Touch Sensor Detecting Faces with Protruding Edge for Input Accuracy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional touch sensors in electronic equipment face challenges in reducing erroneous operations due to changes in ease of input caused by positional relations with other members, leading to increased noise tolerance and potential incorrect inputs.
Innovation Solution
The electronic equipment incorporates a touch sensor operating member with a detecting unit divided into multiple detecting faces, where the first detecting face is wider than subsequent faces, and a protruding portion is positioned adjacent to the operating face to facilitate accurate touch and slide operations, reducing erroneous inputs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If sensitivity of the touch sensor is increased to improve ease of input, then ease of operation is improved, but noise tolerance is reduced and erroneous input increases
Solution Approach 1:
The touch sensor's detecting face is divided into multiple detecting portions along the longitudinal direction. Each detecting portion has different sensitivity characteristics, with the first detecting portion having higher sensitivity and the second detecting portion having lower sensitivity. This segmentation allows the system to maintain high sensitivity for ease of input while the lower sensitivity portion provides noise tolerance to prevent erroneous input.
2Ease of operation
If the touch sensor is positioned closer to the edge to improve ease of input, then ease of operation is improved, but erroneous operation increases due to proximity to other members
Solution Approach 1:
Different detecting portions are assigned different sensitivity characteristics based on their local position. The first detecting portion positioned away from the edge has higher sensitivity for responsive input, while the second detecting portion positioned near the edge has lower sensitivity to prevent erroneous operation from proximity to other members or edge effects.
3Manufacturing precision
If uniform sensitivity is applied across the entire touch sensor, then manufacturing precision is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to difficulty in input at certain positions
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of uniform sensitivity, the patent implements non-uniform sensitivity distribution where different detecting portions have different sensitivity characteristics. This allows each portion to be optimized for its specific location and usage scenario, improving overall ease of operation while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through controlled sensitivity variation.
Data Source
AI summary
Electronic equipment includes a first operating member and a protruding portion. The first operating member includes a detecting unit that detects touch operations and slide operations. The protruding portion is disposed adjacent to an operating face of the first operating member in a direction of the slide operations, and protrudes in a direction orthogonal to the direction of the slide operations as to the operating face of the first operating member. A detecting face of the detecting unit is divided into at least two detecting faces of a first detecting face through an N'th detecting face, in order from a side of the protruding portion in the direction of the slide operations. An area of the first detecting face is wider than an area of the N'th detecting face.