Force sensing resistive touch sensor

与现有的基于电容传感的触摸传感器相比，力传感触摸(FST)传感器提供了额外的功能。它们实现了一种新型的手势--电子设备能够识别触摸点的位置和力或压力的大小。这可以用于触摸板、键盘、触摸屏、游戏控制器等。它们增强了用户与电子设备或计算机交互的能力，对于制造商来说，他们可以真正在市场上区分他们的产品。问题是，现有的FST传感器响应一致性差，给出错误触发，机械稳健性差，需要太大的第一触摸激活力。我们的想法是通过在传感器的构造中使用一种新型的柔性电路板来消除这些问题。这块板将使我们能够制造没有任何间隔结构或气隙的阻性FST传感器，并且在矩阵图案中具有单个传感器驱动线的低得多的电阻。我们的传感器还有一个额外的好处，即不受电子干扰，而且消耗的电能更少，因为在触摸传感器之前不会有电流流动。

Force sensing touch (FST) sensors provide extra functionality compared to existing touchsensors based on capacitive sensing. They enable a new type of gesturing – the ability forelectronic devices to recognize the location and amount of force or pressure of a touch point.This can be used in track-pads, keyboards, touch screens, game controllers and the like. Theyenhance the user’s ability to interact with an electronic device or computer and for themanufacturer they can really differentiate their product in the marketplace. The problem isthat existing FST sensors have poor uniformity of response, give false triggering, have poormechanical robustness and need too large a first touch activation force. Our concept is toeliminate these problems by using a novel type of flexible circuit board in the construction ofthe sensor. This board will enable us to make resistive FST sensors without any spacerstructures or air gaps and with much lower resistance of the individual sensor drive lines inthe matrix pattern. Our sensor will have the additional benefits of being free from electricalinterference and will draw less power, as no current flows until the sensor is touched.