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US 2004/0104727 A1Published application
Capacitance type sensor
AssigneeNitta Corporation
InventorHideo Morimoto
Life of this patent
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Abstract
In a capacitance type sensor of the present invention, a two-layer structure of a sensor unit is provided by capacitance elements comprising capacitance element electrodes and a displacement electrode arranged opposite to the capacitance element electrodes, and domed switches comprising contact electrodes and switching electrodes spaced apart from the contact electrodes being arranged to overlap with each other with respect to a displacement direction of an operating button.
Claims6
A capacitance type sensor comprising:
- a detective member,
- a first electrode being opposite to the detective member,
- a second electrode arranged between the detective member and the first electrode and constituting capacitance elements with the first electrode, the second electrode being displaceable in a same direction as the detective member when the detective member is displaced,
- one or more first switching electrodes being opposite to the detective member, and
- one or more second switching electrodes arranged between the detective member and the first switching electrode(s) in such a relation as to be opposite to the first switching electrode(s) and also spaced apart from the first switching electrode(s), the second switching electrodes being contactable with the first switching electrode(s) increasingly with displacement of the detective member,
- wherein the first and second switching electrodes are arranged to overlap with the first and second electrodes with respect to a displacement direction of the detecting member, and
- wherein the capacitance type sensor is capable of recognizing the displacement of the detective member on the basis of a detection, using a signal input to the first electrode, of a change in capacitance value of the capacitance element caused by a change in distance between the first electrode and the second electrode.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.