JP7683232B2 - Input device, display device, slide detection method and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an input device, a display device, a slide detection method, and a program.

In small electronic devices such as wristwatch-type information terminals, the screen size is small and the buttons operated by the user tend to be small as well. Therefore, technologies have been developed to improve the operability of small electronic devices as much as possible. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a wristwatch-type information terminal that can be operated without hiding the display by providing touch sensors for operation around the periphery of the display.

JP 2004-288172 A

The wristwatch-type information terminal disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a large number of electrodes for detecting capacitance on the side of the display unit, which makes it possible to detect the touch position of the user's finger and the sliding of the finger (changes in the touch position). However, with this conventional technology, in order to be able to precisely detect the touch position and sliding of the finger, the number of electrodes must be increased, and each electrode requires its own wiring, resulting in a complex structure.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to provide an input device, a display device, a slide detection method, and a program that can detect finger slides with a simple structure.

In order to achieve the above object, one aspect of the input device according to the present invention is to
An insulator portion;
A conductor disposed on the back surface or inside of the insulating portion;
An electrode disposed so as not to come into contact with the conductor;
Equipped with
the conductor has at least a first portion and a second portion;
the conductor is disposed such that a distance between the first portion and a surface of the insulator is different from a distance between the second portion and a surface of the insulator, or a distance between the first portion and the electrode is different from a distance between the second portion and the electrode,
The first portion and the second portion have different thicknesses in a direction extending perpendicularly from a surface of the electrode to a surface of the insulator portion .

The present invention makes it possible to detect finger sliding with a simple structure.

1A is a plan view of a display device according to an embodiment, FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the display device according to an embodiment, and FIG. 1C is a cross-sectional view of an input device according to an embodiment. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a display device according to an embodiment; 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating capacitance detected when no finger is present; 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating capacitance detected when a finger is approaching. 11 is a flowchart of a slide detection process according to the embodiment. 5A to 5C are diagrams illustrating the positional relationship between electrodes, conductive parts, and insulator parts of the input device according to the embodiment. 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating the positional relationship between electrodes, conductive parts, and insulator parts of the input device according to Modification 1. 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating the positional relationship between electrodes, conductive parts, and insulator parts of an input device according to Modification 2. 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating the positional relationship between the electrodes, the conductive parts, and the insulating parts of the input device according to Modification 3. 1A is a plan view of a display device according to Modifications 4 and 5. FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of an input device according to Modification 4. FIG. 1C is a cross-sectional view of an input device according to Modification 5.

An input device according to an embodiment and a display device equipped with this input device will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the same or corresponding parts in the drawings are given the same reference numerals.

(Embodiment)
For ease of understanding, the following description will be given taking as an example a case where an input device 100 according to an embodiment is applied to a display device 200 shown in Fig. 1(a). The display device 200 is a wristwatch-type information terminal device. Fig. 1(b) shows a cross-sectional view of the display device 200 cut along dashed line A-A' in Fig. 1(a), and Fig. 1(c) shows a cross-sectional view of the input device 100 provided in the display device 200 cut along dashed line B-B' in Fig. 1(a).

As shown in FIG. 1(a), the display device 200 has a display unit 231 in the center of the main body, and an input device 100 (electrodes 121, conductor parts 111, 112, 113, etc.) in a circular ring shape around the display unit 231. As shown in FIG. 1(b), the display device 200 has a touch panel 241 on the surface of the display unit 231.

The input device 100 includes conductor parts 111, 112, 113, an electrode 121, and an insulator part 131. As shown in FIG. 1(b) and FIG. 1(c), the conductor parts 111, 112, 113 are placed on the back surface of the insulator part 131, facing the electrode 121. The conductor parts 111, 112, 113 are placed so as not to come into contact with the electrode 121. The conductor parts 111, 112, 113 are also periodically arranged in the order that the conductor part 112 is placed next to the conductor part 111, the conductor part 113 is placed next to the conductor part 112, and the conductor part 111 is placed next to the conductor part 113.

The input device 100 functions as a self-capacitance type capacitance sensor by utilizing the fact that when a user brings a finger close to the surface of the insulator 131, the capacitance detected by the electrode 121 changes. Note that the surface of the insulator 131 is the front surface of the display device 200 that the user can touch, and the back surface of the insulator 131 is the inner surface of the display device 200 that the user cannot touch.

The conductor parts 111, 112, and 113 are conductors and are composed of small pieces of a conductor such as metal. In this embodiment, the conductor parts are provided with three sections, namely, the first conductor part 111, the second conductor part 112, and the third conductor part 113. The sections of the conductor parts are determined according to the capacitance value detected by the electrode 121 when the user brings his/her finger close to the surface of the insulator part 131. In other words, the conductor parts of each section are provided so that the capacitance value detected by the electrode 121 is different when the user brings his/her finger close to each of the surfaces of the insulator part 131 close to the conductor parts of different sections.

In this embodiment, the number of sections of the conductor part is three, but the number of sections of the conductor part can be any number greater than or equal to two. The material of the object constituting the conductor part can be any material as long as it is a conductor, and the conductor parts of all sections may be made of the same conductor material, or may be made of different conductor materials. In this embodiment, the conductor parts are physically separated from each other, but as in Modification 4 described below, a single conductor (not physically separated) may be configured to have at least a first part and a second part so that the capacitances detected by electrode 121 differ when a finger is brought close to the conductor.

The electrode 121 is an electrode for detecting capacitance. In this embodiment, the input device 100 has one annular electrode 121 around the display unit 231, but the shape of the electrode 121 is arbitrary. However, the electrode 121 is placed in a position that faces all of the conductor parts 111, 112, and 113, but does not contact any of the conductor parts 111, 112, and 113.

The insulator portion 131 is, for example, a resin that constitutes a case that covers the display device 200. In this embodiment, a gap (air) exists between the conductor portions 111, 112, 113 and the electrode 121. However, an insulator such as a resin may be filled between the conductor portions 111, 112, 113 and the electrode 121. Also, a mixture of air and an insulator may exist between the conductor portions 111, 112, 113 and the electrode 121.

Next, the functional configuration of the display device 200 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the display device 200 includes a control unit 210, a storage unit 220, an output unit 230, and an input unit 240.

The control unit 210 is composed of a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control unit 210 executes a slide detection process (described later) and other processes for implementing the functions of the display device 200 (such as a timekeeping function) using a program stored in the storage unit 220. In this embodiment, the control unit 210 also has a function for detecting the value of the capacitance generated in the electrode 121. However, the control unit 210 does not have to have a function for detecting the capacitance. In this case, the input device 100 or the display device 200 is separately provided with a capacitance detection circuit that detects the value of the capacitance generated in the electrode 121 and transmits the detected value to the control unit 210.

The storage unit 220 stores the program executed by the control unit 210, the capacitance detected by the input device 100, etc. The storage unit 220 may include, but is not limited to, a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a flash memory, etc. The storage unit 220 may be provided inside the control unit 210.

The output unit 230 has a display such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display, and displays the time being measured by the display device 200, etc.

The input unit 240 includes a touch panel 241 and an input device 100, and accepts user operations. Note that the input unit 240 is not limited to the touch panel 241 and the input device 100, and may include, for example, a push button switch.

Next, the capacitance acquired by the control unit 210 from the input device 100, i.e., the value of the capacitance detected by the electrode 121 of the input device 100, will be described with reference to Figures 3 and 4. When the user is not touching the display device 200, as shown in Figure 3, a parasitic capacitance Cp occurs between the electrode 121 and GND (Ground), and the control unit 210 acquires the value of this parasitic capacitance Cp as the value of the capacitance.

On the other hand, when the user's finger 301 approaches the conductor portion 111, in addition to the parasitic capacitance Cp of the first path that was originally generated, a capacitance Cq based on a second path that passes through the conductor portion 111, the user's finger 301, and the human body is also generated between the electrode 121 and GND. Therefore, the capacitance detected by the electrode 121 becomes Cp+Cq, and the control unit 210 acquires the value of Cp+Cq as the capacitance value.

The capacitance Cq based on this second path is determined by the capacitance Cc between the electrode 121 and the conductor portion 111, the capacitance Cf between the conductor portion 111 and the finger 301, the resistance Rb of the human body, the capacitance Cb between the human body and GND, etc. Of these, the resistance Rb of the human body and the capacitance Cb between the human body and GND are considered not to change significantly in value when the user brings the finger 301 close to the conductor portion 111 and when the user moves the finger 301 away from the conductor portion 111. Therefore, it is considered that the capacitances Cc and Cf have a large effect on the capacitance value detected by the electrode 121, depending on whether the finger 301 is close to the conductor portion 111 or not.

In general, when two conductors face each other with an area of S square meters and a distance of d meters between them, and a dielectric with a dielectric constant of ε is uniformly filled between the two conductors, the capacitance C between the two conductors can be calculated as C = ε x S ÷ d. Therefore, the smaller the distance between the electrode 121 and the conductor portion 111, the larger the capacitance Cc, and the smaller the distance between the conductor portion 111 and the finger 301, the larger the capacitance Cf. In other words, the smaller the distance between the electrode 121 and the conductor portion 111, and the smaller the distance between the conductor portion 111 and the finger 301, the larger the capacitance value acquired by the control unit 210.

Next, the slide detection process executed by the control unit 210 will be described with reference to FIG. 5. When the display device 200 is started, this process starts to be executed in parallel with other processes for implementing various functions of the display device 200.

First, the control unit 210 performs an initialization process (step S101). In this initialization process, the control unit 210 stores the capacitance value (occurring in the electrode 121) acquired by the control unit 210 in the storage unit 220 as the capacitance initial value (the capacitance value when the finger 301 is not approaching the insulator portion 131).

Next, the control unit 210 determines whether the finger 301 has approached the insulator unit 131 (step S102). As described above, when the finger 301 approaches the conductor units 111, 112, and 113, the capacitance generated in the electrode 121 increases. Since the conductor units 111, 112, and 113 are installed on the back surface of the insulator unit 131, the increase in capacitance means that the finger 301 has approached the insulator unit 131. Therefore, if the capacitance value acquired by the control unit 210 is greater than the first reference value times (e.g., 10 times) the initial capacitance value acquired and stored in step S101 (or is greater than the initial capacitance value by a reference threshold value), it can be determined that the finger 301 has approached the insulator unit 131.

If the finger 301 is not approaching the insulator 131 (step S102; No), the process returns to step S102. If the finger 301 is approaching the insulator 131 (step S102; Yes), the control unit 210 acquires the capacitance occurring in the electrode 121 and records the acquired capacitance in the storage unit 220 (step S103). Since step S103 is repeated until the finger 301 is removed from the insulator 131 in the subsequent step S104, the control unit 210 acquires and records the value of the capacitance occurring in the electrode 121 in chronological order. Step S103 is also called an acquisition step. Note that when the control unit 210 records the acquired capacitance in the storage unit 220 in step S103, the control unit 210 may record the acquisition time together with the acquired capacitance.

Next, the control unit 210 determines whether the finger 301 has left the insulator unit 131 (step S104). As is clear from the above description, if the capacitance value acquired by the control unit 210 approaches the initial capacitance value acquired and stored in step S101 (e.g., becomes equal to or less than a second reference value times (e.g., twice) the initial capacitance value), it can be determined that the finger 301 has left the insulator unit 131.

If the finger 301 has not been removed from the insulator portion 131 (step S104; No), the process returns to step S103. If the finger 301 has been removed from the insulator portion 131 (step S104; Yes), the control unit 210 acquires the sliding direction and amount of sliding of the finger 301 based on the capacitance recorded in chronological order in step S103 (step S105). This allows the control unit 210 to detect the sliding of the finger 301, so step S105 is also called a detection step.

1(a) and 6, a description will be given of how the control unit 210 obtains the sliding direction and sliding amount of the finger 301 in step S105. As shown in FIG. 1(a), in this embodiment, with the 12 o'clock position on the clock as a reference, the first conductor unit 111, the second conductor unit 112, and the third conductor unit 113 are periodically arranged clockwise in that order so that each conductor unit 111, 112, and 113 regularly surrounds the periphery of the display unit 231.

As shown in FIG. 6, the distance L1 between the electrode 121 and the first conductor portion 111 is smaller than the distance L2 between the electrode 121 and the second conductor portion 112, the distance L2 between the electrode 121 and the second conductor portion 112 is smaller than the distance L3 between the electrode 121 and the third conductor portion 113, and the distance L4 between each of the conductor portions 111, 112, 113 and the surface of the insulator portion 131 (finger 301) is the same.

As described above, the capacitance increases as the distance between the electrodes decreases. Therefore, when the finger 301 moves (slides) clockwise from the 12 o'clock position on the insulator 131, the capacitance values acquired by the control unit 210 change in the following order as the finger moves (i.e., over time): "large, medium, small, large, medium, small...". Conversely, when the finger 301 moves (slides) counterclockwise from the 12 o'clock position on the insulator 131, the capacitance values acquired by the control unit 210 change in the following order as time passes: "small, medium, large, small, medium, large...". Therefore, the control unit 210 can acquire the direction in which the user moved (slid) the finger 301, based on the order of the capacitance changes.

As shown in FIG. 1(a), each of the conductor parts 111, 112, and 113 is formed in an arc of 30 degrees, so the control unit 210 can obtain an approximate value of the amount (angle) by which the user moved (slid) the finger 301 as "30 degrees x the number of times the capacitance changed." For example, if the obtained capacitance changes to "medium, small, large," the order of the capacitance changes is "large, medium, small..." and the number of times the capacitance changed is 2, so the control unit 210 can determine that "the user moved (slid) the finger 301 clockwise by approximately 60 degrees."

Once the control unit 210 has acquired the sliding direction and amount of the finger 301 in step S105, it returns to step S102.

In step S105, the control unit 210 may update the capacitance initial value stored in step S101 by storing the capacitance value at that time in the storage unit 220 as the capacitance initial value. Also, such updating of the capacitance initial value does not have to be performed every time step S105 is executed. For example, the capacitance initial value may be updated when step S105 is executed a reference number of times (e.g., 100 times), or when a reference time (e.g., 2 hours) has elapsed since the previous capacitance initial value was updated, or the capacitance initial value may be updated once a day. The capacitance value when the finger 301 is not in close proximity to the insulator unit 131 also changes depending on the environment (humidity, the user's sweat condition and constitution, etc.), so by occasionally updating the capacitance initial value, the accuracy of determining the approach of the finger 301 can be improved.

As described above, the input device 100 according to this embodiment is able to detect the sliding direction and amount of sliding of the finger 301 with a single electrode 121 by arranging the conductor parts 111, 112, and 113 at different distances from one electrode 121. Furthermore, even if it is desired to detect the amount of sliding in greater detail, this can be achieved by simply increasing the number of conductor parts that do not require wiring, and only one electrode is required. Therefore, the input device 100 is able to detect the sliding of the finger 301 with a simple structure.

In step S104 of the slide detection process described above, the control unit 210 determines whether the finger 301 has been removed from the insulator portion 131, but the determination in step S104 is not limited to this determination. For example, instead of or in addition to this determination, the control unit 210 may determine whether the acquired capacitance has not changed for a specified time (e.g., 0.5 seconds). In this case, if the acquired capacitance has changed within the specified time, the control unit 210 proceeds to step S103, and if it has not changed, the control unit 210 proceeds to step S104. In this way, the control unit 210 can detect the slide of the finger 301 even if the finger 301 remains in contact with the insulator portion 131.

In addition, in this embodiment, since the conductor parts 111, 112, and 113 are arranged periodically, the capacitance is the same when the finger 301 is placed in contact with the 12 o'clock, 3 o'clock, 6 o'clock, and 9 o'clock positions on the clock, and it is not possible to determine which of the four positions the finger 301 is located at. However, for example, if conductor parts (12 sections) with 12 different distances from the electrode 121 are used and arranged in ascending (or descending) distance order, it becomes possible to obtain not only the sliding direction and amount of the finger 301, but also the position of the finger 301 with a resolution of the number of sections of the conductor parts. In this way, the control unit 210 can obtain, for example, "the finger 301 has moved from the 1 o'clock direction to the 3 o'clock direction."

Conversely, the number of sections of the conductor portion may be reduced to two (conductor portion 111 and conductor portion 112), and the conductor portion 112 may be arranged next to the conductor portion 111, and the conductor portion 111 may be arranged next to the conductor portion 112, in that order, in a periodic arrangement. In this case, the magnitude of the capacitance acquired by the control unit 210 changes to "(large,) small, large, small..." regardless of the direction in which the finger 301 is moved, so the sliding direction cannot be acquired. However, the control unit 210 can acquire the amount of sliding based on the number of times the capacitance has changed. Depending on the application, there may be cases in which information on the direction of finger movement is not necessary and only the amount of movement is to be acquired. In this case, the number of sections of the conductor portion may be reduced to two, thereby reducing production costs.

In addition, various modifications are possible for the arrangement of the conductor parts 111, 112, and 113 other than the arrangement shown in FIG. 6. Specific modifications of the arrangement of the conductor parts 111, 112, and 113 are described below.

(Variation 1)
7, in the first modification, the distance L1 between the surface of the insulator 131 and the first conductor 111 is larger than the distance L2 between the surface of the insulator 131 and the second conductor 112, the distance L2 between the surface of the insulator 131 and the second conductor 112 is larger than the distance L3 between the surface of the insulator 131 and the third conductor 113, and the conductors 111, 112, 113 are arranged such that the distances between the electrodes 121 and the respective conductors 111, 112, 113 are the same as the distance L4. In addition, the first modification is similar to the above-described embodiment.

In the first modification, when the finger 301 moves (slides) clockwise on the insulator 131 from the 12 o'clock position, the capacitance values acquired by the control unit 210 change over time in the order of "small, medium, large, small, medium, large...". Conversely, when the finger 301 moves (slides) counterclockwise on the insulator 131 from the 12 o'clock position, the capacitance values acquired by the control unit 210 change over time in the order of "large, medium, small, large, medium, small...". Therefore, the control unit 210 can acquire in which direction the user moved (slid) the finger 301, depending on the order of magnitude when the capacitance changes.

In FIG. 7, there is a gap (air) of a distance L4 between the electrode 121 and each of the conductor parts 111, 112, and 113, but a resin with a thickness of L4 may be placed there. In this case, the conductor parts 111, 112, and 113 can be placed on the resin with a thickness of L4 to realize the first modification. Then, it is not necessary to make the insulator part 131 have a special shape as shown in FIG. 7, and the insulator part 131 according to the first modification may be formed with an insulator part 131 of a uniform thickness, as in the insulator part 131 shown in FIG. 6. That is, when it is desired to configure the input device 100 by attaching the conductor parts 111, 112, and 113 to the back surface of the insulator part 131, it is possible to reduce manufacturing costs by configuring as in the above-mentioned embodiment, and when it is desired to configure the input device 100 by attaching the conductor parts 111, 112, and 113 to the resin placed on the electrode 121, it is possible to reduce manufacturing costs by configuring as in the first modification.

(Variation 2)
8, the conductors 111, 112, and 113 are arranged so that the conductors 111, 112, and 113 have the same shape (thickness), the distance L1 between the electrode 121 and the first conductor 111 is smaller than the distance L2 between the electrode 121 and the second conductor 112, the distance L2 between the electrode 121 and the second conductor 112 is smaller than the distance L3 between the electrode 121 and the third conductor 113, the distance L4 between the surface of the insulator 131 and the first conductor 111 is larger than the distance L5 between the surface of the insulator 131 and the second conductor 112, and the distance L5 between the surface of the insulator 131 and the second conductor 112 is larger than the distance L6 between the surface of the insulator 131 and the third conductor 113. Except for these points, the conductors 111, 112, and 113 are arranged so that the conductors 111, 112, and 113 are arranged so that the distance L1 between the electrode 121 and the first conductor 111 is smaller than the distance L2 between the electrode 121 and the second conductor 112, and the distance L5 between the surface of the insulator 131 and the second conductor 112 is larger than the distance L6 between the surface of the insulator 131 and the third conductor 113.

In the second modification, the capacitance between the electrode 121 and the conductors 111, 112, and 113 is the largest between the electrode 121 and the first conductor 111, but the capacitance between the surface of the insulator 131 and the conductors 111, 112, and 113 is the largest between the surface of the insulator 131 and the third conductor 113. However, since the dielectric constant ε of a resin is generally greater than that of air, the capacitance between the surface of the insulator 131 and the conductors 111, 112, and 113 is greater than the capacitance between the electrode 121 and the conductors 111, 112, and 113. Since these two capacitances are connected in series, the capacitance value acquired by the control unit 210 is the largest when the finger 301 is brought close to the surface of the insulator 131 close to the first conductor 111. Conversely, the capacitance value acquired by the control unit 210 is smallest when the finger 301 is brought close to the surface of the insulator portion 131 that is close to the third conductor portion 113.

That is, in the second modification, when the finger 301 moves (slides) clockwise on the insulator 131 from the 12 o'clock position, the capacitance values acquired by the control unit 210 change over time in the order of "large, medium, small, large, medium, small...". Conversely, when the finger 301 moves (slides) counterclockwise on the insulator 131 from the 12 o'clock position, the capacitance values acquired by the control unit 210 change over time in the order of "small, medium, large, small, medium, large...". Therefore, the control unit 210 can acquire in which direction the user moved (slid) the finger 301 according to the order of magnitude when the capacitance changes.

The input device 100 according to variant example 2 can reduce manufacturing costs because the conductor portions 111, 112, and 113 can be configured to have the same shape.

(Variation 3)
In the third modification, as shown in Fig. 9, the conductors 111, 112, and 113 have the same shape (thickness), but have a step on the surface of the case (insulating portion 131). Due to this step, the distance L1 between the surface of the insulating portion 131 and the first conductor 111 is larger than the distance L2 between the surface of the insulating portion 131 and the second conductor 112, the distance L2 between the surface of the insulating portion 131 and the second conductor 112 is larger than the distance L3 between the surface of the insulating portion 131 and the third conductor 113, and the conductors 111, 112, and 113 are arranged so that the distances between the electrodes 121 and the conductors 111, 112, and 113 are all the same, that is, the same distance L4. Except for these points, the first modification is similar to the above-mentioned embodiment.

In the third modification, when the finger 301 moves (slides) clockwise on the insulator 131 from the 12 o'clock position, the capacitance values acquired by the control unit 210 change over time in the order of "small, medium, large, small, medium, large...". Conversely, when the finger 301 moves (slides) counterclockwise on the insulator 131 from the 12 o'clock position, the capacitance values acquired by the control unit 210 change over time in the order of "large, medium, small, large, medium, small...". Therefore, the control unit 210 can acquire in which direction the user moved (slid) the finger 301, depending on the order of magnitude when the capacitance changes.

In the input device 100 according to the third modification, the conductor parts 111, 112, and 113 can be configured to have the same shape, which reduces manufacturing costs. In FIG. 9, the surface of the case (insulating part 131) is stepped, but the distance from the conductor part 111 may be smoothly changed from distance L1 to distance L3 to form a slope. However, in this case, between the third conductor part 113 and the first conductor part 111, the distance between the conductor parts 111, 113 and the surface of the insulating part 131 must be changed abruptly from distance L3 to distance L1, so this part becomes cliff-like.

(Variation 4)
In the above-described embodiment and modified examples, a plurality of physically separated conductor parts 111, 112, and 113 are provided so that the capacitance generated in electrode 121 changes in response to the movement of finger 301. However, it is also possible to configure the capacitance generated in electrode 121 to change in response to the movement of finger 301 using only one conductor that is not physically separated. Such modified example 4 will be described with reference to FIG. 10.

The display device 201 according to the fourth modification is a wristwatch-type information terminal, similar to the above-mentioned embodiment, and includes a display unit 231 in the center of the main body, and an input device 101 around the display unit 231. As shown in FIG. 10(a), the display device 201 according to the fourth modification includes four conductors 110 spaced at regular intervals in a circular shape around the display unit 231 as components of the input device 101. Note that FIG. 10(b) shows a cross-sectional view of the input device 101 included in the display device 201 when cut along the arc-shaped dashed dotted line A-A' in FIG. 10(a).

As shown in FIG. 10(b), the conductor 110 is disposed inside the insulator portion 131 so as to face the electrode 121 and not to come into contact with the electrode 121. Except for the fact that the conductor portions 111, 112, and 113 of the above-described embodiment are replaced with the conductor 110 in the fourth modification, the fourth modification has the same configuration as the above-described embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 10(b), the conductor 110 is disposed at an angle inside the insulator section 131, so that the distance between the surface of the insulator section 131 and the conductor 110 is L1 at its largest point and L2 at its smallest point. The distance between the conductor 110 and the electrode 121 is L3 at its smallest point and L4 at its largest point. The electrode 121 is present over the entire surface facing the conductor 110, so the capacitance between the conductor 110 and the electrode 121 does not depend on the position of the finger 301.

On the other hand, the capacitance between the finger 301 and the conductor 110 depends on the position of the finger. The capacitance between the finger 301 and the conductor 110 when the finger 301 moves on the surface of the insulator part 131 is smallest when the finger 301 is located at point P1 shown in FIG. 10(b) and is largest when the finger 301 is located at point P2.

Therefore, when the finger 301 moves (slides) clockwise on the insulator section 131, the capacitance value acquired by the control unit 210 changes smoothly from a large value to a small value as the finger moves (i.e., over time), then suddenly becomes a large value, and then smoothly changes back to a small value. Conversely, when the finger 301 moves (slides) counterclockwise on the insulator section 131, the capacitance value acquired by the control unit 210 changes smoothly from a small value to a large value over time, then suddenly becomes a small value, and then smoothly changes back to a large value. Therefore, the control unit 210 can acquire in which direction the user moved (slides) the finger 301 based on the way in which the magnitude of the capacitance changes.

As shown in FIG. 10(a), each of the conductors 110 is installed in the center of a 90-degree arc-shaped region, so the control unit 210 can obtain an approximate value of the amount (angle) by which the user has moved (slid) the finger 301 as "90 degrees x the number of times the capacitance has changed suddenly." For example, if the obtained capacitance changes "smoothly from a medium value to a small value and then suddenly to a large value," the sudden change in capacitance is from small to large, and the number of sudden changes is one, so the control unit 210 can determine that "the user has moved (slid) the finger 301 clockwise by about 90 degrees." Furthermore, even in a range where the capacitance is changing slowly, it is possible to obtain an approximate value of the amount (angle) of movement of the finger 301 according to the rate of change.

(Variation 5)
As a further modification of the fourth modification, a display device 202 according to a fifth modification in which the shape of the conductor 110 is slightly changed will be described with reference to Figs. 10(a) and 10(c). Note that, apart from the difference in the shape of the conductor 110, the fifth modification has the same configuration as the fourth modification. Fig. 10(c) is a cross-sectional view of the input device 102 provided in the display device 202 of the fifth modification taken along the arc-shaped dashed dotted line A-A' in Fig. 10(a).

The shape of the conductor 110 in variant 4 is a plate shape with equal thickness on the left and right, as shown in FIG. 10(b). In contrast, the shape of the conductor 110 in variant 5 is a trapezoidal cross section with different thicknesses on the left and right, as shown in FIG. 10(c), when viewed from the side of the display device 202.

As shown in FIG. 10(c), the conductor 110 in the fifth modification has different thicknesses on the left and right, so the distance between the surface of the insulator portion 131 and the conductor 110 is L1 at its widest point and L2 at its narrowest point. The distance between the conductor 110 and the electrode 121 is L3 regardless of position. As in the fourth modification, the electrode 121 is present over the entire surface facing the conductor 110, so the capacitance between the conductor 110 and the electrode 121 does not depend on the position of the finger 301.

On the other hand, similar to the fourth modification, the capacitance between the finger 301 and the conductor 110 when the finger 301 moves on the surface of the insulator section 131 is smallest when the finger 301 is located at point P1 shown in FIG. 10(c) and is largest when the finger 301 is located at point P2. Therefore, similar to the fourth modification, the control section 210 can obtain the direction in which the user moved (slid) the finger 301 and an approximate value of the amount (angle) by which the user moved (slid) the finger 301 based on the manner in which the capacitance changes.

(Other Modifications)
In the above-described embodiment and modified example, an embodiment in which the electrode 121 is present in a ring shape around the display unit 231 has been described as the input device 100, 101, 102 applicable as an input device of the wristwatch-type display device 200, 201, 202. However, the shape of the electrode 121 is not limited to a ring shape, and may be linear or arc-shaped. In this case, the conductor parts 111, 112, 113 and the conductor 110 are also configured in a shape that faces the electrode 121 in accordance with the shape of the electrode 121.

For example, the electrode 121 may be arranged in a 90-degree arc around the display unit 231 from the 12 o'clock direction to the 3 o'clock direction on a clock, and the conductor parts 111, 112, and 113 may also be installed within a 90-degree range around the display unit 231 from the 12 o'clock direction to the 3 o'clock direction.

In the above-mentioned embodiment and modified examples, the display device has been described as having one input device. However, the number of input devices that the display device has is not limited to one. The display device may have multiple input devices. The display device may have three input devices, for example, a first input device from the 12 o'clock direction to the 3 o'clock direction on the clock, a second input device from the 4 o'clock direction to the 7 o'clock direction on the clock, and a third input device from the 8 o'clock direction to the 11 o'clock direction on the clock.

Furthermore, devices equipped with an input device are not limited to wristwatch-type display devices. The input device can be applied to any device that allows some input to be made by a finger slide operation. For example, an electronic dictionary, music player, smartphone, tablet, etc. may be equipped with an input device for adjusting volume (e.g., using linear electrodes) on the side, etc. of the device. Also, an electronic dictionary, music player, etc. may be equipped with an input device for selecting content (e.g., using ring-shaped electrodes) on the front, etc. of the device. Of course, an electronic dictionary, music player, etc. may be equipped with both of these input devices.

The functions of the display device 200 can also be implemented by a computer such as a normal PC (Personal Computer). Specifically, in the above embodiment, the programs such as the slide detection process executed by the display device 200 have been described as being prestored in the ROM of the storage unit 220. However, the programs may be stored and distributed on a computer-readable recording medium such as a flexible disk, a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), an MO (Magneto-Optical disc), a memory card, or a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, and the programs may be read and installed on a computer to configure a computer capable of implementing the above-mentioned functions.

Furthermore, the program can be superimposed on a carrier wave and applied via a communication medium such as the Internet. For example, the program can be distributed by posting it on a bulletin board system (BBS) on a communication network. The program can then be started and executed under the control of an operating system (OS) in the same way as other application programs, thereby enabling the above processing to be performed.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiment, and includes the inventions described in the claims and their equivalents. The inventions described in the original claims of this application are described below.

(Appendix 1)
An insulator portion;
A conductor disposed on the back surface or inside of the insulating portion;
An electrode disposed so as not to come into contact with the conductor;
Equipped with
the conductor has at least a first portion and a second portion;
The conductor is disposed such that a distance between the first portion and a surface of the insulator is different from a distance between the second portion and a surface of the insulator, or a distance between the first portion and the electrode is different from a distance between the second portion and the electrode.
Input device.

(Appendix 2)
the first portion and the second portion are arranged in a plurality of periods in an order in which the second portion is arranged adjacent to the first portion;
2. The input device of claim 1.

(Appendix 3)
The conductor is configured such that the first portion and the second portion are physically separated from each other, and the first portion is provided as a first conductor portion on the rear surface or inside of the insulating portion, and the second portion is provided as a second conductor portion.
3. The input device according to claim 1 or 2.

(Appendix 4)
The conductor has a first portion and a second portion that are not physically separated from each other,
a distance between the first portion and a surface of the insulator portion is different from a distance between the second portion and a surface of the insulator portion;
3. The input device according to claim 1 or 2.

(Appendix 5)
Further comprising a third conductor portion disposed on a rear surface or inside of the insulating portion,
The third conductor is disposed such that a distance between the third conductor and a surface of the insulator is different from a distance between the first conductor and a surface of the insulator and a distance between the second conductor and a surface of the insulator, or a distance between the third conductor and the electrode is different from a distance between the first conductor and the electrode and a distance between the second conductor and the electrode.
4. The input device of claim 3.

(Appendix 6)
the first conductor portion, the second conductor portion, and the third conductor portion are periodically arranged in a plurality of arrangements in such an order that the second conductor portion is arranged adjacent to the first conductor portion, and the third conductor portion is arranged adjacent to the second conductor portion;
6. The input device of claim 5.

(Appendix 7)
a thickness of the first conductive portion, a thickness of the second conductive portion, and a thickness of the third conductive portion in a direction extending perpendicularly from a surface of the electrode to a surface of the insulating portion are all different from one another;
7. The input device according to claim 5 or 6.

(Appendix 8)
a distance between the first conductive portion and the electrode, a distance between the second conductive portion and the electrode, and a distance between the third conductive portion and the electrode are all different from one another;
8. An input device according to any one of claims 5 to 7.

(Appendix 9)
a distance between a surface of the insulating body and the first conductive body, a distance between a surface of the insulating body and the second conductive body, and a distance between a surface of the insulating body and the third conductive body are all different from one another;
9. An input device according to any one of claims 5 to 8.

(Appendix 10)
a thickness of the first conductive portion, a thickness of the second conductive portion, and a thickness of the third conductive portion in a direction extending perpendicularly from a surface of the electrode to a surface of the insulating portion are all equal;
a distance between a surface of the insulator portion and the first conductor portion, a distance between a surface of the insulator portion and the second conductor portion, and a distance between a surface of the insulator portion and the third conductor portion are all different from one another;
a distance between the first conductive portion and the electrode, a distance between the second conductive portion and the electrode, and a distance between the third conductive portion and the electrode are all different from one another;
6. The input device of claim 5.

(Appendix 11)
By providing a step on the surface of the insulator, a thickness of the insulator at a portion where a straight line extending perpendicularly from the surface of the electrode to the surface of the insulator passes through the first conductor, a thickness of the insulator at a portion where the straight line passes through the second conductor, and a thickness of the insulator at a portion where the straight line passes through the third conductor are all different from one another.
11. An input device according to any one of claims 5 to 10.

(Appendix 12)
Air or resin is present in the space between the electrode and the conductor.
12. An input device according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

(Appendix 13)
An input device according to any one of claims 1 to 12,
A display unit;
A display device comprising:
the insulator portion is a case that covers the display device,
The conductor is disposed at a position corresponding to the periphery of the display unit.
Display device.

(Appendix 14)
A slide detection method for a device comprising an insulating part, a conductor disposed on a rear surface or inside the insulating part, and one electrode disposed so as not to come into contact with the conductor, the conductor having at least a first part and a second part, the conductor being disposed such that a distance between the first part and a surface of the insulating part is different from a distance between the second part and a surface of the insulating part, or a distance between the first part and the electrode is different from a distance between the second part and the electrode,
an acquisition step of acquiring capacitance values detected by the electrodes in time series;
a detection step of detecting a finger sliding on a surface of the insulating part based on a change in the acquired capacitance value;
A slide detection method comprising:

(Appendix 15)
a computer of a device in which the conductor is installed, the computer including the computer having the conductor installed so as not to contact the conductor, the conductor having at least a first portion and a second portion, the computer being configured to read and write the information on the computer in the device so that the distance between the first portion and a surface of the insulator is different from the distance between the second portion and a surface of the insulator, or the distance between the first portion and the electrode is different from the distance between the second portion and the electrode,
an acquisition step of acquiring capacitance values detected by the electrodes in time series; and
a detection step of detecting a slide of a finger on the surface of the insulating part based on a change in the acquired capacitance value;
A program that executes the following.

100, 101, 102...input device, 110...conductor, 111, 112, 113...conductor portion, 121...electrode, 131...insulator portion, 200, 201, 202...display device, 210...control unit, 220...storage unit, 230...output unit, 231...display unit, 240...input unit, 241...touch panel, 301...finger, C, Cb, Cc, Cf, Cq...capacitance, Cp...parasitic capacitance, d, L1, L2, L3, L4, L5, L6...spacing, Rb...resistance, P1, P2...point, S...area, ε...dielectric constant

Claims (6)

An insulator portion;
A conductor disposed on the back surface or inside of the insulating portion;
An electrode disposed so as not to come into contact with the conductor;
Equipped with
the conductor has at least a first portion and a second portion;
the conductor is disposed such that a distance between the first portion and a surface of the insulator is different from a distance between the second portion and a surface of the insulator, or a distance between the first portion and the electrode is different from a distance between the second portion and the electrode,
a thickness of the first portion and a thickness of the second portion in a direction extending perpendicularly from a surface of the electrode to a surface of the insulator portion are different from each other;
Input device. the first portion and the second portion are arranged in a plurality of periods in an order in which the second portion is arranged adjacent to the first portion;
The input device according to claim 1 . The conductor is configured such that the first portion and the second portion are physically separated from each other, and the first portion is provided as a first conductor portion on the rear surface or inside of the insulating portion, and the second portion is provided as a second conductor portion.
3. An input device according to claim 1 or 2. Air or resin is present in the space between the electrode and the conductor.
The input device according to claim 1 . A slide detection method for a device comprising an insulator, a conductor disposed on a rear surface or inside the insulator, and one electrode disposed so as not to come into contact with the conductor, the conductor having at least a first portion and a second portion, the conductor being disposed such that a distance between the first portion and a surface of the insulator is different from a distance between the second portion and a surface of the insulator, or a distance between the first portion and the electrode is different from a distance between the second portion and the electrode, and a thickness of the first portion and a thickness of the second portion in a direction extending perpendicularly from a surface of the electrode to a surface of the insulator are different from each other,
an acquisition step of acquiring capacitance values detected by the electrodes in time series;
a detection step of detecting a finger sliding on a surface of the insulating part based on a change in the acquired capacitance value;
A slide detection method comprising: a computer of an apparatus comprising: an insulator section; a conductor disposed on a back surface or inside the insulator section; and an electrode disposed so as not to come into contact with the conductor, the conductor having at least a first portion and a second portion, the conductor being disposed such that a distance between the first portion and a surface of the insulator section is different from a distance between the second portion and a surface of the insulator section, or a distance between the first portion and the electrode is different from a distance between the second portion and the electrode, and a thickness of the first portion and a thickness of the second portion in a direction extending perpendicularly from a surface of the electrode to a surface of the insulator section are different from each other,
an acquisition step of acquiring capacitance values detected by the electrodes in time series; and
a detection step of detecting a slide of a finger on the surface of the insulating part based on a change in the acquired capacitance value;
A program that executes the following.

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