ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 12 -- United States Patent no. 12,386,464, issued on Aug. 12, was assigned to Alps Alpine Co. Ltd. (Tokyo).
"Proximity detection device" was invented by Hiroshi Shigetaka (Fukushima-ken, Japan) and Tatsumi Fujiyoshi (Miyagi-ken, Japan).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A proximity detection device with a detection distance for detecting an object separated to some extent from an operation surface is provided. The proximity detection device includes a proximity detection unit that has a piezoelectric body and first and second electrodes disposed in contact with the piezoelectric body to detect proximity of an object, a signal applying unit that causes the proximity detection ...