds it to the pressing information, wherein the tactile presentation device generates a tactile sensation caused by a change in the frictional force between the tactile presentation button and the operating surface using the voltage signal determined by the tactile control circuit, and the pressing detection circuit detects the pushing amount of the operating surface pushed by the tactile presentation button in a manner that makes the frictional force between the tactile presentation button and the operating surface generated according to the voltage signal become constant.

[0022] Effects of the Invention

[0023] According to the tactile presentation panel disclosed in the present invention, a tactile presentation panel with constant clarity and tactile strength can be obtained without being affected by the difference in the angle of the arm and wrist during operation by the user. In addition, a tactile presentation touch panel and a tactile presentation touch display having the tactile presentation panel can be obtained. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 This is an exploded perspective view schematically showing the structure of the tactile sense presenting touch display according to the first embodiment.

[0025] Figure 2 For schematic illustration Figure 1 A cross-sectional view of the structure of a tactile display is presented.

[0026] Figure 3 To illustrate the Figure 2 A schematic diagram of an electrostatic capacitor formed between a tactile electrode and a tactile presentation button of a tactile presentation panel.

[0027] Figure 4 To illustrate the Figure 2 A three-dimensional diagram of an electrostatic capacitor formed between a tactile electrode and a tactile presentation button of a tactile presentation panel.

[0028] Figure 5 To show the application Figure 2A graph showing an example of a voltage signal of a first frequency of a first electrode.

[0029] Figure 6 To show the application Figure 2 A graph showing an example of a voltage signal of a second frequency of a second electrode.

[0030] Figure 7 To show that Figure 5 and Figure 6 A graph of the amplitude modulated signal generated by combining various voltage signals.

[0031] Figure 8 To show Figure 2 A top view of an example of a touch screen.

[0032] Fig. 9 For along Figure 8 Partial cross-sectional view along line A1-A1 and line A2-A2.

[0033] Fig.10 To show Figure 2 A top view of an example of a touch screen.

[0034] Fig.11 For along Fig.10 Partial cross-sectional view along line B1-B1 and line B2-B2.

[0035] Fig.12 This is a plan view schematically showing the structure of a touch panel having a segment structure according to the first embodiment.

[0036] Fig.13 This is a plan view schematically showing an example of the shapes of the detection electrodes and the excitation electrodes of the touch panel having a segment structure according to the first embodiment.

[0037] Fig.14 This is a plan view schematically showing an example of the shapes of the detection electrodes and the excitation electrodes of the touch panel having a segment structure according to the first embodiment.

[0038] Fig.15 For schematic illustration Figure 2 A top view of the structure of a tactile presentation screen.

[0039] Fig.16 To illustrate the Figure 2 A schematic diagram of an electrostatic capacitance formed between a tactile electrode of a tactile presentation panel and an indicator.

[0040] Fig.17 This is a plan view schematically showing the structure of the segment-structured tactile presentation panel according to the first embodiment.

[0041] Fig.18This is a plan view schematically showing an example of the shape of the tactile electrodes of the tactile presentation panel having a segment structure according to the first embodiment.

[0042] Fig.19 This is a plan view schematically showing an example of the shape of the tactile electrodes of the tactile presentation panel having a segment structure according to the first embodiment.

[0043] Fig. 20 To illustrate the Figure 2 A schematic diagram of electrostatic capacitance formed between tactile electrodes and tactile presentation buttons when a tactile presentation panel has a tactile electrode spacing greater than a diameter of the tactile presentation button.

[0044] Fig.21 To illustrate the Figure 2 A schematic diagram of electrostatic capacitance formed between tactile electrodes and tactile presentation buttons when a tactile presentation panel has a tactile electrode pitch smaller than a diameter of the tactile presentation button.

[0045] Fig. 22 1 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the rotating portion of the tactile sense presentation button according to the first embodiment.

[0046] Fig.23 This is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a fixing portion when the position for placing the tactile sense presentation button according to Embodiment 1 is fixed to one location.

[0047] Fig.24 This is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the rotating shaft structure when the position of the tactile sense presentation button according to the first embodiment is moved.

[0048] Fig.25 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining the capacitance distribution of line CC when the touch panel according to Embodiment 1 detects the position of the tactile sense presentation button.

[0049] Fig.26 This is a diagram for explaining calculation of the rotation amount when there are a plurality of position detection units according to the first embodiment.

[0050] Fig. 27 Schematic diagram showing the position of the edge portion of the conductive elastic portion according to the first embodiment.

[0051] Fig.28 For schematic illustration Figure 1 A block diagram of the structure of a tactile presentation touch panel.

[0052] Fig.29 To illustrate the Figure 1 Schematic diagram of electrostatic capacitance formed in a tactile presentation touch panel when a pointer is not in contact with a tactile presentation button in the tactile presentation touch panel.

[0053] Fig.30To schematically show that the indicator is not in contact with the tactile presentation button Figure 1 A timing diagram of the tactile presentation touch panel's operating timing.

[0054] Fig.31 To illustrate the Figure 1 Schematic diagram of electrostatic capacitance formed in a tactile presentation touch panel when a pointer contacts a tactile presentation button in the tactile presentation touch panel.

[0055] Fig.32 To schematically show the contact between the indicator and the tactile presentation button Figure 1 A timing diagram of the tactile presentation touch panel's operating timing.

[0056] Fig.33 For illustration Figure 1 A schematic diagram of electrostatic capacitance formed in a tactile presentation touch panel when the tactile presentation touch panel detects a touch position.

[0057] Fig.34 For illustration Figure 1 A schematic diagram of electrostatic capacitance formed in a tactile presentation touch panel when the tactile presentation touch panel generates tactile sensation.

[0058] Fig.35 This is an image diagram schematically showing the movement of electric charge accumulated in the conductive elastic portion when the tactile sense presentation button is connected to the ground via the indicator when the signal voltage is applied according to the first embodiment.

[0059] Fig.36 This is a block diagram schematically showing the structure of the tactile sense presenting touch panel when a part of the tactile sense electrodes that the tactile sense presenting buttons contact when the signal voltage is applied according to the first embodiment are grounded via the dielectric layer.

[0060] Fig.37 This is a block diagram schematically showing the relationship among the display panel, the touch panel, and the tactile sense presentation panel according to the first embodiment.

[0061] Fig.38 This is a flowchart showing the processing of tactile presentation in the first embodiment.

[0062] Fig.39 The figure is a schematic diagram showing the interface between the conductive elastic part and the display surface when the tactile presentation button is operated by weak pressing.

[0063] Fig.40 This is a graph showing the relationship between the sheet thickness and the flatness of one surface of a general rubber sheet.

[0064] Fig.41 The figure is a schematic diagram showing the interface between the conductive elastic part and the display surface when the tactile presentation button is operated by strong pressing.

[0065] Fig.42 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the tactile sense presentation button according to the first embodiment.

[0066] Fig.43 1 is a diagram showing the relationship between the difference between the height of the support portion of the tactile sense presenting button according to Embodiment 1 and the maximum height of the conductive elastic portion and the tactile sense intensity.

[0067] Fig.44 It is a diagram showing the structure of the tactile sense presentation button according to the first embodiment.

[0068] Fig.45 This is a diagram showing the structure of a tactile sense presentation button according to the second embodiment.

[0069] Fig.46 It is a diagram showing the structure of a tactile sense presentation button according to the third embodiment.

[0070] Fig.47 It is a diagram showing the structure of a tactile presentation button according to a fourth embodiment.

[0071] Fig.48 This is a diagram showing a structure of a tactile sense presenting button according to the fourth embodiment when the conductive elastic portion is not divided.

[0072] Fig.49 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining the capacitance distribution of line DD when the touch screen detects the position of the tactile presentation button according to the fourth embodiment.

[0073] Fig.50 It is a diagram showing the structure of a tactile presentation button according to the fifth embodiment.

[0074] Fig.51 It is a diagram showing the structure of a tactile presentation button according to the sixth embodiment.

[0075] Fig.52 A diagram showing the structure of a tactile presentation button according to a seventh embodiment.

[0076] Fig.53 It is a diagram showing the structure of a tactile presentation button according to the eighth embodiment.

[0077] Fig.54 A diagram showing the structure of a tactile presentation button according to a ninth embodiment.

[0078] Fig.55 It is a diagram showing the structure of a tactile presentation button according to the tenth embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0079] <Implementation Method 1>

[0080] <Haptic Presentation Touch Display>

[0081] Figure 1This is an exploded perspective view schematically showing the structure of a tactile presentation device that provides a tactile presentation button 3 on the tactile presentation touch display 1 of the first embodiment to present a tactile sense of operation and an amount of operation. Figure 2 The cross-sectional view schematically shows the structure of the tactile display 1 .

[0082] The tactile presentation touch display 1 has a tactile presentation touch panel 400 and a display panel 300 on which the tactile presentation touch panel 400 is mounted. The display panel 300 has a pressure-sensitive sensor 216. The tactile presentation touch panel 400 has a tactile presentation panel 100 and a touch panel 200. The tactile presentation panel 100 has a tactile presentation screen 150 and a voltage supply circuit 110. The touch panel 200 has a touch screen 250 and a touch detection circuit 210.

[0083] In the first embodiment, the tactile display 150 is disposed on the side (front side) facing the user of the tactile display 1, and is fixed to the side (front side) facing the user of the touch screen 250 by the adhesive material 20b. The touch screen 250 is fixed to the side (front side) facing the user of the display panel 300 by the adhesive material 20a.

[0084] The tactile display screen 150 includes a transparent insulating substrate 101, a tactile electrode 102, and a dielectric layer 106. The tactile electrode 102 includes a plurality of first electrodes 102a and a plurality of second electrodes 102b that are alternately arranged at intervals on the transparent insulating substrate 101. The dielectric layer 106 covers the plurality of first electrodes 102a and the plurality of second electrodes 102b. The tactile display screen 150 is electrically connected to a voltage supply circuit 110 via a FPC (Flexible Print Circuit) 108. In addition, a liquid crystal drive circuit unit 311 is provided on the back side of the display panel 300.

[0085] The touch screen 250 includes: a transparent and insulating substrate 201, an excitation electrode 202, a detection electrode 203, an interlayer insulating layer 204, and an insulating layer 205. The touch screen 250 is electrically connected to the touch detection circuit 210 through the FPC 108. The touch detection circuit 210 detects the touched position on the transparent insulating substrate 101 of the tactile presentation screen 150. Accordingly, on the transparent insulating substrate 101, not only tactile presentation but also touch position detection can be performed. The touch detection circuit 210 includes, for example, a detection IC (Integrated Circuit) and a microcomputer for detecting changes in electrostatic capacitance caused by touch. The details of the structure of the touch screen 250 will be described later with reference to specific examples.

[0086] The display panel 300 has two opposing transparent insulating substrates and a display function layer sandwiched between them and having a display function. The display panel 300 is usually a liquid crystal panel. The display panel 300 can be an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) panel, a μLED (Micro Light Emitting Diode) panel or an electronic paper panel. The touch panel 200 is usually a PCAP. In addition, in the case where the pressure-sensitive sensor 216 has a touch position detection function, the touch panel 200 may not be provided. As the pressure-sensitive sensor 216, as long as it is a pressure-sensitive sensor that can detect pressure, any method such as a capacitive method that detects deformation caused by pressing of a component constituting the tactile presentation touch display 1 as a capacitance change, a piezoelectric method that detects resistance changes of a semiconductor strain gauge, etc. can be used.

[0087] <Overview of Tactile Presentation Panel>

[0088] Figure 3 The electrostatic capacitance C formed between the tactile electrode 102 of the tactile presentation panel 100 and the tactile presentation button 3 is schematically illustrated. NE . Figure 4 for Figure 3 When the tactile presentation button 3 contacts the contact surface CT which is a part of the surface side of the tactile presentation screen 150, an electrostatic capacitance C is formed between the tactile presentation button 3 on the contact surface CT and the tactile electrode 102 via the dielectric layer 106. NE In addition, in these figures, only the voltage supply circuit 110 (see Figure 2 ) includes a tactile sense presentation voltage generating circuit 113, and other structures included in the voltage supply circuit 110 are not shown. A more specific structure of the voltage supply circuit 110 will be described later.

[0089] The tactile sense presentation voltage generating circuit 113 included in the voltage supply circuit 110 includes a first voltage generating circuit 113a and a second voltage generating circuit 113b. The first voltage generating circuit 113a applies a voltage signal V to a first electrode 102a located on at least a portion of the transparent insulating substrate 101 among the plurality of first electrodes 102a. a (First Voltage Signal) In the first embodiment, a voltage signal V is applied to all first electrodes 102a located on at least a portion of the transparent insulating substrate 101. a The second voltage generating circuit 113b applies a voltage signal V to the second electrode 102b located on at least a portion of the transparent insulating substrate 101 among the plurality of second electrodes 102b. b(Second Voltage Signal) In the first embodiment, a voltage signal V is applied to all the second electrodes 102b located on at least a portion of the transparent insulating substrate 101. b .

[0090] Figure 5 and Figure 6 The voltage signals V a And voltage signal V b The voltage signal V of the first voltage generating circuit 113a is a The voltage signal V of the second voltage generating circuit 113b has a first frequency. b The voltage signal V a The amplitude and voltage signal V b The amplitude can be the same as V L .exist Figure 5 , 6 In the example, sine waves with different frequencies are used as the voltage signal V a And voltage signal V b A pulse wave or a wave with another shape may be used instead of a sine wave. In order to generate a sufficiently large tactile sensation, the amplitude V L It is preferably about several tens of volts.

[0091] Figure 7 To show the voltage signal V a (Refer to Figure 5 ) and voltage signal V b (Refer to Figure 6 ) and the amplitude modulated signal V N A voltage signal V is applied to the first electrode 102a. a And a voltage signal V is applied to the second electrode 102b. b As a result, the electrostatic capacitance C between each of the first electrode 102a and the second electrode 102b and the tactile sense presentation button 3 is formed. NE (Refer to Figure 4 ) in the region, repeating the process according to the amplitude V L Roughly 2 times the maximum amplitude V H The amplitude modulated signal V N As a result, the tactile presentation button 3 is subjected to a vibration with the maximum amplitude V H The amplitude modulated signal V N The corresponding electrostatic force, wherein the tactile presentation button 3 is connected to the first electrode 102a and the second electrode 102b via the dielectric layer 106 in a manner spanning the first electrode 102a and the second electrode 102b. NThe difference between the first frequency and the second frequency has a beat frequency. Therefore, when the tactile presentation button 3 rotates on the tactile presentation screen 150, the beat wave is used to generate a friction force acting on the tactile presentation button 3. As a result, the friction force is generated depending on whether the voltage signal V is applied. a And voltage signal V b A beat wave is generated, and an electrostatic force is generated by the beat wave. Depending on the presence (ON) or absence (OFF) of the electrostatic force, the tactile presentation button 3 vibrates. The user senses the vibration of the tactile presentation button 3 as a tactile sensation obtained from the tactile presentation screen 150. As described above, the tactile presentation screen 150 of the tactile presentation panel 100 is configured to change the friction force applied to the tactile presentation button 3 by controlling the electrostatic force applied to the tactile presentation button 3, thereby generating a tactile sensation.

[0092] As described above, a voltage signal V is generated with an input a (Refer to Figure 5 ) and voltage signal V b (Refer to Figure 6 ) respectively, with a voltage of approximately twice that of the amplitude modulation signal V N According to this, the amplitude modulation signal V required to make the desired friction force act on the tactile presentation button 3 is N , can be achieved by having the amplitude modulated signal V N The voltage signal V is approximately 1 / 2 of the voltage a (Refer to Figure 5 ) and voltage signal V b (Refer to Figure 6 Therefore, compared with the case where the amplitude modulation signal is directly input to the first electrode 102a and the second electrode 102b, the same electrostatic force can be generated with 1 / 2 of the voltage, and low voltage driving can be performed.

[0093] In addition, as the voltage signal V a And voltage signal V b , a pulse signal can be used. In this case, the same amplitude V L The inverted pulse waveform is accompanied by whether the voltage signal V is applied. a And voltage signal V b The voltage signal V a And voltage signal V b The differential voltage generates an electrostatic force, and the tactile presentation button 3 vibrates according to the presence (ON) / absence (OFF) of the electrostatic force.

[0094] In order to present a tactile sensation large enough for the user, the maximum amplitude V H It can be large enough to correspond to this. Compared with this, the amplitude V Lcan be a small value. Therefore, the amplitude V L It does not need to be large enough to produce a sufficiently large tactile sensation by itself. L As a result, when only one of the first electrode 102a and the second electrode 102b is in contact with the tactile presentation button 3, no matter how the voltage signal V is selected a And voltage signal V b The frequency is so high that users can hardly feel the touch.

[0095] In order to facilitate positioning of the tactile presentation button 3 so as to straddle the first electrode 102a and the second electrode 102b, it is preferred that the pitch P of the tactile electrodes 102 is E Smaller than the diameter R of the contact surface CT NE The details will be described later.

[0096] <Touch Panel>

[0097] Figure 8 To illustrate the touch screen 250 (see Figure 2 ) is a top view of an example of a capacitive touch screen 250a. Fig. 9 For along Figure 8 Partial cross-sectional view along line A1-A1 and line A2-A2.

[0098] The touch screen 250a has a plurality of row-direction wiring layers 206 and a plurality of column-direction wiring layers 207. The row-direction wiring layers 206 each include a plurality of excitation electrodes 202 (see Figure 2 ), the column-direction wiring layers 207 each include a plurality of electrically connected detection electrodes 203 (refer to Figure 2 ).exist Figure 8 and Fig. 9 In the figure, such fine structures are ignored and the row-direction wiring layer 206 and the column-direction wiring layer 207 are shown. Figure 2 ) is composed of a single-layer film or a multi-layer film of a metal, or a multi-layer structure including any of these films and also using other conductive materials. As the metal, a low-resistance metal such as aluminum or silver is preferred. Figure 2 ) is the same. By using metal as a wiring material, the wiring resistance can be reduced. On the other hand, because metal wiring is opaque, it is easy to be visually identified. In order to reduce visual recognition and increase the transmittance of the touch screen, a fine line structure can be provided as the metal wiring. The fine line structure is usually mesh-shaped.

[0099] The row-direction wiring layers 206 each extend in the row direction (the x direction in the figure), and the column-direction wiring layers 207 each extend in the column direction (the y direction in the figure). A plurality of row-direction wiring layers 206 are arranged at intervals in the column direction, and a plurality of column-direction wiring layers 207 are arranged at intervals in the row direction. Figure 8 As shown, in a plan view, each row-direction wiring layer 206 intersects with a plurality of column-direction wiring layers 207 , and each column-direction wiring layer 207 intersects with a plurality of row-direction wiring layers 206 . The row-direction wiring layers 206 and the column-direction wiring layers 207 are insulated by an interlayer insulating layer 204 .

[0100] The interlayer insulating layer 204 is composed of a single layer of an organic insulating film, a single layer of an inorganic insulating film, or a multilayer film. Inorganic insulating films are superior in improving moisture resistance, while organic insulating films are superior in improving flatness. As inorganic insulating films, transparent silicon-based inorganic insulating films such as silicon oxide films, silicon nitride films, silicon oxynitride films, or transparent inorganic insulating films composed of metal oxides such as aluminum oxide are used. As the material of the organic insulating film, a polymer material having a main chain composed of silicon oxide, silicon nitride film, or silicon oxynitride film and having an organic substance bonded to its side chain or functional group, or a thermosetting resin having a main chain composed of carbon can be used. As thermosetting resins, for example, acrylic resins, polyimide resins, epoxy resins, phenolic resins, or olefin resins are listed.

[0101] The row-direction wiring layers 206 of the touch screen 250a are connected to the touch screen terminal portion 208 through the lead-out wiring layers R(1) to R(m). The column-direction wiring layers 207 are connected to the touch screen terminal portion 208 through the lead-out wiring layers C(1) to C(n). The touch screen terminal portion 208 is provided at the end of the substrate 201.

[0102] The lead wiring layers R(1) to R(m) are arranged outside the detectable area and extend toward the corresponding electrodes in the order close to the center of the arrangement of the touch screen terminal portion 208 to obtain a substantially shortest distance. The lead wiring layers R(1) to R(m) are arranged as densely as possible while ensuring mutual insulation. The same is true for the lead wiring layers C(1) to C(n). By arranging in this way, the area of ​​the outer portion of the detectable area in the substrate 201 can be suppressed.

[0103] A shield wiring layer 209 may be provided between the group of lead wiring layers R(1) to R(m) and the group of lead wiring layers C(1) to C(n). This can suppress the situation where one group generates noise due to the influence of the other group. In addition, the noise generated by the display panel 300 (see Figure 2 The shield wiring layer 209 can be formed with the same material as the row-direction wiring layer 206 or the column-direction wiring layer 207.

[0104] The insulating layer 205 is provided on the substrate 201 so that the touch screen terminal portion 208 is exposed, and covers the row-direction wiring layer 206, the column-direction wiring layer 207, and the interlayer insulating layer 204. The insulating layer 205 can be formed of the same material as the interlayer insulating layer 204. In the case where the display panel 300 is a liquid crystal panel, an upper polarizing plate subjected to anti-glare treatment for a liquid crystal panel can be attached to the portion of the insulating layer 205 through which light is transmitted for display.

[0105] Fig.10 To illustrate the touch screen 250 (see Figure 2 ) is a top view of an example of a capacitive touch screen 250b. Fig.11 For along Fig.10 Partial cross-sectional view of the line B1-B1 and the line B2-B2. Fig.10 , Fig.11 In the example of FIG. 1 , a so-called diamond structure is used.

[0106] The row-direction wiring layer 206 and the column-direction wiring layer 207 are arranged on the same layer. Each of the column-direction wiring layers 207 has a plurality of diamond-shaped electrodes connected to each other as the detection electrode 203. The row-direction wiring layer 206 has a plurality of diamond-shaped electrodes separated from each other and a bridge 206B that electrically connects the adjacent diamond-shaped electrodes as the excitation electrode 202. The interlayer insulating layer 204 is arranged in a manner to insulate the bridge 206B from the column-direction wiring layer 207. In addition, the bridge structure may be applied to the column-direction wiring layer instead of the row-direction wiring layer. Since the electrical resistance of the wiring layer tends to increase due to the formation of the bridge, it is preferable to apply the bridge structure to the shorter of the column-direction wiring layer and the row-direction wiring layer.

[0107] As the material of the row-direction wiring layer 206 and the column-direction wiring layer 207, a transparent conductive film such as indium tin oxide (ITO) is used. Since ITO is light-transmissive, the possibility of the wiring layer being visually recognized by the user becomes low. Since transparent conductive films such as ITO have a high electrical resistance, they are suitable for small touch screens where wiring resistance is not a problem. In addition, the wiring of transparent conductive films such as ITO is prone to disconnection due to corrosion between other metal wirings, so in order to prevent corrosion, moisture resistance and waterproofness need to be considered.

[0108] In addition, the above description is about the case where the structure of the touch screen is independent from the structure of the display panel, but they can also be integrated in an inseparable manner. For example, in the case of a so-called on-cell touch panel, the touch screen is directly formed on the substrate (usually a color filter substrate) of the display panel 300 without using the substrate 201. In the case of a so-called in-cell touch panel, the touch screen is formed between two transparent insulating substrates (not shown) of the display panel 300.

[0109] In addition, in the above touch screen, the detection structure composed of the row-direction wiring layer 206 and the column-direction wiring layer 207 is shown, but it is not limited to this structure. Fig.12 FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically showing the structure of a touch screen 250 c having a detection structure in which segments composed of detection electrodes and excitation electrodes are arranged in a matrix. Fig.13 and Fig.14 Shown configured in Fig.12 An example of the pattern shape of the excitation electrode 202a and the detection electrode 203b in the segment of the region A in FIG. Fig.13 and Fig.14 The touch screen 250c of the segment structure shown in the figure is arranged in a matrix as one segment and driven separately. By switching the switch in the driving circuit, the touch panel 250c can also serve as the tactile sense presenting panel 100a and the touch panel 200 at the same time.

[0110] <Pressure sensor>

[0111] right Figure 1 The pressure-sensitive sensor 216 shown in FIG. 2 is described below. Generally, the pressure-sensitive sensor 216 includes a method of detecting the pressure applied to a diaphragm (membrane) made of semiconductor Si (silicon) as deformation of the membrane, an electrostatic capacitance type of detecting deformation of a display panel or a touch panel or the like caused by a pressing force through a change in electrostatic capacitance, and a resistance type of detecting a change in resistance of a metal wire caused by deformation according to the pressing force.

[0112] In the case of an electrostatic capacitance type, for example, pressure-sensitive sensors 216 are provided at four locations symmetrically on a diagonal line on the surface of the display panel 300 on the side opposite to the display surface. In this case, when the operation surface of the tactile presentation touch display 1 is pushed by the tactile presentation button 3, the tactile presentation touch display 1 is bent in the direction of the side opposite to the operation surface due to the pressing force, or the tactile presentation touch display 1 is slightly moved in the direction of the side opposite to the operation surface. The pressure-sensitive sensor 216 detects the pressing force by detecting the change in capacitance caused by the narrowing of the interval between the capacitance detection electrodes arranged in the pressure-sensitive sensor 216. Each capacitance detection electrode in the pressure-sensitive sensor 216 is parallel to the operation surface of the tactile presentation touch display 1 and is provided at arbitrary intervals.

[0113] In the case of a method other than the electrostatic capacitance method, the pressing force can be detected by detecting a change in shape of any member constituting the tactile sense presenting touch display 1 due to the pressing force.

[0114] In addition, although Figure 1 The pressure-sensitive sensor 216 is disposed on the lower side of the display panel 300 (the side opposite to the display surface), but is not limited thereto. The pressure-sensitive sensor 216 can be disposed at a position where the reproducibility of the relationship between the shape change and the pressing force is good in the structure of the tactile presentation touch display 1, the shape change caused by the pressing force is large, and the sensitivity of the pressure-sensitive sensor 216 is optimal.

[0115] In addition, when pressure-sensitive sensor 216 is provided so that a pressed position can be calculated based on the balance of detection values ​​of pressure-sensitive sensor 216, pressure-sensitive sensor 216 can detect not only pressed but also touched position, and can be used in common as touch panel 200. Touch position detection by pressure-sensitive sensor 216 will be described later.

[0116] <Haptic Presentation Panel>

[0117] Fig.15 The top view schematically shows the structure of the tactile presentation screen 150 . Fig.16 To illustrate the electrostatic capacitance C between the tactile electrode 102 and the tactile presentation button 3 NE Schematic diagram of the formation of .

[0118] As described above, the tactile display screen 150 includes the transparent insulating substrate 101, the tactile electrodes 102, and the dielectric layer 106. Furthermore, a tactile display panel terminal portion 107 is provided at the end of the transparent insulating substrate 101, and a plurality of lead wiring layers 105 are arranged on the transparent insulating substrate. The dielectric layer 106 is provided so that the tactile display panel terminal portion 107 is exposed. The tactile electrodes 102 are connected to the tactile display panel terminal portion 107 via the lead wiring layer 105. The voltage supply circuit 110 (see Figure 2 ) via FPC 108 (refer to Figure 1 ) and connected to the tactile presentation panel terminal portion 107. In addition, details of the lead wiring layer 105 will be described later.

[0119] The tactile electrodes 102 are each arranged along an extension direction ( Fig.15 The plurality of tactile electrodes 102 extend along the arrangement direction ( Fig.15 The horizontal direction of the Fig.15 In the example of FIG. 1 , the transparent insulating substrate 101 has a rectangular shape with long sides and short sides. Therefore, the tactile display screen 150 also has long sides and short sides corresponding to the transparent insulating substrate 101. Fig.12 In the example of FIG. 1 , the arrangement direction is along the long side. When the horizontal direction of the tactile presentation screen 150 for the observer is along the long side, the arrangement direction is along the horizontal direction.

[0120] The above shows an example in which the tactile electrodes 102 extend in the extension direction and are arranged along the arrangement direction in the tactile presentation screen 150, but the structure of the tactile electrodes 102 is not limited thereto and may be, for example, Fig.17 As in the tactile presentation panel 100a shown in the figure, a plurality of segments are arranged in a matrix structure. Fig.18 and Fig.19 Shown in Fig.17 An example of a pattern shape of the tactile electrode 102 arranged in the segment of the region A in FIG. The shape of the tactile electrode 102 is not limited to Fig.18 and Fig.19 Such a shape can be configured as long as the mutual capacitance in the same area is greater than the mutual capacitance between electrodes in different areas in the structure where the first electrode 102a and the second electrode 102b are adjacent. Specifically, the distance between the tactile first electrode 102a and the second electrode 102b in the same area is narrower than the distance between the first electrode 102a and the second electrode 102b in different areas. Accordingly, since the influence of the capacitance formed between the detection electrode 203 of the touch panel 200 and the tactile electrode 102 on the touch detection accuracy can be suppressed, the wiring resistance of the tactile electrode 102 can be made lower, and the tactile strength (tactile sensation) can be further improved.

[0121] The electrostatic capacitance C formed between the tactile electrode 102 and the tactile presentation button 3 NE The larger it is, the stronger the sense of touch can be presented. According to this viewpoint, the area of ​​the tactile electrode 102 is preferably large. When the size of the area of ​​the tactile electrode 102 is given priority, it is difficult to make the tactile electrode 102 difficult to be visually identified by providing the tactile electrode 102 with a fine structure. In order to increase the area of ​​the tactile electrode 102 and make the tactile electrode 102 difficult to be visually identified, the tactile electrode 102 can be formed of a transparent conductive film. A typical material for a transparent conductive film is ITO. Because transparent conductive films such as ITO have a higher electrical resistance than metals, they are suitable for small touch screens where wiring resistance is not a problem. In the case of a large touch screen where wiring resistance is a problem, the ITO film thickness is thickened, or the dopant content is increased to reduce the resistivity. In this case, because the light absorption rate of ITO sometimes changes and the touch screen looks like it is colored, it is sometimes necessary to adjust the color tone of the display. Furthermore, since wiring of transparent conductive films such as ITO is easily disconnected due to corrosion with other metal wirings, when reducing the wiring resistance of electrodes by using a stacked structure with other metals, moisture resistance and water resistance must be considered to prevent corrosion.

[0122] Instead of using a transparent conductive film as described above, the tactile electrode 102 may be a single-layer or multi-layer film of a metal, or an electrode having a multi-layer structure including any of these films and also using other conductive materials (hereinafter also referred to as a "metal film-containing electrode"). As the metal, a low-resistance metal such as aluminum or silver is preferred. By using a metal film-containing electrode, the wiring resistance can be reduced. On the other hand, the metal film is opaque and therefore easy to be visually identified. Therefore, in order to make the metal film less visually identifiable, a fine line structure may be provided to the metal film-containing electrode. The fine line structure is usually mesh-shaped.

[0123] The dielectric layer 106 is composed of a single layer of an organic insulating film, a single layer of an inorganic insulating film, or a multilayer film. In the case of a multilayer film, different types of organic insulating films can be stacked, or different types of inorganic insulating films can be stacked, or organic insulating films and inorganic insulating films can be stacked. The inorganic insulating film has high moisture impermeability, high hardness, and high wear resistance. Since the tactile presentation button 3 rotates on the dielectric layer 106, the dielectric layer 106 requires high wear resistance. Although an organic insulating film is preferred in order to obtain high flatness, the hardness of the organic insulating film is low and the wear resistance is low. Therefore, in order to obtain both high flatness and high wear resistance, it is preferred to form an inorganic insulating film on the organic insulating film. As the inorganic insulating film, a transparent silicon-based inorganic insulating film such as a silicon oxide film, a silicon nitride film, a silicon oxynitride film, or a transparent inorganic insulating film composed of a metal oxide such as aluminum oxide is used. As the material of the organic insulating film, a polymer material having a main chain composed of silicon oxide, silicon nitride film or silicon oxynitride film and having an organic substance bonded to its side chain or functional group, or a thermosetting resin having a main chain composed of carbon can be used. Examples of the thermosetting resin include acrylic resin, polyimide resin, epoxy resin, phenolic resin or olefin resin.

[0124] Electrostatic Capacitance C NE It is represented by the following formula (1).

[0125] C NE =Q / V=εS / d……(1)

[0126] Here, Q is the amount of charge stored in the conductive elastic part 6 and the tactile electrode 102, V is the voltage between the tactile presentation button 3 and the tactile electrode 102, ε is the dielectric constant of the dielectric layer 106, S is the contact area between the conductive elastic part 6 and the tactile electrode 102 through the dielectric layer 106, and d is the thickness of the dielectric layer 106. Electrostatic capacitance C NE It is proportional to the dielectric constant ε and inversely proportional to the film thickness d.

[0127] According to the above formula (1), in order to increase the electrostatic capacitance C NE, the dielectric constant ε is preferably high. Specifically, it is preferred that the dielectric layer 106 includes a film having a relative dielectric constant of 10 or more (hereinafter also referred to as a "high dielectric constant insulating film"). In the high dielectric constant insulating film, a state in which positive and negative charges are displaced into the material due to an electric field applied from the outside is generated (usually referred to as dielectric polarization). Regarding dielectric polarization, while the voltage is maintained, the charge generated by polarization (usually referred to as polarization charge) is maintained. When the voltage is reduced, the polarization charge decreases and the dielectric polarization decreases. When the applied voltage is set to zero volts, the dielectric polarization also disappears. The direction of dielectric polarization can change with changes in the electric field. Regarding the high dielectric constant insulating film, it can be used in a single layer, or it can be used as a multilayer film by stacking with other low dielectric constant inorganic insulating films or organic insulating films, or other high dielectric constant insulating films. Generally, the higher the dielectric constant, the higher the refractive index. Therefore, a stacked structure of a high refractive index film and a low refractive index film is obtained by stacking a high dielectric constant insulating film with a low dielectric constant insulating film. Due to this stacked structure, the dielectric layer 106 can function as an antireflection film.

[0128] According to the above formula (1), in order to increase the electrostatic capacitance C NE The thickness d is preferably small. By stacking a high dielectric constant insulating film and an organic insulating film, the thickness of the organic insulating film can be reduced while ensuring sufficient insulation. Thus, the thickness d of the dielectric layer 106 can be reduced.

[0129] Assuming that the tactile electrode has a matrix structure (i.e., a structure having X electrodes and Y electrodes intersecting each other) (for example, see Japanese Patent Publication No. 2015-097076), a height difference, i.e., a concave-convex, is generated at the intersection of the X electrode and the Y electrode. If the thickness of the insulating layer covering the concave-convex is large, the concave-convex is flattened, but in order to avoid the electrostatic capacitance C NE The thickness of the insulating layer is limited if the surface of the touch display screen is too low. Therefore, unevenness may occur on the surface of the touch display screen. When the texture feeling of the unevenness is mixed with the texture caused by the electrostatic force from the touch electrode, it is difficult to give the user the expected texture. In the case where an organic insulating film that has the effect of flattening the surface shape is used as the dielectric layer 106, although the above-mentioned unevenness is avoided, a certain degree of thickness is required for flattening, so the electrostatic capacitance C cannot be avoided. NE of reduction.

[0130] In contrast, according to the first embodiment, since the tactile electrode 102 has no intersection, the size of the concavoconvexity can be suppressed to approximately the thickness of the tactile electrode 102. This allows the organic film having a planarizing effect to be made thinner, or allows the use of a high dielectric constant insulating film having a low planarizing effect. This allows the electrostatic capacitance C NEIn addition, since there are few bumps and depressions on the contact surface of the tactile presentation screen 150 with the tactile presentation button 3, the tactile sensation caused by the surface bumps and depressions is not given to the tactile presentation button 3 when the signal voltage is not applied, so the tactile sensation of the tactile presentation button 3 becomes clearer when the signal voltage is applied.

[0131] In addition, even if the electrostatic capacitance C NE Similarly, if the tactile presentation button 3 is easy to slide on the dielectric layer 106, the change of the electrostatic force between the tactile presentation button 3 and the tactile electrode 102 is also easy to be perceived by the user as a change of friction force. According to this, it is possible to give the user a greater sense of touch. In order to make the tactile presentation button 3 easy to slide on the dielectric layer 106, it is necessary to suppress the adhesion between the dielectric layer 106 and the tactile presentation button 3. For this purpose, for example, a film having a higher waterproof property than the inside of the dielectric layer 106 can be provided on the outermost surface of the dielectric layer 106 or on the contact surface of the conductive elastic part 6 with the dielectric layer 106, or on both.

[0132] <Electrode spacing>

[0133] Fig. 20 To illustrate the pitch P of the tactile electrodes 102 E Greater than the diameter R of the tactile presentation button 3 FE The electrostatic capacitance C formed between the tactile electrode 102 and the tactile presentation button 3 when NE Schematic diagram of . Fig.21 To illustrate the pitch P of the tactile electrodes 102 E Smaller than diameter R FE The electrostatic capacitance C formed between the tactile electrode 102 and the tactile presentation button 3 when NE Schematic diagram of .

[0134] In the first embodiment, as described above, by applying voltage signals V having different frequencies to the adjacent first electrodes 102a and second electrodes 102b, the voltage signals V a (Refer to Figure 5 ) and voltage signal V b (Refer to Figure 6 ) to generate the amplitude modulated signal V N (Refer to Figure 7 ) corresponding to the electrostatic force. Accordingly, the friction force between the dielectric layer 106 and the tactile presentation button 3 and the amplitude modulation signal V N The difference frequency changes accordingly, and the user perceives the change as a tactile sensation. Fig. 20 In the state shown, because there is only voltage signal V a Acting on the tactile presentation button 3, the voltage signal V b It does not act on the tactile presentation button 3, so no amplitude modulation signal V is generated. NOn the other hand, when the tactile sense presentation button 3 is located above the boundary between the first electrode 102a and the second electrode 102b, a tactile sense is generated. Fig. 20 In the structure, depending on the position of the tactile presentation button 3, there are positions where tactile sensation is generated and positions where tactile sensation is not generated. Fig.21 In the state shown, regardless of the position of the tactile presentation button 3, the voltage signal V a And voltage signal V b Both of them act on the tactile presentation button 3, thereby generating an amplitude modulation signal V N Therefore, in Fig.21 In the structure, the tactile sense can be felt regardless of the position of the tactile sense presentation button 3, and the position of the tactile sense presentation button 3 can be set arbitrarily. That is, in order to facilitate the positioning of the tactile sense presentation button 3 in a manner that straddles the first electrode 102a and the second electrode 102b, for example, in the following Fig. 22 When the conductive elastic portion 6 is divided as shown in FIG. 1 , it is preferable that the width 6 b of the conductive elastic portion 6 is larger than the pitch P of the tactile electrodes 102 . E In addition, when the conductive elastic part 6 is not divided into a plurality of parts, it is preferable that the outer diameter 6a of the conductive elastic part 6 is larger than the pitch P of the tactile electrodes 102. E .

[0135] <Structure of Tactile Presentation Button>

[0136] Fig. 22 1 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the rotating portion 4 of the tactile presentation button 3 . Fig.23 This is a schematic diagram of the fixing part 5 when the position of the tactile presentation button 3 is fixed at one location and the rotating part 4 is placed on the contact surface of the tactile presentation panel 100 and rotated. Fig.24 The figure is a schematic diagram of the rotating shaft portion 5a which suppresses horizontal movement when the rotating portion 4 of the tactile presentation button 3 is placed on the contact surface of the tactile presentation panel 100 and rotated. The rotating portion 4 and the fixed portion 5 (rotating shaft portion 5a) are both made of metal such as aluminum, SUS, copper, and resin such as polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, ABS resin, AS resin, acrylic resin, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinylidene chloride, polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, modified polyphenylene ether, polyamide, polybutylene terephthalate, polyacetal, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, polyarylate, polysulfone, polyethersulfone, polyamideimide, polyetherimide, thermoplastic polyimide, polyphenylene sulfide, liquid crystal polymer, polyetheretherketone, fluororesin, etc. Since the operation feeling and tactile feeling vary depending on the weight of the tactile presentation button 3, the material is selected according to the user's preference, the use environment and purpose of the tactile presentation button 3, etc. Since the rotating part side surface 10 needs to be connected to the conductive elastic part 6 and the indicator 2 (refer to Fig.31) is electrically connected, so the surface portion 10s of the rotating portion side 10 that contacts the indicator 2 and the boundary conductive portion 16s are made of metal or conductive resin material (preferably a resistor 10 3 It is preferred that the resistance values ​​of the surface portion 10s and the boundary conductive portion 16s be set so that the capacitance C formed between the tactile electrode 102 and the conductive elastic portion 6 is the maximum value in the RC circuit formed between the wiring resistance of the tactile electrode 102, the resistance of the conductive elastic portion 6, and the dielectric layer 106.

[0137] The tactile presentation button 3 has the same cylindrical shape as the shape of the shaft 14 and the hole of the fixing hole 9, and is formed by inserting the shaft 14 of the fixing part 5 (rotating shaft 5a) into the fixing hole 9 of the rotating part and integrating them. The gap between the shaft 14 and the fixing hole 9 is preferably as narrow as possible within the range in which the rotating part 4 rotates smoothly. When the gap between the shaft 14 and the fixing hole 9 is narrow, the shaking of the rotating shaft when the tactile presentation button 3 is rotated becomes smaller, and the situation in which the shaking and vibration of the rotating part 4 caused by the shaking of the rotating shaft are given to the indicator 2, which is different from the tactile sense that should be provided to the tactile presentation button 3, is suppressed, and the tactile sense provided to the user becomes clearer. In order to make the rotating part 4 rotate smoothly, it is preferred that the surface of the shaft 14 and the inner surface of the fixing hole 9 have as few as possible irregularities, and the surface roughness is preferably less than Ra 0.5μm. The inner diameter tolerance of the fixing hole 9 is preferably 0 to +0.5mm, and the outer diameter tolerance of the shaft 14 is preferably -0.0005mm.

[0138] The fixed portion 5 (rotational shaft portion 5a) is the portion that serves as the rotational shaft (central axis) when the rotating portion 4 rotates, and has the function of keeping the operating surface of the tactile presentation panel 100 perpendicular to the rotational shaft of the rotating portion 4. Therefore, the center of the shaft portion 14 of the fixed portion 5 (rotational shaft portion 5a) is orthogonal to the bottom portion 15 and the adhesive portion 17 (shaft structure holding portion 17a), the bottom surface of the adhesive portion 17 (shaft structure holding portion 17a) is flat, and the contact surface of the conductive elastic portion 6 with the tactile presentation panel 100 and the adhesive portion 17 (shaft structure holding portion 17a) are located on the same plane. In addition, although Fig.23 FIG. 1 shows a case where the diameter of the bonding portion 17 is the same as the diameter of the fixing table 13, but it may also be Fig.24 In this way, the diameter of the shaft structure holding portion 17a is different from the diameter of the fixing base 13. By providing the fixing portion 5, the rotation axis when the tactile sense presentation knob 3 is operated can be stabilized, and a clearer tactile sense can be generated.

[0139] The surface portion 10s and the boundary conductive portion 16s of the rotating portion side surface 10 of the rotating portion 4 that the indicator 2 contacts when the rotating portion 4 is rotated are made of a conductive material and are also electrically connected to the conductive elastic portion 6 and the position detection portion 7. Whether the user touches the surface of the rotating portion 4 is detected, and the accumulation of electric charge in the conductive elastic portion 6 is suppressed. The surface portion 10s and the boundary conductive portion 16s are made of the same material as the conductive elastic portion 6. In particular, a metal with low electrical resistance is preferably used. The surface portion 10s and the boundary conductive portion 16s may be formed by coating with metal plating or the like after the rotating portion 4 is formed with resin or the like. The details will be described later.

[0140] The conductive elastic part 6 is a conductor that forms an electrostatic capacitance with the tactile electrode 102. The conductive elastic part 6 is divided into two or more parts to prevent the tactile intensity from being reduced. The details of this effect will be described later. Since the conductive elastic part 6 has elasticity, it has the effect of suppressing the reduction of the tactile intensity caused by the reduction of adhesion. When the adhesion between the conductive elastic part 6 and the surface of the tactile presentation panel is reduced due to the processing accuracy of the rotating part 4 and the fixing part 5 (rotating shaft part 5a), the flatness reduction caused by the assembly accuracy of the tactile presentation screen 150, and the unevenness and micro unevenness on the surface of the tactile presentation panel 100, the tactile electrode 102 and the conductive elastic part 6 form an electrostatic capacitance not only through the dielectric layer but also through the air with a small dielectric constant. According to this, the electrostatic capacitance formed between the tactile electrode 102 and the conductive elastic part 6 is reduced, resulting in a reduction in tactile intensity. Since the conductive elastic part 6 has elasticity, it fills the gap between the dielectric layer and the conductive elastic part 6 caused by the unevenness, and can prevent the reduction of tactile intensity caused by the reduction of adhesion.

[0141] As materials for the conductive elastic part 6 and the position detection part 7, thermosetting elastomers such as natural rubber (NR), isoprene rubber (IR), styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), chloroprene rubber (CR), nitrile rubber (NBR), hydrogenated nitrile rubber (HNBR), butyl rubber (IIR), ethylene-propylene rubber (EPDM), chlorosulfonated polyethylene rubber (CSM), silicone rubber (VMQ), fluororubber (FKM), chlorosilicone rubber (FVMQ), acrylic rubber (ACM), and polyurethane rubber (U) can be used. In addition, a resin material with elasticity called conductive rubber can be used, which is based on thermoplastic elastomers such as polyurethane (TPU), polystyrene (TPS), olefin / alkene (TPO), polyvinyl chloride (TPVC), polyester (TPEE), and polyamide (TPAE), and is mixed with conductive materials such as conductive carbon black or metal powder. Carbon nanotubes (CNT) can also be used.

[0142] Volume resistivity is 10 6The volume resistivity is preferably 0.05 Ωcm or less. The lower the volume resistivity, the less likely it is that charges will be accumulated in the conductive elastic portion 6. The details of the charge accumulation in the conductive elastic portion 6 will be described later. In addition, since an electrostatic capacitor is formed with the tactile electrode 102, it is preferred that the withstand voltage characteristic is as high as possible, because the life and reliability of the conductive elastic portion 6 are improved. The position detection portion 7 forms an electrostatic capacitor with the detection electrode 203 of the touch screen 250, and is used to detect the position and rotation amount of the tactile presentation button 3.

[0143] The material forming the position detection portion 7 may be a conductor that can form an electrostatic capacitance with the detection electrode 203, and may have elasticity similar to the conductive elastic portion 6, and may use the same material as the conductive elastic portion 6 as a base material. If the adhesion with the tactile presentation panel 100 is good, the difference between the design value and the actual electrostatic capacitance value is unlikely to occur, and stable position detection accuracy can be obtained.

[0144] In addition, when the same material as the material of the conductive elastic part 6 is used as the base material for the position detection part 7, if the amount of carbon black or metal powder that imparts conductivity is reduced, the resistance value becomes higher, and the electrostatic capacitance formed between the tactile electrode 102 and the conductive elastic part 6 becomes smaller. On the contrary, if the amount of carbon black or metal powder that imparts conductivity is increased, the resistance value becomes lower, and the electrostatic capacitance formed between the tactile electrode 102 and the conductive elastic part 6 can be increased.

[0145] When the conductive elastic part 6 and the position detection part 7 are made to have the same thickness so that there is no gap between them and the surface of the tactile presentation panel 100 and they are in close contact with the surface of the tactile presentation panel 100, strong tactile strength and high-precision position detection can be obtained. The flatness of the surface where the conductive elastic part 6 and the position detection part 7 contact the tactile presentation panel 100 (the distance from a certain reference plane is measured, and the difference between the maximum and minimum values ​​of the measured value) is preferably 0.5 mm or less. In addition, it is said that the diameter of the contact area between a person's finger and the touch surface when operating a touch panel is about 3 mm for children and about 7 to 10 mm at most for adults. Therefore, it can be considered that the area of ​​the position detection part 7 is about 7 mm. 2 Above and 400mm 2 the following.

[0146] <Detection of button position and rotation amount>

[0147] Fig.25This is a schematic diagram for explaining the capacitance distribution of line C-C when the touch panel 200 detects the position of the tactile presentation button 3. The tactile sensation is generated to the tactile presentation button 3 and the position of the tactile presentation button 3 is detected in a time-division manner. During the period when the signal voltage is applied to the tactile electrode 102, 0V is applied to the detection electrode 203 and the excitation electrode 202, or an arbitrary voltage is applied in a manner that forms an electrostatic capacitance with the tactile electrode 102 without causing a decrease in the voltage applied to the tactile electrode 102. When the detection electrode 203 performs position detection, the tactile electrode 102 is placed in a floating state, and the conductive elastic part 6 and the detection electrode 203 form an electrostatic capacitance across the tactile electrode 102, thereby detecting the change in the electrostatic capacitance between the excitation electrode 202 and the detection electrode 203 to detect the position of the tactile presentation button 3.

[0148] The detection electrode 203 forms and detects capacitance with both the position detection portion 7 and the conductive elastic portion 6. At this time, because of the presence of the gap 8, the capacitance distribution with the position detection portion 7 and the capacitance distribution with the conductive elastic portion 6 have peaks at different positions, and each position is detected separately.

[0149] Regarding the rotation amount of the tactile presentation button 3, when there is only one position detection unit 7, the rotation amount is calculated as the movement in the rotation direction only based on the movement amount from the initial position of the position detection unit 7. The position detection unit 7 does not necessarily have to be one. Fig.26 When there are a plurality of position detectors 7, the rotation angle θ can be calculated based on the direction vector P1-P2 between the position detectors 7 at the initial position (P1, P2) and the direction vector P1'-P2' at the moved position (P1', P2').

[0150] exist Fig.26 In the equation (4), when the rotation center is P0, the parallel movement is Txy, the coordinate transformation matrix of the rotation angle θ is R, and the unit matrix is ​​I, P1'-P2' is expressed by the equation (4) according to the following equations (2) and (3).

[0151] P1'=R·P1-(R-I)·P0+Txy......(2)

[0152] P2'=R·P2-(R-I)·P0+Txy......(3)

[0153] P1'-P2'=R·(P1-P2)......(4)

[0154] When the coordinate transformation matrix R is equal to the unit matrix I (R=I), it is a translation operation, and Txy is expressed by the following equation (5).

[0155] Txy=P1'-P1……(5)

[0156] In addition, when the operating range of the tactile presentation button 3 exceeds 360 degrees, the rotation angle from the initial position can be calculated by performing addition and subtraction correction of 360 degrees × n (n is an integer) with reference to the rotation angle and the direction of rotation angle change of the immediately preceding position detection unit 7. The more pairs of position detection units 7 used for calculation, the higher the measurement accuracy of the rotation angle, but the smaller the area of ​​the conductive elastic part 6, so the number of position detection units 7 is determined based on the balance between the tactile intensity and the measurement accuracy of the rotation angle. The indication position line 11 (refer to Fig. 22 ) is arranged on the rotating part 4 to realize visualization of the button position. When the indicating position line 11 is arranged, by arranging the position detection unit 7 just below the indicating position line 11, the movement amount from the position (origin) that should be the initial state of the indicating position line 11 can be calculated, thereby simplifying the calculation process.

[0157] <Distance between electrodes>

[0158] Fig. 27 An example of the positional relationship between the conductive elastic portion 6 and the position detection portion 7 in the tactile presentation button 3 is shown. The gap 8 represents the distance between the conductive elastic portion 6 and the position detection portion 7 when the position detection portion 7 is arranged between the adjacent conductive elastic portions 6, and the gap 8a represents the distance between the conductive elastic portions 6 when the position detection portion 7 is not arranged between the adjacent conductive elastic portions 6. When there are irregularities on the surface of the tactile presentation panel 100 due to the thickness of the electrode, when the conductive elastic portion 6 slides while contacting the tactile electrode 102 through the dielectric layer 106, the tactile presentation button 3 vibrates due to the irregularities on the surface. Regardless of the voltage signal applied to the tactile electrode 102, the vibration is sensed by the indicator 2. As a result, the indicator 2 may have difficulty in feeling the tactile sensation obtained by the voltage signal. In other words, the tactile intensity may be reduced.

[0159] Even if the surface of the tactile presentation panel 100 has irregularities, as will be described later, whether the indicator 2 can easily feel the irregularities depends on the inter-electrode spacing of the tactile electrode 102. The larger the irregularities allowed, the less necessary it is to increase the thickness of the dielectric layer 106 in order to reduce the irregularities. In other words, the thickness of the dielectric layer 106 is allowed to be reduced. Accordingly, the capacitance formed between the conductive elastic portion 6 and the tactile electrode 102 can be increased. Thus, a stronger tactile sensation can be generated. In addition, when the inter-electrode spacing of the tactile electrode 102 is wider than the gap 8 between the conductive elastic portion 6 and the position detection portion 7, the edge portion 181 of the conductive elastic portion 6 (see Fig. 27) is stuck at the surface unevenness caused by the inter-electrode distance of the tactile electrodes 102, and an unexpected tactile sensation is generated in the tactile presentation button 3, so the inter-electrode distance of the tactile electrodes 102 is preferably narrower than the gap 8. In addition, if the inter-electrode distance of the tactile electrodes 102 is narrower, the exclusive area of ​​the tactile electrodes 102 becomes larger, the electrostatic capacitance formed with the conductive elastic part 6 becomes larger, and the tactile intensity obtained also becomes larger, so it is preferred.

[0160] <Detailed Structure of Tactile Presentation Touch Panel>

[0161] Fig.28 The block diagram schematically shows the structure of the tactile presentation touch panel 400. Here, it is assumed that excitation electrodes Ty(1) to Ty(m) are provided as a plurality of excitation electrodes 202, detection electrodes Tx(1) to Tx(n) are provided as a plurality of detection electrodes 203, and tactile electrodes H(1) to H(j) are provided as a plurality of tactile electrodes 102. The tactile electrodes H(1) to H(n) are arranged in order according to the numbers in parentheses, and the odd-numbered tactile electrodes 102 correspond to the first electrode 102a, and the even-numbered tactile electrodes 102 correspond to the second electrode 102b. In addition, in order to simplify the description, it is assumed that one row-direction wiring layer 206 (see Figure 8 or Fig.10 ), and one detection electrode 203 constitutes one column-direction wiring layer 207 (refer to Figure 8 or Fig.10 ).

[0162] As described above, the tactile presentation touch panel 400 includes the touch panel 200 and the tactile presentation panel 100. The touch panel 200 includes the touch screen 250 and the touch detection circuit 210. The tactile presentation panel 100 includes the tactile presentation screen 150 and the voltage supply circuit 110.

[0163] The touch detection circuit 210 has an excitation pulse generating circuit 215, a charge detecting circuit 212, a touch coordinate calculating circuit 214 and a touch detection control circuit 213. The touch detection control circuit 213 controls the operation of the excitation pulse generating circuit 215, the charge detecting circuit 212 and the touch coordinate calculating circuit 214. The excitation pulse generating circuit 215 applies an excitation pulse signal to the excitation electrodes Ty(1) to Ty(m) in sequence. The charge detecting circuit 212 measures the signal obtained from each of the detection electrodes Tx(1) to Tx(n). Based on this, the charge detecting circuit 212 detects the charge amount of each of the detection electrodes Tx(1) to Tx(n). Let k be an integer greater than 1 and less than m, and the information of the charge detection result represents the value corresponding to the mutual capacitance between the excitation electrode Ty(k) and each of the detection electrodes Tx(1) to Tx(n) when the excitation pulse signal is provided to the excitation electrode Ty(k). In addition, the charge detection circuit 212 can identify to which of the excitation electrodes Ty(1) to Ty(m) the excitation pulse signal is applied based on the control signal from the touch detection control circuit 213. The touch coordinate calculation circuit 214 obtains the data of the coordinates touched by the indicator 2 (hereinafter referred to as "touch coordinate data") based on the above charge detection result.

[0164] The touch coordinate data is output to the button movement amount calculation circuit 220, and is also output to the tactile formation condition conversion circuit 120 and the tactile presentation control circuit 114 (tactile presentation circuit) as touch action information. The button movement amount calculation circuit 220 outputs the information of the rotation angle, rotation speed, and horizontal movement distance as the movement amount of the button to the tactile formation condition conversion circuit 120 (tactile intensity calculation circuit) and the display screen processing circuit 321. The tactile formation condition conversion circuit 120 outputs the electrical signal condition that realizes the tactile intensity (operation sense intensity) calculated based on the input information to the tactile presentation control circuit 114.

[0165] The voltage supply circuit 110 includes a switch circuit 112, a tactile presentation voltage generation circuit 113, and a tactile presentation control circuit 114. The tactile presentation voltage generation circuit 113 applies a voltage signal V to the first electrode 102a among the tactile electrodes H(1) to H(j) via the switch circuit 112. a , a voltage signal V is applied to the second electrode 102b b In other words, the voltage signal V is alternately applied to the tactile electrodes H(1) to H(j) arranged in one direction (horizontally in the figure). a And voltage signal V b. The switch circuit 112 takes an on (ON) state or an off (OFF) state based on an instruction from the tactile presentation voltage generation circuit 113. The switch circuit 112 connects the tactile electrode 102 to the tactile presentation voltage generation circuit 113 in the on state, and puts the tactile electrode 102 in a floating state in the off state. In the present embodiment 1, the switch circuit 112 has two switches 40, one for switching the electrical path to all the first electrodes 102a, and the other for switching the electrical path to all the second electrodes 102b. The two switches 40 can be controlled in a linked manner. In addition, the switch 40 is equivalent to a switching unit.

[0166] The tactile presentation control circuit 114 refers to the information of the tactile strength calculated by the tactile formation condition conversion circuit 120. Based on this information, the tactile presentation control circuit 114 can control the operation of the tactile presentation voltage generation circuit 113. That is, the touch detection circuit 210 also functions as a contact detection unit that detects that the user has touched the tactile presentation button 3.

[0167] <Working of the tactile touch panel>

[0168] Fig.29 1 is a schematic diagram showing an image of the electrostatic capacitance between the excitation electrode 202 and the detection electrode 203 when the pointer 2 is not in contact with the tactile presentation button 3 . Fig.30 This is a schematic diagram showing the tactile presentation touch panel 400 (see Fig.28 )’s working timing timing diagram.

[0169] When the indicator 2 is not in contact with the tactile presentation button 3, the conductive elastic portion 6 and the tactile electrode 102 are both in a floating state and are at the same potential as the detection electrode 203, and the charge detection circuit 212 detects the charge amount mainly based on the electrostatic capacitance between the detection electrode 203 and the excitation electrode 202. The touch detection control circuit 213 also outputs the above control signal to the tactile presentation voltage generation circuit 113.

[0170] Based on the control signal, the tactile sense voltage generation circuit 113 can identify the touch detection period P1. During the touch detection period P1, the tactile sense voltage generation circuit 113 turns off the switch 40 of the switch circuit 112. Accordingly, the electrical connection between the tactile sense voltage generation circuit 113 and all the tactile electrodes 102 is cut off. As a result, the potentials of all the tactile electrodes 102 become floating.

[0171] In the case where the distance between the tactile electrodes 102 is wide and the detection electrode 203 and the position detection unit 7 of the tactile presentation button 3 form an electrostatic capacitance across the gap between the tactile electrodes 102, the tactile electrodes 102 do not need to be floated, but may be fixed to the detection GND or any fixed potential. As the potential of the tactile electrode 102, a potential that is most likely to detect the amount of charge mainly based on the electrostatic capacitance between the detection electrode 203 and the excitation electrode 202 is selected.

[0172] Next, during the touch coordinate calculation period P2, the touch coordinate calculation circuit 214 determines whether there is a touch of the indicator 2 based on the charge detection results of the mutual capacitances corresponding to the excitation electrodes Ty(1) to Ty(m) respectively, which are input and maintained from the charge detection circuit 212, in other words, the charge detection results of the capacitances of all intersections formed by the excitation electrodes Ty(1) to Ty(m) and the detection electrodes Tx(1) to Tx(n). The electric field coupling between the excitation electrode 202 and the detection electrode 203 is slowed down by the proximity or contact of the indicator 2 such as a finger, and as a result, the charge in the mutual capacitance decreases. Based on the degree of this decrease, the touch coordinate calculation circuit 214 can determine whether there is a touch. When it is determined that there is a touch, the touch coordinate calculation circuit 214 starts to calculate the touch coordinate data based on the above-mentioned charge detection results. Specifically, the touch coordinate calculation circuit 214 performs calculations such as centroid calculations on the detection results of the intersection with the largest degree of charge reduction and the intersections around it, so that the touch coordinate data can be calculated. If it is determined that there is no touch, the touch coordinate calculation circuit 214 does not calculate the touch coordinate data, and the process returns to the touch detection period P1. In order to perform such processing, the touch coordinate calculation circuit 214 provides the touch detection control circuit 213 with a signal indicating the determination result of whether the indicator 2 touches the touch panel surface and whether it touches the tactile presentation button 3. If the determination result that the indicator 2 touches the tactile presentation button 3 is not obtained, the operations of P1 to P3 are repeated.

[0173] Here, the operation in the case where a determination result is obtained that the pointer 2 has contacted the tactile sense presentation button 3 will be described below.

[0174] Fig.31 1 is a schematic diagram showing an image of the electrostatic capacitance between the excitation electrode 202 and the position detection unit 7 when the pointer 2 contacts the tactile sense presentation button 3 . Fig.32 The tactile presentation touch panel 400 (see FIG. Fig.28 )’s working timing timing diagram.

[0175] When the indicator 2 is in contact with the tactile presentation button 3, the conductive elastic portion 6 is grounded via the tactile presentation button 3 and the indicator 2, and the detection electrode 203 forms an electrostatic capacitance with the conductive elastic portion 6 via the tactile electrode 102, and the electrostatic capacitance between the detection electrode 203 and the excitation electrode 202 decreases. As a result, the amount of charge detected by the charge detection circuit 212 decreases, and it is detected that the indicator 2 is in contact with the tactile presentation button 3.

[0176] During the touch detection period P1, the touch detection control circuit 213 outputs a control signal indicating the first transformation timing to the excitation pulse generating circuit 215. The excitation pulse generating circuit 215 receives the control signal and gives an excitation pulse signal (charging pulse signal) to the excitation electrode Ty(1). Accordingly, the inter-electrode capacitance (mutual capacitance) between the excitation electrode Ty(1) and each of the detection electrodes Tx(1) to Tx(n) that intersect with it when viewed from above is charged. The charge detection circuit 212 detects the amount of charge charged using the detection electrodes Tx(1) to Tx(n). The charge detection circuit 212 then performs analog / digital conversion (A / D conversion) on the detection result, and outputs the digital information obtained therefrom as a charge detection result of the mutual capacitance corresponding to the excitation electrode Ty(1) to the touch coordinate calculation circuit 214. Similarly, the touch detection control circuit 213 sequentially outputs control signals indicating the second to mth transformation timings to the excitation pulse generating circuit 215. Corresponding to each of the second to m-th conversion timings, the charge detection results of the mutual capacitances corresponding to the excitation electrodes Ty ( 2 ) to Ty (m) are output to the touch coordinate calculation circuit 214 .

[0177] The touch detection control circuit 213 also outputs the control signal to the tactile presentation voltage generation circuit 113. The tactile presentation voltage generation circuit 113 can identify the touch detection period P1 based on the control signal. During the touch detection period P1, the tactile presentation voltage generation circuit 113 turns off the switch 40 of the switch circuit 112. Accordingly, the electrical connection between the tactile presentation voltage generation circuit 113 and all the tactile electrodes 102 is cut off. As a result, the potentials of all the tactile electrodes 102 become floating.

[0178] Next, during the touch coordinate calculation period P2, the touch coordinate calculation circuit 214 determines whether there is a touch of the indicator 2 based on the charge detection results of the mutual capacitances corresponding to the excitation electrodes Ty(1) to Ty(m) respectively, which are input and maintained from the charge detection circuit 212, in other words, the charge detection results of the capacitances of all intersections formed by the excitation electrodes Ty(1) to Ty(m) and the detection electrodes Tx(1) to Tx(n). The electric field coupling between the excitation electrode 202 and the detection electrode 203 is slowed down by the proximity or contact of the indicator 2 such as a finger, and as a result, the charge in the mutual capacitance decreases. Based on the degree of this decrease, the touch coordinate calculation circuit 214 can determine whether there is a touch. When it is determined that there is a touch, the touch coordinate calculation circuit 214 starts to calculate the touch coordinate data based on the above-mentioned charge detection results. Specifically, the touch coordinate calculation circuit 214 performs calculations such as centroid calculations on the detection results of the intersection with the largest degree of charge reduction and the intersections around it, so that the touch coordinate data can be calculated. If no touch is determined, the touch coordinate calculation circuit 214 does not calculate the touch coordinate data and returns to the touch detection period P1. To perform such processing, the touch coordinate calculation circuit 214 provides a signal indicating the touch determination result to the touch detection control circuit 213.

[0179] Next, during the touch coordinate sending period P3, according to the touch coordinate data sending timing from the touch detection control circuit 213, the touch coordinate calculation circuit 214 outputs the touch coordinate data to the button movement amount calculation circuit 220, and also outputs it as touch action information to the tactile formation condition transformation circuit 120 and the tactile presentation control circuit 114.

[0180] Next, during the determination period P4 , the tactile presentation control circuit 114 determines the position of the tactile presentation button 3 based on the touch coordinate data, and determines the area for tactile presentation.

[0181] The tactile presentation control circuit 114 selects a tactile presentation signal waveform (voltage signal waveform) corresponding to the coordinates of the display screen and the tactile presentation button 3 based on the input from the tactile formation condition conversion circuit 120. The "tactile presentation signal waveform" defines the voltage signal V a And voltage signal V b In addition, the voltage signal V a With the voltage signal V bThe difference in waveform between the two is usually a difference in frequency. The tactile presentation signal waveform is set inside or outside the tactile presentation control circuit 114. The type of tactile presentation signal waveform can be one or more than one. In the case where there is only one type of tactile presentation signal waveform, there is no need to select the processing of the tactile presentation signal waveform. In the case where there are more than one type of tactile presentation signal waveform, the type of tactile presentation signal waveform is selected based on the input from the tactile formation condition conversion circuit 120.

[0182] Next, during the tactile presentation signal application period P5, the tactile presentation control circuit 114 generates a tactile presentation signal under the above-mentioned tactile presentation signal waveform. In addition, the switch 40 of the switch circuit 112 connected to the tactile electrode 102 in the area where the tactile presentation signal is input is connected to the tactile presentation voltage generation circuit 113, and the switch 40 connected to the tactile electrode 102 in the area where the tactile presentation signal is not input is grounded or the switch is not turned on to keep the tactile electrode 102 floating. Based on this, a signal is applied to the tactile electrode 102, thereby presenting a tactile sensation. Fig.32 In the example of , an AC signal having an H level (high level) and an L level (low level) is applied to the tactile electrode 102. The tactile electrode 102 is charged with a positive high voltage, usually tens of volts, during the H level period, and is discharged during the 0 level period. It is charged with a negative high voltage, usually tens of volts, during the L level. The generation cycle and generation period of the pulse signal can be appropriately set based on the input from the tactile formation condition conversion circuit 120.

[0183] After the tactile presentation signal application period P5, the process returns to the touch detection period P1. Thus, the above operation is repeated. Accordingly, the tactile presentation touch panel 400 can detect the position of the tactile presentation button 3 and present tactile sensations corresponding to the position of the tactile presentation button 3 and the display screen.

[0184] Fig.33 To illustrate the touch detection period P1 (refer to Fig.32 ) is a schematic diagram showing the formation of electrostatic capacitance in the tactile presentation touch panel 400. During the touch detection period P1, an electrostatic capacitance C is formed between the indicator 2 and the detection electrode 203. ND During this period, the potentials of all the touch electrodes 102 are set to a floating state. This prevents the touch electrodes 102 from functioning as a shield. Therefore, the sensitivity of touch detection can be improved.

[0185] Fig.34 To illustrate the period P5 during which the tactile presentation signal is applied (refer to Fig.32) is a schematic diagram of the formation of electrostatic capacitance in the tactile presentation touch display 1. During the tactile presentation signal application period P5, the potential of the excitation electrode 202 and the detection electrode 203 of the touch panel 200 can be set to a floating state. According to this, it is possible to suppress the formation of the electrostatic capacitance C based on the capacitance of the excitation electrode 202 and the detection electrode 203. NE The influence brought by. Alternatively, the potential of the excitation electrode 202 and the detection electrode 203 of the touch panel 200 can be set to a substantially constant potential, for example, the excitation electrode 202 and the detection electrode 203 can be connected to the ground potential with low impedance. According to this, the excitation electrode 202 and the detection electrode 203 can play a function as a shield between the touch electrode 102 and the display panel 300. Therefore, the situation where noise is generated in the display panel 300 due to the high voltage signal applied to the touch electrode 102 is suppressed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the display defect caused by noise. Conversely, the situation where noise is generated in the touch electrode 102 due to the display panel 300 is also suppressed. When the tactile presentation signal is applied to the touch electrode 102, the conductive elastic part 6 forms an electrostatic capacitance with the touch electrode 102, and the charge of the potential opposite to the voltage of the touch electrode 102 is accumulated on the surface of the conductive elastic part 6 that is in contact with the dielectric layer 106, and an electrostatic force is generated between the conductive elastic part 6 and the dielectric layer 106. As a result, the friction between the conductive elastic part 6 and the dielectric layer 106 changes. Due to the change in friction, the torque of the button changes when the tactile sense presentation button 3 is rotated, and the user feels the operation feeling when the tactile sense presentation button 3 is rotated.

[0186] In addition, when a floating state is used, both the excitation electrode 202 and the detection electrode 203 may be set to a floating state, or one of them may be set to a floating state. In addition, when a constant potential is used, both the excitation electrode 202 and the detection electrode 203 may be set to a constant potential, or one of them may be set to a constant potential. One of the excitation electrode 202 and the detection electrode 203 may be set to a floating state, and the other may be set to a constant potential. In the case where the excitation electrode 202 and the detection electrode 203 are at different distances from the tactile electrode 102, the electrode closer to the tactile electrode 102 among the excitation electrode 202 and the detection electrode 203 may be set to a floating state, and the electrode farther away may be set to a constant potential.

[0187] In addition, although Fig.28 In the example shown, the touch coordinate data is sent from the touch detection circuit 210 to the voltage supply circuit 110, but as a modified example, the charge detection circuit 212 may send information of the charge detection result to the voltage supply circuit 110. In this case, the tactile presentation control circuit 114 uses the information of the charge detection result to determine whether a touch is present and calculate the touch coordinates.

[0188] When the position of the tactile presentation button 3 on the tactile presentation panel 100 is changed during operation or each time the tactile presentation panel 100 is operated, the bottom surface 15 can be closely attached to and fixed on the tactile presentation panel 100. In addition, when the position of the tactile presentation button 3 on the tactile presentation panel 100 is not changed during operation or each time the tactile presentation panel 100 is operated (when the position of the tactile presentation button 3 is fixed for use), the bottom surface 15 can be bonded and fixed to the tactile presentation panel 100 by the adhesive portion 17.

[0189] <Suppressing the Accumulation of Charges in the Conductive Elastic Part>

[0190] Fig.35 This is a diagram schematically showing the movement of charges when the charges accumulated in the conductive elastic part 6 are grounded via the indicator 2 when a signal voltage is applied. The conductive elastic part 6 is made of insulating resin mixed with conductive carbon black and metal particles, so it has a high resistance and is easy to accumulate charges. When charges are accumulated in the conductive elastic part 6, the electrostatic force between the conductive elastic part 6 and the tactile electrode 102 no longer changes with the signal voltage, and the tactile intensity decreases. When the conductive elastic part 6 is electrically connected to the surface of the rotating part 4, the indicator 2 is grounded via the indicator 2 when it is in contact with the rotating part 4, so that the charges accumulated in the conductive elastic part 6 are released, which can suppress the accumulation of charges.

[0191] When the resistance of the conductive elastic portion 6 is high, it is difficult for the electric charge to move in the conductive elastic portion 6, and it is not possible to fully discharge the electric charge simply by discharging the electric charge through the indicator 2 as described above. In this case, when a signal voltage is applied, at least one of the conductive elastic portions 6 divided into two or more forms an electrostatic capacitance with the tactile electrode 102, and at least one of the conductive elastic portions 6 is connected to the ground via the dielectric layer 106. Fig.36) is connected to the tactile electrode 102, thereby promoting the release of the charge accumulated in the conductive elastic portion 6 via the indicator 2, and releasing the charge accumulated in the dielectric layer 106 to the tactile electrode 102, thereby preventing the charge from accumulating. The tactile electrode 102 connected to the charge discharge portion 115 does not need to be fixed, and for the same tactile electrode 102, it is possible to switch between applying a signal voltage and connecting to the charge discharge portion 115 to drive, and it is also possible to alternate the tactile electrode 102 to which the signal voltage is applied and the tactile electrode 102 to which the charge discharge portion 115 is connected. However, no electrostatic force is generated on the tactile electrode 102 connected to the charge discharge portion 115. Therefore, in order to prevent the tactile sense from being reduced, the number of tactile electrodes 102 to which the signal voltage is applied is made greater than the number of tactile electrodes 102 connected to the charge discharge portion 115, or the time connected to the charge discharge portion 115 is made shorter than the time for applying the signal voltage, so that the effective area of ​​the conductive elastic portion 6 that generates electrostatic force between the tactile electrode 102 is larger than the effective area of ​​the conductive elastic portion 6 that forms a capacitor with the charge discharge portion 115.

[0192] Fig.36 This is a block diagram showing a structure when the tactile electrode 102 is driven in such a manner that at least one of the conductive elastic parts 6 divided into two or more forms an electrostatic capacitance with the tactile electrode 102 and at least one is connected to the tactile electrode 102 connected to the ground via the dielectric layer 106. Fig.32 ), the tactile presentation control circuit 114 determines the position of the tactile presentation button 3 according to the touch coordinate data, determines the tactile presentation area, divides the area into two or more, determines the area for inputting the tactile presentation signal and the area for grounding.

[0193] The tactile presentation control circuit 114 selects a tactile presentation signal waveform corresponding to the coordinates of the display screen and the tactile presentation button 3 based on the input from the tactile formation condition conversion circuit 120. The "tactile presentation signal waveform" defines the voltage signal V a And voltage signal V b In addition, the voltage signal V a With the voltage signal V b The difference in waveform between the two is usually a difference in frequency. The tactile presentation signal waveform is set inside or outside the tactile presentation control circuit 114. The type of tactile presentation signal waveform can be one or more than one. In the case where there is only one type of tactile presentation signal waveform, there is no need to select the processing of the tactile presentation signal waveform. In the case where there are more than one type of tactile presentation signal waveform, the type of tactile presentation signal waveform is selected based on the input from the tactile formation condition conversion circuit 120.

[0194] Next, during the tactile presentation signal application period P5 (refer to Fig.32 ), the tactile presentation control circuit 114 generates a tactile presentation signal under the above-mentioned tactile presentation signal waveform. In addition, the switch 40 of the switch circuit 112 connected to the tactile electrode 102 in the area where the tactile presentation signal is input is connected to the tactile presentation voltage generation circuit 113, and the switch 40 connected to the tactile electrode 102 in the grounded area is grounded. The switch 40 connected to the tactile electrode 102 in the area where the tactile presentation signal is not input is grounded, or the switch 40 is not turned on to keep the tactile electrode 102 floating. Based on this signal, the tactile electrode 102 is applied to the tactile electrode 102, thereby presenting a tactile sensation. In Fig.32 In the example of , an AC signal having an H level (high level) and an L level (low level) is applied to the tactile electrode 102. The tactile electrode 102 is charged with a positive high voltage, usually tens of volts, during the H level period, and is discharged during the 0 level period. It is charged with a negative high voltage, usually tens of volts, during the L level. The generation cycle and generation period of the pulse signal can be appropriately set based on the input from the tactile formation condition conversion circuit 120.

[0195] After the tactile presentation signal application period P5, the process returns to the touch detection period P1. Thus, the above operation is repeated. Accordingly, the tactile presentation touch panel 400 can detect the position of the tactile presentation button 3 and present tactile sensations corresponding to the position of the tactile presentation button 3 and the display screen.

[0196] In the first embodiment, the GND terminal is used as the charge discharge portion 115 for explanation, but other structures may be used as long as the charges accumulated in the conductive elastic portion 6 can be discharged. For example, a positive voltage or a negative voltage that can efficiently discharge the charges may be applied according to the conductivity of the charges accumulated in the conductive elastic portion 6, without using the GND terminal.

[0197] <Differences between the electrode structure of a tactile display screen and a touch screen>

[0198] As a preferred condition of the tactile electrode 102, first, a structure in which the indicator 2 can contact the tactile electrode 102 without passing through any member other than the dielectric layer 106 is preferred. Therefore, the tactile electrode 102 covered with the dielectric layer 106 is preferably arranged on the outermost surface of the tactile presenting touch panel 400.

[0199] Second, the closer the distance between the indicator 2 and the tactile electrode 102 is, the greater the tactile sensation can be. From this viewpoint, it is preferable that the thickness of the dielectric layer 106 is thin, and it is also preferable that the dielectric constant of the dielectric layer 106 is large.

[0200] Third, when the tactile sensation is generated, in order to increase the electrostatic capacitance C NE (Refer to Fig.34), it is best that the tactile electrodes 102 exist densely. On the other hand, when detecting the touch position (refer to Fig.32 ), preferably the electrostatic capacitance C between the tactile electrodes 102 E , that is, the capacitance between electrodes is small, so as not to interfere with the electrostatic capacitance C ND formation.

[0201] The size of the tactile presentation touch panel 400 is larger than the tactile presentation button 3. When the area where the tactile presentation button 3 is not placed is used as a touch panel that does not perform tactile presentation, when the pointer 2 is not in contact with the tactile presentation button 3, the operation timing when the pointer 2 is not in contact with the tactile presentation button 3 is repeated on the entire surface of the tactile presentation touch panel 400 (refer to Fig.29 ). When touch detection is performed in an area used as a touch panel that does not present tactile sensation, the touch position is calculated and output. When the indicator 2 contacts the tactile sensation presenting button 3, touch detection in the area where the tactile sensation presenting button 3 is not placed is stopped, and the touch detection is performed only in the area where the tactile sensation presenting button 3 is placed as described above (refer to Fig.31 )’s work is scheduled to work.

[0202] When the area where the tactile presentation button 3 is not placed is used as a touch panel for tactile presentation, when the pointer 2 is not in contact with the tactile presentation button 3, the operation timing when the pointer 2 is not in contact with the tactile presentation button 3 is repeated on the entire surface of the tactile presentation touch panel 400 (see Fig.29 ). When a touch detection is performed in the area used as a touch panel for tactile presentation, when the indicator 2 as described above contacts the tactile presentation button 3 (refer to Fig.31 When the indicator 2 contacts the tactile presentation button 3, the touch detection of the area where the tactile presentation button 3 is not placed is stopped, and the touch detection is performed only when the indicator 2 contacts the tactile presentation button 3 as described above (refer to Fig.31 )’s work is scheduled to work.

[0203] As the preferred conditions for the excitation electrodes 202 and the detection electrodes 203, first, in order to ensure the sensitivity and linearity of the touch position detection, a matrix structure capable of accurately identifying the touch position is required. Second, due to the electrostatic capacitance C formed by the indicator 2 and the detection electrode 203 via the tactile presentation screen 150, ND To detect the touch position, a predetermined distance (more than several hundred μm and less than several mm) needs to be provided between the excitation electrode 202 and the detection electrode 203 so that the electric field can spread in the lateral direction.

[0204] As described above, the preferred conditions for the tactile electrode 102 are different from the preferred conditions for the excitation electrode 202 and the detection electrode 203. In order to optimize these two conditions, it is preferable not to apply the same structure to them.

[0205] <Details of the lead wiring layer>

[0206] Specifically, the lead-out wiring layer 105 ( Fig.15 ) has lead wiring layers Ld(1) to Ld(j) and lead wiring layers Lu(1) to Lu(j). Let k be any integer from 1 to j, and the lead wiring layers Ld(k) and Lu(k) are each connected to the kth tactile electrode 102. The lead wiring layers Ld(k) and Lu(k) are each connected to one end and the other end of a tactile electrode 102 in the extension direction.

[0207] From the viewpoint of not hindering the touch detection of the touch screen 250, the wiring resistance of each of the tactile electrodes 102 provided on the tactile presentation screen 150 is preferably high resistance, preferably 10 4 When the wiring resistance is high, the propagation delay of the voltage signal in the wiring layer is likely to occur. By connecting the lead wiring layer 105 to one end and the other end of the tactile electrode 102 as described above, the propagation delay can be suppressed.

[0208] The lead wiring layers Ld(1) to Ld(j) are arranged outside the tactile presentation area, and extend toward the corresponding electrodes in the order of approaching the center of the arrangement of the tactile presentation panel terminal portion 107 so as to obtain a substantially shortest distance from the tactile presentation panel terminal portion 107. The tactile presentation panel terminal portion 107 is arranged along the long side of the transparent insulating substrate 101 near the center of the long side. The lead wiring layers Ld(1) to Ld(j) are arranged as densely as possible while ensuring mutual insulation. The lead wiring layers Lu(1) to Lu(j) are similarly arranged outside the area occupied by the lead wiring layers Ld(1) to Ld(j). By adopting such a configuration, the area of ​​the outer portion of the tactile presentation area in the transparent insulating substrate 101 can be suppressed.

[0209] The lead wiring layer 105, specifically the lead wiring layers Ld(1) to Ld(j) and the lead wiring layers Lu(1) to Lu(j), are preferably composed of a metal single layer film or a laminated film of a metal single layer and a non-metal single layer. In the case where the laminated film has a lower layer and an upper layer covering the lower layer, the upper layer can have a function as a protective layer for the lower layer. For example, the upper layer as a protective layer can protect the lower layer from the influence of the etchant during the etching process for manufacturing the tactile presentation screen 150. Alternatively, the upper layer can also function as a cap layer to prevent corrosion of the lower layer during the manufacture or use of the tactile presentation screen 150. If a material that has better adhesion to the transparent insulating substrate 101 than the material of the upper layer is used as the material of the lower layer, it is possible to suppress the peeling of the lead wiring layer 105.

[0210] <Haptic Presentation Touch Panel Including Display Panel>

[0211] Fig.37 2 is a block diagram showing the relationship between the display panel, the touch panel and the tactile presentation panel. Fig.28 , Fig.36 ) Based on the coordinates of the button on the touch panel 200 obtained by the touch detection circuit 210, the information of the movement amount (rotation angle) of the button is output to the tactile sensation formation condition conversion circuit 120 and the display screen processing circuit 321.

[0212] The display screen processing circuit 321 selects a display processing condition corresponding to the amount of button movement in the pattern pre-stored in the display processing condition storage device 322 (display condition storage device), and then edits the image information 330 based on the selected display processing condition and forwards the image data to the image signal supply circuit 320.

[0213] The tactile sensation forming condition conversion circuit 120 selects a tactile sensation forming condition, such as a tactile sensation intensity, corresponding to the amount of movement of the button in the pattern pre-stored in the tactile sensation forming condition storage device 121 (tactile sensation condition storage device). Then, the voltage supply circuit 110 supplies a voltage signal to the tactile sensation presentation panel 100 based on the selected tactile sensation forming condition. Thus, the display change of the display panel corresponding to the amount of rotation of the tactile sensation presentation button 3 is synchronized with the tactile sensation obtained from the button.

[0214] Fig.38 The flowchart of the above synchronization process is recorded. Fig.31 ) and tactile presentation button 3 (refer to Fig.31 ) contact (knob touch) or the tactile presentation touch panel 400 is powered on (power turned on (ON)), thereby starting the synchronization processing. At the time point of starting the synchronization processing or the time point of providing the tactile presentation touch panel 400 with an initial state signal of the tactile presentation button 3, the position coordinates of the tactile presentation button 3 on the touch panel 200 are stored as the initial position (step S0).

[0215] The contact state between the tactile presentation button 3 and the indicator 2 is determined at a predetermined period (step S1). If it is determined that there is no contact (in the case of "no"), it is determined that a release action has been performed (contact release), and the process is transferred to the release action processing (step S14). On the other hand, if it is determined that there is a contact state (in the case of "yes"), the position of the tactile presentation button 3 on the touch panel 200 is detected to obtain the current coordinates (step S2). Then, the movement amount (rotation angle) of the tactile presentation button 3 is calculated using the obtained current coordinates and initial coordinates (step S3), and it is determined whether there is movement based on the movement amount (step S4).

[0216] If it is determined that the tactile presentation button 3 has not moved (the case of no), it is determined whether the action in the previous cycle is rotation or translation (step S11), and if it is translation, the process is transferred to translation action processing (step S15). On the other hand, if it is rotation, the angle-tactile sense conversion table is referenced with the rotation angle in the previous cycle (step S12), and a signal is applied to the tactile electrode under the condition of forming the same tactile sense as the previous cycle (step S8).

[0217] In addition, when the action in the previous cycle is rotation, display processing is performed in accordance with the rotation angle of the previous cycle (step S13).

[0218] On the other hand, when it is determined in step S4 that the tactile presentation button 3 is moving (in the case of yes), it is determined whether it is a rotational movement (step S5). Fig.26 The method described above is used to judge that if it is not a rotational action (if it is no), it is judged to be a translational action and the translation action processing is transferred to (step S15). On the other hand, if it is judged to be a rotational action (if it is yes), it is judged whether it is the same as the rotation direction in the previous cycle (step S6). In addition, if it is a rotational action, a display processing is performed in accordance with the rotation angle calculated in step S3 (step S9).

[0219] If it is determined in step S6 that the rotation direction is the same (if yes), the same angle-tactile sensation conversion table as in the previous cycle is referenced (step S7 ), and a signal is applied to the tactile electrode 102 (step S8 ).

[0220] On the other hand, when it is determined by step S6 that the rotation direction is different from that in the previous cycle (the case of no), it is considered to be rotating in the opposite direction, and the transformation table from the rotation angle to the tactile sensation is changed to that used in the opposite direction (step S10), and a signal is applied to the tactile electrode 102 (step S8) with reference to the changed angle-tactile sensation transformation table (step S7).

[0221] After the voltage is applied to the tactile electrode 102 , the process moves to checking the contact state between the tactile presentation button 3 and the indicator 2 in the next cycle.

[0222] <Relationship between Pressing Pressure and Touch Strength>

[0223] The pressing force applied when the user performs a rotational operation on the tactile presentation knob 3 varies with changes in the angle of the user's arm and wrist caused by the amount of operation and the like. Fig.39 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the interface between the conductive elastic portion 6 and the display surface when the tactile presentation button 3 is operated with a weak pressing force F1. Fig.40This is a graph showing the relationship between the sheet thickness and the flatness of one side of a common rubber sheet. Fig.41 1 is a schematic diagram showing the interface between the conductive elastic portion 6 and the display surface when the tactile sense presentation button 3 is operated with a strong pressing force.

[0224] The following description will be made by taking the case where ordinary conductive rubber is used as the conductive elastic part 6 as an example. The conductive rubber is manufactured by mixing and refining raw materials into rubber blocks, rolling them into rubber sheets of a predetermined thickness using rollers, and then vulcanizing them. The dimensional tolerance of the thickness of ordinary rubber sheets is ±0.2mm when the thickness is 1.5mm, ±0.25mm when the thickness is 2mm, and ±0.3mm when the thickness is 3-4mm. The thicker the sheet, the greater the dimensional tolerance. Therefore, if Fig.40 As shown, the flatness (maximum unevenness) of one side of the rubber sheet is 0.2 mm when the thickness is 1.5 mm, 0.25 mm when the thickness is 2 mm, and 0.3 mm when the thickness is 3 to 4 mm.

[0225] When the tactile presentation button 3 is placed on the operation surface of the tactile presentation touch display 1, as shown in FIG. Fig.39 As shown in FIG. 1 , when the tactile sense presentation button 3 is operated with a weak pressing force F1, the deformation of the conductive elastic portion 6 is small, so an air layer 18 caused by the unevenness of the conductive elastic portion 6 remains between the conductive elastic portion 6 and the operation surface. Fig.41 As shown in FIG. 1 , when the conductive elastic portion 6 is operated with a pressing force F2 that causes the conductive elastic portion 6 to be fully deformed and to be in close contact with the operation surface, Fig.39 Compared with the case where the air layer 18 is reduced or disappears.

[0226] The dielectric constant of the air layer 18 is substantially the same as the dielectric constant of a vacuum, which is 1.0, and is lower than that of the dielectric layer 106. When the distance between the tactile electrode 102 and the conductive elastic portion 6 is d1 and the average dielectric constant is ε1 when the pressing force F1 is applied, and when the distance between the tactile electrode 102 and the conductive elastic portion 6 is d2 and the average dielectric constant is ε2 when the pressing force F2 is applied, the relationship d1>d2 and ε1<ε2 is formed. When the electrostatic capacitance C between the tactile electrode 102 and the conductive elastic portion 6 is calculated according to the formula (1) described above, NE When the pressure F1 is applied, the electrostatic capacitance C1 is less than the electrostatic capacitance C2 when the pressure F2 is applied. Therefore, the tactile intensity when the pressure F1 is applied is weaker than the tactile intensity when the pressure F2 is applied.

[0227] Furthermore, when the pressing force when operating the tactile presentation button 3 becomes too large, the contact area between the conductive elastic part 6 and the operating surface becomes larger, and the static friction coefficient becomes larger due to the close contact. Therefore, the difference between the friction force (static friction force) when no voltage signal is input and the friction force generated by the electrostatic force when the voltage signal is input becomes smaller, the clarity of the touch is reduced, and the user feels that the touch intensity is weak.

[0228] When the pressure in a series of operations changes from Fig.41 The state without the air layer 18 becomes as follows Fig.39 When the air layer 18 is included, the electrostatic capacitance C is maintained at the same charge. NE As a result, the voltage V increases sharply (see equation (1)), and sometimes discharge occurs between the tactile electrode 102 and the conductive elastic part 6 , resulting in a decrease in the reliability of the tactile presentation panel 100 .

[0229] As a method of suppressing the change in tactile intensity due to the pressing force as described above, for example, Figure 1 As shown in FIG. 1 , a pressure-sensitive sensor 216 is disposed on the back of the display panel 300, and the pressure-sensitive sensor 216 detects the deformation of the components constituting the tactile presentation touch display 1 as the pressing force when the tactile presentation button 3 is operated. Fig.37 As shown, the output of the pressure-sensitive sensor 216 is input to the pressure detection circuit 217, and the pressure amount is calculated by the pressure amount calculation circuit 218 based on the detection value of the pressure detection circuit 217. A method of correcting the waveform of the voltage signal by the tactile sensation formation condition conversion circuit 120 based on the calculated pressure amount can be considered. The method is described below.

[0230] As the pressure sensitive sensor 216, a capacitive method can be used, in which a capacitance change caused by a change in the gap between the pressure sensitive sensor electrodes in response to the pressing force is detected, or a piezoelectric method can be used, in which a structure to which the pressure sensitive sensor 216 is bonded, such as Figure 1 In the case of the back of the display panel 300 extending or contracting in proportion to the pressing force, the amount of deformation, that is, the deformation is detected as an electrical signal. In addition, any method can be used as long as it is a pressure-sensitive sensor that detects the pressing force. Regarding the configuration position of the pressure-sensitive sensor 216, a plurality of pressure-sensitive sensors 216 are configured so that the pressing force can be detected with uniform sensitivity when the tactile presentation button 3 is operated at any position in the display area 301. For example, in the case of using four pressure-sensitive sensors 216, as shown in FIG. Figure 1 In this way, the portions near the four corners in the display area 301 are arranged point-symmetrically or line-symmetrically.

[0231] Regarding the pressing force, the pressing detection circuit 217 detects the change in capacitance or deformation of the four pressure-sensitive sensors 216, and the pressing amount calculation circuit 218 calculates the pressing amount by taking a weighted average based on the detection value output by the pressing detection circuit 217, and outputs the pressing amount to the tactile sensation formation condition conversion circuit 120. Based on the tactile sensation formation condition determined based on the operation position and operation amount corresponding to the displayed user interface (UI), the waveform of the voltage signal output from the tactile sensation formation condition storage device 121 is corrected to the waveform of the voltage signal corresponding to the pressing amount and output to the voltage supply circuit 110.

[0232] The number and arrangement positions of the pressure-sensitive sensors 216 are not limited to the above example, and more pressure-sensitive sensors 216 can be evenly arranged in the display area to detect the amount of pressure with higher sensitivity and high precision and calculate the distribution of the amount of pressure in the display area 301. In this case, the load of the tactile presentation button 3 can also be detected and the position of the tactile presentation button 3 can be calculated.

[0233] In the case of a piezoelectric method, a sheet-shaped pressure-sensitive sensor 216 in which pressure-sensitive elements are arranged in a matrix can be attached to the entire back surface of the display panel 300. In this case, the load of the tactile presentation button 3 can be detected and the position of the tactile presentation button 3 can be calculated.

[0234] In addition, the location where the pressure-sensitive sensor 216 is arranged is not limited to the back side of the display panel 300. For example, when the periphery of the tactile presentation touch display 1 is fixed to the frame, the pressure-sensitive sensor 216 can be arranged on the periphery of the back side of the fixed tactile presentation panel 100, that is, under the black frame printed portion 302, to detect the deformation of the tactile presentation touch display 1. When the pressure-sensitive element is composed of a transparent conductive film, the pressure-sensitive element can also be arranged in a matrix in any structure of the tactile presentation panel 100, the touch panel 200, and the display panel 300 to form an integrated structure.

[0235] Regarding the method, structure, detection position, etc. of the pressure-sensitive sensor 216, they can be selected based on the conditions that the deformation of the structure constituting the tactile presentation touch display 1 is large and high-sensitivity pressure detection is possible, depending on the method of fixing the tactile presentation touch display 1 to the frame and the type of display panel 300 (liquid crystal display, organic EL panel, μLED, etc.).

[0236] As described above, a structure for correcting a voltage signal according to the pressing force of the tactile presentation button 3 can be adopted, and the load of the tactile presentation button 3 and the pressing force during operation are applied to the conductive elastic part 6. Since the conductive elastic part 6 has elasticity, when the load of the tactile presentation button 3 and the pressing force during operation are applied, the material of the conductive elastic part 6 is compressed in the pressing direction and a part of the pressing force is relieved. The pressure-sensitive sensor 216 and the pressing detection circuit 217 can only detect the pressing force relieved by the elasticity of the conductive elastic part 6. The elasticity of the conductive elastic part 6 changes according to temperature, pressure, rotation speed, etc. Therefore, it is difficult to calculate the accurate pressing force including the amount of the pressing force relieved by the conductive elastic part 6 by the pressing amount calculation circuit 128. In addition, since the thickness of the air layer 18 between the conductive elastic part 6 and the operation surface cannot be controlled, the static friction coefficient between the conductive elastic part 6 and the operation surface cannot be kept constant, and it is difficult to keep the clarity of the tactile sense constant.

[0237] The tactile presentation button according to the first embodiment that solves the above-mentioned technical problems will be described below. Fig.42 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the tactile sense presentation button 30 according to the first embodiment.

[0238] like Fig.42 As shown, in the tactile presentation button 30, the diameter of the conductive elastic part 6 is smaller than the diameter of the rotating part 4, and the support part 19 is arranged to be in contact with the side surface of the conductive elastic part 6. The support part 19 is arranged to extend from the bottom surface of the rotating part 4 to the vicinity of the bottom surface of the conductive elastic part 6, and is set to a height that does not exceed the height of the conductive elastic part 6 when the tactile presentation button 30 is not pressed. Fig.42 In the figure, the difference between the height of the support portion 19 and the maximum height of the conductive elastic portion 6 is denoted as Δt.

[0239] Fig.43 The figure is a table showing the relationship between the difference Δt (mm) between the height of the support portion 19 in the tactile sense presenting button 30 and the maximum height of the conductive elastic portion 6 and the tactile sense intensity when the tactile sense presenting button 30 is pinched. Fig.43 The results of comparing the difference Δt (mm) between the height of the support portion 19 and the maximum height of the conductive elastic portion and the tactile strength when a conductive rubber having a thickness of 2 mm and a hardness of 60 is used as the conductive elastic portion 6 are shown. Fig.43 , a clear touch (0) can be obtained when the Δt value starts from 0.26mm, which is the same as the flatness of the conductive rubber with a thickness of 2mm. The tactile intensity is the strongest at 0.34mm, and a clear touch (◎) can be obtained. When the Δt value becomes 0.43mm and 0.52mm, the tactile intensity decreases to 0 and △.

[0240] As the conductive rubber, a sponge-like structure formed by resin-bridged rubber material is formed. The tactile strength is strongest when the Δt value is 0.34 mm. It is generally believed that the reason is that the large surface irregularities caused by the processing of the above-mentioned material are deformed by the pressing force, and the fine surface irregularities caused by the microscopic structure of the material are also flattened, and the conductive elastic part 6 is in close contact with the operating surface. This state achieves the condition where the reduction of electrostatic capacitance caused by the air layer 18 and the increase of static friction caused by the increase of the contact area between the conductive elastic part 6 and the operating surface are both minimized.

[0241] By providing the support portion 19, Fig.41 As shown in the figure, when a pressing force F2 is applied to the tactile presentation button 30 to fully deform the conductive elastic part 6 and make the conductive elastic part 6 tightly contact with the operating surface, the support part 19 contacts the operating surface and supports the tactile presentation button 30, so the conductive elastic part 6 will not be compressed to a height higher than the support part 19, and the pressing force applied to the conductive elastic part 6 is kept constant, thereby making it possible to keep the static friction between the conductive elastic part 6 and the operating surface constant.

[0242] By making the height of the support portion 19 lower than the conductive elastic portion 6, the pressing force during operation is limited to prevent excessive pressing force from being applied to the conductive elastic portion 6, thereby realizing a capacitance design including the thickness of the air layer 18 between the conductive elastic portion 6 and the operation surface, and reducing the electrostatic capacitance C between the tactile electrode 102 and the conductive elastic portion 6 during operation. NE Keep it constant.

[0243] By making the friction coefficient between the surface where the support part 19 contacts the operation surface and the operation surface lower than the friction coefficient between the conductive elastic part 6 and the operation surface, the friction force acting on the tactile presentation button 3 when no voltage signal is input is mainly caused by the friction coefficient between the conductive elastic part 6 and the operation surface. Therefore, as the material of the support part 19, for example, plastic materials such as polycarbonate (PC), polyacetal (POM), polyamide (PA6, PA66), polyphenylsulfonamide (PPS), polyetheretherketone (PEEK), glass fiber reinforced polyamide MXD6 (RENY), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polypropylene (PP), ABS resin, AS resin (SAN), polyimide (PI), polytetrafluoroethylene resin (PTFE), perfluoroalkoxyalkane (PFA), vinylidene fluoride resin (PVDF), ceramic (CERAMIC), graphite nylon, polyethylene (PE), polystyrene resin (PS), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), methacrylic resin (PMMA), etc., and materials such as glass and metal having a friction coefficient lower than that of the conductive elastic part 6 are used.

[0244] Accordingly, when the support portion 19 makes surface contact with the operating surface, the contact surface has small bumps and a flat shape, and when the support portion 19 makes point contact with the operating surface, the point contact portion is formed into a hemispherical shape that does not scratch the operating surface, thereby making the friction force between the support portion 19 and the operating surface smaller than the friction force between the conductive elastic portion 6 and the operating surface.

[0245] Furthermore, it is preferable that the surface roughness Ra of the support portion 19 is 5.0 μm or less, or the average length RSm of the contour curve elements is greater than or equal to the electrode pitch of the tactile electrodes 102 .

[0246] In addition, because the rotation operation is performed when the support portion 19 is in contact with the operating surface, the pressing pressure of the tactile presentation button 3 is directly transmitted to the operating surface via the support portion 19, and the structural components of the tactile presentation touch display 1 are easily deformed in proportion to the pressing pressure, so the pressure-sensitive sensor 216 can accurately detect the pressing pressure and can perform high-precision voltage signal waveform adjustment based on the pressing pressure.

[0247] Fig.44 To show that Fig.42 The diagram shows the structure of a tactile presentation button 30A in which the tactile presentation button 30 of the first embodiment is made into a more practical structure, and the upper side shows a side view of the tactile presentation button 30A, and the lower side shows a bottom view.

[0248] like Fig.44 As shown, the tactile sense presentation button 30A is formed as follows: the fixing portion 5 for fixing the tactile sense presentation button 3 to the operation surface is arranged at the center, and the support portion 19 and the conductive elastic portion 6 are arranged concentrically with the fixing portion 5 as the center.

[0249] The conductive elastic portion 6 is formed into a fan-shaped plan view shape with the fixing portion 5 as the center, and is arranged at three locations spaced apart from each other. A fan-shaped support portion 19 is arranged between the conductive elastic portions 6 .

[0250] The support parts 19 are arranged at uniform intervals on the concentric circle centered on the fixed part 5 so as to maintain a uniform contact with the operation surface during the rotation operation. Preferably, the conductive elastic part 6 is arranged as uniformly as possible between the support parts 19 on the concentric circle centered on the fixed part 5 so that the vibration generated in the conductive elastic part 6 is uniformly transmitted to the rotating part 4. The conductive elastic part 6 also has the function of the position detection part 7, the touch detection circuit 210 detects the electrostatic capacitance formed between the conductive elastic part 6 and the detection electrode 203, and the button movement amount calculation circuit 220 calculates the rotation angle and rotation speed of the tactile presentation button 30A.

[0251] <Effect>

[0252] According to the tactile presentation button 30 and 30A of the first embodiment, by providing the support portion 19 that keeps the distance between the tactile presentation button 3 and the operation surface constant when the tactile presentation button is operated, the tactile presentation button directly presses the display surface via the support portion, and the press detection can be performed without being affected by the pressure reduction caused by the press deformation of the conductive elastic portion 6. According to this, the pressing force during the operation is kept constant in the conductive elastic portion 6, and the friction coefficient caused by the contact area between the conductive elastic portion 6 and the operation surface is constant, and the voltage signal waveform can be corrected in consideration of only the friction coefficient between the support portion 19 and the display surface that changes depending on the pressing force, so that a tactile sense with constant clarity can be presented to all operators.

[0253] In addition, the friction coefficient caused by the contact area between the conductive elastic part 6 and the operation surface is kept constant and the thickness of the air layer 18 between the tactile electrode 102 and the conductive elastic part 6 is kept constant, thereby suppressing the change of the electrostatic capacitance between the tactile electrode 102 and the conductive elastic part 6, and generating a stable and strong tactile sense. Furthermore, the discharge phenomenon of the electric charge accumulated in the conductive elastic part 6 caused by the change of the electrostatic capacitance formed between the tactile electrode 102 and the conductive elastic part 6 due to the change of the thickness of the air layer 18 is suppressed, and the reliability of the tactile sense presentation touch panel 200 is also improved.

[0254] <Implementation Method 2>

[0255] Fig.45 This is a diagram showing the structure of the tactile presentation button 30B according to the second embodiment, with a side view of the tactile presentation button 30B shown on the upper side and a bottom view shown on the lower side. Fig.45 As shown, the tactile sense presentation button 30B is formed into a structure in which a fixing portion 5 for fixing the tactile sense presentation button 30B to the operation surface is arranged at the center, and the support portion 19 and the conductive elastic portion 6 are arranged concentrically with the fixing portion 5 as the center.

[0256] The conductive elastic portion 6 is formed into a fan-shaped plan view shape with the fixing portion 5 as the center, and is arranged at three locations spaced apart from each other. A fan-shaped support portion 19 is arranged between the conductive elastic portions 6. These aspects are similar to Fig.44 The tactile sense presenting button 30A of the illustrated embodiment 1 is similar to that of the embodiment 1, but position detecting portions 7 each having a circular shape in plan view are arranged at equal intervals on a concentric circle centered on the fixing portion 5 within the fan-shaped plane of the conductive elastic portion 6 .

[0257] The support parts 19 are arranged at uniform intervals on the concentric circle centered on the fixed part 5 so that they can maintain a uniform contact with the operation surface during the rotation operation. Preferably, the conductive elastic part 6 is arranged as uniformly as possible between the support parts 19 on the concentric circle centered on the fixed part 5 so that the vibration generated by the conductive elastic part 6 is evenly transmitted to the rotating part 4.

[0258] As materials for the conductive elastic part 6 and the position detection part 7, thermosetting elastomers such as natural rubber (NR), isoprene rubber (IR), styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), chloroprene rubber (CR), nitrile rubber (NBR), hydrogenated nitrile rubber (HNBR), butyl rubber (IIR), ethylene-propylene rubber (EPDM), chlorosulfonated polyethylene rubber (CSM), silicone rubber (VMQ), fluororubber (FKM), chlorosilicone rubber (FVMQ), acrylic rubber (ACM), and polyurethane rubber (U) can be used. In addition, a resin material with elasticity called conductive rubber can be used, which is based on thermoplastic elastomers such as polyurethane (TPU), polystyrene (TPS), olefin / alkene (TPO), polyvinyl chloride (TPVC), polyester (TPEE), and polyamide (TPAE), and is mixed with conductive materials such as conductive carbon black or metal powder. Carbon nanotubes (CNT) can also be used.

[0259] Furthermore, even when the same material among the above materials is used as the base material for the conductive elastic portion 6 and the position detection portion 7, if the amount of carbon black or metal powder that brings conductivity is reduced, the resistance value becomes higher, and the electrostatic capacitance formed between the tactile electrode 102 and the conductive elastic portion 6 becomes smaller. On the contrary, if the amount of carbon black or metal powder that brings conductivity is increased, the resistance value becomes lower, and the electrostatic capacitance formed between the tactile electrode 102 and the conductive elastic portion 6 can be increased. By making the conductivity of the conductive elastic portion 6 and the position detection portion 7 different, or making the area or shape different, so that the electrostatic capacitance formed between the conductive elastic portion 6 or the position detection portion 7 and the detection electrode 203 and the distribution of the capacitance value are different, the position detection portion 7 can also be made easier to detect the position. Although in Fig.45 In the embodiment, the conductive elastic part 6, the position detection part 7, and the support part 19 are respectively arranged at three locations, but they can also be arranged at more than three locations. The more locations the support part 19 is arranged, the less likely the button is to tilt during the rotation operation, and a more stable and strong touch can be presented. The position detection part 7 can be arranged at more than one location, and when it is arranged at more than three locations, the rotation angle of the button can be calculated with higher accuracy.

[0260] <Effect>

[0261] According to the tactile presentation button 30B of the second embodiment, when the resistance value of the conductive elastic portion 6 is high and the electrostatic capacitance formed between the tactile electrode 102 and the conductive elastic portion 6 is insufficient to detect the movement amount of the tactile presentation button 30B, the electrostatic capacitance can be compensated by providing the position detection portion 7 with a low resistance value, and the movement amount of the tactile presentation button 30B can be detected. In addition, the area of ​​the position detection portion 7 can be minimized.

[0262] <Implementation Method 3>

[0263] Fig.46 This is a diagram showing the structure of a tactile presentation button 30C according to Embodiment 3, with a side view of the tactile presentation button 30C shown on the upper side and a bottom view shown on the lower side. Fig.46 As shown, the tactile presentation button 30C is formed as follows: the fixing portion 5 for fixing the tactile presentation button 30C to the operation surface is arranged at the center, and the support portion 19, the conductive elastic portion 6 and the position detection portion 7 are arranged concentrically around the fixing portion 5.

[0264] The conductive elastic portion 6 is formed into the following structure: a fan-shaped top view shape is formed with the fixed portion 5 as the center, and is arranged at three locations at intervals from each other. Between the conductive elastic portions 6, a position detection portion 7 and a support portion 19 with a fan-shaped top view shape are arranged adjacent to each other, and the position detection portion 7 is sandwiched between the conductive elastic portion 6 and the support portion 19.

[0265] <Effect>

[0266] According to the tactile presentation button 30C of embodiment 3, when the electrostatic capacitance formed between the tactile electrode 102 and the conductive elastic portion 6 is insufficient to detect the movement amount of the tactile presentation button 30C due to the high resistance value of the conductive elastic portion 6, and the conductive elastic portion 6 cannot also have the function of the position detection portion 7, the electrostatic capacitance can be compensated by providing the position detection portion 7 with a low resistance value, and the capacitance distribution is obtained, so that the movement amount of the tactile presentation button 30C can be detected.

[0267] In addition, Fig.46 In the example of FIG. 1 , when the vertical and horizontal widths of the conductive elastic portion 6 are smaller than the pitch of the detection electrodes 203 and the capacitance distribution that can calculate the position cannot be obtained, the movement amount of the tactile presentation button 30C can be detected by providing a position detection portion 7 having a higher resistance value than the conductive elastic portion 6 next to the conductive elastic portion 6. Fig.46 In the embodiment, although the conductive elastic part 6, the position detection part 7, and the support part 19 are respectively arranged at three locations, they may be arranged at more than three locations, and the number of the conductive elastic part 6, the position detection part 7, and the support part 19 may be different. The more locations the support part 19 is arranged, the less likely the button is to tilt during the rotation operation, and the more stable and strong the touch can be presented.

[0268] In addition, Fig.46In the example, a structure in which the position detection part 7 is sandwiched between the conductive elastic part 6 and the support part 19 is adopted. However, a structure in which the support part 19 is arranged on the left and right sides of the position detection part 7 and the position detection part 7 is sandwiched between the support parts 19 formed of a material with a low dielectric constant can also be adopted. This can separate the capacitance distribution of the position detection part 7 and the conductive elastic part 6, and can improve the detection accuracy of the movement amount calculation circuit.

[0269] <Implementation Method 4>

[0270] Fig.47 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the structure of a tactile presentation button 30D according to Embodiment 4, wherein a side view of the tactile presentation button 30D is shown on the upper side and a bottom view is shown on the lower side. Fig.47 As shown, the tactile sense presentation button 30D is formed into a structure in which a fixing portion 5 for fixing the tactile sense presentation button 30D to the operation surface is arranged at the center, and a conductive elastic portion 6 is arranged concentrically with the fixing portion 5 as the center.

[0271] The conductive elastic parts 6 are formed into a fan-shaped shape in a plan view with the fixed part 5 as the center, and are arranged at three locations spaced apart from each other, with gaps 20 between the conductive elastic parts 6. Then, a support part 19 is arranged on the outer periphery of the surface of the tactile presentation button 30D that contacts the operation surface, that is, on the outer periphery of the bottom surface of the rotating part 4.

[0272] The area of ​​the contact portion of the support portion 19 with the operating surface is made as small as possible within the range that can stably maintain the tactile presentation button 30D during the rotation operation and ensure durability. This is preferred from the perspective of making the friction coefficient between the support portion 19 and the operating surface as small as possible, and it is also preferred to ensure that the area of ​​the conductive elastic portion 6 is as large as possible to obtain a higher tactile strength.

[0273] The conductive elastic part 6 does not necessarily need to be divided into a plurality of parts, and its area can be adjusted in accordance with the design value of the electrostatic capacitance formed between the conductive elastic part 6 and the tactile electrode 102. When divided, it is preferable to arrange them as evenly as possible so that the vibration generated by the electrostatic force between the conductive elastic part 6 and the operation surface can be transmitted to the rotating part 4 as evenly as possible.

[0274] The conductive elastic part 6 also functions as the position detection part 7 . The touch detection circuit 210 detects the electrostatic capacitance formed between the conductive elastic part 6 and the detection electrode 203 . The button movement amount calculation circuit 220 calculates the rotation angle and rotation speed of the tactile presentation button 30D.

[0275] Fig.48 This figure shows a structure in which the tactile presentation button 30D has a gap portion 20 only in one location and the conductive elastic portion 6 is not divided. The upper side shows a side view of the tactile presentation button 30D, and the lower side shows a bottom view. Fig.48As shown, in the tactile sense presenting button 30D, the position of the gap portion 20 where the conductive elastic portion 6 is not arranged and the electrostatic capacitance is not formed can be used as a reference position for calculating the button movement amount.

[0276] Fig.49 To illustrate the use of Fig.48 A schematic diagram of the electrostatic capacitance distribution of line D-D when the touch screen detects the position of the tactile presentation button in the case of the structure of the tactile presentation button 30D, wherein the horizontal axis shows the position on line D-D and the vertical axis shows the electrostatic capacitance. Fig.49 As shown, due to the presence of the gap 20, the electrostatic capacitance distribution of the conductive elastic portion 6 becomes a distribution having peaks at two different positions, and the position between the two distributions can be used as a reference position for calculating the button movement amount.

[0277] <Effect>

[0278] According to the tactile presentation button 30D of the fourth embodiment, since the position detection unit 7 is not required and the support unit 19 is provided at the peripheral portion of the contact surface between the tactile presentation button 30D and the operation surface, the degree of freedom in the arrangement of the conductive elastic unit 6 is improved, the area of ​​the conductive elastic unit 6 can be increased, and the tactile intensity can be enhanced. In addition, the support unit 19 holds the tactile presentation button 30D at the peripheral portion of the contact surface between the tactile presentation button 30D and the operation surface, so that a stable rotation operation of the tactile presentation button 30D can be achieved.

[0279] <Implementation method 5>

[0280] Fig.50 This is a diagram showing the structure of a tactile presentation button 30E according to Embodiment 5, with a side view of the tactile presentation button 30E shown on the upper side and a bottom view shown on the lower side. Fig.50 As shown, the tactile sense presentation button 30E is formed into a structure in which a fixing portion 5 for fixing the tactile sense presentation button 30E to the operation surface is arranged at the center, and a conductive elastic portion 6 is arranged concentrically with the fixing portion 5 as the center.

[0281] The conductive elastic part 6 is formed into a fan-shaped shape when viewed from above with the fixed part 5 as the center, and is arranged at three locations at intervals. There is a gap 20 between the conductive elastic parts 6. In the plane of the fan-shaped gap 20, the position detection parts 7, which are circular in shape when viewed from above, are arranged at equal intervals on concentric circles with the fixed part 5 as the center. Then, the support part 19 is arranged on the outer periphery of the surface of the tactile presentation button 30E that contacts the operation surface, that is, the outer periphery of the bottom surface of the rotating part 4. Although Fig.50 In the embodiment, the conductive elastic part 6 and the position detection part 7 are respectively arranged at three locations, but they may be arranged at more than three locations. The position detection part 7 only needs to be arranged at one or more locations. When arranged at three or more locations, the rotation angle of the button can be calculated with higher accuracy.

[0282] <Effect>

[0283] According to the tactile presentation button 30E of the fifth embodiment, since the support portion 19 is provided at the outer periphery of the contact surface between the tactile presentation button 30E and the operation surface, the degree of freedom in the arrangement of the conductive elastic portion 6 and the position detection portion 7 is increased. In addition, when the conductive elastic portion 6 has a low resistance, it may be difficult to separate the electrostatic capacitance distribution from the position detection portion 7, and by Fig.50 As shown, by providing the gap portion 20 around the position detection portion 7, it is possible to reduce the overlap between the capacitance distribution of the position detection portion 7 and the capacitance distribution of the conductive elastic portion 6, thereby suppressing a decrease in the accuracy of position detection.

[0284] <Implementation Method 6>

[0285] Fig.51 This is a diagram showing the structure of the tactile presentation button 30F according to the sixth embodiment, in which a side view of the tactile presentation button 30F is shown on the upper side and a bottom view is shown on the lower side. Fig.51 As shown in FIG. 1 , the tactile presentation button 30F is formed as follows: a fixing portion 5 for fixing the tactile presentation button 30F to the operation surface is arranged at the center, and a conductive elastic portion 6 is arranged concentrically around the fixing portion 5. Then, a support portion 19 is arranged at the outer periphery of the surface of the tactile presentation button 30F that contacts the operation surface, that is, at the outer periphery of the bottom surface of the rotating portion 4.

[0286] The conductive elastic portion 6 is formed in an annular shape in plan view so as to surround the fixing portion 5 . Three circular position detection portions 7 in plan view are arranged at equal intervals on a concentric circle centered on the fixing portion 5 within the plane of the annular conductive elastic portion 6 .

[0287] <Effect>

[0288] According to the tactile sense presentation button 30F of the sixth embodiment, by providing the position detection part 7 with a lower resistance value than the conductive elastic part 6, a capacitance distribution with a peak value can be obtained, and the movement amount of the tactile sense presentation button 30F can be detected. Fig.51 In the embodiment, the position detection unit 7 is disposed at three locations, but it may be disposed at more than three locations. The position detection unit 7 only needs to be disposed at one or more locations. When it is disposed at three or more locations, the rotation angle of the button can be calculated with higher accuracy.

[0289] Furthermore, since the conductive elastic portion 6 is not divided, even when the electrode pitch of the tactile electrodes 102 is wide and the overlapping portion of the conductive elastic portion 6 and the tactile electrodes 102 is prone to be uneven, the uniformity can be improved.

[0290] <Implementation Method 7>

[0291] Fig.52This is a diagram showing the structure of a tactile presentation button 30G according to Embodiment 7, with a side view of the tactile presentation button 30G shown on the upper side and a bottom view shown on the lower side. Fig.52 As shown, the tactile sense presentation button 30G is formed into a structure in which a fixing portion 5 for fixing the tactile sense presentation button 30G to the operation surface is arranged at the center, and a conductive elastic portion 6 is arranged concentrically with the fixing portion 5 as the center.

[0292] Regarding the conductive elastic part 6, its top view shape is formed into a fan shape with the fixed part 5 as the center, and is arranged at three locations at intervals from each other. There are gaps 20 between the conductive elastic parts 6. In the plane of the fan shape of the conductive elastic part 6, support parts 19 with circular shapes in top view are arranged at equal intervals on concentric circles with the fixed part 5 as the center, and the support parts 19 are surrounded by the conductive elastic part 6.

[0293] In addition, although the conductive elastic parts 6 are arranged at three locations at intervals, and the support parts 19 are arranged in each plane, the number of arranged conductive elastic parts 6 and the number of arranged support parts 19 may be different. For example, when the conductive elastic parts 6 are provided in two locations, the support parts 19 can be arranged in each plane and the position detection part 7 can also be arranged in the plane of the gap part 20. Fig.52 In the embodiment, the conductive elastic part 6 and the support part 19 are respectively arranged at three positions, but they can also be arranged at more than three positions. When the number of support parts 19 increases, the button is not easy to tilt during the rotation operation, and the touch can be presented with more stable strength.

[0294] In addition, only the conductive elastic portion 6 may also function as the position detector 7, or both the support portion 19 and the conductive elastic portion 6 may also function as the position detector 7. When the support portion 19 also functions as the position detector 7, it is preferable to use a conductive material as the support portion 19 as well.

[0295] As the conductive material, a material obtained by using the material of the support portion 19 described in the first embodiment as a base material and adding carbon black or metal powder that imparts conductivity, etc. can be used.

[0296] <Effect>

[0297] According to the tactile sense presentation button 30G of the seventh embodiment, the conductive elastic portion 6 can enhance the mechanical and physical strength of the support portion 19 during the rotation operation, making it easy to reduce the arrangement area of ​​the support portion 19 .

[0298] <Implementation Method 8>

[0299] Fig.53 This is a diagram showing the structure of a tactile presentation button 30H according to Embodiment 8, with a side view of the tactile presentation button 30H shown on the upper side and a bottom view shown on the lower side. Fig.53As shown, the tactile sense presentation button 30H is formed into a structure in which a fixing portion 5 for fixing the tactile sense presentation button 30H to the operation surface is arranged at the center, and a conductive elastic portion 6 is arranged concentrically with the fixing portion 5 as the center.

[0300] The conductive elastic portion 6 is formed into a fan-shaped shape when viewed from above with the fixed portion 5 as the center, and is arranged at three locations at intervals, with gaps 20 between the conductive elastic portions 6. In the plane of the fan-shaped conductive elastic portion 6, the support portions 19, which are circular in shape when viewed from above, are arranged at equal intervals on concentric circles with the fixed portion 5 as the center, and the support portions 19 are surrounded by the conductive elastic portion 6. In addition, in the plane of the fan-shaped gap 20, the position detection portions 7, which are circular in shape when viewed from above, are arranged at equal intervals on concentric circles with the fixed portion 5 as the center. Although Fig.53 In the embodiment, the conductive elastic portion 6 is disposed at three locations, but may be disposed at more than three locations.

[0301] <Effect>

[0302] According to the tactile sense presenting button 30H of the eighth embodiment, it is possible to suppress the overlap of the capacitance distributions of the conductive elastic portion 6 and the position detecting portion 7 , thereby improving the position detection accuracy.

[0303] <Implementation Method 9>

[0304] Fig.54 This is a diagram showing the structure of the tactile presentation button 30I according to Embodiment 9, in which a side view of the tactile presentation button 30I is shown on the upper side and a bottom view is shown on the lower side. Fig.54 As shown, the tactile sense presentation button 30I is formed into a structure in which a fixing portion 5 for fixing the tactile sense presentation button 30I to the operation surface is arranged at the center, and a conductive elastic portion 6 is arranged concentrically with the fixing portion 5 as the center.

[0305] The conductive elastic portion 6 is formed into a ring shape in a plan view so as to surround the fixing portion 5. In the plane of the ring-shaped conductive elastic portion 6, three circular support portions 19 in a plan view are arranged at equal intervals on concentric circles centered on the fixing portion 5, and the support portions 19 are surrounded by the conductive elastic portion 6.

[0306] <Effect>

[0307] According to the tactile sense presenting button 30I of the ninth embodiment, since a large area of ​​the conductive elastic portion 6 is easily ensured, a strong tactile sense strength can be obtained even when the diameter of the tactile sense presenting button 30I is small.

[0308] Furthermore, by using a conductive material as the support portion 19, the support portion 19 can also have the function of the position detection portion 7. Fig.54In the embodiment, the support portion 19 is arranged at three locations, but it can also be arranged at more than three locations. The more locations the support portion 19 is arranged, the less likely the button is to tilt during the rotation operation, and a more stable and strong touch can be presented.

[0309] <Implementation Method 10>

[0310] Fig.55 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the structure of a tactile presentation button 30J according to Embodiment 10, wherein a side view of the tactile presentation button 30J is shown on the upper side and a bottom view is shown on the lower side. Fig.55 As shown, the tactile sense presentation button 30J is formed into a structure in which a fixing portion 5 for fixing the tactile sense presentation button 30J to the operation surface is arranged at the center, and a conductive elastic portion 6 is arranged concentrically with the fixing portion 5 as the center.

[0311] The conductive elastic portion 6 is formed into a ring shape in a top view so as to surround the fixed portion 5. In the plane of the ring-shaped conductive elastic portion 6, three support portions 19 whose top view shape is circular are arranged at equal intervals on concentric circles centered on the fixed portion 5. In addition, in the plane of the ring-shaped conductive elastic portion 6, three position detection portions 7 whose top view shape is circular are arranged at equal intervals on concentric circles centered on the fixed portion 5 at positions that do not overlap with the support portions 19.

[0312] The conductive elastic portion 6 is not divided, and the conductive elastic portion 6 is in contact with the operation surface except for the portion where the position detection portion 7 and the support portion 19 are arranged.

[0313] <Effect>

[0314] According to the tactile sense presenting button 30J of the tenth embodiment, it is easy to ensure a large area for the conductive elastic portion 6 , so that a strong tactile sense strength can be obtained even when the diameter of the tactile sense presenting button 30J is small.

[0315] Although in Fig.55 In the embodiment, the position detection part 7 and the support part 19 are respectively arranged at three locations, but they can also be arranged at more than three locations. The more locations the support part 19 is arranged, the less likely the button is to tilt during the rotation operation, and a more stable and strong touch can be presented. The position detection part 7 only needs to be at least one location, and when there are more than three locations, the accuracy of the rotation angle calculation is improved.

[0316] In addition, when the electrostatic capacitance formed between the tactile electrode 102 and the conductive elastic portion 6 is insufficient to detect the movement of the tactile presentation button 30J when the conductive elastic portion 6 has a high resistance, the electrostatic capacitance can be compensated by setting a position detection portion 7 with a low resistance value, thereby obtaining a capacitance distribution, thereby being able to detect the movement of the tactile presentation button 30J.

[0317] In addition, the present disclosure can freely combine the various embodiments within the scope of the disclosure, or can appropriately modify or omit the various embodiments.

[0318] Although the present disclosure has been described in detail, the above description is illustrative in all aspects and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. It should be understood that numerous modifications not shown in the examples can be conceived without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A tactile presentation device, wherein a tactile presentation button is placed on an operation surface and a tactile presentation button is used to present a tactile sensation to a user, the tactile presentation device comprising: a touch detection circuit, detecting that the user touches the tactile presentation button, and detecting a position of the tactile presentation button on the tactile presentation device and outputting the position information; a press detection circuit for detecting a pressing amount of the operation surface pushed by the user via the tactile presentation button and outputting the pressing amount as press information; a tactile control circuit that determines, based on the position information output from the touch detection circuit and the pressure information output from the pressure detection circuit, a voltage signal for generating a friction force between the tactile presentation button and the operating surface; as well as A pressing amount calculation circuit calculates a pressing amount based on the pushing amount detected by the pressing detection circuit and adds the calculated pressing amount to the pressing information. The tactile presentation device generates a tactile sensation caused by a change in the friction force between the tactile presentation button and the operating surface using the voltage signal determined by the tactile control circuit. The press detection circuit detects the amount of pressing of the operation surface via the tactile sense presentation button so that the frictional force between the tactile sense presentation button and the operation surface generated according to the voltage signal becomes constant.

2. The tactile presentation device according to claim 1, wherein: The tactile presentation button has: a conductive elastic portion, disposed at a position opposite to the operation surface and in contact with the operation surface; and a supporting portion for limiting a pressing force on the conductive elastic portion, The pressure detection circuit detects the amount of pressure applied to the operation surface also via the support portion.

3. The tactile presentation device according to claim 2, wherein: The tactile presentation button has a rotating portion disposed on the conductive elastic portion. The support portion is disposed on the bottom surface of the rotating portion to keep the distance between the operating surface and the rotating portion constant. The height of the support portion is set to be lower than the height of the conductive elastic portion when the tactile presentation button is placed on the operation surface and the user does not touch the tactile presentation button. The support portion contacts the operation surface when the user presses the tactile sense presentation button, and maintains a constant friction coefficient between the conductive elastic portion and the operation surface when the voltage signal is not applied.

4. The tactile presentation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The haptic control circuit changes the signal waveform and the time and period of the signal voltage of the haptic presentation signal to change the friction force.

5. The tactile presentation device according to claim 3, comprising: A tactile electrode, comprising a plurality of first electrodes and a plurality of second electrodes disposed on one side of the operating surface of the tactile presentation device; a dielectric layer, covering the tactile electrodes and having one surface serving as the operating surface; and a voltage generating circuit that generates a first voltage signal to be applied to at least one of the first electrodes in at least a portion of the operating surface of the tactile presentation device, and generates a second voltage signal having a waveform different from that of the first voltage signal to be applied to at least one of the second electrodes in at least a portion of the operating surface of the tactile presentation device, The tactile sense presentation device generates the frictional force generated between the operation surface and the tactile sense presentation button by supplying the first voltage signal and the second voltage signal.

6. The tactile presentation device according to claim 5, wherein: The first voltage signal and the second voltage signal are voltage signals having waveforms that are different in at least any one of frequency, phase, and amplitude voltage.

7. The tactile presentation device according to claim 5, wherein: The friction coefficient between the support portion and the operation surface is smaller than a static friction coefficient between the conductive elastic portion and the operation surface in a state where no electrostatic force is generated between the tactile electrode and the conductive elastic portion.

8. The tactile presentation device according to claim 3, wherein: The height difference between the support portion and the conductive elastic portion is set to be larger than a dimensional tolerance of a thickness of the conductive elastic portion.

9. The tactile presentation device according to claim 3, wherein: A plurality of the conductive elastic portions are provided at a plurality of locations on the bottom surface of the rotating portion at intervals from each other. A plurality of the support parts are provided at a plurality of positions on the bottom surface of the rotating part at intervals from each other. The plurality of conductive elastic parts and the plurality of supporting parts are alternately arranged.

10. The tactile presentation device according to claim 3, wherein: The support portion is disposed on the outer periphery of the bottom surface of the rotating portion, The conductive elastic portion is disposed on the bottom surface of the rotating portion inside the supporting portion.

11. The tactile presentation device according to claim 3, wherein: A plurality of the support parts are provided at a plurality of positions on the bottom surface of the rotating part at intervals from each other, A plurality of support portions are provided in a manner surrounded by the conductive elastic portion.

12. The tactile presentation device according to claim 3, wherein: The tactile presentation button further includes a position detection portion provided on the bottom surface of the rotating portion. A plurality of the support parts are provided at a plurality of positions on the bottom surface of the rotating part at intervals from each other. A plurality of the position detection parts are provided at a plurality of positions on the bottom surface of the rotating part at intervals from each other, The plurality of support parts and the plurality of position detection parts are alternately provided.

13. The tactile presentation device according to any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein: The tactile sense presentation button further includes a fixing portion, which is in contact with the operation surface and serves as a central axis for rotating the tactile sense presentation button.

14. The tactile presentation device according to claim 5, wherein: A plurality of the conductive elastic portions are provided at a plurality of locations on the bottom surface of the rotating portion at intervals from each other. The plurality of conductive elastic portions overlap at least the adjacent first electrode and the second electrode in a plan view to generate a tactile sense.

15. A tactile display touch panel, comprising: The tactile presentation device of claim 1; and a touch panel disposed on a side of the tactile presentation device opposite to the operating surface; in, The touch detection circuit is provided on the touch panel.

16. The tactile sense presenting touch panel according to claim 15, wherein: The detection electrodes and the excitation electrodes of the touch panel are arranged in pairs in a matrix.

17. A tactile display having: The tactile presentation touch panel of claim 16; and A display panel is mounted on the tactile presentation touch panel.

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