CN112817429A

CN112817429A - Tactile feedback electrode and tactile feedback device

Info

Publication number: CN112817429A
Application number: CN201911121521.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李艳强; 于国华
Original assignee: Nanchang OFilm Display Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Nanchang OFilm Display Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-11-15
Filing date: 2019-11-15
Publication date: 2021-05-18

Abstract

The present invention relates to a tactile feedback electrode and a tactile feedback device, the tactile feedback electrode including: a transparent substrate; the reticular conducting layer is formed on the surface of the transparent substrate and comprises a plurality of crossed electrode grid lines, and a plurality of electrode cross points are formed on the plurality of crossed electrode grid lines; the transparent elastic layer is formed on the surface of the reticular conducting layer and comprises an elastic base layer and a plurality of elastic bodies arranged on the elastic base layer. The technical effects are as follows: the conductive layer is designed to be a mesh conductive layer, the mesh conductive layer comprises a plurality of crossed electrode grid lines, and the transparent substrate and the transparent elastic layer are transparent, so that meshes formed by the crossed electrode grid lines can transmit light, the scheme is low in cost and still has transparency, and the mesh conductive layer is adopted to enable the tactile feedback electrode to have good flexibility.

Description

Tactile feedback electrode and tactile feedback device

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of tactile feedback, in particular to a tactile feedback electrode and a tactile feedback device.

Background

Along with the progress of science and technology, intelligent wearing equipment begins to appear in daily life extensively, utilizes the mode of touch-control to carry out information and learns, has replaced the button mode of easy maloperation, has improved the accuracy of use operation. Common intelligent wearable equipment mainly comprises watches, bracelets, glasses, clothes and the like. In order to improve the perceptibility of the sense of touch, a touch feedback unit is designed in the touch module, and the effect of the touch feedback is realized by utilizing an elastic body.

Specifically, the tactile feedback unit comprises a plurality of tactile feedback electrodes which are sequentially laminated, each tactile feedback electrode comprises a substrate, a conductive layer arranged on the substrate and an elastic layer arranged on the conductive layer, and the effect of tactile feedback is generated by utilizing the elastic deformation of the elastic layer. However, the conductive layer is typically Indium Tin Oxide (ITO), which is transparent but relatively costly.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above, it is necessary to provide a haptic feedback electrode and a haptic feedback device, which are directed to the problem of high cost of the conventional haptic feedback unit.

A tactile feedback electrode, comprising: a transparent substrate; the reticular conducting layer is formed on the surface of the transparent substrate and comprises a plurality of crossed electrode grid lines, and a plurality of electrode cross points are formed on the plurality of crossed electrode grid lines; the transparent elastic layer is formed on the surface of the reticular conducting layer and comprises an elastic base layer and a plurality of elastic bodies arranged on the elastic base layer.

The technical scheme at least has the following technical effects: the conductive layer is designed to be a mesh conductive layer, the mesh conductive layer comprises a plurality of crossed electrode grid lines, and the transparent substrate and the transparent elastic layer are transparent, so that meshes formed by the crossed electrode grid lines can transmit light, the scheme is low in cost and still has transparency, and the mesh conductive layer is adopted to enable the tactile feedback electrode to have good flexibility.

In one embodiment, the at least a partial number of the elastic bodies are respectively disposed at the plurality of electrode intersections, and a projection contour of the at least a partial number of the elastic bodies on the elastic base layer is completely included in a projection contour of the electrode intersections on the elastic base layer.

In the technical scheme, at least part of the elastic bodies are respectively arranged on different electrode cross points, so that when voltage is applied, the generated electric field force can be accurately applied to the elastic bodies, and the elastic bodies can exert elastic deformation to the maximum extent. And the elastic bodies are respectively arranged on different electrode cross points, which is favorable for higher light transmittance.

In one embodiment, the projection outline of the elastic body on the elastic base layer is circular.

In order to enable the stress to be more uniform and avoid the problem of considering the placing angle when the elastic body is arranged at the elastic base layer and the electrode intersection point, the elastic body is designed into an elastic column, the outline of the end face of the elastic column is circular, and the preparation time can be saved compared with other polygons such as squares and rectangles.

In one embodiment, the surface of the elastic body contacting with the elastic base layer is defined as an end surface, and the width of the electrode grid lines is larger than the diameter of the end surface of the elastic body.

In order to accurately apply more electric field force generated by voltage to the elastic body in the technical scheme, the elastic body can perform elastic deformation to the maximum extent, the width of the electrode grid lines is designed to be larger than the diameter of the end face of the elastic body, and then the elastic body can be wholly acted by the electric field force to generate elastic deformation.

In one embodiment, the plurality of electrode grid lines includes a plurality of first and second grid lines that are perpendicular and intersect, and the electrode intersections are formed.

In order to make the overall layout of the whole mesh-shaped conductive layer more uniform and realize better tactile feedback effect and to make the electrode mesh lines simpler and more time-saving in the preparation process, the electrode mesh lines are designed to comprise vertical and intersected first mesh lines and second mesh lines.

In one embodiment, the elastic bodies are distributed at a plurality of electrode intersections, and the distance between two adjacent elastic bodies along the extending direction of the first grid line is greater than four times the diameter of the end face of each elastic body.

In the technical scheme, a certain space is reserved for elastic deformation of the elastic bodies, and physical contact interference of the two adjacent elastic bodies when the two adjacent elastic bodies are elastically deformed is avoided, so that the distance between the two adjacent elastic bodies is designed to be larger than four times of the diameter of the end face of the elastic body along the extending direction of the first grid line.

In one embodiment, the elastic bodies are distributed at a plurality of electrode intersections, and the distance between two adjacent elastic bodies along the extending direction of the second grid line is greater than four times the diameter of the end face of each elastic body.

In the technical scheme, a certain space is reserved for elastic deformation of the elastic bodies, and physical contact interference of the two adjacent elastic bodies when the two adjacent elastic bodies are elastically deformed is avoided, so that the distance between the two adjacent elastic bodies is designed to be larger than four times of the diameter of the end face of the elastic body along the extending direction of the second grid line.

In one embodiment, the diameter of the end face of the elastic body is 0.04 mm-0.20 mm.

In the above technical solution, for the layout of the overall structure size and the relatively good effect of implementing the tactile feedback, the end face diameter of the elastic body is preferably 0.04 mm to 0.20 mm.

In one embodiment, the mesh-like conductive layer has a thickness of 0.005 mm to 0.01 mm.

In the above technical solution, the thickness of the mesh-shaped conductive layer is preferably 0.005 mm to 0.01 mm for the layout of the overall structure size and the realization of a better effect of supporting the transparent elastic layer.

A haptic feedback device comprising a haptic feedback electrode as described in any of the above embodiments.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a haptic feedback electrode in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of another configuration of a haptic feedback electrode in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged schematic view of the structure A shown in FIG. 2;

fig. 4 is a side view of the structure a shown in fig. 2.

Wherein:

100. tactile feedback electrode 110, transparent substrate 120, mesh conductive layer

122. Sensing region 124, electrode leading-out terminal 125, electrode grid line

126. First grid line 127, second grid line 128, electrode intersections

130. Transparent elastic layer 132, elastic base layer 134, elastomer

Detailed Description

In order to make the aforementioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention comprehensible, embodiments accompanied with figures are described in detail below. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "secured to" another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also be present. When an element is referred to as being "connected" to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or intervening elements may also be present.

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 invention belongs. The terminology used in the description of the invention herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

Referring to fig. 1 and 2, an embodiment of the present invention provides a tactile feedback electrode 100, including: a transparent substrate 110; a mesh conductive layer 120 formed on the surface of the transparent substrate 110, the mesh conductive layer 120 including a plurality of intersecting electrode mesh lines 125, the plurality of intersecting electrode mesh lines 125 having a plurality of electrode intersections 128 formed thereon; the transparent elastic layer 130 is formed on the surface of the mesh-shaped conductive layer 120, and the transparent elastic layer 130 includes an elastic base layer 132 and a plurality of elastic bodies 134 disposed on the elastic base layer 132.

It should be noted that each tactile feedback electrode 100 includes a transparent substrate 110, a mesh-shaped conductive layer 120, and a transparent elastic layer 130, which are sequentially stacked. The plurality of tactile feedback electrodes 100 are sequentially stacked to form a tactile feedback unit, and an electric field force is generated by using a voltage difference applied to different tactile feedback electrodes 100, and the electric field force drives the mesh-shaped conductive layers 120 to move so as to act on the elastic bodies 134 between two adjacent mesh-shaped conductive layers 120 to elastically deform the elastic bodies, thereby realizing a tactile feedback effect.

The transparent substrate 110 is formed of a separate transparent insulating film, and may be made of at least one material selected from Polyimide (PI), Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), Polyethylene Naphthalate (PEN), and the like. In this embodiment, the transparent substrate 110 may be made of PET, and the bending radius that can be borne is 0.5 mm.

The mesh conductive layer 120 is made of a conductive material, and may be at least one of silver paste, carbon paste, nano silver wire, carbon nanotube, graphene conductive material, and the like. The mesh-shaped conductive layer 120 is disposed on the transparent substrate 110 by evaporation, printing, or the like. In this embodiment, the mesh conductive layer 120 can be made of silver paste, and is resistant to bending. Mesh conductive layer 120 includes a sensing region 122 and an electrode lead 124.

The transparent elastic layer 130 is made of an elastic material having an optical transparency characteristic, and may be at least one of silicone rubber, an acrylate elastic layer, a polyurethane elastic layer, nitrile rubber, vinylidene fluoride trifluoroethylene, and their corresponding organic-inorganic and organic-organic composite materials. The transparent elastic layer 130 may also be at least one of a foam layer, a porous plastic layer, a porous polyester layer, a porous polypropylene layer, a foam adhesive layer, and the like. In this embodiment, the transparent elastic layer 130 may be made of a silicone material, the transparent elastic layer 130 includes an elastic base layer 132 and a plurality of elastic bodies 134 formed on the elastic base layer 132, and the plurality of elastic bodies 134 are disposed at intervals to form a compression space, so as to realize the deformation vibration of the transparent elastic layer 130.

Because conventional conductive layers are monolithic, if the conductive layer is ITO, it is expensive and inflexible. If the conductive material is carbon paste, silver paste, or the like, the entire conductive layer is opaque, and the transparent substrate 110 and the transparent elastic layer 130 are made of transparent materials, so that when the touch feedback electrode 100 is applied to the intelligent wearable device, an obvious opaque position appears in the touch area, and the display effect cannot be seen. In order to solve the light transmission problem of the tactile feedback electrode 100, the conductive layer is designed to be a mesh, and the mesh formed by the plurality of crossed electrode mesh wires 125 is used to achieve the purpose of light transmission, thereby achieving the display effect. For example, a common smart bracelet has a display area and a touch area, where the display area can only display and the touch area can only touch, and since the touch area occupies a certain space, the display area of the display area is reduced, and in order to enlarge the area of the display area, the touch area is set as an area capable of displaying, and the touch feedback electrode 100 provided by the embodiment of the present invention is applied to implement the display function of the touch area.

The technical scheme at least has the following technical effects: the conductive layer is designed as a mesh conductive layer 120, the mesh conductive layer 120 includes a plurality of crossing electrode mesh lines 125, and since the transparent substrate 110 and the transparent elastic layer 130 are transparent, the mesh formed by the crossing electrode mesh lines 125 can transmit light, thereby realizing a display effect. This solution is less costly and still transparent, and moreover the use of the mesh-like conductive layer 120 allows better flexibility of the tactile feedback electrode.

Referring to fig. 2 to 4, in some embodiments, at least a portion of the elastic bodies 134 are respectively disposed at the plurality of electrode intersections 128, and the projection outlines of the elastic bodies 134 on the elastic base layer 132 are completely included in the projection outlines of the electrode intersections 128 on the elastic base layer 132. Since the positions with the electrode grid lines 125 have voltages, and the areas of the electrode intersections 128 are larger than those of other non-electrode intersections, in order to ensure that the elastic bodies 134 can be elastically deformed smoothly and reliably, at least a part of the elastic bodies 134 are respectively arranged on different electrode intersections 128, that is, different electrode intersections 128 correspond to different elastic bodies 134. Thus, when a voltage is applied, the generated electric field force can be accurately applied to the elastic body 134, so that the elastic body 134 is elastically deformed, and an accurate haptic feedback effect is realized. In addition, the arrangement is convenient for preparing the tactile feedback electrode 100, the elastic bodies 134 are distributed according to the distribution mode of the electrode intersections 128, the positioning effect is achieved, and the phenomenon that the elastic deformation difference caused by the disordered intervals of the elastic bodies 134 generates wrong tactile feedback is avoided.

In the above technical solution, when the elastic body 134 is disposed on the electrode cross point 128, in order to enable the electric field force generated by the voltage to be accurately applied to the elastic body 134 and to enable the elastic body 134 to exert the maximum elastic deformation, the projection profile of the elastic body 134 on the elastic base layer 132 is designed to be smaller than the projection profile of the electrode cross point 128 on the elastic base layer 132, so that the elastic body 134 can be entirely affected by the electric field force and further elastically deformed.

Referring to fig. 3 and 4, in some embodiments, the projected outline of the elastic body 134 on the elastic base layer 132 is a circle. The side of the elastomer 134 in contact with the elastic base layer 132 and the side of the elastomer 134 facing away from the elastic base layer 132 can be the same or different in size. In order to make the stress more uniform in the above technical solution and also to avoid considering the problem of the placement angle when the elastic body 134 is disposed on the elastic base layer 132 and the electrode intersection 128, the elastic body 134 is designed as an elastic column, the end surface profile of which is circular, and the preparation time can be saved compared with other polygons such as square and rectangle. Meanwhile, when the elastic body 134 deforms, the deformation projection profiles of the elastic body on the elastic base layer 132 are the same in different directions, so that the phenomenon of uneven elastic deformation is avoided, and the accuracy of the tactile feedback is further ensured.

Further, the surface of the elastic body 134 contacting the elastic base layer 132 is defined as an end surface, and the widths K1, K2 of the electrode grid lines 125 are larger than the end surface diameter R of the elastic body 134. Herein, the end face diameter R refers to an end face diameter of the elastic body 134 in contact with the elastic base layer 132. In the above technical solution, in order to accurately apply more electric field force generated by the voltage to the elastic body 134 and to enable the elastic body 134 to perform maximum elastic deformation, the widths K1 and K2 of the electrode grid lines 125 are designed to be larger than the end surface diameter R of the elastic body 134, so that the elastic body 134 can be entirely affected by the electric field force and then elastically deformed.

Further, the plurality of electrode grid lines 125 includes a plurality of perpendicular and intersecting first grid lines 126 and second grid lines 127, and is formed with electrode intersections 128. In the above technical solution, in order to make the layout of the entire mesh-shaped conductive layer 120 more uniform and achieve a better tactile feedback effect, and also in order to make the manufacturing process simpler and more time-saving, the plurality of electrode grid lines 125 are designed to include the first grid lines 126 and the second grid lines 127 which are perpendicular and intersect with each other. That is, the mesh-shaped conductive layer 120 is formed by a plurality of first mesh lines 126 arranged in parallel and a plurality of second mesh lines 127 perpendicular to the first mesh lines 126, and meshes formed by crossing the first mesh lines 126 and the second mesh lines are capable of transmitting light, so that a display effect is achieved.

Further, the plurality of electrode intersections 128 are each distributed with the elastic bodies 134, and the distance L1 between adjacent two elastic bodies 134 in the extending direction of the first grid line 126 is greater than four times the end face diameter R of the elastic body 134. It is understood that the distance L1 between two adjacent elastic bodies 134 refers to the distance between the centers of the two end faces. In the above technical solution, in order to reserve a certain space for the elastic deformation of the elastic bodies 134 and avoid the two adjacent elastic bodies 134 from physical contact interference when the elastic deformation occurs, the distance L1 between the two adjacent elastic bodies 134 is preferably greater than four times the end surface diameter R of the elastic body 134 along the extending direction of the first grid line 126. So configured, the end face diameter R of each resilient body 134 can be deformed four times the original form.

Similarly, the plurality of electrode intersections 128 are each distributed with the elastic bodies 134, and the distance L2 between adjacent two elastic bodies 134 in the extending direction of the second grid line 127 is greater than four times the end face diameter R of the elastic body 134. It is understood that the distance L2 between two adjacent elastic bodies 134 refers to the distance between the centers of the two end faces. In the above technical solution, a certain space is reserved for the elastic deformation of the elastic bodies 134, and the two adjacent elastic bodies 134 are prevented from physical contact interference when being elastically deformed, so that the distance L2 between the two adjacent elastic bodies 134 is designed to be greater than four times of the end surface diameter R of the elastic body 134 along the extending direction of the second grid line 127. So configured, the end face diameter R of each resilient body 134 can be deformed four times the original form.

Referring to fig. 3, in some embodiments, the diameter R of the end face of the elastic body 134 is 0.04 mm to 0.20 mm. Specifically, it may be 0.04 mm, 0.05 mm, 0.06 mm, 0.07 mm, 0.08 mm, 0.09 mm, 0.10 mm, 0.11 mm, 0.12 mm, 0.13 mm, 0.14 mm, 0.15 mm, 0.16 mm, 0.17 mm, 0.18 mm, 0.19 mm, 0.20 mm, or the like, without being limited to the above specific values. In the above technical solution, for the layout of the overall structure size and the effect of realizing relatively good tactile feedback, the end face diameter R of the elastic body 134 is preferably 0.04 mm to 0.20 mm. If the end face diameter R of the elastic body 134 is too small, it is difficult to function as a support at the time of lamination, and it is easy to be distorted at the time of elastic deformation; if the end surface diameter R of the elastic body 134 is too large, the adjacent elastic bodies 134 need a larger distance to reserve a space for the elastic body 134 to deform, which affects the volume of the whole structure.

Referring to fig. 4, in some embodiments, the thickness H of the mesh conductive layer 120 is 0.005 mm to 0.01 mm. Specifically, it may be 0.005 mm, 0.006 mm, 0.007 mm, 0.0075 mm, 0.008 mm, 0.009 mm, 0.01 mm, etc., and is not limited to the above specific values. In the above technical solution, the thickness H of the mesh-shaped conductive layer 120 is preferably 0.005 mm to 0.01 mm for the layout of the overall structure size and the effect of better supporting the transparent elastic layer 130. If the mesh conductive layer 120 is too thin, the reliability and stability of the structure are affected, the supporting capability is poor, the lamination relationship is easily damaged, and the influence on the service life is large; if the mesh-shaped conductive layer 120 is too thick, the thickness of the entire structure becomes too large, and the volume of the entire appearance becomes too large, which is not favorable for miniaturization.

Embodiments of the present invention also provide a haptic feedback device comprising a haptic feedback electrode 100 as described in any of the above embodiments. The tactile feedback device is an intelligent wearable device capable of realizing a tactile feedback function, such as a watch, a bracelet, glasses, clothing and the like. The plurality of tactile feedback electrodes 100 are sequentially stacked to form a tactile feedback unit, and an electric field force is generated by using a voltage difference applied to different tactile feedback electrodes 100, and the electric field force drives the mesh-shaped conductive layers 120 to move so as to act on the elastic bodies 134 between two adjacent mesh-shaped conductive layers 120 to elastically deform the elastic bodies, thereby realizing a tactile feedback effect.

The plurality of tactile feedback electrodes 100 are sequentially stacked, and two adjacent tactile feedback electrodes 100 are bonded together through a glue layer. It can be understood that, when a plurality of tactile feedback electrodes 100 are sequentially stacked to be used as one tactile feedback unit, in order to ensure the reliability and stability of the structure of the tactile feedback unit, the adjacent tactile feedback electrodes 100 are bonded together by a glue layer to prevent the adjacent tactile feedback electrodes 100 from being displaced.

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

Claims

1. A tactile feedback electrode, comprising:

a transparent substrate;

the reticular conducting layer is formed on the surface of the transparent substrate and comprises a plurality of crossed electrode grid lines, and a plurality of electrode cross points are formed on the plurality of crossed electrode grid lines;

the transparent elastic layer is formed on the surface of the reticular conducting layer and comprises an elastic base layer and a plurality of elastic bodies arranged on the elastic base layer.

2. A haptic feedback electrode as recited in claim 1 wherein at least a partial number of said elastic bodies are respectively disposed at said plurality of electrode intersections, a projected contour of said at least a partial number of said elastic bodies on said elastic base layer being entirely contained in a projected contour of said electrode intersections on said elastic base layer.

3. A haptic feedback electrode as recited in claim 1 wherein a projected outline of said elastic body on said elastic base layer is circular.

4. A haptic feedback electrode as recited in claim 3 wherein a surface of said elastic body in contact with said elastic base layer is defined as an end surface, and wherein a width of said electrode gridlines is greater than a diameter of said end surface of said elastic body.

5. A haptic feedback electrode as recited in claim 3 wherein said plurality of electrode gridlines comprises a plurality of perpendicular and intersecting first and second gridlines and is formed with said electrode intersections.

6. A tactile feedback electrode according to claim 5, wherein said elastic bodies are distributed at a plurality of said electrode intersections, and a distance between adjacent two of said elastic bodies in an extending direction of said first grid lines is larger than four times an end surface diameter of said elastic bodies.

7. A tactile feedback electrode according to claim 5, wherein said elastic bodies are distributed at a plurality of said electrode intersections, and a distance between adjacent two of said elastic bodies in an extending direction of said second grid line is larger than four times an end surface diameter of said elastic bodies.

8. A tactile feedback electrode according to any of claims 3 to 7, wherein said elastomer has an end face diameter of 0.04 mm to 0.20 mm.

9. A tactile feedback electrode according to any of claims 3 to 7, wherein said mesh-like conductive layer has a thickness of 0.005 mm to 0.01 mm.

10. A haptic feedback device comprising a haptic feedback electrode as recited in any one of claims 1 to 9.