TW202014868A - Curved touch device and manufacture method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A curved touch device is provided. The curved touch device comprises a spherical outer casing and at least one touch sensing layer. The spherical outer casing is a hollow structure, the spherical outer casing includes an inner surface and an outer surface on opposite sides thereof. The touch sensing layer is attached to the inner surface of the spherical outer casing. The touch sensing layer includes at least one trunk portion, the trunk portion is strip-shaped, and the trunk portion is disposed in a spiral shape. The invention also provide a manufacture method thereof.

Description

Curved surface touch device and manufacturing method thereof

The invention relates to the technical field of touch control, in particular to a curved touch control device and a manufacturing method thereof.

In recent years, with the advancement of technology, the use of touch modules has become wider and wider, from common cash dispensers, smart phones, tablet computers, to industrial touch computers and so on. However, the current mainstream touch modules on the market are mostly straight type, and the surface of a few touch modules is a 2.5D structure with only a certain curvature on the edge, and has a large curvature surface (such as a spherical surface or an ellipsoidal surface) Touch modules are relatively rare.

In the conventional technology, there are few records about the touch module with a large curvature surface, and the technology related to its specific structure and manufacturing method needs to be improved. Specifically, the expected application range of the spherical curved surface is wide, and the application scenarios of the spherical curved surface are different from the traditional straight type. Designing a spherical touch device with wide application, convenient manufacture and low cost is a technology that needs to be solved by those skilled in the art problem.

A curved touch device includes: a spherical shell with a hollow structure, the spherical shell including an inner surface and an outer surface on opposite sides of the spherical shell; at least one touch sensing layer, the touch sensing The measurement layer is attached to the inner surface of the spherical shell. The touch-sensing layer includes at least one trunk portion. The trunk portion is in a strip shape, and the trunk portion is spirally arranged.

A method for manufacturing a curved touch device includes the following steps:

Providing a spherical shell, the spherical shell including two hemispherical shells;

Providing an insulating base material, forming a conductive circuit layer with certain predetermined lines on one surface of the insulating base material to form an original touch sensing layer;

Cutting the original touch sensing layer to obtain at least two spiral touch sensing layers;

Attaching the two touch sensing layers to the inner surfaces of the two hemispherical shells; and

Fasten the two hemispherical shells.

The curved touch device of the present invention is provided with a spiral touch sensing layer on the inner surface of a transparent or translucent hollow spherical shell, so that the spherical touch device has a simple and effective structure and the manufacturing process is simplified to reduce costs. Moreover, the touch sensing layer does not fully cover the entire inner surface of the spherical housing, so that the touch sensing layer is not likely to generate bubbles when attached to the curved touch device, especially the spherical touch device of this embodiment. Furthermore, by dividing a circular original touch sensing layer into two spiral touch sensing layers intertwined with each other, the utilization rate of the original touch sensing layer is improved, and the cost is reduced.

The drawings show embodiments of the present invention. The present invention can be implemented in many different forms, and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments described herein. On the contrary, these examples are provided to make the present invention more comprehensive and complete disclosure, and to make those skilled in the art more fully understand the scope of the present invention.

The specific embodiments of the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

First embodiment

In one embodiment, the curved touch device is a spherical touch device 10, as shown in FIG. 1, which is a perspective schematic view of the spherical touch device 10 of the present invention. The spherical touch device 10 includes a spherical housing 11 and at least one touch sensing layer 12, the spherical housing 11 is a hollow structure, the spherical housing 11 includes inner and outer surfaces on opposite sides of the housing, and the touch sensing layer 12 is attached to the inner surface of the spherical shell 11, the touch sensing layer 12 includes at least one main portion 121, the main portion 121 is strip-shaped, and the main portion 121 is provided in a spiral shape, and the touch sensing layer 12 can be transparently adhered The adhesive is attached to the inner surface of the spherical shell 11, such as an optical adhesive (OCA).

The spherical shell 11 is a transparent or translucent material. In an embodiment, the material of the spherical shell 11 may be an organic substance, such as polycarbonate (Polycarbonate, PC), polyimide (Polyimide, PI), polyethylene naphthalate Polyethylene naphthalate two formic acid glycol ester (PEN) polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and cyclic olefin copolymer (COP); material of spherical shell 11 It can also be inorganic, such as silicon dioxide (SiO2).

The spherical shell 11 includes an upper hemisphere 111 and a lower hemisphere 112. The upper hemisphere 111 and the lower hemisphere 112 have the same structure and are symmetrically distributed. The upper hemisphere 111 and the lower hemisphere 112 are buckled to form the spherical shell 11. Dividing the spherical shell 11 into an upper hemisphere 111 and a lower hemisphere 112 which are engaged with each other can provide sufficient operation space for the assembly between the spherical shell 11 and other components. In other embodiments, the upper hemisphere 111 and the lower hemisphere 112 may also be asymmetrically distributed, for example, the upper hemisphere 111 is smaller and the lower hemisphere 112 is larger.

The touch sensing layer 12 has a touch sensing function, and can sense the touch on the surface of the spherical housing 11. The touch sensing layer 12 may be a flexible printed circuit (FPC). The flexible circuit board may sense touch through a circuit on its surface. The touch sensing layer 12 may also have other touch sensing functions. The structure should contain at least conductive materials for sensing touch, such as indium tin oxide (INDIUM TIN OXIDE, ITO) or metal mesh (Metal Mesh).

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the spherical touch device 10 of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a schematic top view of the spherical touch device 10 of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, in one embodiment, the spherical touch device 10 includes two touch sensing layers 12 with the same structure. The two touch sensing layers 12 are located on the inner surfaces of the upper hemisphere 111 and the lower hemisphere 112, respectively. The touch sensing layers 12 of the two touch sensing layers 12 have the same structure and are symmetrical about the spherical center of the spherical touch device 10. In other embodiments, the two touch sensing layers 12 located on the upper hemisphere 111 and the lower hemisphere 112 may have different structures, and the trunk 121 may be adjusted to other reasonable layouts according to specific needs.

As shown in FIG. 3, in one embodiment, the touch sensing layer 12 includes a main body 121. The main body 121 provided in a spiral shape includes two ends. One end of the main body 121 is located in the upper hemisphere 111 or the lower hemisphere 112. The center of the arc surface, the trunk portion 121 is disposed on the inner surface of the upper hemisphere 111 or the lower hemisphere 112 around the center of the arc surface, the other end of the trunk portion 121 is located on the outermost side of the spiral formed by the trunk portion 121, on the trunk portion 121 The radius of the circle corresponding to any arc corresponding to is equal. In other embodiments, the radius of the circle corresponding to any arc corresponding to the main body 121 is not equal. The main body 121 is formed by the center of the arc surface of the upper hemisphere 111 or the lower hemisphere 112. In the direction in which the boundary of the arc surface extends around, the radius of the circle corresponding to the arc corresponding to any segment on the trunk portion 121 gradually increases.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the process that the main portion 121 spirally extends around the center of the arc surface on the inner surface of the upper hemisphere 111 or the lower hemisphere 112, the main portion 121 gradually approaches the boundary line between the upper hemisphere 111 and the lower hemisphere 112, The value range of the rotation angle θ of the trunk portion 121 extending upward may be 1° to 90°.

In an embodiment, the touch sensing layer 12 may further include a plurality of branch portions, the plurality of branch portions are formed by the main portion 121 extending outward, the plurality of branch portions are located on the same side of the main portion 121, and the plurality of branch portions are spaced apart And the shape is the same, the gap between the multiple branches is equal. In other embodiments, multiple branch sections are located on the same side of the trunk section 121, and the multiple branch sections are spaced apart. Each branch section may be the same or different in shape or size as the other branch section. The gap between the multiple branch sections is not Equal, the shape of the branch can be rectangular or triangular, or it can be other irregular figures formed by patchwork of regular figures.

The spherical touch device 10 further includes a processing unit (not shown). The processing unit is located in a hollow area within the spherical touch device 10. The processing unit is located approximately at the center of the spherical housing 11. The processing unit can be Any one end of each main body 121 is electrically connected. The electrical signal sensed by the touch sensing layer 12 is conducted to the processing unit, and the processing unit can analyze the electrical signal of the touch sensing layer 12.

When the spherical housing 11 is held or touched, the touch sensing layer 12 is touched to cause changes in electrical signals, and the processing unit analyzes the changed electrical signals of the touch sensing layer 12 to determine the touched position or hold And provide different feedback solutions accordingly.

The spherical touch device 10 of the present invention is provided with a spiral touch sensing layer 12 on the inner surface of a transparent or semi-transparent hollow spherical housing 11, so that the spherical touch device 10 has a simple and effective structure and the manufacturing process is simplified In order to reduce costs, and the touch sensing layer 12 does not fully cover the entire inner surface of the spherical housing 11, the touch sensing layer 12 is attached to the curved touch device, especially the spherical touch in this embodiment It is not easy to generate bubbles when controlling the device 10.

Second embodiment

In one embodiment, the curved touch device is a spherical touch device 10. As shown in FIG. 4, it is a schematic diagram of the manufacturing process of the spherical touch device 10 of the present invention.

Step S11: A spherical shell 11 is provided. The spherical shell 11 includes two hemispherical shells.

The two hemispherical shells can be fastened together to form a hollow spherical shell 11. The spherical shell 11 includes inner and outer surfaces on opposite sides of the shell. The spherical shell 11 is a transparent or translucent material.

Step S12: providing an insulating substrate, and forming a conductive circuit layer with certain predetermined circuits on one surface of the insulating substrate to form an original touch sensing layer.

Step S13: Cutting the original touch sensing layer to obtain at least two spiral touch sensing layers.

Set the original sensing layer on the machine, use the industrial lens on the machine to grab the position coordinates of the original touch sensing layer, and then punch the original touch sensing layer with a punching head to obtain the figure The two touch sensing layers 12 shown in FIG. 5 are such that the two touch sensing layers 12 are arranged in a spiral shape, and one touch sensing layer 12 is disposed in the thread gap of the other touch sensing layer 12 In the two touch sensing layers 12 are intertwined with each other.

In this embodiment, the two touch sensing layers 12 each include a trunk portion 121, both of the trunk portions 121 are spiral, and the two trunk portions 121 are intertwined with each other. In other embodiments, the touch-sensing layer 12 may further include a plurality of branch portions extending from the main portion 121, and one touch-sensing layer 12 and another touch-sensing layer 12 are fitted together into one Complete structure.

In other embodiments, the original touch sensing layer may be cut by laser cutting or air knife cutting to obtain two touch sensing layers 12.

After the cutting is completed and the original touch sensing layer is cooled, the two touch sensing layers 12 are separated along the cutting line.

Step S14: Pre-process the circuits of the touch sensing layer 12.

The touch sensing layer 12 is reserved with an electrical connection pad that contacts the outside, so that the touch sensing layer 12 is electrically connected to external electronic components through the electrical connection pad.

Step S15: Attach the two touch sensing layers 12 to the inner surfaces of the two hemispherical shells respectively.

One end of a touch sensing layer 12 is fixed to the center of the arc surface of any hemispherical shell through a hot pressing process, and the touch sensing layer 12 is gradually stepped by rotating at least one of the hemispherical shell or the touch sensing layer 12 Pressed onto the inner surface of the hemispherical shell. The other touch sensing layer 12 is fixed to the inner surface of the other hemispherical shell through the same process.

Step S16: Fasten the two hemispherical shells with the touch sensing layer 12 adhered to the inner surface to form the spherical touch device 10.

It can be understood that before the two hemispherical shells are engaged, other electronic components may also be disposed in the hollow structure of the spherical shell 11, such as a central processing unit.

The spherical touch device 10 of the present invention improves the utilization rate of the original touch sensing layer by dividing a circular original touch sensing layer into two spiral touch sensing layers 12 intertwined with each other. The utilization rate of the original touch sensing layer is greater than 70%, and the touch sensing layer 12 is gradually pressed to the inner surface of the hemispherical casing by rotating at least one of the hemispherical casing or the touch sensing layer 12, Improve the pressing efficiency.

It can be understood that although the above embodiments are described by taking the spherical touch device as an example, the invention is not limited to the spherical curved touch device, but the invention can also be applied to other curved touch devices, such as an olive touch Control device, etc. The curved touch device includes a curved shell, the curved shell includes an inner surface and an outer surface on opposite sides thereof; at least one touch sensing layer, the touch sensing layer is attached Attached to the inner surface of the spherical shell.

The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention and not to limit them. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that the technical solutions of the present invention can be modified or equivalently replaced. Without departing from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the present invention.

10: spherical touch device 11: spherical shell 111: upper hemisphere 112: Lower Hemisphere 12: Touch sensing layer 121: Main Staff θ: included angle

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a spherical touch device of the present invention.

2 is a schematic plan view of the spherical touch device of the present invention.

3 is a schematic top view of the spherical touch device of the present invention.

4 is a schematic diagram of the manufacturing process of the spherical touch device of the present invention.

5 is a schematic plan view of the touch sensing layer of the spherical touch device of the present invention.

10: spherical touch device

11: spherical shell

111: upper hemisphere

112: Lower Hemisphere

12: Touch sensing layer

121: Main Staff

Claims (10)

A curved touch device, the improvement of which includes: a spherical shell, the spherical shell is a hollow structure, the spherical shell includes an inner surface and an outer surface on opposite sides of the spherical shell; at least one touch sensing layer, The touch-sensing layer is attached to the inner surface of the spherical shell. The touch-sensing layer includes at least one main portion, the main portion is in a strip shape, and the main portion is provided in a spiral shape. The curved touch device according to claim 1, wherein the touch sensing layer further includes a plurality of branch portions, the plurality of branch portions are formed by the main portion extending outward, and the plurality of branch portions Located on the same side of the backbone. The curved touch device according to claim 2, wherein the spherical shell includes upper and lower hemispheres with the same structure and symmetrical distribution, and the upper and lower hemispheres are buckled to form the spherical shell. The curved touch device according to claim 3, wherein the number of the touch sensing layers is two, and each of the touch sensing layers is respectively disposed on the upper hemisphere and the lower hemisphere. The curved touch device according to claim 4, wherein: one end of the trunk portion is located at the center of the arc surface of the upper hemisphere or the lower hemisphere, and the trunk portion surrounds the arc on the inner surface The center of the face is set. The curved touch device according to claim 5, wherein the radii of the circles corresponding to the arcs corresponding to any section of the trunk portion are not equal. The curved touch device according to claim 5, wherein: the plurality of branch portions are arranged at intervals, and the shapes of the branch portions are the same. A method for manufacturing a curved touch device includes the following steps: providing a spherical shell, the spherical shell including two hemispherical shells; providing an insulating substrate, and fabricating a predetermined line on one surface of the insulating substrate The conductive circuit layer to form an original touch sensing layer; cutting the original touch sensing layer to obtain at least two spiral touch sensing layers; separating the two touch sensing layers respectively Attach to the inner surfaces of the two hemispherical shells; and buckle the two hemispherical shells. The method for manufacturing a curved touch device according to claim 8, wherein: the two touch sensing layers formed by cutting the original touch sensing layer are both spiral, so that one of the touch sensing The layer is located in the gap of the thread of the other touch sensing layer. The method for manufacturing a curved touch device according to claim 8, wherein: one end of a touch sensing layer is fixed to the center of the arc surface of any of the hemispherical shells, and the hemispherical shell is rotated Or at least one of the touch sensing layers presses the touch sensing layer to the inner surface of the hemispherical shell step by step.

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