JP3225127U - Touch stereo knob - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide a touch stereo knob which is unlikely to cause abnormal signal conduction in a curved portion of a surface and can greatly reduce manufacturing cost. A touch stereo knob includes a three-dimensional knob mold shell, an ITO touch sensor, a ductile auxiliary conductive unit, and a surface coating layer, and a curved outer surface of the knob mold shell. There is an adjacent surface 13, the touch sensor is located on the outer surface of the knob mold shell, and the ductile auxiliary conductive unit is electrically connected to the touch sensor to form an overlap area. The overlap area includes the area of the adjacent surface, and the auxiliary conductive unit in the overlap area includes a conductive pattern corresponding to the touch sensor. The surface coating layer has a three-dimensional structure corresponding to the knob mold shell, and closely covers the touch sensor and the auxiliary conductive unit. An opaque mask surface 41 is arranged inside the surface coating layer, and the mask surface shields at least the overlap region. [Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to touch knobs, and more particularly, to touch stereo knobs made with metal oxide touch sensors.

  Touch knobs are currently widely used as control knobs in central control devices, home appliances, or electronic devices in vehicles. Current touch knobs mainly use an elastic transparent conductive film material (such as a carbon nanotube transparent conductive film). After the metal circuit is printed on the stretchable transparent conductive film, the planar touch sensor is thermoformed by In Mold Decoration to form a three-dimensional touch sensor. And, depending on the characteristic requirements of the product, it can be used directly or reinforced by using in-mold injection mechanism. The conventional touch knob manufacturing method depends on the elongation characteristics of the material of the transparent conductive film, but the stretchable transparent conductive film is more expensive than the commonly used metal oxide transparent conductive film. There are many limitations as well as fewer sources. Furthermore, the mass production of stretchable transparent conductive films is still unstable and needs to be improved, which for the time being is not consistent with the expectation of stable production and supply in the market. Metal oxide transparent conductive films (such as indium tin oxide ITO), which are cheaper and have abundant material sources, are hard, brittle, and low in ductility, so they can be easily broken at bent parts, and are non-conductive (signals). Block conduction). Therefore, it is not applied to the stereo touch knob.

  The present invention provides an improved touch stereo knob that is mainly made of a transparent metal oxide conductive film to form a touch sensor. The touch sensor is disposed on the surface of the three-dimensional knob mold shell, and is electrically connected to the bent or extended portion of the touch sensor by a ductile auxiliary conductive unit to secure the signal transmission performance of the touch sensor. Connected to. According to this, the objects of reducing material costs and improving product yield are achieved.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a touch stereo knob including a three-dimensional knob mold shell, a touch sensor, an auxiliary conductive unit, and a surface coating layer.
The knob mold shell is made of an insulating material and has a three-dimensional configuration, the knob mold shell having a first surface, a second surface, and an adjacent surface. The first surface is located on an upper outer surface of the knob mold shell, the second surface is located on an outer surface around the knob mold shell, and the adjacent surface is coupled between the first surface and the second surface. ing.
The touch sensor is made of a transparent metal oxide conductive film, and the touch operation area of the touch sensor is disposed on the first surface, the adjacent surface, and at least a part of the second surface.
The auxiliary conductive unit is made of a material having ductility and low electrical resistivity, and is electrically connected to the touch sensor to form an overlap region. The overlap area includes an area of the adjacent surface and an area on at least a part of the second surface, and the auxiliary conductive unit of the overlap area includes a conductive pattern corresponding to the touch sensor.
The surface covering layer is made of an insulating transparent material, and the surface covering layer has a stereo configuration corresponding to the knob mold shell and is closely attached to the touch sensor and the auxiliary conductive unit. An opaque mask surface is provided inside the surface covering layer, and the mask surface shields at least the overlap region.
In particular, the adjacent surfaces are either curved, spherical, or obtuse.
The touch sensor is selected from one of a capacitive touch sensor, an electromagnetic touch sensor, an acoustic touch sensor, a vibrating touch sensor, or an optical touch sensor device, but the scope of embodiments falls into the aforementioned categories. Not limited.
The material used in the touch sensor is selected from one of indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), zinc aluminum oxide (AZO) or antimony tin oxide (ATO), but the scope of the embodiments is It is not limited to the above categories.
The material used for the auxiliary conductive unit is selected from conductive silver paste (Conductive Adhesive) or a thin metal layer mainly composed of gold, silver, copper, aluminum, molybdenum or nickel. The range of the form is not limited to the above-mentioned category.
The mask surface is formed of an insulating material that does not transmit light, and the insulating material is selected from either insulating ink (Insulating ink) or photoresist (Photoresist), but the scope of the embodiment is not limited to the above categories. .
The mask surface is further provided with a decorative pattern, and the decorative pattern is selected from any of a decorative pattern, an icon (ICON), and a symbol mark, but the scope of the embodiment is not limited to the above-described category.
The knob mold shell is made of a high light transmission insulating material selected from one of glass, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polystyrene (PS), polycarbonate (PC), and polypropylene (PP). Is not limited to the aforementioned category.
The first side of the knob mold shell is a transparent area, and the first side, the touch sensor and the surface covering layer together form a see-through window.
An operation information display element is further disposed in the hollow cavity of the knob mold shell, and provides immediate feedback of information on the control state of the knob via the see-through window.
The operation information display element is selected from a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a light emitting diode (LED), but the scope of the embodiment is not limited to the above categories.
Other functions and technical features of the present invention will be further clarified and can be realized by those skilled in the art after reading the description in the text.

  The touch stereo knob of the present invention is unlikely to cause abnormal signal transmission at a curved portion of the surface, greatly reducing material costs and improving product yield.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the touch sensor according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of the auxiliary conductive unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram in which the auxiliary conductive unit of the present embodiment is overlaid on the touch sensor. FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention.

  Referring to FIGS. 1 to 5, a touch stereo knob according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a knob mold shell 10, a touch sensor 20, an auxiliary conductive unit 30, and a surface coating layer 40.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the knob mold shell 10 is made of an insulating material, has a three-dimensional shape, and has a first surface 11, a second surface 12, and an adjacent surface 13. The first surface 11 is located on an upper outer surface of the knob mold shell 10, the second surface 12 is located on an outer surface around the knob mold shell 10, and the adjacent surface 13 is a first surface 11 and a second surface 12. Connected between Preferably, the adjacent surface 13 is a surface that does not include an acute angle configuration such as a curved surface.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the touch sensor 20 is a transparent touch sensor made of an indium tin oxide (ITO) film. In the present embodiment, the touch sensor 20 is a capacitance type touch sensor. However, since the structure of the capacitance type touch sensor is well known, it is not intended to repeat here. 3 and 5, only the pattern of the induction electrode 21 in the touch action area is simply shown, and the remaining components (such as the signal lines of the touch sensor) are ignored. The touch action area of the touch sensor 20 is arranged on at least a part of the first surface 11 and the adjacent surface 13 of the knob mold shell 10 and the second surface 12.

  The auxiliary conductive unit 30 is made of a low-resistance ductile material such as copper foil or silver paste. As shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5, the auxiliary conductive unit 30 is electrically connected to the touch sensor 20, and forms an overlap region OL. The overlap region OL includes a range of the adjacent surface 13 and a range that covers at least a part of the second surface 12, and the auxiliary conductive unit 30 in the overlap region OL has a conductive pattern corresponding to the induction electrode 21 of the touch sensor 20. .

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the surface coating layer 40 is made of an insulating transparent material such as polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polystyrene (PS), polycarbonate (PC), and polypropylene (PP). It has a three-dimensional configuration corresponding to the shell 10 and is closely covered with the touch sensor 20 and the auxiliary conductive unit 30. An opaque mask surface 41 is formed inside the surface coating layer 40, and the mask surface 41 is formed of insulating ink or photoresist (Photoresist). The mask surface 41 shields at least the overlap region OL, and preferably covers the entire area of the adjacent surface 13 and the second surface 12. Various decorative patterns, such as decorative patterns, icons (ICON), or signage, can also be selectively placed on the mask surface 41. The mask surface 41 is used to block a circuit pattern such as the auxiliary conductive unit 30 that is visible to the naked eye in the overlap region OL, and enhances the effect of aesthetic or functional labeling.

  As is well known, due to the poor hardness and brittleness of the ITO material, the ITO conductive film causes the material to be hard and brittle, or to be easily broken at the stretched portion, resulting in non-conductivity or poor conductivity. In the present embodiment, when the touch sensor 20 made of the ITO material is disposed on the first surface 11, the adjacent surface 13 and the second surface 12 of the knob mold shell 10, the ITO conductive on the adjacent surface 13 and the second surface 12 is formed. The membrane is bent or stretched. A conductive defect may occur at that location. Therefore, the present invention can overcome this disadvantage by providing the auxiliary conductive unit 30 on the adjacent surface 13 and the second surface 12. Since the auxiliary conductive unit 30 is made of a low-resistance ductile material such as a copper foil or a silver paste, there is no problem that the bent portion or the extended portion is damaged or becomes non-conductive. The auxiliary conductive unit 30 is electrically connected to the touch sensor 20, and can maintain the conductive function of the touch sensor 20 at a bent or extended portion, thereby ensuring normal operation of the touch sensor 20.

  The knob mold shell 10 is assembled on a control base of an electronic device or an electric device, and the knob mold shell 10 is combined with the control base and fixed integrally (not shown). During use, the body of the entire touch stereo knob does not actually rotate (since it is fixed to the control base), but the user's finger rotates and slides on the outer surface of the touch stereo knob, A touch signal is input to the touch sensor 20, and the touch signal may be converted into a control signal of a corresponding knob by a signal processing circuit. Operate the electronic or electrical equipment accordingly. In addition, the first surface 11 of the touch stereo knob has a flat touch surface, and the user can perform various information input via the touch surface, such as clicking, gesture, or handwriting input.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in another embodiment, the knob mold shell 10 is made of glass, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polystyrene (PS), high light transmittance, transparent such as polycarbonate (PC) or polypropylene (PP). Made of insulating material. Therefore, a see-through area is formed on the first surface 11 of the knob mold shell 10, and the touch sensor 20 and the surface coating layer 40 disposed on the first surface 11 are also transparent thin layers. Therefore, the transparent window 15 can be formed in the area of the first surface 11, whereby the operation information display element 16 such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) and a light emitting diode (LED) is arranged in the hollow cavity of the knob mold shell 10. be able to. Information indicating the operating state of the knob is immediately fed back through the fluoroscopic window 15.

  Although the present invention has been fully described with reference to the drawings and embodiments, it should be understood that the foregoing embodiments are for illustrative purposes only. The invention is not limited by the description, and various changes and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and such changes and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the invention as defined by the scope of the utility model registration claims. It should be understood.

10 Knob mold shell
11 first surface 12 second surface 13 adjacent surface 15 see-through window
16 Operation information display element
20 Touch sensor
21 Induction electrode
30 auxiliary conductive unit 40 surface coating layer
41 Mask plane OL Overlap area

Claims (10)

The touch stereo knob includes a knob mold shell, a touch sensor, an auxiliary conductive unit, and a surface coating layer,
The knob mold shell is made of an insulating material and has a three-dimensional configuration, the knob mold shell includes a first surface, a second surface, and an adjacent surface, wherein the first surface is an upper portion of the knob mold shell. Wherein the second surface is located on an outer surface around the knob mold shell, the adjacent surface is coupled between the first surface and the second surface,
The touch sensor is made of a transparent metal oxide conductive film, and a touch operation area of the touch sensor is disposed on at least a part of the first surface and the adjacent surface, and the second surface,
The auxiliary conductive unit is made of a material having ductility and low electrical resistivity, and the auxiliary conductive unit is electrically connected to the touch sensor to form an overlap area, and the overlap area is adjacent to the adjacent area. A surface area and an area on at least a part of the second surface, and the auxiliary conductive unit in the overlap area includes a conductive pattern corresponding to the touch sensor;
The surface coating layer is made of an insulating transparent material, the surface coating layer has a stereo configuration corresponding to the knob mold shell, and is closely attached to the touch sensor and the auxiliary conductive unit; A touch stereo knob comprising an opaque mask surface on the inside, said mask surface shielding at least said overlap region.   The touch stereo knob according to claim 1, wherein the adjacent surface is one of a curved surface, a spherical surface, and an obtuse surface.   The touch sensor of claim 1, wherein the touch sensor is selected from one of a capacitive touch sensor, an electromagnetic touch sensor, an acoustic touch sensor, a vibration touch sensor, and an optical touch sensor device. Touch stereo knob as described.   The touch stereo knob according to claim 1, wherein a material used in the touch sensor is selected from one of indium tin oxide, indium zinc oxide, zinc aluminum oxide, and antimony tin oxide.   The material used for the auxiliary conductive unit is characterized by being selected from a conductive silver paste, or a thin metal layer mainly composed of gold, silver, copper, aluminum, molybdenum, or nickel. The touch stereo knob according to claim 1.   The touch stereo knob according to claim 1, wherein the mask surface is formed of an insulating material that does not transmit light, and the insulating material is selected from one of an insulating ink and a photoresist.   The touch stereo knob according to claim 6, wherein the mask surface is further provided with a decorative pattern, and the decorative pattern is selected from a decorative pattern, an icon, and a sign.   The touch stereo knob of claim 1, wherein the knob mold shell is made of a high light transmission insulating material selected from one of glass, polymethyl methacrylate, polystyrene, polycarbonate, and polypropylene. .   9. The touch stereo knob of claim 8, wherein the first surface of the knob mold shell is a transparent area, and the first surface, the touch sensor and the surface coating layer together form a see-through window. .   The touch stereo knob according to claim 9, wherein an operation information display element is further disposed in the hollow cavity of the knob mold shell, and the operation information display element is selected from a liquid crystal display or a light emitting diode.

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