JP6476507B2 - Linear touch switch - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a touch switch, and more particularly to a linear touch switch that touches in a linear direction, touches an arbitrary point on a touch surface, and displays a touch state based on different touch modes.

  Electrical appliances such as consumer electronic products, communication devices, and home appliances are provided with switches in the form of adjustment knobs, and are generally used for switching the power supply of a circuit and adjusting the amount of power supply. This adjusts the speed and strength of the electrical product during operation, for example, the wind speed of the electric fan, the cooling strength of the cooler, the volume of the acoustic device, the brightness of the electric light, and the strength of the signal of the wireless device.

  The knob switch described above is used to install and rotate a physical turn cap. However, since the turn cap has a certain volume and is installed on the panel, the arrangement of other members of the electronic product is affected.

In order to improve the above-mentioned drawbacks, the conventional switch is gradually switched to the touch switch, so that the members of the electronic product can be laid out more flexibly and the design is improved.
The conventional linear switch mainly controls the touch mode, and the stage controlled by the switch is displayed by the light emitting element in the switch. In other words, the light emitting element generates a corresponding luminance based on the touch position. . However, when the touch mode of the conventional touch switch is slid in the linear direction on the touch surface, the light emitting element emits light according to the sliding distance of the touch, and when the user touches next, it returns to the last touched position. It was very inconvenient because it had to be controlled afterwards. Also, adjust the lowest level of the switch to the highest level and slide your finger from one end of the touch surface to the other end, that is, you must fully slide the entire distance on the touch surface, It was similarly inconvenient.

  Therefore, the present inventor considered that the above-mentioned drawbacks can be improved, and as a result of intensive studies, the present inventor has arrived at a proposal of the present invention that effectively improves the above-described problems by rational design.

  In view of such a conventional situation, the present invention enables a multi-step adjustment at a time by a touch method in which a user instantaneously touches, and the conventional multi-step adjustment has to be touch-slid one by one. An object of the present invention is to provide a linear touch switch used in an electrical product that improves the above.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a linear touch switch for use in an electrical product that generates different forms of light emission based on the difference in touch mode and makes it possible to identify externally the change in the stage of the final product to be adjusted. The purpose is to provide.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the above object, a linear touch switch according to the present invention includes a touch unit and a display unit that is brought close to one side of the touch unit, and a housing space is formed therein. And an induction circuit layer that is installed in the receiving space and that is electrically connected to a cable and that corresponds to a lower portion of the touch unit, the induction circuit layer provides a plurality of induction modes, and at least one A circuit unit used to generate one encoding signal and for controlling a final product, and a plurality of light emitting elements electrically connected to the circuit unit and installed to correspond to the display unit, And a light emitting module that emits light corresponding to the plurality of guiding modes, wherein the plurality of guiding modes are the first ones. Including a guidance mode and a second guidance mode. In the first guidance mode, the user continuously touches any position of the touch part with one end of the touch body for a first designated time, and on the touch part. When sliding, the induction circuit layer is defined to generate a signal group including a plurality of the encoded signals and to output the signal group once, and in the second induction mode, the touch body is When any position of the touch part is continuously touched for a second specified time and is slid on the touch part, the induction circuit layer generates a corresponding encoding signal based on the slide position, and the correspondence Encoding signals to be outputted one by one, whereby the final product is controlled, and the second designated time is defined to be longer than the first designated time. That.

1 is an external perspective view showing a linear touch switch according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It is an expanded view shown in FIG. It is the schematic which shows the angle which looks up the case of this invention. It is a top view overlooking FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the linear touch switch function of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. The linear touch switch 1 is applied to electronic products, electrical appliances, or lighting equipment, and is used to turn on and off the final product and / or control various functions of the product. It is used to control the strength (electric fan, etc.) or the magnitude of the thermal power (gas stove, etc.), and provides a multi-stage fine function change.

1 to 3 show a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and a linear touch switch 1 according to the present invention includes a case 2, a circuit unit 3, a vibration element 4, and a light emitting module 6.
The case 2 has a rectangular shape, is formed by combining the upper lid 201 and the lower lid 202, and the accommodation space 20 is formed in the case 2. The upper lid 201 of the case 2 includes a touch unit 21 and a display unit 22 that is brought close to one side of the touch unit 21, and a drive unit 23 is installed between the touch unit 21 and one end of the case 2. In this preferred embodiment, the touch portion 21 is recessed toward the receiving space 20 to form a concave groove, thereby providing a clear touch position and range when touching.

In this preferred embodiment, the circuit unit 3 is installed in the accommodating space 20, the circuit unit 3 is a flexible circuit board, and the cable 33 is electrically connected, and one end of the circuit unit 3 is an external device such as an electrical appliance or an electronic product. Connected to the final product (not shown).
The circuit unit 3 includes an induction circuit layer 31 and a braking circuit layer 32. The induction circuit layer 31 corresponds to the lower part of the touch part 21 and provides a plurality of induction modes 5 and is used to generate at least one encoding signal, thereby controlling the power level of the final product. , The strength of the product function is adjusted. The braking circuit layer 32 is located below the driving unit 23.

  The light emitting module 6 is installed in the accommodation space 20 and is electrically connected to the circuit unit 3. The light emitting module 6 includes a plurality of light emitting elements 61, is installed so as to correspond to the display unit 2 of the case 2, and exhibits a linear arrangement with a space between them, and emits light corresponding to the plurality of guiding modes 5. . That is, the plurality of light emitting elements 61 are switched to different light emission modes based on the difference in the guidance mode 5, and the generated light is transmitted through the display unit 22 and displayed on the outside. In this preferred embodiment, the light emitting element 61 is a light emitting diode.

When the linear touch switch 1 according to the present invention is used, when the user touches the touch part 21 of the case 2 using a touch body, the induction circuit layer 31 senses the switch to achieve the purpose of controlling the switch. Let In this preferred embodiment, the touch body is a user's fingertip, or in other embodiments, the touch body may be a touch pen. Incidentally, the induction circuit layer 31 includes a plurality of induction sections 311 having a linear arrangement, and includes a first induction mode 51 and a second induction mode 52 as the plurality of induction modes 5 provided by the induction circuit layer 31.
In the first guidance mode 51, the user continuously touches any position of the touch part 23 with one end of the touch body (that is, the fingertip) for a first designated time, and on the touch part 23 of the concave groove. When it is slid, it is defined that the induction circuit layer 31 generates a signal group including a plurality of encoded signals, and the signal group is output once to the final product, and the function of the final product is controlled. In this preferred embodiment, the first specified time is equal to or shorter than 0.5 seconds and the signal group includes at least four encoded signals. Specifically, when the final product is illumination, the signal group output in response to the touch in the first guidance mode 51 increases / decreases the brightness of the four levels of the illumination at one time. Achieve the effect of adjusting the power in multiple stages by adjusting. Therefore, it is not necessary to slide on the touch part 21 for a long distance.

Unlike the first guidance mode 51, in the second guidance mode 52, when any position of the touch part 23 is continuously touched by the touch body for a second designated time and is slid on the touch part 23, The induction circuit layer 31 generates a corresponding encode signal based on the slide position, and outputs a corresponding single encode signal one by one, thereby controlling the final product, and the second designated time is 0.5. It is defined to be longer than the second, that is, longer than the first designated time.
When the final product is illumination (not shown), the guidance section 311 of the guidance circuit layer 31 responds to a touch in the second guidance mode 52, and a single encoded signal is sequentially generated based on the touched slide position. The brightness of the illumination is increased or decreased step by step. In other words, when the induction circuit layer 31 is initially positioned in the third-stage induction section 311 and then a touch in the second induction mode 52 is sensed, the third to sixth-stage induction section 311 is triggered. The induction circuit layer 31 outputs three encoded signals one by one, thereby controlling the luminance of the illumination stepwise.

Unlike a conventional mechanical rotary switch, a final product to which the present invention is applied is first set to a maximum value that can be supplied with power, and the maximum value of supply is divided into a plurality of stages. For example, when the final product is lighting, if the maximum power of the lighting is 60 watts, the maximum power is divided into a plurality of stages according to demand, for example, into 10 stages.
The stage of power is controlled by a single encoding signal of the linear touch switch 1 according to the present invention, and switching of the stage is achieved, and the luminance of the illumination is increased or decreased by one stage. Also, the encode signal output from the linear touch switch 1 according to the present invention switches on and off the power supply from the outside by a pulse width modulation method, and controls the power supply amount of the external power supply. Since the encode signal is a pulse width modulation digital signal, the control accuracy is higher than that of a conventional mechanical knob switch.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the linear touch switch 1 according to the present invention further provides a guidance mode limiting function to avoid a situation where the switch malfunctions. Specifically, when the driving unit 23 is touched by the touch body, the braking circuit layer 32 generates a braking signal and switches on and off the feeding of the induction circuit layer 31. Once power supply to the induction circuit layer 31 is stopped, the induction circuit layer 31 becomes unable to detect the touch of the touch unit 21, and thus the sensing function is turned off. When the drive unit 23 is touched again, sensing is resumed and the sensing function is turned on.

Incidentally, in the linear arrangement of the plurality of light emitting elements 61 of the present invention, each light emitting element 61 displays a step adjustment. In the first guiding mode 51, the light emitting module 6 corresponds to the plurality of encoded signals of the signal group of the first guiding mode 51, and activates the plurality of light emitting elements 61 arranged in order with the corresponding quantity to emit light simultaneously.
In the second induction mode 52, the light emitting module 6 corresponds to the encode signal output one by one in the second induction mode 52, and activates the corresponding number of light emitting elements to emit light one by one. In other words, the purpose of causing the light emitting module 6 to emit light is to allow the user to identify the touch state of the switch. That is, multistage adjustment can be performed at one time, or stepwise adjustment can be performed by a single step change.
In addition, regardless of whether the first guidance mode 51 or the second guidance mode 52 is used, the touch can be started at an arbitrary position of the touch unit 21, and the touch unit 21 can correspond to the initial light emitting element 61. There is no need to initiate a touch. In other words, the number of steps is adjusted so that light is emitted following the light emitting element 61 that has already emitted light, regardless of which position of the touch unit 21 is touched.

  In order to further identify the touch state of the switch, a vibration element 4 that is electrically connected to the circuit unit 3 is further installed in the housing space 20 of the case 2. The vibration element 4 generates a first vibration and a second vibration based on the first induction mode 51 and the second induction mode 52, respectively. The intensity of the first vibration is stronger than the intensity of the second vibration.

In summary, the linear touch switch 1 according to the present invention senses a touch in the first guidance mode 51 and the second guidance mode 52, thereby performing a multi-step adjustment at a time or a step by a single step change. Each adjustment. For this reason, it is applied to more products and must be controlled to increase / decrease the power in multiple steps at once or increase / decrease the power step by step, and the conventional linear switch must adjust it step by step. To effectively solve the shortcomings.
In addition, the light emitting module 6 according to the present invention has a combination of a plurality of guiding modes 5 to form different light emission modes, and the sensing state of the switch touch can be identified from the outside.

  The above-described embodiments are merely for explaining the technical idea and features of the present invention, and are intended to allow those skilled in the art to understand the contents of the present invention and to carry out the same with the present invention. It is not intended to limit the scope of the claims. Accordingly, improvements or modifications having various similar effects made without departing from the spirit of the present invention shall be included in the following claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Linear touch switch 2 Case 20 Storage space 201 Upper lid 202 Lower lid 21 Touch part 22 Display part 23 Drive part 3 Circuit unit 31 Induction circuit layer 311 Induction area 32 Braking circuit layer 33 Cable 4 Vibration element 5 Induction mode 51 First induction mode 52 Second Guide Mode 6 Light-Emitting Module 61 Light-Emitting Element

Claims (8)

A case that includes a touch unit and a display unit that is brought close to one side of the touch unit, and in which an accommodation space is formed;
An inductive circuit layer installed in the receiving space and electrically connected to a cable and corresponding to a lower portion of the touch unit, the inductive circuit layer providing a plurality of inductive modes, and at least one encoding; A circuit unit used to generate a signal and to control the final product;
It includes a plurality of light emitting elements that are electrically connected to the circuit unit and are installed so as to correspond to the display unit, and has a linear arrangement with a space between them, and emits light corresponding to the plurality of induction modes. A light emitting module for performing,
The plurality of guidance modes include a first guidance mode and a second guidance mode;
In the first guidance mode, when the user continuously touches any position of the touch part with one end of the touch body for a first designated time and slides on the touch part, a plurality of the induction circuit layers are provided. The signal group including the encoded signal is generated and the signal group is output once. In the second guidance mode, the touch body moves any position of the touch unit to a second designated time. When continuously touching and sliding on the touch part, the induction circuit layer generates a corresponding encode signal based on the slide position, and the corresponding encode signal is output one by one, thereby the final The product is controlled,
The second designated time is defined to be longer than the first designated time,
Linear touch switch.   2. The light emitting module according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting module corresponds to a plurality of encoding signals of the signal group of the first induction mode, and activates a plurality of light emitting elements arranged in order with a corresponding quantity to emit light simultaneously. The described linear touch switch.   2. The linear touch switch according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting module activates a corresponding number of light emitting elements to emit light one by one based on an encoding signal output one by one in the second induction mode. The case further includes a driving unit, the circuit unit further includes a braking circuit layer, and when the touch body touches the driving unit, the braking circuit layer generates a braking signal and supplies power to the induction circuit layer . The induction circuit layer becomes insensitive to touch of the touch unit by turning off the power supply to the induction circuit layer, and the induction circuit is turned on by turning on the power supply to the induction circuit layer. The linear touch switch according to claim 1, wherein the layer resumes touch sensing of the touch unit .   A vibration element that is electrically connected to the circuit unit is further installed in the housing space, and the vibration element performs the first vibration and the second vibration based on the first induction mode and the second induction mode, respectively. The linear touch switch according to claim 1, wherein the linear touch switch is generated.   The linear touch switch according to claim 5, wherein the intensity of the first vibration of the vibration element is stronger than the intensity of the second vibration.   The linear touch switch according to claim 1, wherein the touch portion of the case is recessed toward the inside of the housing space to form a concave groove, thereby providing a clear touch position on the touch body.   The linear touch switch of claim 1, wherein the first designated time defined in the first guidance mode is equal to or shorter than 0.5 seconds.

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