Tactile Display Device Using Electrostatic Force and Damping Resin
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional display devices with touch panels lack effective tactile feedback, leading to usability issues for visually impaired individuals and creating an unpleasant noise when used, as existing solutions fail to suppress unwanted acoustic noise while providing tactile sensations.
Innovation Solution
A display device structure incorporating a plate-type visual sense display unit and a plate-type tactile sense presenting unit with electrodes and an insulating film, where an elastic transparent resin is filled between the units to suppress oscillations and resonance, allowing for effective tactile feedback without significant noise generation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If electrodes are embedded in specific positions on a front surface of a display device to give a sense of texture, then tactual feedback is improved, but a sense of texture is also given to undesired sections including wirings
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making the insulating film thickness non-uniform: thinner at electrode locations to enhance electrostatic force and tactile sensation, and thicker at wiring locations to suppress unwanted tactile feedback. This spatial variation in film thickness allows selective control of tactile properties in different regions of the touch panel.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the insulating film into regions with different thicknesses corresponding to different functional areas: electrode regions and wiring regions. This segmentation enables independent optimization of tactile characteristics for each area, allowing tactile feedback at electrode locations while suppressing it at wiring locations.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a large number of electrodes are embedded to give a sense of texture to a large number of sections, then tactual feedback coverage is improved, but complicated wirings are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the insulating film serve multiple functions: it provides electrical insulation between electrodes and the front surface, and simultaneously controls tactile feedback characteristics by varying its thickness. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate structures to suppress unwanted tactile sensations, reducing overall device complexity.
3Ease of operation
If oscillation is applied to a touch-panel display device using a piezoelectric actuator, then tactual feedback is improved, but unpleasant noise is generated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical oscillation system (piezoelectric actuator) with an electrostatic field-based system. By applying voltage signals to electrodes, the patent generates electrostatic forces that provide tactile feedback without mechanical contact or oscillation, thereby eliminating the noise problem associated with mechanical actuators.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an insulating film as an intermediary between the electrodes and the front surface. This film mediates the electrostatic interaction, allowing tactile feedback to be transmitted to the user's finger while preventing direct contact that would generate noise. The film acts as a non-contact coupling medium.
4Ease of manufacture
If the surface of the display device with a touch panel is evenly hard, then manufacturing is simplified, but same tactual senses are felt by touching any of the sections displayed on the screen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating spatial variation in the insulating film thickness: thinner regions at electrode locations provide enhanced tactile sensation, while thicker regions at wiring locations provide suppressed tactile sensation. This maintains overall surface uniformity for easy manufacturing while enabling local tactile discrimination.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enhances user experience by providing mutual visual and tactile sensory effects while significantly reducing unwanted noise, making the device usable in quiet environments without discomfort.
Implementation Method 1
an insulating film that covers the electrodes and is structured to present the tactual sense to the user by generating an electrostatic force between the electrodes and the user by a voltage signal given to the electrodes from outside
Implementation Method 2
an elastic body exhibiting transparency for a visible light ray is filled in a gap between the visual sense display unit and the tactual sense presenting unit
Data Source
AI summary
To provide a display device and the like capable of assisting operations by effectively presenting a sense of texture to the skin of human beings while suppressing generation of unpleasant noises. The display device includes: a visual sense display unit which displays an operation screen to be a target of touch operations done by a user by image signals supplied from outside; and a plate-type tactual sense presenting unit which is disposed on the upper side of the visual sense display unit and presents a tactual sense that can be perceived by the user on the operation screen. The tactual sense presenting unit includes X-electrodes and Y-electrodes which exhibit transparency for visible light rays and operate by voltage signals supplied from outside, and a resin exhibiting transparency for visible light rays is filled in a layered-state gap between the visual sense display unit and the tactual sense presenting unit.