- Alps Alpine’s new addition to its existing force sensor series brings more accuracy to robotic applications for writing/drawing on touch panels
- Like its predecessor, the new product is also beneficial for stylus pens used by smartphones
Smartphones, in-vehicle controls, reservation and ticketing machines with touch input in are increasingly becoming common. This evolution of larger displays and touch input is expected to continue in the coming future.
In case of smartphones, bigger displays lead to the emergence of many new writing/drawing applications and the use of stylus pens, allowing more detailed input to be entered in contrast to the conventional input method of directly touching the display with fingers.
In early 2019, Alps Alpine developed the HSFPAR004A Force Sensor, which fits into the tip of a stylus pen for tablet PCs to enable accurate production of writing/drawing thickness corresponding to the pressure applied. By achieving high sensitivity, high resolution and high linearity, as well as great impact resistance, the HSFPAR004A was well received by many users.
Now Alps Alpine has furthered that series by developing the HSFPAR007A Force Sensor, a product that retains the basic performance capabilities of the HSFPAR004A. The new product is small enough to fit in the slim stylus pens used by smartphones, thus enhancing design flexibility and improving the user-friendliness of smartphone drawing applications.
The HSFPAR007A Force Sensor can detect stress as light as a zero stroke (0.01N), enabling handling precision in applications using robotic arms and other industrial equipment. The product has a wide range of potential uses as a sensor for detecting force along the Z-axis. For example, it can be embedded beneath a touch panel or capacitive sensor to detect force applied to the touch surface and verify whether that force was intentional or a mistake.
Product Features
- Footprint  40 per cent of the earlier product, realized through a reduction in size
- High sensitivity and high linearity (2 per cent FS)
- Long operating life of 1 million cycles
- Strong impact resistance achieved with a load-distributing design
- Structure unaffected by external magnetic or electric fields
Specifications
- Dimensions (WxDxH): 1.50mm x 0.85mm x 0.68mm
- Force range: 8N
- Supply voltage: 1.5V – 3.6V
- Sensitivity: 2.5mV/V/N
