CN112799503A - Tactile feedback module and electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

The application relates to a tactile feedback module and an electronic device, wherein the tactile feedback module comprises at least two layers of laminated conductive films; the conductive film comprises a thin film insulating layer, a conductive electrode layer and an elastic layer which are sequentially stacked, wherein the thin film insulating layer of one conductive film of adjacent conductive films is adjacent to the elastic layer of the other conductive film; the conductive electrode layer comprises at least two mutually independent conductive electrode areas; the elastic layer comprises columnar elastic bodies which are independent of each other; the conductive electrode areas in the adjacent conductive electrode layers are overlapped in the orthographic projection of the surfaces of the conductive electrode layers, and the overlapped areas form at least two elastic force control areas. By applying driving signals with different amplitudes and/or frequencies to different elastic force control areas, when the finger touches and presses the tactile feedback module, the tactile feedback shocks received by the finger and different contact positions of the tactile feedback module are uniform and consistent, and the uniformity of the tactile feedback is improved. The structural design of the laminated conductive film effectively reduces the thickness of the product.

Description

Tactile feedback module and electronic device

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of haptic feedback technologies, and in particular, to a haptic feedback module and an electronic device.

Background

With the increasing daily living standard of people, consumers have made higher demands on the lightweight and portable properties of various intelligent products, and the lightweight and portable keyboard is one of the input devices of common intelligent products, and the lightweight and portable keyboard also becomes one of the directions for the technical workers in the field to make improvements and improvements. The thickness of the traditional keyboard cannot be compressed to the utmost due to the material, and although technical workers are trying to reduce the thickness of the keyboard, the thickness of the traditional keyboard is difficult to match that of the thin film keyboard.

Moreover, the traditional keyboard is generally made of a whole plastic material, the surface hardness is high, different vibration senses are difficult to generate at different contact points according with the arc shape of the fingers, the fingers can obtain basically the same reaction force at different contact positions, and the touch uniformity sense is poor.

Disclosure of Invention

Accordingly, there is a need for a haptic feedback module and an electronic device with uniform haptic feedback.

One aspect of the present application provides a haptic feedback module including at least two stacked conductive films;

the conductive film comprises a thin film insulating layer, a conductive electrode layer and an elastic layer which are sequentially stacked, wherein the thin film insulating layer of one conductive film of adjacent conductive films is adjacent to the elastic layer of the other conductive film;

the elastic layer comprises columnar elastic bodies which are independent from each other, and the conductive electrode layer comprises at least two conductive electrode areas which are independent from each other;

the conductive electrode areas in the adjacent conductive electrode layers are overlapped in the orthographic projection of the surfaces of the conductive electrode layers, at least two elastic force control areas are formed in the overlapped areas, and different elastic force control areas are used for inputting different driving signals.

In the tactile feedback module of the above embodiments, by utilizing the advantage that the elastic body can easily elastically deform and generate vibration under an electric field force, the conductive electrode layer is divided into at least two independent conductive electrode regions in the tactile feedback module, and orthographic projections of the conductive electrode regions in adjacent conductive electrode layers on the surface of the conductive electrode layer are overlapped to form the elastic force control region. By applying driving signals with different amplitudes and/or frequencies to different elastic force control areas in the tactile feedback module, when the tactile feedback module is pressed by a finger, tactile feedback vibration received by the finger and different contact positions of the tactile feedback module are uniform and consistent, and the uniformity of the tactile feedback is improved. The structural design of the laminated conductive film effectively reduces the thickness of the product.

In one embodiment, the conductive electrode layer comprises:

a circular first conductive electrode region;

the second conductive electrode area is annular and concentric with the first conductive electrode area, and the inner diameter of the second conductive electrode area is larger than or equal to the diameter of the first conductive electrode area;

wherein the orthographic projections of the first conductive electrode area and the second conductive electrode area on the surface of the conductive electrode layer are not overlapped.

In the haptic feedback module in the above embodiment, by providing the circular first conductive electrode region and the circular second conductive electrode region concentric with the first conductive electrode region, and setting an inner diameter of the second conductive electrode region to be greater than or equal to a diameter of the first conductive electrode region, there is no overlap between orthographic projections of the first conductive electrode region and the second conductive electrode region on the surface of the conductive electrode layer. The vibration intensity of the columnar elastic body in the elastic force control area where the first conductive electrode area and the second conductive electrode area are respectively located is different by respectively inputting driving signals with different frequencies and/or amplitudes to the first conductive electrode area and the second conductive electrode area, and when the first conductive electrode area and the second conductive electrode area jointly form an area corresponding to a finger contact area, although the finger contact surface is arc-shaped, the finger can feel relatively uniform tactile feedback vibration sensation.

In one embodiment, orthographic projections of the first conductive electrode areas adjacent in the lamination direction on the surface of the conductive electrode layer are overlapped to form a first elastic force control area; and orthographic projections of the second conductive electrode areas adjacent to each other in the laminating direction on the surface of the conductive electrode layer are overlapped to form a second elastic force control area. When driving signals with different frequencies and/or amplitudes are respectively input into the first elastic force control area and the second elastic force control area, when a finger is in contact with an area jointly formed by the first elastic force control area and the second elastic force control area, although the finger contact surface is arc-surface-shaped, the finger can feel relatively uniform tactile feedback vibration feeling.

In one embodiment, the driving signal of the second elastic force control area is greater than the driving signal of the first elastic force control area. Because the finger contact surface is arc-surface-shaped, namely the middle part of the finger contact surface protrudes relative to the periphery of the finger contact surface along the direction far away from the finger, the driving signal of the second elastic force control area is set to be greater than the driving signal of the first elastic force control area, so that when the finger contacts the area formed by the first elastic force control area and the second elastic force control area together, the finger can feel relatively uniform tactile feedback vibration.

In one embodiment, the amplitude of the driving signal of the second elastic force control area is 10 times of the amplitude of the driving signal of the first elastic force control area. Because the finger contact surface is arc-surface-shaped, namely the middle part of the finger contact surface protrudes relative to the periphery of the finger contact surface along the direction far away from the finger, the amplitude of the driving signal of the second elastic force control area is 10 times of the amplitude of the driving signal of the first elastic force control area, so that when the finger contacts the area formed by the first elastic force control area and the second elastic force control area together, the finger can feel relatively uniform tactile feedback vibration.

In one embodiment, the conductive electrode layer is respectively connected with the elastic layer and the thin film insulating layer in an overlapping mode; the adjacent conductive films are connected in an overlapping manner. Through setting up the conductive electrode layer respectively with the elastic layer with the thin film insulation layer coincide is connected, and adjacent conductive film coincide is connected, has increased the steadiness of product. The fixed integrated product structure design can not only improve the vibration sense of the touch feedback module, but also prolong the service life of the product.

In one embodiment, the elastic layer has a thickness of 30um to 50 um. The thickness through setting up the elastic layer is 30um-50um, when guaranteeing column elastomer vibration intensity in the tactile feedback module, has controlled the thickness of the tactile feedback module of the thickness increase of elastic layer, has avoided the introduction of elastic layer to lead to the excessive increase of tactile feedback module thickness.

In one embodiment, the conductive electrode layer has a thickness of 10um to 50 um. The thickness of the conductive electrode layer is 10-50 um, so that the thickness of the tactile feedback module with the increased thickness of the conductive electrode layer is controlled while the conductive performance of the conductive electrode layer in the tactile feedback module is ensured, and the excessive increase of the thickness of the tactile feedback module caused by the introduction of the conductive electrode layer is avoided.

An aspect of the present application provides an electronic device, including a haptic feedback module according to any one of the embodiments of the present application, wherein when the haptic feedback module senses a touch pressure, a columnar elastic body in the elastic force control area generates a vibration feedback under an effect of an electric field force.

In one embodiment, the electronic device comprises a membrane keyboard, and when the keys of the membrane keyboard sense touch pressure, the columnar elastic bodies in the elastic force control area generate vibration feedback under the action of electric field force.

In the electronic device or the thin film keyboard in the above embodiments, by using the advantage that the elastic body can easily elastically deform and generate vibration under an electric field force, in the tactile feedback module, the conductive electrode layer is divided into at least two independent conductive electrode regions, and orthogonal projections of the conductive electrode regions in adjacent conductive electrode layers on the surface of the conductive electrode layer are overlapped to form the elastic force control region. By applying driving signals with different amplitudes and/or frequencies to different elastic force control areas in the tactile feedback module, when the tactile feedback module is pressed by a finger, tactile feedback vibration received by the finger and different contact positions of the tactile feedback module are uniform and consistent, and the uniformity of the tactile feedback is improved. The structural design of the laminated conductive film effectively reduces the thickness of the product.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings needed to be used in the description of the embodiments are briefly introduced below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art to obtain drawings of other embodiments based on these drawings without any creative effort.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a conductive film according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a conductive film according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the haptic feedback module of FIG. 2 according to an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a haptic feedback module in another embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of driving signals of the second elastic force control area in fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of driving signals of the first elastic force control area in fig. 4.

Fig. 7a-7c are dynamic transient diagrams of the columnar elastic body under the action of the driving signal illustrated in fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a membrane keyboard according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

To facilitate an understanding of the present application, the present application will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Preferred embodiments of the present application are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. This application may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs. The terminology used herein in the description of the present application is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the application. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

In describing positional relationships, unless otherwise specified, when an element such as a layer, film or substrate is referred to as being "on" another film layer, it can be directly on the other film layer or intervening film layers may also be present. Further, when a layer is referred to as being "under" another layer, it can be directly under, or one or more intervening layers may also be present. It will also be understood that when a layer is referred to as being "between" two layers, it can be the only layer between the two layers, or one or more intervening layers may also be present. The terms "upper" and "lower" are used herein to refer to the side of the product that is relatively close to the user as "upper" and the side that is relatively far from the user as "lower" relative to the extent to which the product is close to the user during application.

Where the terms "comprising," "having," and "including" are used herein, another element may be added unless an explicit limitation is used, such as "only," "consisting of … …," etc. Unless mentioned to the contrary, terms in the singular may include the plural and are not to be construed as being one in number.

Throughout the description of the present application, it is to be noted that, unless expressly stated or limited otherwise, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" are to be construed broadly, e.g., as meaning either a fixed connection, a removable connection, or an integral connection; the connection may be direct or indirect via an intermediate medium, and the connection may be internal to the two components. The specific meaning of the above terms in the present application can be understood in a specific case by those of ordinary skill in the art.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of the present application.

In addition, in the description of the present application, the meaning of "several", "stacked", "laminated", "each other" or "each other" is two or more unless otherwise specified.

A haptic feedback module is provided in one embodiment of the present application, comprising at least two stacked conductive films; the conductive film comprises a thin film insulating layer, a conductive electrode layer and an elastic layer which are sequentially stacked, wherein the thin film insulating layer of one conductive film of adjacent conductive films is adjacent to the elastic layer of the other conductive film; any one of the conductive electrode layers comprises at least two mutually independent conductive electrode areas; any one of the elastic layers comprises columnar elastic bodies which are independent of each other; the conductive electrode areas in the adjacent conductive electrode layers are overlapped in the orthographic projection of the surfaces of the conductive electrode layers, the overlapped areas form elastic force control areas, and different elastic force control areas are used for inputting different driving signals. According to the haptic feedback module in the above embodiment, by using the advantage that the elastic body can easily elastically deform and generate vibration under a force, the conductive electrode layer is divided into at least two independent conductive electrode regions in the haptic feedback module, and orthographic projections of the conductive electrode regions in adjacent conductive electrode layers on the surface of the conductive electrode layer are overlapped to form the elastic force control region. By applying driving signals with different amplitudes and/or frequencies to different elastic force control areas in the tactile feedback module, when the tactile feedback module is pressed by a finger, tactile feedback vibration received by the finger and different contact positions of the tactile feedback module are uniform and consistent, and the uniformity of the tactile feedback is improved. The structural design of the laminated conductive film effectively reduces the thickness of the product.

Further, in the above embodiments, the columnar elastic bodies in the elastic layer are arranged in an array. The columnar elastic body is positioned in the capacitance inductor formed by the upper conductive electrode layer and the lower conductive electrode layer. Taking the elastic body as an example of a cylindrical structure, the contact surfaces of the cylindrical elastic body and the upper and lower conductive electrode layers are both circular, and according to the pressure formula P ═ F/S, under the condition of the same applied force, the larger the contact surface S is, the smaller the pressure P is, the more the elastic body is not easy to deform, therefore, the smaller the capacitance change rate of the capacitance sensor is, the lower the pressure sensing sensitivity is. The columnar elastic body is adopted, the contact area of the top end is reduced, the contact surface S is reduced under the condition of the same force application, the pressure intensity P is increased, the elastic body is more easily deformed, the capacitance change rate of the capacitance sensor is increased, and the pressure sensing sensitivity is improved. Therefore, the elastic layer adopts the mutually independent columnar elastic bodies, and compared with the elastic body with the whole surface, the pressure detection sensitivity of the touch feedback module is improved.

In an embodiment of the present application, a plurality of conductive films are stacked on one another to form a stacked structure, a total thickness of the stacked structure may be 0.1mm to 1mm, a thickness of any one of the conductive films used to form the stacked structure may be 0.1mm, a thickness of the elastic layer in the conductive film may be 30um to 50um, and a thickness of the conductive electrode layer in the conductive film may be 10um to 50 um. In one embodiment, the number of conductive films included in the stacked structure may be 2-40 layers. The conductive electrode layer is connected to the elastic layer and the thin film insulating layer, respectively. The connection mode of the conductive electrode layer and the elastic layer can be bonded by using viscose, and preferably double-faced adhesive and/or water adhesive are used. The adjacent conductive films can be adhered by using adhesive, and preferably double-faced adhesive and/or water adhesive are adopted. The product structural design of fixed connection can avoid the product in the use vibration process, causes the product part separation and reduces the life of product, and fixed knot constructs can also strengthen the sense of shaking. In the embodiment, the user contact surface is made of a non-conductive material so as to play an insulating protection role, and meanwhile, the user contact surface can be separated from the outside air so as to avoid electrode oxidation and play a waterproof evasive role.

In one embodiment of the present application, the conductive electrode layer comprises two mutually independent conductive electrode areas, namely a first conductive electrode area and a second conductive electrode area. Wherein, the first conductive electrode area can be round; the second conductive electrode area can be annular and concentric with the first conductive electrode area, and the inner diameter of the second conductive electrode area is larger than the diameter of the first conductive electrode area; the orthographic projections of the first conductive electrode area and the second conductive electrode area on the surface of a conductive electrode layer are not overlapped. The first conductive electrode areas in the adjacent conductive electrode layers are overlapped in the orthographic projection of the surface of one conductive electrode layer to form a first elastic force control area; and the orthographic projections of the second conductive electrode areas in the adjacent conductive electrode layers on the surfaces of the conductive electrode layers are overlapped to form a second elastic force control area. The driving signals with different frequencies and/or amplitudes are respectively input into the first elastic force control area and the second elastic force control area, for example, the amplitude of the driving signal applied to the second elastic force control area is larger than the amplitude of the driving signal applied to the first elastic force control area, so that when a finger touches the tactile feedback module, although the contact surfaces of the finger and the tactile feedback module are arc-surface-shaped, tactile feedback shocks received by different contact positions of the finger are uniform and consistent, and the uniformity of the tactile feedback is improved.

Further, in the haptic feedback module in the above embodiment, orthographic projections of the first conductive electrode areas in the adjacent conductive electrode layers on the surface of one conductive electrode layer are overlapped with each other to form the first elastic force control area; the orthographic projections of the second conductive electrode areas in the adjacent conductive electrode layers on the surface of one conductive electrode layer are overlapped to form a second elastic force control area. The driving signals with different frequencies and/or amplitudes are respectively input into the first elastic force control area and the second elastic force control area, for example, the amplitude of the driving signal applied to the second elastic force control area is 10 times of the amplitude of the driving signal applied to the first elastic force control area, so that when the finger touches the touch feedback module, although the contact surfaces of the finger and the touch feedback module are arc-surface-shaped, the tactile feedback shocks received by different contact positions of the finger are uniform and consistent, and the uniformity of the tactile feedback is improved.

Further, in the haptic feedback module in the above embodiment, different conductive electrode regions in the conductive electrode layer respectively share the electrode terminals. In the same conductive electrode layer, the electrode leading-out ends of different conductive electrode areas input driving voltage signals with different voltages and/or amplitudes. The electrode leading-out terminals of the conductive electrode areas adjacent to each other in the laminating direction are inputted with driving voltage signals of different polarities. In this embodiment, positive and negative voltage signals can be input to the electrode terminals of the conductive electrode regions adjacent to each other in the stacking direction. In other embodiments, the electrode terminals of adjacent conductive electrode regions in the stacking direction may be connected to a non-zero voltage and ground, respectively. The haptic feedback module in this embodiment may be configured as a key, and if there are multiple keys, each key may use one haptic feedback module described in this embodiment.

In the haptic feedback module of the above embodiments, when the surface of the haptic feedback module is pressed by a touch, the elastic layer generates a corresponding elastic compression according to the pressure information of the touch and the touch position, and when the touch pressing is removed, the elastic layer can return to the original state or return to a state close to the original state. When the tactile feedback module receives the touch pressure, the distance between the upper conductive electrode layer and the lower conductive electrode layer of the capacitive sensor is reduced at the position of the applied force due to the compression of the elastic layer, and the reduction degree is related to the applied pressure. Therefore, when the tactile feedback module receives touch pressure, the capacitance between the adjacent conductive electrode layers changes, so that the columnar elastic body between the adjacent conductive electrode layers vibrates under the action of an electric field force, and a user feels tactile feedback.

In particular, in the haptic feedback module of the above embodiment, a capacitance sensor is formed between adjacent conductive electrode regions in the lamination direction, and can sense a pressure signal applied thereto. The capacitive sensor comprises an upper conductive electrode area, a lower conductive electrode area and a columnar elastic body positioned between the upper conductive electrode area and the lower conductive electrode area. Because the fingers have an arcuate surface, different positions of the fingers will achieve different tactile sensations when pressed against the product. In the above capacitance sensor, the electric field force F ═ U²*K*εr*S₁)/(d²*Y*S₂) Wherein U is the driving voltage applied to both ends of the product, K is the constant of the electrostatic force, and ε r is the laminationTotal dielectric constant of material, S₁D is the distance between the upper and lower conductive electrode regions, Y is the elastic modulus of the columnar elastomer, S₂The cross-sectional area of the columnar elastomer. Because the finger is arc surface, when the finger touches and presses the touch feedback module, the contact area of the middle part of the finger is smaller than that of the edge of the finger, and the contact area of the finger and the touch surface is in direct proportion to the electric field force in the area below the contact surface. The electric field force in the area under the middle of the finger contact surface is smaller than the electric field force in the area under the edge of the finger contact surface, so that the vibration strength of the columnar elastic body under the middle of the finger contact surface is smaller than the vibration strength of the columnar elastic body under the edge of the finger contact surface. Thus, the center portion of the finger contact patch experiences less tactile feedback than the edges of the finger contact patch. Dividing a conductive electrode area in an area right below the middle of the finger contact surface into a first conductive electrode area which is independently controlled, and dividing a conductive electrode area in an area right below the edge of the finger contact surface into a second conductive electrode area which is independently controlled, wherein orthographic projections of the adjacent first conductive electrode areas in the stacking direction on the surface of the conductive electrode layer are preferably arranged to be mutually overlapped to form a first elastic force control area; the orthographic projections of the second conductive electrode areas adjacent in the laminating direction on the surface of the conductive electrode layer are mutually overlapped to form a second elastic force control area. The amplitude and/or frequency of the driving voltage signal input to the second elastic force control area is greater than the amplitude and/or frequency of the driving voltage signal input to the first elastic force control area, for example, the amplitude of the driving voltage signal is 10 times that of the amplitude of the driving voltage signal input to the first elastic force control area, so that when the finger touches and presses the tactile feedback module, the tactile feedback jolt on the middle part and the edge of the finger contact surface is consistent, that is, the uniformity of the tactile feedback received when the finger touches and presses the tactile feedback module is improved.

In the tactile feedback module in the above embodiment, the conductive electrode layer directly below the finger contact surface is divided into at least two independent conductive electrode regions, and orthographic projections of the conductive electrode regions adjacent to each other in the stacking direction on the surface of the conductive electrode layer are overlapped to form the elastic force control region. The driving signals with different amplitudes and/or frequencies are input into different elastic force control areas, so that the fingers are subjected to uniform tactile feedback vibration when touching and pressing the tactile feedback module, and the uniformity of tactile feedback is improved.

Further, in the haptic feedback module in the above embodiments, the conductive electrode layer may be made of a transparent conductive material, such as ITO, ZnO, carbon nanotube, graphene, or the like; the tactile feedback module can also be made of non-transparent conductive materials, and the size of the conductive materials is controlled so that the display content of a product using the tactile feedback module can be observed by human eyes without being influenced by the conductive electrode layers. The conductive material can be selected from silver paste, carbon paste, nano silver wire, PEDOT, carbon nanotube or graphene and other conductive materials.

Further, in the haptic feedback module of the above embodiments, the material used for the elastic layer may be at least one of silicone rubber, acrylate elastomer, polyurethane elastomer, nitrile rubber, vinylidene fluoride trifluoroethylene, and their corresponding organic-inorganic, organic-organic composite materials. The elastic layer may be optically transparent on a macroscopic level, allowing light to pass through, and "transparent" is understood herein to mean "transparent" and "substantially transparent" without obstructing the display of the contents.

Further, in the tactile feedback module of the above embodiments, the thin film insulation layer may be formed by a separate transparent or opaque thin film, and the thin film may be made of at least one of Polyimide (PI), Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), Polyethylene Naphthalate (PEN), and the like. In this embodiment, the thin film insulating layer is preferably made of a flexible material. The number of conductive films constituting the laminated structure in the haptic feedback module is preferably 2 to 40.

An electronic device provided in one embodiment of the present application includes any of the haptic feedback modules provided in embodiments of the present application. When the tactile feedback module senses the touch pressure, the columnar elastic body generates vibration under the action of the electric field force, and the vibration is further fed back to a user touching and pressing the key.

Specifically, the electronic device in the above embodiments may be a membrane keyboard, where the membrane keyboard includes any of the haptic feedback modules described in the embodiments of the present application, and one haptic feedback module may be used as one key of the keyboard, and different keys may apply different driving voltages, so that a user may obtain different haptic vibration feedback effects when touching and pressing different keys.

The following description of some embodiments and the working principle of the present application will be made with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in fig. 1, a schematic structural diagram of a conductive film in a haptic feedback module provided in an embodiment of the present application includes a thin film insulating layer 10, a conductive electrode layer 20, and an elastic layer 30, which are sequentially stacked, wherein the conductive electrode layer 20 is located between the thin film insulating layer 10 and the elastic layer 30, and the conductive electrode layer 20 divides at least two independent conductive electrode regions. The haptic feedback module is formed by laminating at least two conductive films on each other, wherein the thin film insulation layer 10 of one of the adjacent conductive films and the elastic layer 30 of the other conductive film are laminated on each other, and the elastic layer 30 includes a plurality of pillar-shaped elastic bodies 31 independent of each other. The conductive electrode layer comprises two mutually independent conductive electrode areas, namely a first conductive electrode area 21 and a second conductive electrode area 22. The first conductive electrode region 21 shares a first electrode lead 211, and the second conductive electrode region 22 shares a second electrode lead 221.

Preferably, the first conductive electrode region 21 may be circular; the second conductive electrode region 22 may be annular and concentric with the first conductive electrode region 21, and the inner diameter of the second conductive electrode region 22 is greater than the diameter of the first conductive electrode region 21; the orthographic projections of the first conductive electrode area 21 and the second conductive electrode area 22 on the surface of the conductive electrode layer are not overlapped, for example, the first conductive electrode area and the second conductive electrode area together form a full circle.

Further, in the above embodiments, the thickness of the conductive film may be 0.1mm, the thickness of the elastic layer 30 in the conductive film may be 30um to 50um, the thickness of the conductive electrode layer 20 in the conductive film may be 10um to 50um, and the thickness of the thin film insulation layer 10 in the conductive film may be 50 um.

Further, in the above embodiment, as shown in fig. 2, the conductive electrode layer (not shown) is connected to the film insulation layer (not shown) and the elastic layer 30, preferably, the conductive electrode layer and the film insulation layer are laminated and bonded, and a common double-sided adhesive and/or a water adhesive can be used for bonding; the conductive electrode layer is bonded to the elastic layer 30 by using a common double-sided adhesive and/or a water-based adhesive. The design of a fixed integral structure can avoid the product from separating parts and shortening the service life of the product in the use vibration process, and the fixed structure can also enhance the vibration sense.

Fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a haptic feedback module according to an embodiment of the present invention, which includes a stacked structure formed by stacking a plurality of conductive films 100, where the conductive film 100 is shown in fig. 2, that is, includes a thin film insulating layer, an elastic layer 30, and a conductive electrode layer, the conductive electrode layer is located between the thin film insulating layer and the elastic layer 30, and the elastic layer 30 includes a plurality of mutually independent columnar elastic bodies 31. The conductive electrode layer defines a first conductive electrode region 21 and a second conductive electrode region 22 that are independent of each other. The first conductive electrode region 21 shares a first electrode lead 211, and the second conductive electrode region 22 shares a second electrode lead 221. The adjacent first conductive electrode areas 21 in the laminating direction are overlapped in the orthographic projection of the surface of the conductive electrode layer 20 to form a first elastic force control area; the second conductive electrode regions adjacent to each other in the stacking direction overlap each other in an orthogonal projection on the surface of the conductive electrode layer 20, and form a second elasticity control region. The driving signals with different frequencies and/or amplitudes are respectively input into the first elastic force control area and the second elastic force control area, for example, the amplitude of the driving signal applied to the second elastic force control area is larger than the amplitude of the driving signal applied to the first elastic force control area, so that when a finger touches the tactile feedback module, although the contact surfaces of the finger and the tactile feedback module are arc-surface-shaped, tactile feedback shocks received by different contact positions of the finger are uniform and consistent, and the uniformity of the tactile feedback is improved.

Further, in the haptic feedback module in the above embodiment, orthographic projections of the first conductive electrode regions 21 on the surface of the conductive electrode layer 20 in the adjacent conductive electrode layers in the lamination direction are overlapped with each other to form the first elastic force control region; the second conductive electrode regions 22 of the conductive electrode layers adjacent to each other in the stacking direction overlap each other in an orthogonal projection on the surface of the conductive electrode layer 20, and form second elastic force control regions. Drive signals with different frequencies and/or amplitudes are input into the first elastic force control area and the second elastic force control area respectively through the first electrode leading-out end 211 and the second electrode leading-out end 221, for example, the amplitude of the drive signal applied to the second elastic force control area is 10 times of the amplitude of the drive signal applied to the first elastic force control area, when a finger touches the touch feedback module, although the contact surface of the finger and the touch feedback module is arc-surface-shaped, the touch feedback vibration received by different contact positions of the finger is uniform and consistent, and the uniformity of the touch feedback is improved.

Further, in the haptic feedback module according to the above embodiment, as shown in fig. 3, the number of conductive films 100 included in the stacked structure may be 2 to 40. In any of the conductive films 100, the conductive electrode layer is laminated with the elastic layer and the film insulation layer, respectively, as shown in fig. 2, and may be bonded by using an adhesive, preferably double-sided adhesive and/or water adhesive.

Further, in the haptic feedback module according to the above embodiment, as shown in fig. 4, the conductive films 100 constituting the laminated structure are connected to each other in a covering contact manner, so that the adjacent conductive films 100 are integrally fixed. Electrode leading-out ends in the conductive electrode layers adjacent to each other above and below the same elastic force control area may be respectively formed on the left and right sides of the tactile feedback module, for example, the first conductive electrode area (not shown) shares a first electrode leading-out end 211, the second conductive electrode area (not shown) shares a second electrode leading-out end 221, and the first electrode leading-out end 211 and the second electrode leading-out end 221 are respectively distributed on the left and right sides of the tactile feedback module, so as to facilitate input of the driving signal. The adjacent conductive films are jointed and connected, and can be adhered by using viscose, and preferably double-faced adhesive and/or water adhesive is adopted. The design of a fixed integral structure can avoid the product from separating parts and shortening the service life of the product in the use vibration process, and the fixed structure can also enhance the vibration sense. In this embodiment, be used for in the tactile feedback module and use non-conductive material with user's interface to play insulating protection effect, can separate with the outside air simultaneously, avoid the electrode oxidation, and play waterproof evasion effect.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of driving voltage signals applied by the second elastic force control region in the embodiment illustrated in fig. 4. As shown in fig. 4, the driving voltage signal as shown in fig. 5 is input to the second spring force control region through the second electrode taps 221 adjacent in the stacking direction. The driving voltage signal illustrated in fig. 5 is a unipolar triangular wave periodic signal, and the frequency may be about 20Hz to 200Hz, which is a frequency simulating the use of a conventional keyboard, such as a mechanical keyboard. The driving voltage signal shown in fig. 5 is divided into four different control sampling points in one period, the working states of the haptic feedback module under different driving voltages are briefly described at the different control sampling points, and the sampling times of the sampling points are respectively recorded as T1, T2, T3 and T4.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of driving voltage signals applied by the first elastic force control region in the embodiment illustrated in fig. 4. As shown in fig. 4, the driving voltage signal as shown in fig. 6 is input to the first spring force control region through the first electrode lead-out terminals 211 adjacent in the lamination direction. The driving voltage signal illustrated in fig. 6 is a unipolar triangular wave periodic signal, and the frequency may be about 20Hz to 200Hz, which is a frequency simulating the use of a conventional keyboard, such as a mechanical keyboard. In fig. 6, the input signal is divided into four different control sampling points within a period, the working states of the haptic feedback module under different driving voltages are briefly described at the different control sampling points, and the sampling times of the sampling points are respectively recorded as T1, T2, T3 and T4.

Fig. 7a, 7b and 7c are transient diagrams of dynamic changes of the columnar elastic body under the action of the driving signal in fig. 6, the dynamic change process of the columnar elastic body under the action of the driving signal is indicated by the first conductive electrode region 21 in the upper conductive film, the first conductive electrode region 21 in the lower conductive film and the columnar elastic body 31 therebetween which are adjacent in the stacking direction in the tactile feedback module, the dashed line in the drawings indicates the electric field force, and the arrow direction indicates the direction of the electric field force. Fig. 7a illustrates an initial state of the columnar elastic body 31; fig. 7b illustrates that when the electric field force is the maximum, the elastic deformation of the columnar elastic body 31 is the maximum when the electric field force is applied to the columnar elastic body; fig. 7c shows that the electric field force gradually decreases, and the columnar elastic body 31 slowly rebounds to the original state by means of the own rebound force. The operation of the haptic feedback module in the embodiment of the present application will be briefly described below with reference to fig. 7a, 7b and 7 c.

During the T1-T2 state: at time T1, the columnar elastic body 31 is not deformed to its original state as shown in fig. 7 a; at the time of T1-T2, the electric field force gradually increases, the electrostatic adsorption force between the two first conductive electrode areas 21 gradually increases, and an increasingly large electric field acting force is generated on the columnar elastic body; at time T2, the electric field force is the greatest, and the attraction force between the first conductive electrode regions 21 is the greatest, and the amount of deformation of the columnar elastic body 31 is the greatest, as shown in fig. 7 b.

During the T2-T3 state: at the time T2 to T3, the electric field force gradually decreases, the attraction force between the two first conductive electrode regions 21 also gradually decreases, and the columnar elastic body 31 slowly rebounds according to its own resilience; when the driving signal is at time T3, the columnar elastic body 31 bounces back to the original state, as shown in fig. 7 c.

During the T3-T4 state: at time T3 to time T4, the driving input signal is substantially 0, and there is substantially no electric field force acting between the two first conductive electrode regions 21, so that no electrostatic attraction force exists, and the columnar elastic body 31 remains in the original state.

The driving signal includes a periodic variation as shown between the time points T1-T4, the frequency of the driving signal shown in fig. 5 is preferably 50Hz, and in one embodiment, the frequency of the input signal may be 20Hz-200Hz, and the driving signal with different frequencies may be input according to different user requirements. For example, if the user wants to experience a stronger vibration sensation, the signal frequency and/or amplitude may be increased. The input signal changes periodically, the columnar elastic body changes periodically from 0 deformation amount to the maximum deformation amount all the time, and the feeling fed back to the hand of the user is tactile feedback.

FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a membrane keypad according to an embodiment of the present application, wherein a single key can employ the haptic feedback module shown in FIG. 4. Because the finger contact surface is arc-shaped, when a finger presses a product, the touch feeling generated by different positions of the finger is different, and the conductive electrode layer is divided into a first conductive electrode area and a second conductive electrode area which are mutually independent, so that a first elastic force control area and a second elastic force control area are formed in the touch feedback module. The amplitude and/or frequency of the driving voltage signal applied to the second elastic force control area is larger than that of the driving voltage signal applied to the first elastic force control area. Therefore, the tactile feedback vibration sense fed back to the fingers by the columnar elastic bodies in different areas is uniform integrally, and the uniformity of the tactile feedback is improved. As shown in fig. 8, each letter or key 40 shares an electrode terminal to input different driving signals, so that each key can input different driving voltage signals according to different requirements of a user during use, thereby obtaining different haptic feedback effects.

In the haptic feedback module of the above embodiments, the conductive electrode layer may be fabricated on a transparent or opaque substrate, such as a thin film material of Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), Polycarbonate (PC), or glass, by sputtering, evaporation, printing, and the like. The electrode pattern of the conductive electrode layer can be obtained by etching an Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) conductive film, screen-printing conductive paste on PET, or by using a Metal wire mesh process.

This application can take place elastic deformation easily and produce the advantage of vibration through utilizing the column elastomer under the atress, through in the tactile feedback module, divides into at least two mutually independent conductive electrode region with the conductive electrode layer. And the orthographic projections of the upper conductive electrode area and the lower conductive electrode area on the surface of the conductive electrode layer are overlapped to form an elastic force control area. By applying driving signals with different amplitudes and/or frequencies to different elastic force control areas, when a finger touches and presses the touch feedback module, the finger obtains uniform reaction force at different contact positions, and the touch feedback uniformity feeling of a user is improved; the structural design of the laminated conductive film effectively reduces the thickness of the product.

Adopt the membrane keyboard of tactile feedback module in this application embodiment, overturned the structural design of traditional button keyboard, have thickness thin, can buckle, do not have button clearance, the appearance is pleasing to the eye, a great deal of advantages such as tactile feedback is effectual.

In an embodiment of the present application, the provided electronic device can be a smart watch, a mobile phone camera, a tablet computer camera, an intelligent wearable device, and the like, and the electronic device adopting the haptic feedback module in the embodiment of the present application has a better haptic feedback effect.

The technical features of the embodiments described above may be arbitrarily combined, and for the sake of brevity, all possible combinations of the technical features in the embodiments described above are not described, but should be considered as being within the scope of the present specification as long as there is no contradiction between the combinations of the technical features.

The above-mentioned embodiments only express several embodiments of the present application, and the description thereof is more specific and detailed, but not construed as limiting the claims. It should be noted that, for a person skilled in the art, several variations and modifications can be made without departing from the concept of the present application, which falls within the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present patent shall be subject to the appended claims.

Claims (10)

1. A haptic feedback module comprising at least two stacked conductive films;

the conductive film comprises a thin film insulating layer, a conductive electrode layer and an elastic layer which are sequentially stacked, wherein the thin film insulating layer of one conductive film of adjacent conductive films is adjacent to the elastic layer of the other conductive film;

the elastic layer comprises columnar elastic bodies which are independent from each other, and the conductive electrode layer comprises at least two conductive electrode areas which are independent from each other;

the conductive electrode areas in the adjacent conductive electrode layers are overlapped in the orthographic projection of the surfaces of the conductive electrode layers, at least two elastic force control areas are formed in the overlapped areas, and different elastic force control areas are used for inputting different driving signals.

2. A haptic feedback module as recited in claim 1 wherein said conductive electrode region comprises:

a circular first conductive electrode region;

the second conductive electrode area is annular and concentric with the first conductive electrode area, and the inner diameter of the second conductive electrode area is larger than or equal to the diameter of the first conductive electrode area;

wherein the orthographic projections of the first conductive electrode area and the second conductive electrode area on the surface of the conductive electrode layer are not overlapped.

3. A haptic feedback module as recited in claim 2 wherein:

orthographic projections of the first conductive electrode areas adjacent to each other in the laminating direction on the surface of the conductive electrode layer are overlapped to form a first elastic force control area;

and orthographic projections of the second conductive electrode areas adjacent to each other in the laminating direction on the surface of the conductive electrode layer are overlapped to form a second elastic force control area.

4. A haptic feedback module as recited in claim 3 wherein said second spring force control region has a greater drive signal than said first spring force control region.

5. A haptic feedback module as recited in claim 4 wherein said second spring force control region has a magnitude of a drive signal that is 10 times greater than a magnitude of a drive signal of said first spring force control region.

6. A haptic feedback module according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein:

the conductive electrode layer is respectively connected with the elastic layer and the thin film insulating layer in an overlapping mode;

the adjacent conductive films are connected in an overlapping manner.

7. A haptic feedback module as recited in any of claims 1-5 wherein said elastic layer has a thickness of 30um-50 um.

8. A haptic feedback module as recited in any of claims 1-5 wherein said conductive electrode layer has a thickness of 10um-50 um.

9. An electronic device, comprising:

the haptic feedback module of any of claims 1-8, wherein the columnar elastic body in the elastic force control region generates vibration feedback under the action of an electric field force when the haptic feedback module senses a touch pressure.

10. The electronic device of claim 9, comprising a membrane keyboard, wherein the columnar elastic bodies in the elastic force control area generate vibration feedback under the action of an electric field force when the keys of the membrane keyboard sense touch pressure.

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