CN114063798A

CN114063798A - Touch control module

Info

Publication number: CN114063798A
Application number: CN202010771132.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 詹伟平; 黄韦强
Original assignee: Primax Electronics Ltd
Current assignee: Primax Electronics Ltd
Priority date: 2020-08-04
Filing date: 2020-08-04
Publication date: 2022-02-18

Abstract

The invention provides a touch module suitable for an electronic device, which comprises: touch-control circuit board, light guide plate, shading material, shading layer and translucent cover plate. The light guide plate is provided with a plurality of gaps to divide the light guide plate into a plurality of light guide blocks, and the shading material is arranged in the gaps. Each light-emitting unit on the touch circuit board can respectively emit light to each light guide block, and the light is then emitted out of the hollow-out part corresponding to the light shielding layer and is transmitted to the semitransparent cover plate.

Description

Touch control module

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to touch modules, and particularly to a touch module for an electronic device.

Background

A Touch Pad (Touch Pad) is an input module for a finger to press or slide on a smooth panel to control the operation of an electronic device. Since the touch pad is very thin and light, it is often used in notebook computers, mobile phones, PDAs, or other electronic devices.

With the advance of science and technology, the touch panel not only has the touch function of moving a cursor and controlling a window, but also has the same key function of left and right keys of the mouse, and also combines various functional modes, such as: computer or shortcut control panel, etc. In the prior art, the touch module usually has only one backlight color, and therefore, no prompt on operation can be performed, so that a user cannot know the operation state of the electronic device in real time when operating the touch module.

In view of this, how to manufacture a touch module with an operation handle to enable a user to intuitively know the current operating state of an electronic device in real time is a technical subject to be solved by the present invention.

Disclosure of Invention

The main objective of the present invention is to provide a touch module capable of emitting multiple color tones simultaneously.

To achieve the aforesaid objective, the present invention provides a touch module suitable for an electronic device, comprising:

the touch control circuit board is provided with a plurality of light emitting units;

the light guide plate is arranged on the touch control plate and is provided with a plurality of gaps so as to divide the light guide plate into a plurality of light guide blocks;

a light shielding material disposed in the gap;

the light shielding layer is arranged on the light guide plate and is provided with a plurality of hollow parts, and the hollow parts respectively correspond to the light guide blocks; and

the semitransparent cover plate is arranged on the light shielding layer and covers the hollow part;

each light-emitting unit respectively emits light to each light guide block, and the light is then emitted out of each hollow-out part corresponding to each light guide block and transmitted to the semitransparent cover plate.

In the above preferred embodiment, the translucent cover plate further includes a diffusion film disposed between the light-shielding layer and the translucent cover plate.

In the above preferred embodiment, the translucent cover can be divided into a display area and a non-display area surrounding the display area in a top view direction.

In the above preferred embodiment, each light guide block includes a pattern microstructure, the pattern microstructure is disposed in the orthogonal projection range of the display area and corresponds to each hollow portion, and the pattern microstructure is configured to reflect light so as to display a corresponding optical pattern on the translucent cover plate.

In the above preferred embodiment, each of the light emitting units is a forward light emitting unit, and the forward light emitting unit is disposed in a forward projection range of the display area.

In the above preferred embodiment, the touch circuit board includes a circuit film layer and a shielding tape layer disposed on the circuit film layer, the shielding tape layer has a plurality of grooves, and the forward light emitting units are disposed in the grooves respectively.

In the above preferred embodiment, each of the light guide blocks includes a light guide microstructure for refracting light emitted from the forward light emitting unit to transmit the light to the pattern microstructure.

In the above preferred embodiment, each of the light emitting units is a lateral light emitting unit, and the lateral light emitting unit is disposed in the orthographic projection range of the non-display area and corresponds to a side edge of the light guide plate.

In the above preferred embodiment, the touch module has a functional mode, and the touch module can display the optical pattern on the translucent cover plate in the functional mode.

In the above preferred embodiment, the touch module has a touch mode, and the touch module can sequentially turn on the corresponding forward light emitting units according to the touch position in the touch mode to display light spots on the translucent cover.

In the above preferred embodiment, the electronic device is: desktop, laptop, tablet, printer, office machine, game machine, keyboard, mouse, screen, or electronic door lock.

In the above preferred embodiment, the touch mode of the touch circuit board is: resistive touch, capacitive touch, electromagnetic touch, sonic touch, or pressure-sensing touch.

In the above preferred embodiment, the light emitting unit is: a light emitting diode unit, an organic light emitting diode unit, a quantum dot light emitting diode unit, or an electroluminescent unit.

In the above preferred embodiment, the light-shielding material is black foam.

The touch module has the advantages that the light guide plate of the touch module is provided with a plurality of separated light guide blocks, and light spots or optical patterns with different colors can be formed on the touch surface by utilizing the light guide blocks and the light-emitting units, so that a user can still intuitively and roughly know the current operating state of the electronic device in a dark environment, and the use convenience of the electronic device can be improved. On the other hand, the aesthetic feeling of the appearance of the electronic device can be improved through the touch module with the light spots or the optical patterns with color conversion.

Drawings

FIG. 1A: is a top view of the first embodiment of the touch module of the present invention;

FIG. 1B: is a schematic cross-sectional view of the touch module of FIG. 1A along the line A-A';

FIG. 2A: is a top view of the second embodiment of the touch module of the present invention;

FIG. 2B: is a schematic cross-sectional view of the touch module of FIG. 2A along the line B-B';

FIG. 3A: is a top view of the third embodiment of the touch module of the present invention;

FIG. 3B: is a schematic cross-sectional view of the touch module of FIG. 3A along the line C-C';

FIG. 4: the invention is an action schematic diagram of the touch module in a functional mode; and

fig. 5, 6 and 7: an operation diagram of the touch module in the touch mode is shown.

Description of reference numerals:

h finger

L, L1, L2 light ray

VA display area

UVA non-display area

1 touch control module

10 touch control circuit board

11 Circuit film layer

12 masking tape layer

121 groove

20 light emitting unit

21 forward direction light emitting unit

22 side direction light-emitting unit

30 light guide plate

31 gap

32 light-screening material

33 light guide block

331 pattern microstructure

332 light guiding microstructure

40 light-shielding layer

41 hollowed-out part

50 diffusion film

60 translucent cover plate

Detailed Description

The advantages and features of the present invention and methods of accomplishing the same will be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments and accompanying drawings. This invention may, however, be embodied in 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, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

First, please refer to fig. 1A and 1B. FIG. 1A is a top view of a touch module according to a first embodiment of the present invention; fig. 1B is a schematic cross-sectional view of the touch module of fig. 1A along a line a-a'. The touch module 1 provided by the invention is suitable for: an electronic device such as a desktop computer, a notebook computer, a tablet, a printer, a business machine, a game machine, a keyboard, a mouse, a screen or an electronic door lock, comprising: the touch panel includes a touch circuit board 10, a plurality of light emitting units 20, a light guide plate 30, a light shielding layer 40, a diffusion film 50, and a translucent cover plate 60. The translucent cover 60 may be divided into a display area VA and a non-display area UVA surrounding the display area VA in a top view direction.

The touch circuit board 10 has a touch circuit (not shown), and the plurality of light emitting units 20 are disposed on the touch circuit board 10 and electrically connected to the touch circuit board 10. The touch mode of the touch circuit board 10 may be: the light-emitting units 20 can be controlled to emit light of different color tones or different light intensities (luminances intensity) according to the operation mode of the touch circuit board 10. The light emitting unit 20 may be: a light emitting diode unit, an organic light emitting diode unit, a quantum dot light emitting diode unit, or an electroluminescent unit.

The light guide plate 30 is disposed on the touch circuit board 10, the light guide plate 30 has a plurality of gaps 31, the light guide plate 30 can be divided into a plurality of light guide blocks 33 by the connected or disconnected gaps 31, and the gaps 31 are filled with a light shielding material 32 for shielding light, wherein the light shielding material 32 can be black foam. On the other hand, each light guide block 33 also includes at least one pattern microstructure 331, and the pattern microstructure 331 is disposed in the orthogonal projection range of the display area VA. In the present embodiment, the light emitting unit 20 is a side view (lateral view) unit and is disposed in the front projection range of the non-display area UVA, and the light emitting unit 20 corresponds to and faces the side edge of the light guide plate 30.

The light shielding layer 40 is disposed on the light guide plate 30 and covers the light guide plate 30 and the light emitting unit 20. The light-shielding layer 40 has a plurality of hollow portions 41, and the hollow portions 41 respectively correspond to the pattern microstructures 331 of the light-guiding block 33. The diffusion film 50 is disposed on the light shielding layer 40, and the diffusion film 50 is used for helping light diffusion and providing a certain shielding function to hide the patterned microstructures 331, so that a user cannot perceive the patterned microstructures 331 on the light guide plate 30 with naked eyes. The translucent cover 60 is disposed on the diffusion film 50, the translucent cover 60 can be pressed or slid by a finger of a user, and the touch circuit board 10 can generate a corresponding touch signal by detecting a state that the finger is pressed or slid on the translucent cover 60. In some possible embodiments, the diffusion film 50 may not be disposed, and the translucent cover plate 60 may be disposed directly on the light shielding layer 40.

Referring to fig. 1B, when each light emitting unit 20 emits light L toward the side edge of the light guide plate 30, the light L enters the light guide plate 30 and is transmitted to the corresponding light guide block 33, and then the patterned microstructures 331 reflect the light L again, so that the light L is transmitted from the corresponding hollow portion 41 to the translucent cover 60 through the diffusion film 50, so as to display the optical pattern (e.g., 0 to 9, +, -, + and/or + signs shown in fig. 1A) corresponding to the patterned microstructures 331 on the translucent cover 60. In the present embodiment, the light-shielding material 32 filled in the gap 31 can be used to block the lateral light, so that the light L not reflected by the patterned microstructure 331 cannot be transmitted to the adjacent light-guiding block 33; the hollow portion 41 of the light-shielding layer 40 can limit the position of light extraction, so that the regions corresponding to the light-guiding blocks 33 in the display area VA can show different color tones.

Please refer to fig. 2A and 2B. FIG. 2A is a top view of a touch module according to a second embodiment of the present invention; fig. 2B is a schematic cross-sectional view of the touch module of fig. 2A along a line B-B'. In this embodiment, the functions of the elements are substantially the same as those of the first embodiment, and thus are not described herein again. The difference is that the touch circuit board 10 includes: a circuit film layer 11 and a shielding tape layer 12 disposed on the circuit film layer 11. The shielding tape layer 12 has a plurality of grooves 121, and the light emitting units 20 are respectively disposed in the grooves 121 and electrically connected to the circuit film layer 11. In the present embodiment, the light emitting unit 20 is a forward light emitting (Top view) unit and is disposed in the forward projection range of the display area VA. On the other hand, each light guide block 33 has a light guide microstructure 332 in addition to the pattern microstructure 331. In a preferred embodiment, the light guiding microstructure 332 is located above the light emitting unit 20. When each light emitting unit 20 emits light L upward, the light guiding microstructure 332 refracts the light L and transmits the light L to the pattern microstructure 331. Then, the patterned microstructure 331 reflects the light L, so that the light L is transmitted from the corresponding hollow portion 41, and penetrates through the diffusion film 50 and is transmitted to the translucent cover 60, so as to display an optical pattern (e.g. 0 to 9, +, -, +/-or +/-and other symbols shown in fig. 2A) corresponding to the patterned microstructure 331 on the translucent cover 60. Although the embodiment merely proposes the implementation of disposing the light guiding microstructure 332 above the light emitting unit 20, in practical applications, the light guiding microstructure 332 may also be disposed on a path through which other light L can be transmitted by refraction or reflection, and the implementation proposed in the embodiment is not limited.

Please refer to fig. 3A and fig. 3B. FIG. 3A is a top view of a touch module according to a third embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3B is a schematic cross-sectional view of the touch module of FIG. 3A along the line C-C'. In this embodiment, the functions of the elements are substantially the same as those of the first and second embodiments, and thus the description thereof is omitted. Only, there is a difference in that the light emitting unit 20 includes: a forward light emitting unit 21 and a lateral light emitting unit 22. The forward light emitting units 21 are respectively disposed in the grooves 121 of the masking tape layer 12 and located within the forward projection range of the display area VA; the lateral light emitting units 22 are disposed on the circuit film layer 11 and located in an orthogonal projection range of the non-display area UVA, and the lateral light emitting units 22 correspond to and face the side edges of the light guide plate 30. On the other hand, the plurality of hollow portions 41 of the light-shielding layer 40 correspond to the pattern microstructures 331 and the forward light-emitting unit 21, respectively. When each of the forward light emitting units 21 emits light L1 upward, the light L1 sequentially penetrates through the light guiding block 33, the hollow portion 41 and the diffusion film 50 and is transmitted to the translucent cover 60, and a light spot (as shown in fig. 3A) can be displayed at a position corresponding to the translucent cover 60; when the lateral light-emitting units 22 emit light L2 toward the side edge of the light guide plate 30, the light L2 enters the light guide plate 30 and is transmitted to the corresponding light guide blocks 33, and then the patterned microstructures 331 reflect the light L2, so that the light L2 is transmitted from the corresponding hollow-out portions 41, and penetrates through the diffusion film 50 and is transmitted to the translucent cover plate 60, and the optical pattern (such as 0 to 9, +, -, + and/or div shown in fig. 3A) corresponding to the patterned microstructures 331 can be displayed on the translucent cover plate 60.

Referring to fig. 4, fig. 4 is an operation schematic diagram of the touch module in the functional mode according to the present invention. In fig. 4, when the touch module 1 is switched to the functional mode, the optical pattern corresponding to the pattern microstructure 331 can be displayed on the translucent cover 60, for example: 0-9, plus, -minus, -plus, minus, etc., the touch module 1 can be used as a computer, or the optical pattern displayed by the pattern microstructure 331 can also be a shortcut symbol for sending and receiving mail, connecting network, turning on and off, or adjusting volume, etc., and the touch module 1 can be used as a shortcut control panel. When one of the optical patterns on the touch module 1 is pressed, the touch module 1 can increase the brightness of the optical pattern in real time, so that a user can clearly know whether the optical pattern is pressed. In other possible embodiments, the touch module 1 may also be used as a password input panel or a fingerprint recognition panel of an electronic door lock.

Fig. 5, fig. 6 and fig. 7 are schematic operation diagrams of the touch module in the touch mode according to the present invention. When the touch module 1 is switched to the touch mode, all the forward light emitting units 21 can be turned on simultaneously, and a plurality of light spots are formed at positions corresponding to the translucent cover plate 60 (as shown in fig. 5); or, when the finger H of the user slides on the translucent cover 60, the corresponding forward light-emitting units 21 can be sequentially turned on according to the touch position of the sliding track of the finger H, so as to form a series of light spots on the sliding track (as shown in fig. 6); alternatively, when the user's finger H presses on different positions of the translucent cover 60, the corresponding forward light-emitting unit 21 can be turned on according to the touch position pressed by the finger H, so as to form light spots of different colors at the pressed position (as shown in fig. 7). Therefore, when the user operates the touch module 1 in a dark environment, the current operation state of the electronic device can be intuitively and roughly known through the track of the light point, and the convenience of the electronic device can be improved.

It should be further noted that the switching function of the touch module 1 of the present invention can be directly disposed in the touch circuit board 10, for example: the non-display area UVA at the lower right of the long-pressed translucent cover 60 may be used to switch between the functional mode and the touch mode. Or, the switch key can be arranged at any position of the electronic device, so that a user can directly switch the modes by dialing the switch key.

Compared with the prior art, the touch module provided by the invention has the advantages that the light guide plate is provided with the plurality of separated light guide blocks, and the plurality of light guide blocks and the plurality of light emitting units can be used for forming light spots or optical patterns with different colors on the surface of the touch module, so that a user can still intuitively and roughly know the current running state of the electronic device in a dark environment, and the use convenience of the electronic device can be improved. On the other hand, the touch module with color-changing light spots or optical patterns can also improve the aesthetic feeling of the appearance of the electronic device; therefore, the present invention is an invention with great industrial value.

The invention may be modified in various ways by anyone skilled in the art without however departing from the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A touch module for an electronic device, comprising:

a touch control circuit board, which is provided with a plurality of light emitting units;

a light blocking material disposed among the plurality of gaps;

a light shielding layer arranged on the light guide plate and having a plurality of hollow parts respectively corresponding to the plurality of light guide blocks; and

a semitransparent cover plate arranged on the shading layer and covering the plurality of hollow parts;

and the light rays are then transmitted out of the hollow parts corresponding to the light guide blocks and transmitted to the semitransparent cover plate.

2. The touch module of claim 1, further comprising a diffuser film disposed between the light-shielding layer and the translucent cover plate.

3. The touch module of claim 1, wherein the translucent cover is divided into a display area and a non-display area surrounding the display area in a top view direction.

4. The touch module of claim 3, wherein each of the light guide blocks includes at least one pattern microstructure disposed in an orthogonal projection range of the display area and corresponding to each of the hollowed portions, the at least one pattern microstructure being configured to reflect the light to display a corresponding optical pattern on the translucent cover.

5. The touch module of claim 4, wherein each of the light-emitting units is a forward light-emitting unit disposed in a forward projection range of the display area.

6. The touch module of claim 5, wherein the touch circuit board comprises a circuit film layer and a shielding tape layer disposed on the circuit film layer, the shielding tape layer has a plurality of grooves, and the forward light emitting units are disposed in the grooves respectively.

7. The touch module of claim 5, wherein each of the light guide blocks comprises at least one light guide microstructure for refracting the light emitted from the forward light emitting unit to transmit the light to the pattern microstructure.

8. The touch module of claim 4, wherein each of the light emitting units is a lateral light emitting unit disposed in the orthographic projection range of the non-display area and corresponding to the side edge of the light guide plate.

9. The touch module of claim 4, wherein the touch module has a functional mode, and the touch module can display the optical pattern on the translucent cover plate in the functional mode.

10. The touch module of claim 5, wherein the touch module has a touch mode, and the touch module sequentially turns on the corresponding forward light emitting units according to touch positions in the touch mode to display a light spot on the translucent cover.

11. The touch module of claim 1, wherein the electronic device is: desktop, laptop, tablet, printer, office machine, game machine, keyboard, mouse, screen, or electronic door lock.

12. The touch module of claim 1, wherein the touch mode of the touch circuit board is: resistive touch, capacitive touch, electromagnetic touch, sonic touch, or pressure-sensing touch.

13. The touch module of claim 1, wherein the plurality of light emitting units are: a light emitting diode unit, an organic light emitting diode unit, a quantum dot light emitting diode unit, or an electroluminescent unit.

14. The touch module of claim 1, wherein the light-blocking material is a black foam.