Alps Electric Co., Ltd.

Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.

Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione

Kigawa Electronic Engineering Laboratory, Inc.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Limited

Shinichi Higuchi

Toru Takahashi

Yoshihisa Endo

Kouichi Ogino

Shinji Hirano

Yuko Sonoda

Mikio Matsumoto

Kiyoshi Kobayashi

Yasuo Takahashi

Tomomi Koganezawa

Kinya Inoue

Kazuhito Ooshita

Akihiro Takeda

Junji Hashida

Katsutoshi Suzuki

Koji Tsukamoto

Tomoyuki Yamai

Masatoshi Uchio

Makito Takigawa

Katsuji Suzuki

Yoshifumi Masumoto

Toru Sawada

Takenobu Horino

Tetsuya Mitsuishi

Shinya Marushima

Takashi Asakawa

Koichi Saito

Michio Kigawa

Tadashi Manome

Sadakazu Shiga

In an input device capable of reliably detecting, when an operator brings an operating body close to or into contact with an operation plane, absolute position information irrespective of a contact area size, third electrode arrays are disposed closer to the operation plane relative to second electrode arrays in a normal direction of the operation plane, the second electrode arrays have a portion protruding from the corresponding third electrode arrays when viewed in the normal direction, and assuming that a change amount of electrostatic capacitance between first and third electrode arrays occurred by an operation of the operating body is denoted by &#x394;C1 and a change amount of electrostatic capacitance between the first and second electrode arrays occurred by an operation of the operating body is denoted by &#x394;C2, a position of the operating body in the normal direction is calculated based on a ratio &#x394;C1/&#x394;C2.

Input device

A capacitive sensor has: an electrode link that has a plurality of second transparent electrodes arranged in a predetermined direction; a first wiring part electrically connected to one end of the electrode link; a second wiring part electrically connected to another end of the electrode link; a central linking part that electrically connects a plurality of second transparent electrodes placed at the central portion of the detection area in the predetermined direction; and a peripheral linking part that electrically connects a plurality of second transparent electrodes placed in other than the central portion in the predetermined direction. The first wiring part and second wiring part are electrically connected to each other in a non-detection area. The electric resistance value of the central linking part is higher than the electric resistance value of the peripheral linking part.

Capacitive sensor suppressing breakage of electrode linking parts due to electrostatic discharge

A touch panel includes a transparent panel, a transparent electrode which is formed in a transparent input region on a first surface of the transparent panel, a decorative layer which is formed in a decorative region on the first surface, a wiring layer which is formed on a surface of the decorative layer, and a transparent conductive connection layer which electrically connects the wiring layer and the transparent electrode.

Input device and method of manufacturing the same

A lower surface and an upper surface are provided in a detection panel. Lower electrode layersand, a lower wiring pattern, and a lower land portionformed on the lower surface are covered with upper shielding layersandof the upper surface, and an upper electrode layer, an upper wiring pattern, and an upper land portionformed in the upper surface are covered with lower shielding layersandof the lower surface. Therefore, an effect of a decorative area shielding light may be enhanced, and thus an electrical shielding effect may further be exhibited.

Light-transmissive input device and method of manufacturing the same

There is provided a small-sized vibration generator that resonates at two different frequencies. A movable base is housed inside a case. The movable base has an installation plate, and supporting plates bent at right angles from both ends of the installation plate. A first elastically deformable portion is formed integrally with the installation plate, and a weight body is supported by the first elastically deformable portion. In the movable base, a second elastically deformable portion is provided between the installation plate and the supporting plates, and the supporting plates are fixed to supporting end plates of the case. The bending elastic modulus of the second elastically deformable portion is higher than the bending elastic modulus of the first elastically deformable portion, and resonates at two natural frequencies when a driving force is applied to the weight body by a magnetically-driven portion.

Vibration generator

An exciting device capable of producing sound by sound-producing vibration body of a main body of an apparatus is provided. An exciting memberA thin and long in the direction X is provided on a vibration substratethin and long in the direction X. Both ends of the exciting memberA are fixed to the vibration substrate. Further, a piezoelectric elementthat functions as vibration generating means is provided in the middle in the direction X of the exciting memberA. The vibration substrateis directly or indirectly fixed to the sound-producing vibration body. Vibration of the exciting memberA is transmitted to the sound-producing vibration body through the vibration substrateso that the sound-producing vibration body produces sound.

Exciting device

In the transmitter receiver of the present invention, a light-shielding sheet is arranged in front of a light-emitting portion having a LED whose light-emitting central axis is inclined and an aperture from which only the head of the light-emitting portion is exposed is made in the light-shielding sheet. The light-shielding sheet masks the inclined side portion of the light-emitting portion to prevent a light-receiving portion from detecting the light leaking from the inclined side portion. Therefore, the light-receiving portion can detect with high accuracy a change in the amount of light emission that is produced by a change in the direction of the light-emitting portion.

Transmitter receiver

With a control section implemented by software, which is provided for a personal computer, when a device is added, a device driver dedicated to the device starts running. When a device is removed, the corresponding device driver is released. Since a control apparatus is used which includes the personal computer provided with the control section, a wireless device, and a universal serial bus (USB) controller for transferring data to and from the device, the device can be used immediately after it is disposed at a predetermined location.

Computer system having computer provided with universal-serial-bus and device conforming to universal-serial-bus standard

A USB controller is provided between a personal computer main unit and various devices. By providing the USB controller with a switch part for temporarily cutting a current flowing between the USB controller and the personal computer main unit, the circuit is connected or interrupted. With the configuration, when a new device is connected, by sequentially turning on and off a switch in the switch part, an operation similar to pull-out and insertion of a connector or resetting of a system can be executed, so that the newly connected device can be made usable immediately.

Universal serial bus compatible peripheral device and universal serial bus controller which automatically switches between connection and disconnection of computer

According to this invention, a recording/reproducing device includes a DC motor for driving cam plates in the horizontal direction, a sensor for detecting positions of the cam plates in the horizontal direction, and a horizontal cam groove portion which is formed on at least one end portion of the cam grooves and with which the cam pins of the pickup unit are brought into contact. The cam plates are driven in the horizontal direction by the DC motor, the cam pins of the pickup unit are brought into contact with the horizontal cam groove portion, and, at this time, initialization of the cam plates is performed by causing the sensor to detect the positions of the cam plates in the horizontal direction.

Recording/reproducing device having positioning mechanism for vertically

A liquid crystal display device with a tablet reduced in apparatus thickness and enhanced in display visibility. The liquid crystal display device mainly composed of a liquid crystal display upper glass plate, a liquid crystal, and a liquid crystal display lower glass plate is connected with a tablet on the upper glass plate, the tablet being mainly composed of a film having a first transparent electrode. A second transparent electrode arranged on the upper glass plate is made function as both an electrostatic capacity detecting electrode and a display electrode. Namely, display is made by the second transparent electrode and a third transparent electrode and a coordinate on the tablet is detected by the first transparent electrode and the second transparent electrode.

Liquid crystal display device with tablet

A coordinate input apparatus which performs an input operation with high precision by use of either an operator's finger or an input pen. The input apparatus includes a tablet having a plurality of X electrodes and Y electrodes arranged in the form of a matrix on the respective top and bottom surfaces of a glass substrate. The input apparatus also has a first oscillation circuit connected to the X electrodes through an analog switch. It is further provided with an input pen containing a second oscillation circuit. When the pen is used to perform the input operation through use of coordinates, the following method of determining the coordinates designated by the pen is employed. A voltage oscillating from the pen is applied to each electrode through capacitance, and the resulting output voltage varies depending on the distance from each electrode to the pen. Based on the varied output voltages, a predetermined computation process is executed to determine the coordinates designated by the pen. On the other hand, when the operator's finger is used to perform the input operation, the analog switch is switched to the first oscillation circuit. Then, a voltage at a predetermined frequency is sequentially applied to each of the X electrodes from the first oscillation circuit, and the voltage applied across the X and Y electrodes is changed due to a decrease in the capacitance therebetween caused by the touching of the finger. Based on this change, coordinates designated by the finger is detected.

Coordinate input apparatus with pen and finger input detection

OBJECT: To provide a non-contact power supply apparatus capable of supplying stable power very efficiently even when changes in load at the receiving side occur by tuning AC frequency supplied to the oscillating circuit on the receiving side and the resonant frequency of the resonance circuit on the receiving side. CONSTITUENTS: At the receiving side is provided a resonance circuit 3 in which resonance coil L3 on the receiving side is connected in parallel with resonance capacitor C3. At the supplying side are provided a detecting coil L2 which detects resonant frequency of resonance circuit 3 on the receiving side and a control means 1 which tunes AC frequency supplied to the aforementioned oscillating circuit 2 on the supplying side with resonant frequency of the aforementioned oscillating circuit 3 on the receiving side according to the frequency of induced electromotive force detected by said detecting coil L2.

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Niigata-ken, Japan

Shinichi Higuchi