Patent ID: 8305090

Claim:
A capacitance touch sensing device arranged to detect the touch of a user against a surface of a door handle on the outside of a vehicle, comprising: an upper sensor electrode that is provided on an upper portion of the door handle and arranged to output a signal based on a change in capacitance near the upper sensor electrode; a lower sensor electrode that is provided on a lower portion of the door handle and arranged to output a signal based on a change in capacitance near the lower sensor electrode; an upper detecting portion that detects when the user has touched an upper surface of the door handle based on the output from the upper sensor electrode; a lower detecting portion that detects when the user has touched a lower surface of the door handle based on the output from the lower sensor electrode; and a rain detecting unit that detects rain, wherein a detection sensitivity of one of the upper detecting portion or the lower detecting portion is lower than the detection sensitivity of the other, and wherein the rain detecting unit is located away from a door.