IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,474,796
Granted Patent B2
US 12,474,796 · App. 18/491,580 · Granted Nov 18, 2025

Position detection sensor and electronic device

Inventor: Takeshi Kobori (Saitama, JP)
Assignee: Wacom Co., Ltd.
G06F3/04162G06F3/03545G06F3/0441G06F3/0446G06F3/0447G06F3/0448
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,474,796
App. No.
18/491,580
Granted
Nov 18, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

A position detection sensor allows for providing, on a back side of the position detection sensor, a component that needs to be accessed from a front side thereof. The position detection sensor includes a plurality of position detection electrodes arranged on an insulating substrate, wherein a region provided with the plurality of position detection electrodes forms an effective detection region for detecting an indicated position of a position indicator. A through hole in a predetermined shape is formed in the insulating substrate in the effective detection region. The position detection electrodes are arranged to bypass the through hole along the shape of the through hole at an area intersecting the through hole.

Claims (35)

1 . An electronic device, comprising:

a position detection sensor including a plurality of position detection electrodes arranged on an insulating substrate, wherein a region provided with the plurality of position detection electrodes forms an effective detection region for detecting an indicated position of a position indicator, wherein

a through hole having a predetermined shape is formed in the insulating substrate in the effective detection region,

each of the plurality of position detection electrodes is a loop coil,

the position detection electrodes are arranged to bypass the through hole along the shape of the through hole at an area intersecting the through hole, and

the position detection electrode intersecting the through hole is formed by deforming a shape of an electrode conductor, which forms the position detection electrode, around the through hole so as to form at least one portion to achieve an increase or decrease in an internal area surrounded by the loop coil, wherein the increase or decrease is configured to cancel a decrease or increase in the internal area caused by the electrode conductor bypassing the through hole;

a position detection circuit that detects a position indicated by the position indicator on the position detection sensor based on signals from the plurality of position detection electrodes of the position detection sensor; and

a second sensor provided in the through hole, the second sensor different from the position detection sensor and selected from a group consisting of a fingerprint sensor and an ultrasonic sensor.

2 . The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein

the plurality of position detection electrodes are arranged in a predetermined direction at a predetermined array pitch, and

a size of the through hole is greater than the predetermined array pitch.

3 . The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein a portion of the position detection electrode bypassing the through hole is configured to take the shortest bypass route.

4 . The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of the position detection electrodes adjacent to each other at portions bypassing the through hole by taking similar bypass routes are arranged close to each other.

5 . The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein

the position detection sensor detects a coordinate position in a first direction and a coordinate position in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction in the effective region,

the position detection electrodes include a plurality of first direction electrodes arranged in the second direction and configured to detect the coordinate position in the first direction and a plurality of second direction electrodes arranged in the first direction and configured to detect the coordinate position in the second direction, and

the first direction electrodes and the second direction electrodes are formed by arranging conductors on both surfaces of the insulating substrate.

6 . The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the position detection electrode intersecting the through hole is deformed at portions just before and/or after the position detection electrode intersects the through hole.

7 . The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the position detection electrode includes the electrode conductor in a linear shape that is arranged to bypass the through hole, and the at least one portion is a projection portion with respect to the linear shape, which achieves the increase in the internal area surrounded by the loop coil.

8 . The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the position detection electrodes are loop coils having an even number of turns, and a bypassing direction along the shape of the through hole of one half of the even number of turns is different from a bypassing direction along the shape of the through hole of another half of the even number of turns.

9 . The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein, in the position detection electrodes, a line width of the electrode conductor at a portion bypassing the through hole along the shape of the through hole is thinner than a line width of other portions.

10 . The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of the position detection electrodes are arrayed.

11 . An electronic device comprising:

a position detection sensor arranged in a housing;

an operation input surface of the position detection sensor provided on an upper side of the position detection sensor; and

a second sensor arranged on a lower side of the position detection sensor, the second sensor being different from the position detection sensor, wherein

the position detection sensor includes a plurality of position detection electrodes arranged on an insulating substrate, wherein a region provided with the plurality of position detection electrodes forms an effective detection region for detecting an input indication on the operation input surface for detecting a position of a position indicator,

a through hole having a predetermined shape that corresponds to the second sensor is formed in the insulating substrate at a position corresponding to a position of the second sensor in the effective detection region,

the position detection electrodes are loop coils and are arranged to bypass the through hole along the shape of the through hole at an area intersecting the through hole,

the position detection electrode intersecting the through hole is formed by deforming a shape of an electrode conductor, which forms the position detection electrode, around the through hole so as to form at least one portion to achieve an increase or decrease in an internal area surrounded by the loop coil, wherein the increase or decrease is configured to cancel a decrease or increase in the internal area caused by the electrode conductor bypassing the through hole, and

a position detection circuit that detects a position indicated by the position indicator on the position detection sensor based on signals from the plurality of position detection electrodes of the position detection sensor.

12 . The electronic device according to claim 11 , wherein the second sensor is a fingerprint sensor.

13 . The electronic device according to claim 11 , wherein the second sensor is an ultrasonic sensor.

14 . The electronic device according to claim 11 , wherein the position detection circuit corrects the signals from those position detection electrodes arranged to bypass the through hole.

15 . The electronic device according to claim 11 , wherein the position detection circuit includes a position correction circuit that calculates coordinate values of a first position in the through hole, the position detection electrodes not being present at the first position, as indicated by the position indicator.

Priority Claims (1)
JP 2019-126223 · Jul 5, 2019 · national
Continuity (3)
Continuation 17499789 · Oct 12, 2021
Continuation PCTJP2020020889 · May 27, 2020
Related Publication 20240053849A1 · Feb 15, 2024
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