KR20080095006A - Inputting apparatus module - Google Patents

Abstract

An input device module is provided to configure a touch sensor unit and a rotative input device as one module, thereby cutting down assembling time of an input device of an electronic device. The first PCB(Printed Circuit Board)(46) is electrically connected to a touch sensor unit(44). A rotative input device(48) inputs information by forward and reverse rotations, as being mounted in a part of the first PCB. A controller(50) is electrically connected to the first PCB, and controls an output signal of at least one of the touch sensor unit and the rotative input device. The touch sensor unit is integratedly formed on the first PCB. The touch sensor unit includes plural touch sensors. The touch sensor unit includes a touch panel for sensing touch at plural positions.

Description

Input device module

1 is a perspective view of an input device module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a side view of the input device module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the input device module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a perspective view of a portable terminal equipped with an input device module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

11: wheel 13: magnet

14: insertion hole 15: holder

16 support portion 17 inclined portion

18: body part 19: fixing part

20: support hole 21: center hole

25: washer 27: rotating hole

29 center key 31 second printed circuit board

33: dome button 35: magnetic detection element

37: receiving hole 29: base

44: touch sensor unit 46: the first printed circuit board

50: controller 52: receiving groove

The present invention relates to an input device module.

In general, portable terminals are marked with numbers 0 to 9 and * and # on 12 keypads. In addition to numbers, such keypads include alphabets and consonants and vowels in Korean, allowing numbers and characters to be entered. At the top of the keypad is a navigation key with various functions such as phone number search, text message creation and management, internet connection, and the like. There are various types of navigation keys such as button type and rotation type. Recently, the use of a rotary input device capable of providing various functions such as menu search and the like has been increasing. Meanwhile, according to various design needs of consumers, the use of a touch type input unit capable of inputting information by a user's touch without the keypad protruding to the outside is increasing.

Recently, portable terminals have been highly functionalized, such as providing various services such as DMB reception, digital cameras, data transmission / reception, MP3 players, and Internet communications, and thus require input devices capable of various multi-inputs. However, there is a problem in that, according to the design desire of the consumer, the portable terminal has to be slim and have various multi-input devices in a narrow area.

The present invention provides an input device module capable of multi-input by implementing the touch type input unit and the rotary type input unit as one module.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the touch sensor unit, a first printed circuit board electrically connected to the touch sensor unit, and is mounted on a part of the first printed circuit board, the circuit for inputting information by forward and reverse rotation An input device module electrically connected to the typical input device and the first printed circuit board and including a controller for controlling an output signal of at least one of the touch sensor unit and the rotary input device is provided.

The touch sensor unit may be integrally formed on the first printed circuit board.

The touch sensor unit may include a plurality of touch sensors, and the touch sensor unit may include a touch panel that senses a touch at a plurality of positions.

The touch panel may be stacked on one surface of the first printed circuit board.

The first printed circuit board may be a flexible printed circuit board.

The rotary input device has a wheel capable of forward / reverse rotation, a wheel coupled to one surface of the wheel and interlocked with the wheel, and electrically connected to the first printed circuit board and the magnet having N and S poles alternately magnetized. It may include a magnetic detection element for detecting a change in the magnetism of the magnet.

The wheel of the input device module of the present invention may further include a center key formed in the insertion hole and inserted into the insertion hole.

The first printed circuit board may be provided with a plurality of dome buttons corresponding to the wheel and the center key.

The rotary input device may further include a second printed circuit board on which the magnetic detection element is mounted, and a base on which the second printed circuit board is fixed, wherein the second printed circuit board is electrically connected to the first printed circuit board. Can be. In this case, an insertion hole is formed in the wheel, and may further include a center key inserted into the insertion hole.

The second printed circuit board may be provided with a plurality of dome buttons corresponding to the wheel and the center key.

Other aspects, features, and advantages other than those described above will become apparent from the following drawings, claims, and detailed description of the invention.

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the input device module according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in the description with reference to the accompanying drawings, the same or corresponding components are given the same reference numerals and duplicated thereto The description will be omitted.

1 is a perspective view of an input device module according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a side view of the input device module according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 and 2, the touch sensor unit 44, the first printed circuit board 46, the rotatable input device 48, and the controller 50 are illustrated.

The input device module according to the present embodiment includes a touch sensor unit 44, a first printed circuit board 46 electrically connected to the touch sensor unit 44, and a part of the first printed circuit board 46. Is mounted, electrically connected to the rotary input device 48 and the first printed circuit board 46 for inputting information by forward and reverse rotation, of the touch sensor unit 44 or the rotary input device 48 Using the controller 50 for controlling at least one output signal as a component, various multi-inputs are possible according to the rotation direction, the rotation amount, the rotation speed of the user's touch or the rotary input device 48, and the like. By controlling the output signal according to the information input by one controller 50, it is possible to make the portable terminal slim and highly functional.

The touch sensor unit 44 detects a user's touch, and the touch sensor unit 44 may include a touch sensor capable of detecting whether the user touches the touch. As the touch sensor, various types of sensors apparent to those skilled in the art, such as a resistive film method, an optical method, a capacitive method, an ultrasonic method, and a pressure method, may be used.

The touch sensor unit 44 does not always limit the case where the user directly touches the touch sensor unit 44 in recognizing the user's touch. For example, in the case of using the optical touch sensor, even if the user's touch is not directly made to the touch sensor unit 44, it may be determined that the touch is made when it reaches a predetermined position.

The touch sensor unit 44 may be integrally formed on the first printed circuit board 46. In addition, the touch sensor unit 44 may include a plurality of touch sensors. For example, when a plurality of input buttons are required in the portable terminal (refer to FIG. 4), a touch sensor is mounted by mounting a touch sensor for detecting a touch at a position corresponding to the input button on the first printed circuit board 46. It is also possible to integrally form the portion 44 and the first printed circuit board 46.

The touch sensor unit 44 may include a touch panel capable of detecting a touch at a plurality of positions. In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the touch panel may be stacked on one surface of the first printed circuit board 46 to sense a user's touch. Referring to FIG. 2, in this embodiment, the touch panel may be laminated on the top surface of the first printed circuit board 46, or the touch panel may be interviewed on the bottom surface of the first printed circuit board 46.

The touch panel may recognize a user's touch at a plurality of positions on the panel and input corresponding information. For example, a charge may be charged on the surface of the touch panel, and sensors may be installed around the touch panel to detect a degree of loss of the charge at the time of contact, recognize the coordinates of the touched location, and input corresponding information. In addition, it is also possible to closely install the sensor in response to the pressure applied to the surface of the touch panel to recognize the position when the pressure is applied by the user's touch to input the corresponding information.

On the other hand, the touch panel is not limited only to the above-described form. For example, when a plurality of input buttons are required in a portable terminal, a sensor for detecting a user's touch is mounted on a predetermined circuit board at a position corresponding to the input button, respectively, and a circuit pattern for input / output of a sensor. It is also possible to form a touch panel formed on the circuit board integrally with the sensor and the circuit board. In this case, the circuit board may be a flexible printed circuit board.

The first printed circuit board 46 electrically connected to the touch sensor unit 44 transmits a signal detected through the touch sensor unit 44 to the controller 50 to be described later. In addition, the first printed circuit board 46 transmits a signal input to the controller 50 through the rotary input device 48 mounted on the first printed circuit board 46.

The first printed circuit board 46 may be made of a flexible printed circuit board. The flexible circuit board may reduce the thickness of the portable terminal, and unlike the rigid circuit board, the circuit board may have fluidity. In this case, the touch panel laminated on the first printed circuit board 46 may also be a flexible panel.

The rotatable input device 48 is mounted on a part of the first printed circuit board 46 to enable rotatable input along with the touch sensor unit 44 to input various information to the terminal in response to the recent high functionality of the portable terminal. can do. The rotary input device 48 may input various information according to the rotation direction, the rotation amount, the rotation speed, and the like. For example, it is possible to search and select a menu or an item appearing on the display of the terminal by forward or reverse rotation. The rotary input device 48 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 3.

The controller 50 is electrically connected to the first printed circuit board 46, and controls the output signal output from at least one of the above-described touch sensor unit 44 or the rotary input device 48 to control the output signal. To the control device (not shown). That is, the controller 50 integrally controls both or at least one of the information input through the touch sensor unit 44 and the information input through the rotary input device 48 to externally control a corresponding signal. It transmits to the control device to perform a specific function of the portable terminal according to the input information. A connector 54 may be provided in the controller 50 for electrical connection between the external control device and the input device module of the present embodiment.

However, in the present embodiment, only the input device module mounted on the portable terminal is described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the input device module of the present embodiment may be applied to various electronic devices requiring input of information.

3 is an exploded perspective view of an input device module according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3, the wheel 11, the magnet 13, the insertion hole 14, the holder 15, the support 16, the inclined portion 17, the body portion 18, the fixing portion 19, Support part hole 20, center hole 21, washer 25, rotating hole 27, center key 29, second printed circuit board 31, dome button 33, magnetic detection element 35 The accommodation hole 37, the base 29, the touch sensor unit 44, the first printed circuit board 46, the controller 50, the accommodation groove 52, and the connector 54 are illustrated.

The rotatable input device is mounted on a part of the first printed circuit board 46 to input various input information by combining or combining the touch input and the rotatable input, respectively.

The rotary input device may be directly mounted on the first printed circuit board 46, or the rotary input device 48 may be modularized and mounted on the first printed circuit board 46. That is, a plurality of dome buttons 33 corresponding to the wheel 11 and the center key 29 are provided, and a rotary input device is mounted on the first printed circuit board 46 having a circuit pattern for the rotary input device. The wheel 11, the magnet 13, and the magnet on the base 29 to which the second printed circuit board 31 is mounted, or on which the plurality of dome buttons 33 are provided and the circuit pattern for the rotary input device is fixed. It is also possible to mount such a module on the first printed circuit board 46 as necessary by mounting the detection element 35 and the like as one module.

In the present embodiment, a description will be given of mounting the rotary input device 48 as a module and mounting it on the first printed circuit board 46.

The rotary input device 48 of the present embodiment is capable of forward and reverse rotation, and includes a wheel 11 having an insertion hole 14, a center key 29 inserted into the insertion hole 14, and a wheel ( 11 is coupled to one side of the wheel 11 and interlocked with the magnet 11, the N pole and the S pole alternately magnetized, and the magnetic detection element 35 for detecting a change in the magnet of the magnet (13) and And a plurality of dome buttons provided at positions corresponding to the second printed circuit board 31 on which the magnetic detection element 35 is mounted, the wheel 11 and the center key 29 of the second printed circuit board 31. The base 29 to which the 33 and the second printed circuit board 31 are fixed may be integrally assembled to form a single rotary input device 48 module. The rotary input device 48 is mounted on the first printed circuit board 46, but the second printed circuit board 31 of the rotary input device 48 is electrically connected to the first printed circuit board 46. Rotating input is possible.

The wheel 11 has a disk shape as a whole and an insertion hole 14 through which the center key 29 can be inserted is formed in the center thereof. On the lower surface of the wheel 11, a ring-shaped magnet 13 in which N and S poles are alternately magnetized is fixed. The wheel 11 rotates together with the magnet 13 by a user's operation, which causes the magnetic detection element 35 to detect various directions of rotation of the magnet 13, the amount of rotation, the speed of rotation, and the like. You lose.

On the other hand, the electromagnet 45 is mounted on one surface of the second printed circuit board 31 to have a click feeling due to the rotation of the wheel 11 due to the periodic attraction and repulsive force generated by the rotation of the magnet 13. have.

The washer 25 is inserted into and fixed in the center of the holder 15, whereby the wheel 11 is fixed to the holder 15.

The magnet 13 is attached to the lower surface of the wheel 11 and rotates together with the wheel 11. The rotation of the magnet 13 is detected by the magnetic detecting element 35, and the rotation direction, rotation amount, and rotation speed of the magnet 13 are detected. The input is made according to the like. The magnet 13 has a ring shape in which a plurality of N poles and S poles are alternately magnetized, and the magnetic detection element 35 has an N pole located on an upper portion of the magnetic detection element 35. According to the change of the S pole, the rotation direction, the rotation amount, the speed, etc. of the wheel 11 can be detected.

The holder 15 is fixed to one surface of the base 29 and rotatably supports the wheel 11. The holder 15 may be made of a metal such as stainless steel or a plastic of high elasticity, and the like, which may cause the wheel to be removed due to the elastic force of the holder 15 itself when a specific force applied to the wheel 11 is removed. (11) can be restored.

The holder 15 has a ring shaped trunk portion 18 and a support portion 16 protruding from the outer circumferential surface of the trunk portion 18 and fixed to one surface of the base 29. The trunk portion 18 has a center hole 21, and the support portion 16 protruding in four directions along the circumference of the center hole 21 has an inclination portion 17 protruding downward with a constant inclination angle, and And a fixed portion 19 extending horizontally from one end of the inclined portion 17.

The inclined portion 17 protrudes outwards to connect the body portion 18 and the fixing portion 19. Since the inclined portion 17 is formed of a metal having elasticity or the like, when the external force applied to the holder 15 is removed, the holder 15 is returned to its original state by the elastic force of the inclined portion 17. The specific force of the wheel 11 is pressed by the elastic force, so that the wheel 11 may be returned to its original shape even when the wheel 11 is inclined. The fixing portion 19 extends from one end of the inclined portion 17 and is fixed to the upper surface of the base 29 to fix the holder 15. The fixing unit 19 may be fixed to the base 29 by an adhesive or a tape.

The support part hole 20 is formed in the support part 16. A portion of the magnetic detection element 35 and the electromagnet 45 may be located in the support hole 20. The support hole 20 formed in the support 16 is formed to correspond to the magnetic detection element 35 and the electromagnet 45 mounted on the second printed circuit board 31, and the magnetic detection element 35 and the electromagnet ( A portion of 45) is exposed to face the magnet 13 directly. The center hole 21 is formed in the center of the holder 15. In addition, the wheel 11 is rotatably inserted into the outer circumferential surface forming the center hole 21 to prevent the wheel 11 from being separated.

The center key 29 is inserted into the insertion hole 14 of the wheel 11. The center key 29 performs a specific function by being pressed by the user, for example, an internet connection or a function such as digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) reception.

The second printed circuit board 31 has a disc shape corresponding to the base 29, and a plurality of dome buttons 33 are formed on one surface thereof, and a magnetic detection element 35 facing the magnet 13 is mounted. In addition, an accommodating hole 37 into which at least a portion of the magnetic detection element 35 may be inserted may be formed in the second printed circuit board 31.

The dome button 33 is provided at a position corresponding to the wheel 11 and the center key 29 of the second printed circuit board 31 to perform a separate function by pressing the wheel 11 or the center key 29. Can be done.

The accommodation hole 37 is formed in the second printed circuit board 31 corresponding to the support hole 20 of the holder 15, and at least a portion of the magnetic detection element 35 is positioned in the accommodation hole 37. Therefore, the present embodiment can reduce the thickness of the input device by at least the thickness of the accommodating hole 37 in comparison with the magnetic detection element 35 mounted on the upper surface of the second printed circuit board 31.

The magnetic detection element 35 may be a hall sensor, which is a silicon semiconductor using an effect in which electrons are bent in the magnetic direction and bent in the direction of movement in the magnetic field to generate an electromotive force. The hall sensor generates an electromotive force proportional to the rotation of the magnet 13 attached to the wheel 11 and transmits the electromotive force to an external control device (not shown) through the second printed circuit board 31.

The magnetic detection element 35 is, of course, not limited to the hall sensor, and any thing can be used as long as the rotation of the magnet 13 can be detected. For example, the detection element may be a magnetoresistive (MR) sensor or a great magneto resistor (GMR) sensor. MR sensor or GMR sensor is a device whose resistance value changes according to the change of the magnetic field, and uses the property that the resistance changes because the carrier path in the solid is bent and elongated by the electromagnetic force. MR sensors or GMR sensors are small in size, have high signal levels, and have high sensitivity, allowing them to be operated in low light and have high temperature stability.

The base 29 has a disk shape and rotatably supports the holder 15 and the wheel 11. The diameter of the base 29 may be somewhat larger than that of the second printed circuit board 31.

The electromagnet 45 may be mounted on the second printed circuit board 31, and the N pole or the S pole is generated by the current input through the second printed circuit board 31, and thus The polarity may generate a constant click feeling when the wheel 11 rotates by interacting with the N pole or the S pole of the magnet 13.

The rotary input device 48 having the above-described configuration constitutes one module, and the rotary input device 48 is mounted on the first printed circuit board 46. To this end, a receiving groove 52 is formed in a mounting portion of the rotatable input device 48 of the first printed circuit board 46, and the rotatable input device 48 is mounted in the receiving groove 52 so that The overall thickness can be lowered. The second printed circuit board 31 of the rotatable input device 48 is electrically connected to the first printed circuit board 46 to receive information input through the rotatable input device 48 and to the first printed circuit board 46. ), And this signal is again controlled by the controller 50 and output to an external control device. A connector 54 may be provided in the controller 50 for electrical connection between the external control device and the input device module of the present embodiment.

4 is a perspective view of a portable terminal equipped with an input device module according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4, a portable terminal 55, a touch keypad 56, and a rotary input device 48 are illustrated.

The input device module of the present embodiment may be applied to the portable terminal 55 to enable touch input and rotational input. For example, the touch keypad unit 56 is positioned on the touch sensor unit of the input device module so that a menu selection or a list selection can be made by the user's touch, and various items of the selected list can be selected from the rotary input device 48. Searching through the forward and reverse rotation, and pressing the sensor key of the rotary input device 48 to be able to select the searched menu. Of course, various multi-inputs are possible by various combinations such as the touch of the touch keypad unit 56, the forward / reverse rotation of the rotary input device 48, the center key of the rotary input device 48, and the pressing of a wheel.

In the present embodiment, only the input device module mounted on the portable terminal 55 will be described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the input device module of the present embodiment may be applied to various electronic devices requiring input of information.

Many embodiments other than the above-described embodiments are within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

As described above, according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, various multi-inputs are possible according to the recent multifunctionalization of electronic devices.

In addition, the assembly time of the input device of the electronic device is shortened by configuring the touch sensor unit and the rotary input device as one module.

Claims (12)

A touch sensor unit; A first printed circuit board electrically connected to the touch sensor unit; A rotary input device mounted on a part of the first printed circuit board and configured to input information by forward and reverse rotation; And And a controller electrically connected to the first printed circuit board and controlling an output signal of at least one of the touch sensor unit and the rotary input device. The method of claim 1, And the touch sensor unit is integrally formed on the first printed circuit board. The method of claim 1, And the touch sensor unit comprises a plurality of touch sensors. The method of claim 1, The touch sensor unit comprises a touch panel for detecting a touch in a plurality of locations. The method of claim 4, wherein And the touch panel is stacked on one surface of the first printed circuit board. The method of claim 1, The first printed circuit board is an input device module, characterized in that a flexible printed circuit board (flexible printed circuit board). The method of claim 1, The rotary input device, A wheel capable of forward and reverse rotation; A magnet coupled to one surface of the wheel and interlocked with the wheel, wherein an N pole and an S pole are alternately magnetized; And And a magnetic detection element electrically connected to the first printed circuit board and configured to sense a change in the magnetism of the magnet. The method of claim 7, wherein The wheel has an insertion hole is formed, the input device module, characterized in that it further comprises a center key inserted into the insertion hole. The method of claim 8, And the dome button corresponding to the wheel and the center key is provided on the first printed circuit board. The method of claim 7, wherein The rotary input device, A second printed circuit board on which the magnetic detection element is mounted; Further comprising a base to which the second printed circuit board is fixed, And the second printed circuit board is electrically connected to the first printed circuit board. The method of claim 10, The wheel has an insertion hole is formed, the input device module, characterized in that it further comprises a center key inserted into the insertion hole. The method of claim 11, And a plurality of dome buttons corresponding to the wheel and the center key on the second printed circuit board.

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