JPH0415722A - Coordinate input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To accurate by detect an input position of coordinates by forming a specific dot spacer on the counter surface of one of two surface resistors with the screen print. CONSTITUTION:A dot spacer 30 formed on the counter surface of one of two surface resistors 4A and 4B has a 25-100mum diameter, the 5-30mum height, and a 0.3-1.0mm arrangement pitch. Thus the diameter and the arrangement pitch of the spacer 30 are reduced down to 1/2 or less compared with the conventional value together with an electrical gap 10 also reduced down to 1/4-1/10 or less. In other words, the arrangement density of the spacer 30 is increased per unit area despite the size reduction of the spacer 30. In addition, the gap 10 is minimized between both resistors 4A and 4B. Thus the satisfactory conduction is secured for the resistors 4A and 4B regardless of a pressed position in and entire input range. Then an input coordinate position is accurately detected.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a coordinate manual device used for handwriting characters, figures, etc. The present invention relates to a coordinate input device for inputting the coordinate position of a contact point by contacting a sheet.

(Prior Art) As a conventional coordinate manual device, for example, the one shown in FIG. A coordinate human input sheet 1A for X coordinates and a coordinate human input sheet 1B for inputting the X coordinate having a similar configuration are arranged opposite to each other and shifted by 90 degrees from each other.

In this type of coordinate input device, when the tip of a special pen such as a stylus pen is brought into contact with the sea surface 1 with a predetermined voltage applied to each coordinate input port IA and IB,
The partial pressure at each input point PA, Ps is output from the partial pressure output terminals 6, 7 to A/
It is read by a D converter (not shown) and converted into a digital signal, and this digital signal is output as the X coordinate and each position information of the X coordinate.

On the other hand, FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of the coordinate input device 1, and an insulating sheet 11 and a top sheet 12 are placed on the coordinate input sheet IA for inputting the X coordinate, which is made up of an insulating sheet 8A and a sheet resistor 4A. The coordinate input sheet IB for inputting the Y coordinate, which is made up of a sheet resistor 4B and an insulating sheet 8B, is placed under the coordinate input sheet IA in the gap 10.
It is provided through.

The surface of the sheet resistor 4B of this coordinate input sheet IB is a double-sided resistor 4A when no pressing force is applied.

4B is electrically non-conductive, and the double-sided resistor 4A,
A plurality of dot-shaped spacers 15 are provided at predetermined intervals to create an electrical gap 10 between 4-B.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, the spacer 15 in the above conventional device is formed using an insulating material such as a jepoxy resin, and has a diameter of about 200 to 300 μm and a height H of about 60 to 90 μm.
m and the arrangement pitch P are set to 2.0 mm. As a result, when pressing right above the spacer 15,
Since the gap 10 did not disappear, there was a problem in that there was no conduction between the sheet resistors 4A and 4B, and coordinate input was not possible.

Further, even when pressing near the spacer 15, the pressed position is shifted due to the influence of the spacer 15, so the pressed position cannot be accurately detected and the coordinate input position cannot be reliably input.

It has been known that in order to improve the above problem, the shape of the spacer can be made smaller and the arrangement pitch of the spacer can be made smaller. As shown in Figure 7, there is a mesh screen 20 inside the dot pattern of the plate.
There was a problem that printability was poor due to the presence of , and the size of the spacer could not be smaller than 200 to 300 μm in diameter and 60 to 90 μm in height.

Another way to improve the above problem is to
As shown in FIG. 8, surface sheets 14 and Al plates 13 are formed on the upper and lower surfaces, and sheet resistors 4A and 4 facing each other
It is only necessary to apply a pressure-sensitive conductive ink 16 to one side of B, which is imparted with conductivity by being suppressed. However, in this case, the manufacturing cost of the pressure-sensitive conductive ink is very high, so there is a problem that it cannot be put to practical use as a general-purpose product.

The present invention has been made in view of these conventional problems, and its purpose is to provide a coordinate input device that can accurately detect input positions and has excellent operability.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 is characterized in that sheet resistors are formed to face each other on the sheet surfaces between two opposing electrodes. In a coordinate input device equipped with a X-coordinate and Y-coordinate position detection sheet, screen printing is performed on one opposing surface of the two sheet resistors with a diameter of 25 to 100 μm, a height of 5 to 30 μm, and an arrangement pitch of 0.3 to 30 μm. A feature is that a 1.0 mm dot-shaped spacer is formed.

The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the dot-shaped spacers according to claim 1 are formed by screen printing of epoxy resin using a plating plate obtained by depositing a printing plate in a plating process.

(Function) First, in the invention of claim 1, a diameter of 25 to 100 μm is provided on the opposing surface of one of the two opposing sheet resistors.
Since the dot-shaped spacers with a height of 5 to 30 μm and a pitch of 0.3 to 1.0 mm are formed by screen printing of epoxy resin, etc., the size of the dot-shaped spacers can be minimized while ensuring conductivity by pressing. It is set so that Therefore, accurate position detection can be performed over the entire area of the input pressing surface, and in this case, even if the operation is performed with a small pressing force, the variation in the pressing force is reduced, and usability is improved.

The reason why the dot-shaped spacers are limited to the above-mentioned dimensions is to ensure the spacer arrangement density and conductivity are above a predetermined level, and according to the research of the present inventor, the dimensions must be within the above-mentioned range. However, it turned out that this effect could not be obtained.

In addition, in the invention of claim 2, the dot-shaped spacers arranged on the surface of the resistor are formed by screen printing with epoxy resin using a plating plate obtained by depositing a printing plate in a plating process. As shown in FIG. 2, the dot pattern inside 21 of the plating plate is hollow, and the dot shape can be made smaller than when a conventional screen plate is used.

(Example) Next, one embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an enlarged sectional view of a coordinate input device to which the present invention is applied. Incidentally, since the overall basic configuration of the coordinate input device of the present invention is almost the same as that shown in FIG. 5, the illustration and explanation thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 1, the coordinate input sheet IA for manual input of the X coordinate is made by overlapping an insulating sheet t-8A and a sheet resistor 4A, and an insulating sheet 11 and a top sheet 12 are sequentially laminated on top of the insulating sheet 8A. There is.

In addition, the coordinate input sheet IB for inputting the Y coordinate provided below the coordinate input sheet 1A for inputting the X coordinate is an insulating sheet 8.
A sheet resistor 4B is formed on B, and the sheet resistor 4B faces the sheet resistor 4A.

These sheet resistors 4A and 4B are made of carbon or ■.

T, 0, and in order to provide an electrical gap 10 between the sheet resistor 4A and the sheet resistor 4A on the opposite surface of the sheet resistor 4B,
A plurality of dot-shaped spacers 30 are arranged at equal pitches. This spacer 30 is formed on the sheet resistor 4B by screen printing using epoxy resin as a material.

The plate used in this screen printing is called a plated plate, and is formed in the process shown in FIG.

That is, as shown in FIG. 3A, first, a resist film 32 is laminated on a base material 31, and a dot plate forming mask 33 is superimposed thereon.

Here, the dot plate forming mask 33 is provided with a large number of dot forming holes 34, as shown in FIG. 3(b).

Therefore, by irradiating ultraviolet rays from the light source 35, the portions of the resist film 32 that are exposed to pressure from the dot forming holes 34 are cured (exposure step).

Next, as shown in FIG. 3(c), the dot plate making mask 33 and the resist film 32 are washed away with a solvent.
The uncured portion is removed to form dot portions 36 (etching step).

Next, as shown in FIG. 3D, a metal film 37 is formed by plating except for the dot portions 36, and as shown in FIG.
remove. As a result, the metal film that becomes the plate (plated plate)
37 will be formed.

The dot-shaped spacer 300 has a diameter of 25 to 100 μm.
1 height is set to 5 to 30 μm and 1 arrangement pitch is set to 0.3 to 1.0 mm.

As mentioned above, the diameter and arrangement pitch of the dot-shaped spacers 30 are 1/2 or less compared to the conventional one, and the electrical gap 10 is also 1/2 or less.
/4 to 1/10 or less.

In other words, even though the size of the dot-shaped spacer 30 is reduced, the arrangement density of the dot-shaped spacer per unit area is increased, and the amount of the cap 10 between the sheet resistors 4A and 4B is also increased. set to minimum. Therefore, even if the position is pressed over the entire human force range, the sheet resistors 4A and 4B are electrically connected to each other, and thereby the human force coordinate position can be accurately detected.

In addition, even when operating with a small suppressing force, uniform suppression can be obtained with little variation, resulting in very good operability. Furthermore, since the dot-shaped spacers 30 are formed by screen printing epoxy resin, they can be mass-produced at a lower cost than those using conventional pressure-sensitive conductive inks.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view showing another embodiment of the invention. This example is applied to a coordinate manpower device having a transparent type coordinate manpower sheet.

In other words, the insulating sheet 8A of the coordinate entry box)-IA is made of a transparent material, and 1. T.

The sheet resistor 4A is provided by forming a zero evaporated film. Similarly, the insulating sheet 8B of the coordinate manual seat 1B for detecting the Y coordinate position is also made of transparent material, and 1.
A sheet resistor 4B is provided by forming a T,0 evaporated film, and further, by screen printing epoxy resin at a predetermined position on this using a plate manufactured in the same manner as in the first embodiment. Diameter 25~100μm 1 height 5~
Dot-shaped spacers 30 having a diameter of 30 μm and an arrangement pitch of 0.3 to 1.0 mm are arranged.

In this example, as in the above-mentioned example, the arrangement density of the dot-shaped spacers is high, and the gap between the faceted resistors 4A and 4B is set to the minimum necessary amount, so that the input position where the suppression is applied can be accurately determined. can be detected.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, in the invention of claim 1, the diameter of the dot-shaped spacer formed on the opposing surface of one of the two sheet resistors is 25 to 100 μm, the height is 5 to 30 μm.
m, the arrangement pitch is set to 0.3 to 1°Qmm, so accurate position detection can be performed over the entire input range of the sheet, and in addition, even when operated with a light pressing force, there is less variation in the pressing force, This has the effect of improving usability.

In addition, since the dot-shaped spacers are formed by screen printing, the manufacturing cost per unit area is not only lower than that using conventional expensive pressure-sensitive conductive inks, but also the two sheet resistors are This has the effect of maintaining good conductivity between the two.

Further, in the invention of claim 2, since the dot-shaped spacers are formed by screen printing of epoxy resin using a plating plate obtained by depositing a printing plate in a plating process, the spacer is formed by screen printing of an epoxy resin using a plating plate obtained by depositing a printing plate in a plating process. It has the effect of being able to reduce the

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the manufacturing process of the dot-shaped spacer shown in FIG. 1,
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the inside of the dot pattern in the manufacturing process of the dot-shaped spacer shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is an overall diagram showing the coordinate input device. 6 is a sectional view showing the conventional coordinate input device, FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the inside of the dot pattern of the screen plate used in the conventional coordinate input device, and FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the conventional coordinate input device. FIG. IA, IB...Coordinate input sheet 2.3...Counter electrodes 4A, 4B...Sheet resistors 8A, 8B...Insulating sheet 30...Dot-shaped spacer 31...Base material 32...・Resist film 33...Mask 34 for making dot plate...Hole for making dot 36...Dot part 37...Metal film (plating plate)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a coordinate input device equipped with an X-coordinate and Y-coordinate position detection sheet formed such that sheet resistors face each other on the sheet surface between two opposing electrodes, the above-mentioned two A coordinate input device characterized in that dot-shaped spacers having a diameter of 25 to 100 μm, a height of 5 to 30 μm, and an arrangement pitch of 0.3 to 1.0 mm are formed on one opposing surface of a sheet resistor by screen printing. 2. The coordinate input device according to claim 1, wherein the dot-shaped spacers are formed by screen printing of epoxy resin using a plating plate obtained by depositing a printing plate in a plating process.