Vibration device and vibration method thereof

Abstract

The invention relates to a vibration device and a vibration method thereof. In the IC card, a first vibration mode of the piezoelectric element when the separation distance between the reader / writer and the power receiving unit is close is different from a second vibration mode of the piezoelectric element when the separation distance is longer than the first distance. Therefore, a user can sense different distances between the IC card and the reader-writer according to different vibration modes. Namely, the user can obtain information related to the separation distance, and the amount of information delivered to the user is increased.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a vibration device and a vibration method thereof. Background Art

[0002] In Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2014-132404, as a type of vibration device, a non-contact IC card having a vibration mechanism is disclosed, and a piezoelectric element or a vibration motor is used as a vibration source of the vibration mechanism. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The inventors have repeatedly studied the vibration mode of the vibration device, and as a result, a technique for increasing the amount of information transmitted to the user by the vibration mode has been newly discovered.

[0004] According to various aspects of the present invention, a vibration device and a vibration method thereof are provided, which achieve an increase in the amount of information transmitted to the user.

[0005] The vibration device according to one aspect of the present invention includes: a power receiving unit that receives non-contact power supply from a power supply device; a control unit that generates a drive signal by the power received by the power receiving unit; and a piezoelectric vibrator that vibrates according to the drive signal generated by the control unit. The first vibration mode of the piezoelectric vibrator when the separation distance between the power supply device and the power receiving unit that receives the power supply is a first distance is different from the second vibration mode of the piezoelectric vibrator when the separation distance is a second distance longer than the first distance.

[0006] The vibration method of the vibration device according to one aspect of the present invention, the vibration device includes a power receiving unit that receives non-contact power supply from a power supply device, a control unit that generates a drive signal by the power received by the power receiving unit, and a piezoelectric vibrator that vibrates according to the drive signal generated by the control unit. In the vibration device, when the separation distance between the power supply device and the power receiving unit that receives the power supply is a first distance, the piezoelectric vibrator vibrates in a first vibration mode, and when the separation distance is a second distance longer than the first distance, the piezoelectric vibrator vibrates in a second vibration mode different from the first vibration mode.

[0007] In the above vibration device and its vibration method, the vibration mode of the piezoelectric vibrator is different when the separation distance between the power supply device and the power receiving unit that receives the power supply is a first distance and when it is a second distance. Therefore, the user can sense whether it is the first distance or the second distance according to the difference in the vibration mode, and can obtain information related to the separation distance. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008] Figure 1 It is a schematic perspective view showing an IC card of an embodiment.

[0009] Figure 2 It shows Figure 1 The state in which the IC card shown is covered on the reader / writer.

[0010] Figure 3 is a diagram showing Figure 1 an exploded perspective view of the laminated structure of the IC card shown in the figure.

[0011] Figure 4 is a diagram showing Figure 1 the vibration circuit of the IC card shown in the figure.

[0012] Figure 5 is a diagram showing the operation when the power supply to the IC card is appropriate.

[0013] Figure 6 is a diagram showing the operation when the power supply to the IC card is weak.

[0014] Figure 7 is a diagram showing the operation when the power supply to the IC card is insufficient. Detailed implementation manners

[0015] Hereinafter, various implementation manners and embodiments will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals in the respective drawings, and repeated descriptions are omitted.

[0016] As one type of vibration device, taking Figure 1 the IC card 1 shown in the figure as an example for description. The IC card 1 incorporates an IC module 10 that performs arithmetic processing. The IC card 1 of this implementation manner is non-contact type and incorporates the antenna coil 16 described below. As shown in Figure 2 the figure, the IC module 10 is placed over (i.e., maintained at a separated specified distance) a reader / writer 2 which is a type of power supply device, and receives non-contact power supply from the reader / writer 2 and communicates with the reader / writer 2. "Non-contact power supply" in this specification includes not only power transmission but also non-contact communication such as near field communication (NFC).

[0017] The IC card 1 has a plate-like outer shape with a front surface 1a and a back surface 1b. The IC module 10 is exposed on the front surface 1a. The IC card 1 has the laminated structure shown in Figure 3 the figure, and is laminated in the order of a plastic plate 11, an antenna sheet 12, a base material 13, and a metal plate 14 from the back surface 1b side. The respective layers of the IC card 1 are bonded by a known bonding layer (e.g., a double-sided adhesive tape, an adhesive material layer) not shown.

[0018] The plastic plate 11 is made of a resin material that does not obstruct magnetic flux. The surface of the plastic plate 11 constitutes the back surface 1b of the IC card 1. The metal plate 14 is made of a metal material such as stainless steel or titanium. The surface of the metal plate 14 constitutes the front surface 1a of the IC card 1. The IC module 10 is embedded in a partial area of the metal plate 14.

[0019] The base material 13 is a film made of an insulating resin material, and can be made of acrylic, for example. A voltage regulator 15, a piezoelectric element 18, and a control circuit 20 are mounted on the base material 13. The piezoelectric element 18 is a type of piezoelectric vibrator. The piezoelectric vibrator can be composed only of the piezoelectric element, or can be a combination of the piezoelectric element and a vibration plate. The vibration plate can be a plate made of resin or a plate made of metal. In the present embodiment, the piezoelectric element 18 is housed in a through hole provided in the base material 13 and bonded to the back surface 14a of the metal plate 14. By bonding and fixing the piezoelectric element 18 to the metal plate 14, the displacement or vibration of the piezoelectric element 18 is transmitted to the metal plate 14. That is, the vibration generated in the piezoelectric element 18 is transmitted from the inside of the IC card 1 to the surface portion and is directly felt by the user of the IC card 1. The IC card 1 can vibrate in an overall vibration mode or in a partial vibration mode of a part of the surface portion.

[0020] The antenna sheet 12 is made of an insulating resin material or a magnetic material. An antenna coil 16 including a coil pattern wound along the outer edge is provided on the antenna sheet 12. The antenna coil 16 is electrically connected to the voltage regulator 15 of the base material 13. The antenna coil 16 is magnetically connected to the coil included in the IC module 10 of the metal plate 14.

[0021] The IC card 1 has a vibration circuit 30 having the structure shown in Figure 4 That is, the IC card 1 has a power receiving unit 17 that receives non-contact power supply from the reader / writer 2, a control circuit 20 (control unit) that generates a drive signal according to the power received by the power receiving unit 17, and a vibration circuit 30 configured to include a piezoelectric element 18 that vibrates according to the drive signal generated by the control circuit 20.

[0022] The power receiving unit 17 includes the above-mentioned voltage regulator 15 and antenna coil 16, receives non-contact power supply from the reader / writer 2, and outputs two drive voltages. The control circuit 20 includes a microcomputer 21 and a transistor 22 (more specifically, a field effect transistor (FET)). Drive voltages are respectively applied to the microcomputer 21 and the transistor 22 from the power receiving unit 17. In the present embodiment, among the two drive voltages output from the power receiving unit 17, the drive voltage V1 (for example, +5V) applied to the microcomputer 21 is lower than the drive voltage applied to the transistor 22 (for example, +14V). The high-voltage drive voltage applied to the transistor 22 can be output from a diode bridge included in the power receiving unit 17. Through the square pulse-shaped drive signal V2 generated by the microcomputer 21, the transistor 22 performs a switching operation to generate a drive signal sent to the piezoelectric element 18. The piezoelectric element 18 vibrates with an element drive voltage V3 according to the square pulse-shaped drive signal sent from the control circuit 20.

[0023] Next, refer to Figure 5, the ideal drive voltage V1, drive signal V2, and component drive voltage V3 are described. Figure 5 It represents the operations of voltage, signal, and vibration. The horizontal axis represents the passage of time, and the vertical axis represents the amplitude. In addition, the ideal drive voltage V1, drive signal V2, and component drive voltage V3 are the states when the separation distance between the IC card 1 and the reader / writer 2 is sufficiently short (for example, in direct contact with zero separation distance) and the power supply from the reader / writer 2 to the IC card 1 is properly conducted.

[0024] In Figure 5 this state, the drive voltage V1 applied from the power receiving unit 17 to the microcomputer 21 of the control circuit 20 always remains at a certain value (for example, +5V). At this time, in the microcomputer 21 of the control circuit 20, an ideal square-wave drive signal V2 is generated. Then, the piezoelectric element 18 vibrates with the component drive voltage V3 according to the drive signal from the control circuit 20. Specifically, the piezoelectric element 18 elongates (or contracts) at the timing t1 when the drive signal V2 rises, and gradually starts to contract (or elongate) at the timing t2 when the drive signal V2 falls, and vibrates by repeating such elongation and contraction. At this time, the period T (and the frequency 1 / T) of the piezoelectric element 18 is obtained based on the interval of the elongation timing t1 (or the interval of the start of contraction timing t2).

[0025] Next, Figure 6 It represents the operations of voltage, signal, and vibration when the distance between the IC card 1 and the reader / writer 2 is slightly farther (for example, the separation distance is 12 mm) and the power supply from the reader / writer 2 to the IC card 1 is weak. In Figure 6 this state, the drive voltage V1 applied from the power receiving unit 17 to the microcomputer 21 of the control circuit 20 is not always at a certain value and is slightly lower compared to Figure 5 the state of Figure 5 Specifically, at the timing t1 when the piezoelectric element 18 elongates, the drive voltage V1 decreases. In addition, the drive signal V2 of the control circuit 20 also has a voltage drop. Although the piezoelectric element 18 vibrates with the same period T as in Figure 5 the state of

[0026] Figure 7 It represents the operations of voltage, signal, and vibration when the distance between the IC card 1 and the reader / writer 2 is far (for example, the separation distance exceeds 18 mm) and the power supply from the reader / writer 2 to the IC card 1 is insufficient. In Figure 7 this state, the drive voltage V1 applied from the power receiving unit 17 to the microcomputer 21 of the control circuit 20 is not always at a certain value and is compared to Figure 6is further reduced compared to the state. Specifically, at the timing t1 when the piezoelectric element 18 elongates, the drive voltage V1 decreases significantly. As a result, a sufficient drive voltage V1 is not applied to the microcomputer 21 of the control circuit 20, and the microcomputer 21 temporarily stops at the timing t1 and resumes after the timing t2 when the drive voltage V1 recovers. The intensity ratio of the vibration of the piezoelectric element 18 represented by the vertical axis Figure 5 is lower than the intensity of the state. Due to power shortage and the subsequent stop of the microcomputer 21, the piezoelectric element 18 and Figure 5 , 6 compared to the state, the intensity of the vibration weakens and the period T extends (i.e., the frequency decreases).

[0027] As described above, in the IC card 1, the vibration mode (first vibration mode) of the piezoelectric element 18 when the separation distance between the reader / writer 2 and the power receiving unit 17 is close (at the first distance) is different from the vibration mode (second vibration mode) of the piezoelectric element 18 when the separation distance is longer than the first distance (at the second distance). In the present embodiment, Figure 5 the first vibration mode of the piezoelectric element 18 when the separation distance is close as shown Figure 7 is compared with the second vibration mode of the piezoelectric element 18 when the separation distance is far as shown, the intensity (amplitude) of the vibration is larger and the period T is shorter. Therefore, the user can perceive the difference in the distance between the IC card 1 and the reader / writer 2 based on the difference in the vibration mode (for example, whether it is the first distance or the second distance). That is, the user can obtain information related to the above separation distance, achieving an increase in the amount of information transmitted to the user.

[0028] In addition, if the first vibration mode and the second vibration mode are different, it is not necessarily the way that both the amplitude and the period of the vibration are different, and it can also be the way that only one of them is different.

[0029] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can be variously modified. For example, the vibration device is not limited to the card type and can also be in the form of various small parts (fashion items, tools, accessories, etc.). The power supply device is not limited to the reader / writer and can also be a settlement terminal or the like.

Claims

1. A vibration device, wherein: have: a power receiving unit that receives contactless power from the power supply device; a control unit that generates a drive signal using the power received by the power receiving unit; and a piezoelectric vibrator that vibrates according to a drive signal generated by the control unit, A first vibration mode of the piezoelectric vibrator when the power supply device and a power receiving unit are separated by a first distance differs from a second vibration mode of the piezoelectric vibrator when the separation distance is a second distance longer than the first distance.

2. The vibration device according to claim 1, wherein The first vibration mode and the second vibration mode are different in at least one of amplitude and period.

3. The vibration device according to claim 2, wherein: The amplitude of the first vibration mode is greater than the amplitude of the second vibration mode.

4. The vibration device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein: A period of the first vibration pattern is shorter than a period of the second vibration pattern.

5. The vibration device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The vibration device is an IC card.

6. A vibration method for a vibration device, wherein: The vibration device includes a power receiving unit that receives contactless power from a power supply device, a control unit that generates a drive signal based on the power received by the power receiving unit, and a piezoelectric vibrator that vibrates according to the drive signal generated by the control unit. In the vibration device, when the separation distance between the power supply device and the power receiving part receiving the power is a first distance, the piezoelectric vibrator vibrates in a first vibration mode, and when the separation distance is a second distance longer than the first distance, the piezoelectric vibrator vibrates in a second vibration mode different from the first vibration mode.

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