Patent Application
20130036529
The present invention generally relates to activation of proximity sensors, and more particularly relates to an enhanced conductivity glove and method of interacting with a proximity sensor, such as a capacitive sensor.
Various electronic devices, such as consumer electronic devices, employ touch screen inputs, typically in the form of capacitive touch screen sensors. Additionally, automotive vehicles are being equipped with proximity sensors, such as capacitive sensors, which may be used as switches to control various devices and perform various functions onboard the vehicle. Capacitive switches typically employ one or more proximity sensors to generate a sense activation field and sense changes to the activation field indicative of user activation of the sensor, which is typically caused by a user's finger in close proximity or contact with the sensor. Proximity sensors are typically configured to detect user activation of the sensor based on comparison of the sense activation field to a threshold.
Generally, capacitive sensors sense a touch of the bare hand of a user, such as the fleshy fingertip, due to conductivity of the flesh, which perturbs the activation field. Problems often arise when a user wears protective gloves that cover the hands, such as for work or during cold weather conditions. Many devices employing capacitive sensing technology are generally inoperable for users wearing gloves because the material of the glove typically acts as an electrical insulator that isolates the finger and prevents the detection of the conductivity of the fingertips of the hand. This can become a problem, especially for automotive applications in which users often enter a vehicle during cold conditions and employ the vehicle in a work environment where gloves are advantageously worn by a user. It has been proposed to manufacture conductive material in gloves, however, conventional proposals typically require fabrication of the glove to include the conductive material. It is desirable to provide for a glove and methodology of employing a glove that allows for easy use of capacitive sensors by a user without requiring extensive modification of the glove.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a glove is provided that includes a body configured to engage a hand and a plurality of finger sheaths configured to cover fingers of the hand. The glove also includes an electrically conductive ink disposed on at least one of the finger sheaths.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a glove is provided that includes a body configured to receive a hand. The glove also includes a plurality of sheaths configured to cover fingers of the hand. The glove further includes an electrically conductive material disposed on at least one of the sheaths, wherein the electrically conductive material is formed by applying a liquid conductive ink to the at least one sheath and drying the conductive ink.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, a method of interacting a proximity sensor with a hand wearing a glove is provided, wherein the glove has finger sheaths that cover fingers of the hand. The method includes the steps of applying a liquid conductive ink to at least one finger sheath and drying the conductive ink. The method also includes the step of moving the finger sheath toward a proximity sensor to activate the proximity sensor with the dried conductive ink.
These and other aspects, objects, and features of the present invention will be understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art upon studying the following specification, claims, and appended drawings.
In the drawings:
As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to a detailed design; some schematics may be exaggerated or minimized to show function overview. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention.
Referring to
As shown in
Once a sufficient amount of the tip portion of the sheath 12 is coated with the liquid conductive ink, the glove 10 is removed from the bath 22 of container 24 and the liquid conductive ink 22 is allowed to dry as shown in
Referring to
The clear or physically transparent conductive ink 22 may include a commercially available off the shelf conductive ink, such as EL-P ink sold under the brand name Orgacon™, such as EL-P 3000, which is made commercially available by AGFA, according to one example. Orgacon™ EL-P ink is a highly transparent, screen printable conductive ink, based on conductive polymers. The ink includes conductive polymers and a thermoplastic polymer binder. The liquid ink may be applied as a patch or in a desired pattern. The transparent conductive ink 22 may include a commercially available off the shelf conductive ink sold under the brand name Clevios™ P which is commercially available by Heraeus, according to another example. It should be appreciated that other conductive inks may be employed to provide an enhanced electrical conductivity to the glove 10. It should further be appreciated that other techniques for applying the liquid conductive ink to one or more portions of the glove 10 may be employed.
The transparent conductive ink 22 is applied as a liquid that coats a surface portion of the glove 10 and may soak into the layer or layers of the glove 10. The liquid ink may soak all the way through from the outside to the inside of the glove 10, thereby providing an enhanced conductive path through the glove thickness to the finger of a user. This may be particularly advantageous for use with single electrode capacitive switches which may use the added conductive path through the glove formed by the conductive ink to provide a ground path to the user. Gloves that are capable of absorbing the liquid ink include cloth gloves, such as cotton, wool, polyester, leather and other liquid permeable materials. By allowing the ink to soak through the glove 10, thicker gloves may be provided with greater conductivity and enhanced sensor operation. It should further be appreciated that the conductive ink could be applied to both the outside surface of the glove and the inside surface, and may be applied using other techniques such as an eye dropper. The viscosity of the conductive ink may vary, depending upon the permeability of the glove so as to realize sufficient permeation of the ink into the glove.
The enhanced electrical conductivity glove 10 achieved with the conductive ink as shown and described herein may be employed to operate proximity sensors, such as capacitive sensors, which generate sense activation fields and sense changes to the activation fields indicative of user activation of the sensors, typically caused by the user's finger in close proximity to or contact with each sensor. With the added electrical conductivity of the conductive ink 22, the gloved finger provides enhanced activation of a proximity sensor. The glove 10 may be operable to interact with a proximity sensor configured as a capacitive sensor, according to one embodiment. The capacitive sensor may function as a capacitive switch comparing the sensed activation field to a threshold. According to other embodiments, the glove 10 may interact with other proximity sensors, such as an inductive sensor or a resistive sensor, wherein the conductive ink provides enhanced interaction with the sense activation field of the proximity sensor.
The glove 10 may be advantageously utilized to operate one or more proximity sensors on an automotive vehicle so as to control one or more devices or perform one or more control functions. For example, proximity sensors may be used as user actuated switches, such as switches for operating devices including powered windows, headlights, windshield wipers, moonroofs or sunroofs, interior lighting, radio and infotainment devices, and various other devices. For automotive applications, proximity sensors may be located in overhead consoles, center consoles, headliners, doors, visors, instrument panel clusters, navigation displays and other areas on the vehicle. Users may advantageously be able to operate the proximity sensors in various temperature conditions including extreme cold conditions where the use of a glove is desirable or necessary. Additionally, work vehicles may be equipped with proximity sensors that interact with the enhanced conductivity glove 10, thereby allowing workers in the vehicle to wear their gloves to operate various sensors onboard the vehicle. The glove 10 may further be used to operate various other proximity sensors, such as capacitive sensors, for other applications. For example, phones, computers, PDAs, games, and other consumer electronic devices may employ proximity sensors, such as capacitive sensors, that may be operated with enhanced performance with the use of the glove 10.
Referring to
One example of the glove 10 having a conductive ink 20 applied to a tip of the sheath 12 and used to interact with a proximity sensor is illustrated in
Accordingly, the glove 10 having a clear conductive ink applied thereto advantageously allows for many forms of gloves to be employed to provide enhanced interaction with a capacitive sensor. The method of interacting with the glove 10 advantageously allows users to provide enhanced capacitive sensing operation without the need to substantially modify the glove 10 or require that a user buy a special manufactured glove, or to remove the glove. This results in enhanced use of the capacitive sensors for users that wear gloves.
It is to be understood that variations and modifications can be made on the aforementioned structure without departing from the concepts of the present invention, and further it is to be understood that such concepts are intended to be covered by the following claims unless these claims by their language expressly state otherwise.
