TW202201193A - Micro-touch panel mechanism, a micro-touch panel device, and a manufacturing method thereof wherein the micro-touch panel device includes a stacked control board, a diaphragm, and an operation panel unit - Google Patents

Abstract

A micro-touch panel mechanism, a micro-touch panel device and a manufacturing method thereof. The micro-touch panel device includes a stacked control board, a diaphragm, and an operation panel unit. The diaphragm defines a plurality of openings respectively exposing a plurality of key circuits of the control board. The operation panel unit includes a plurality of conductive films respectively facing the key circuits with some spacing through the openings. Through the stacked structural design of the control board, the diaphragm, and the operation panel unit of the micro-touch panel device, an outer surface of the entire micro-touch panel device for operation can present a flat surface texture similar to a capacitive touch panel, but have the same pressing operation touch feelings as the traditional mechanical buttons. Therefore, operations can be still performed when a user wears gloves. The invention is an innovative panel device design.

Description

Micro-touch panel mechanism and micro-touch panel device and manufacturing method thereof

The present invention relates to an input panel mechanism and a manufacturing method thereof, in particular to a panel mechanism requiring slight contact and pressing and a manufacturing method thereof.

At present, many electronic devices are equipped with an input panel for inputting passwords or selecting functional items, such as electronic locks and cash machines. Although the current mainstream input panels are designed with capacitive touch panels, because capacitive touch The operation input of the control panel is through the change of capacitance caused by sensing human body contact, so once the user wears gloves to operate, the capacitive touch panel may not respond. Another common input panel adopts the traditional physical button structure design, using raised mechanical buttons for selective pressing to input data. Because of the structural design, there will be a problem that the input panel is not beautiful.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a micro-touch panel mechanism that improves at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art.

Therefore, the micro-touch panel mechanism of the present invention includes a micro-touch panel device and a backlight seat. The micro-touch panel device includes a control board, a diaphragm and an operation panel unit which are arranged in layers.

The control board includes a circuit board body with a front side and a back side opposite to each other, a plurality of key circuits arranged at intervals on the front side, and at least one light-emitting element which is arranged on the back side and can be controlled to emit light. The circuit board body also has a plurality of light-transmitting areas respectively located at the positions where the key circuits are arranged and allowing light to penetrate from the back side to the front side. The diaphragm is stacked on the front surface of the circuit board body, and has a plurality of openings respectively exposing the key circuits and the light-transmitting areas.

The operation panel unit includes a panel that is stacked on the diaphragm and faces the control board at a distance, and a plurality of conductive films disposed on the panel and facing the key circuits through the openings respectively. There are a plurality of light-transmitting key marking areas corresponding to the light-transmitting areas respectively, and each key marking area can be pressed to make the corresponding conductive film conduct the corresponding key circuit.

The backlight holder is stacked on the back surface of the circuit board body, and cooperates with the circuit board body to define a light beam generated by the at least one light-emitting element to be reflected forward through the light-transmitting regions and the light-transmitting regions. The reflective space in the key label area.

Therefore, another object of the present invention is to provide a micro-touch panel device that can improve at least one disadvantage of the prior art.

Thus, the micro-touch panel device of the present invention includes a control board, a diaphragm, and an operation panel unit that are stacked on top of each other. The control board has a front surface and a back surface opposite to each other, and includes a plurality of key circuits arranged at intervals on the front surface. The diaphragm covers the front surface of the control board and has a plurality of openings respectively exposing the key circuits. The operation panel unit includes a panel covering the diaphragm and facing the control board at intervals, and a plurality of conductive films disposed on the panel and facing the key circuits through the openings respectively. The panel has a plurality of key marking areas respectively corresponding to the conductive films, each key marking area can be pressed to elastically deform toward the corresponding opening, and then the corresponding conductive film contacts and conducts the corresponding key circuit.

Therefore, another object of the present invention is to provide a manufacturing method of a micro-touch panel device which can improve at least one disadvantage of the prior art.

Therefore, the manufacturing method of the micro-touch panel device of the present invention includes the following steps: (A) sequentially stacking an opaque atomized layer on one side of a transparent plate body, and a plurality of spaced conductive layers film, so that the atomized layer surrounds the plate body to define a plurality of light-transmitting key marking areas corresponding to the conductive films; (B) a diaphragm surrounding the conductive films is attached to the atomized layer, the diaphragm There are a plurality of openings respectively exposing the conductive films; and (C) a control board is stacked on the diaphragm, so that a plurality of key circuits of the control board are spaced apart from the conductive films through the openings.

The effect of the present invention is: through the laminated structure design of the control board, the diaphragm and the operation panel unit of the micro-touch panel device, the outer surface of the entire micro-touch panel device for operation can present a similar capacitive type The touch panel has a flat surface texture, but has the same tactile feel as traditional mechanical buttons, so there is no problem of being unable to operate because the user wears gloves. It is a rather innovative panel device design.

Before the present invention is described in detail, it should be noted that in the following description, similar elements are designated by the same reference numerals.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 5 , an embodiment of the micro-touch panel mechanism 200 of the present invention includes a micro-touch panel device 3 and a backlight holder 7 mounted on the back 411 of the micro-touch panel device 3 .

Referring to FIGS. 2 , 3 and 4 , the micro-touch panel device 3 includes a control board 4 , a diaphragm 5 , and an operation panel unit 6 which are arranged in layers. It should be noted that, because each layer structure of the micro-touch panel device 3 is quite thin, the size and thickness of the drawings are only examples, and the implementation is not limited to the drawings.

The control board 4 has a circuit board body 41 , and a plurality of key circuits 42 and a plurality of light-emitting elements 43 disposed on the circuit board body 41 . The circuit board body 41 has a front surface 410 and a back surface 411 opposite to each other, and has a plurality of light-transmitting regions 412 arranged at intervals and enabling light to penetrate forward from the back surface 411 to the front surface 410 . The key circuits 42 are respectively disposed on the front surface 410 of the circuit board body 41 around the light-transmitting regions 412 , and each key circuit 42 has two conductive parts 421 spaced apart. The light-emitting elements 43 are disposed on the back surface 411 of the circuit board body 41 at intervals so as to be driven by the circuit board body 41 to emit light.

In this embodiment, the light-transmitting regions 412 are designed in the shape of numbers, but during implementation, in other embodiments of the present invention, they can also be changed to the shape of letters, symbols or other designs. In this embodiment, the light-emitting elements 43 are LEDs, but the implementation is not limited to this.

The diaphragm 5 covers the front surface 410 of the circuit board body 41 and has a plurality of openings 50 respectively exposing the key circuits 42 and the light-transmitting areas 412 . In this embodiment, the diaphragm 5 is a double-sided film with a thickness of 0.125 mm, but during implementation, in other embodiments of the present invention, the diaphragm 5 can also be made of a sticky film coated on the circuit board body 41 . The glue is cured and the thickness can range from 0.1 to 0.15 mm.

The operation panel unit 6 is adhered and fixed to the diaphragm 5 so as to cover the openings 50 , and faces the circuit board body 41 at intervals. The operation panel unit 6 includes a panel 61 overlapping the diaphragm 5 and being elastically deformable, and a plurality of conductive panels disposed on the panel 61 and exposed in the openings 50 and facing the key circuits 42 at intervals. membrane 62.

The panel 61 has a plate body 611 made of light-transmitting material, and an opaque mist layer 612 coated on the side of the plate body 611 facing the diaphragm 5 , and the mist layer 612 is on the plate body 611 A plurality of key marking areas 610 corresponding to the openings 50 and transparent to each other are defined around, and the external shape of each key marking area 610 is the same as that of the corresponding transparent area 412 and opposite to each other.

The conductive films 62 are stacked on the atomization layer 612 and surround the key marking areas 610 respectively. Each conductive film 62 has a silver paste layer 621 stacked on the atomized layer 612 , and a carbon ink layer 622 covering the silver paste layer 621 . When the corresponding key marking area 610 is pressed and elastically concavely deformed toward the corresponding opening 50, each conductive film 62 is linked and displaced against the corresponding key circuit 42 by the key marking area 610, thereby electrically connecting and conducting the key circuit. The conductive parts 421 of 42 .

1 , 5 and 6 , the backlight holder 7 has a reflective wall portion 71 facing the back surface 411 of the circuit board body 41 at intervals, and a reflective wall portion 71 protruding forward against the circuit board body The reflective wall 71 , the perimeter wall 72 and the circuit board body 41 cooperate to define a reflective space 70 covering the light-emitting elements 43 . The reflective space 70 allows the light generated by the light-emitting elements 43 to reflect and mix light therein, and then passes forward through the light-transmitting areas 412 and the key marking areas 610 to be transmitted, thereby allowing the key marking areas 610 is in an illuminated state. With this design, it is not necessary to dispose a light-emitting element in each key-marking area 610 , and the light can be uniformly transmitted through the key-marking areas 610 under the condition of using fewer light-emitting elements 43 .

Referring to FIGS. 4 , 6 and 7 , when the micro-touch panel device 3 is used for operation, the user can choose to press and operate one of the key marking areas 610 , because the diaphragm between the operation panel unit 6 and the control panel 4 is 5. The thickness is quite thin, so the pressed button marking area 610 will only slightly deform elastically to drive the corresponding conductive film 62 against the corresponding button circuit 42, and electrically connect and conduct the conductive parts 421 of the button circuit 42 , so that the circuit board body 41 generates a corresponding input signal.

Referring to FIGS. 4 , 6 and 8 , the following is a description of the manufacturing method of the micro-touch panel device 3 of the present invention. The manufacturing method includes the following steps:

Step 810: The operation panel unit 6 is fabricated. Includes the following sub-steps:

Sub-step 811 : making the panel 61 . An opaque atomized layer 612 is covered on one side of a transparent plate body 611 , so that the atomized layer 612 defines the key marking areas 610 around the plate body 611 to form the panel. 61.

Sub-step 812 : coating and disposing a plurality of silver paste layers 621 on the atomized layer 612 of the panel 61 , and drying and curing the silver paste layers 621 .

Sub-step 813 : Coating a carbon ink layer 622 on the surface of each cured silver paste layer 621 , so that the stacked silver paste layer 621 and the carbon ink layer 622 cooperate to form a conductive film 62 .

Sub-step 814: the mold is hot-pressed. Pressing the conductive films 62 formed in sub-step 813 with a mold that has been preheated to a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time to improve the bonding effect of the carbon ink layer 622 and the silver paste layer 621 of each conductive film 62 , for example, press the mold at 70°C for 2 seconds.

In this embodiment, the atomized layer 612 , the silver paste layer 621 and the carbon ink layer 622 are coated and provided by printing, but the implementation is not limited to this.

Step 820 : Setting the diaphragm 5 . A diaphragm 5 surrounding the conductive films 62 is disposed on the board body 611 , and the diaphragm 5 has a plurality of openings 50 respectively exposing the conductive films 62 and the key circuits 42 . In the present embodiment, a piece of double-sided film with the openings 50 already formed is pasted on the atomized layer 612 of the panel 61 to form the diaphragm 5, but in practice, the method of applying adhesive is also used. to form the diaphragm 5 .

Step 830 : Stacking the control board 4 . A control board 4 already provided with the light-transmitting regions 412 is laminated and fixed on the diaphragm 5 , so that the key circuits 42 of the control board 4 face the conductive films 62 through the openings 50 respectively. .

To sum up, through the laminated structure design of the control board 4 , the diaphragm 5 and the operation panel unit 6 of the micro-touch panel device 3 , the outer surface of the operation panel 61 exposed for operation will be flat, and It will present a flat surface texture similar to a capacitive touch panel. However, because the corresponding conductive film 62 and the key circuit 42 are spaced apart by the thickness of the diaphragm 5, the micro-touch panel device 3 retains the operating tactile feeling similar to that of a traditional mechanical key, and the user needs to press each key label area slightly. 610, the pressed button marking area 610 is slightly elastically deformed, and the corresponding conductive film 62 is connected to electrically connect and conduct the corresponding button circuit 42, so that the control board 4 generates the corresponding input signal, so the micro-touch panel device 3 does not There is a problem that it cannot be operated because the user wears gloves. It is a rather innovative panel device design. Therefore, the object of the present invention can surely be achieved.

However, the above are only examples of the present invention, and should not limit the scope of implementation of the present invention. Any simple equivalent changes and modifications made according to the scope of the patent application of the present invention and the contents of the patent specification are still included in the scope of the present invention. within the scope of the invention patent.

200: Micro-touch panel mechanism 3: Micro-touch panel device 4: Control panel 41: circuit board body 410: front 411: Back 412: light transmission area 42: Button circuit 421: Conductive part 43: Lighting pieces 5: Diaphragm 50: Opening 6: Operation panel unit 61: Panel 610: Button marking area 611: Board body 612: Atomization layer 62: Conductive film 621: silver paste layer 622: Carbon ink layer 7: Backlight seat 70: Reflective Space 71: Reflective wall 72: Surrounding wall 810~830: Steps 811~814: Substeps

Other features and effects of the present invention will be clearly presented in the embodiments with reference to the drawings, wherein: 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the micro-touch panel mechanism of the present invention; 2 is an exploded plan view of a control panel and an operation panel unit of the embodiment, illustrating the frontal structures of both; 3 is an exploded plan view of the control panel and the operation panel unit of the embodiment, illustrating the rear structure of the two; Figure 4 is an incomplete side cutaway schematic diagram of this embodiment; Figure 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of this embodiment; 6 is an incomplete cross-sectional schematic diagram of the embodiment, and illustrates the situation when a key-marking area has not been pressed; FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 , illustrating the case where the key marking area is pressed and deformed, so that a conductive film is electrically connected to a key circuit; and FIG. 8 is a flow chart of the manufacturing steps of a micro-touch panel device according to the embodiment.

200: Micro-touch panel mechanism

3: Micro-touch panel device

4: Control panel

41: circuit board body

411: Back

412: light transmission area

42: Button circuit

43: Lighting pieces

5: Diaphragm

50: Opening

6: Operation panel unit

61: Panel

610: Button marking area

611: Board body

612: Atomization layer

62: Conductive film

621: silver paste layer

622: Carbon ink layer

7: Backlight seat

70: Reflective Space

Claims (14)

A micro-touch panel device, comprising: a control board, which has a front side and a back side opposite to each other, and includes a plurality of key circuits arranged at intervals on the front side; a diaphragm covering the front surface of the control board and having a plurality of openings respectively exposing the key circuits; and An operation panel unit, including a panel covering the diaphragm and facing the control board at intervals, and a plurality of conductive films arranged on the panel and facing the key circuits through the openings respectively, the panel has There are a plurality of key marking areas corresponding to the corresponding conductive films, each key marking area can be pressed to elastically deform toward the corresponding opening, and then the corresponding conductive film contacts and conducts the corresponding key circuit. The micro-touch panel device according to claim 1, wherein each conductive film has a silver paste layer coated on the panel, and a carbon ink layer laminated to cover the silver paste layer. The micro-touch panel device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the panel comprises a light-transmitting plate body, and an opaque fogging layer coated on a side of the plate body facing the diaphragm, And the atomization layer defines the button marking areas around the side surface of the board body. The micro-touch panel device according to claim 1, wherein each key circuit has two conductive parts that are spaced apart and that are contacted and conducted by the corresponding conductive film. The micro-touch panel device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the diaphragm is an adhesive used for bonding the control board and the panel. A micro-touch panel mechanism, comprising: A micro-touch panel device comprising, A control board includes a circuit board body with a front and a back that are opposite to each other, a plurality of button circuits arranged at intervals on the front, and at least one light-emitting element that is arranged on the back and can be controlled to emit light, the circuit board There are also a plurality of light-transmitting areas respectively located at the positions of the key circuits and allowing the light to penetrate from the back to the front, a diaphragm, which is stacked on the front surface of the circuit board body, and has a plurality of openings respectively exposing the key circuits and the light-transmitting areas, and An operation panel unit, including a panel stacked on the diaphragm and facing the control board at a distance, and a plurality of conductive films disposed on the panel and facing the key circuits through the openings respectively, the The panel has a plurality of transparent key marking areas corresponding to the light-transmitting areas respectively, and each key marking area can be pressed to make the corresponding conductive film conduct the corresponding key circuit; and A backlight seat is stacked on the back of the circuit board body, and cooperates with the circuit board body to define a back light for reflecting the light generated by the at least one light-emitting element forward and penetrating the light-transmitting regions and the light-transmitting regions. The reflective space in the key label area. The micro-touch panel mechanism according to claim 6, wherein each conductive film has a silver paste layer coated and disposed on the panel, and a carbon ink layer laminated to cover the silver paste layer. The micro-touch panel mechanism according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the panel comprises a light-transmitting board body, and an opaque fogging layer coated on a side of the board body facing the diaphragm, and The atomization layer defines the key marking areas around the board body. The micro-touch panel mechanism according to claim 6, wherein the control panel includes a plurality of light-emitting elements disposed on the back surface and controlled to emit light toward the reflective space. The micro-touch panel mechanism according to claim 6, wherein each key circuit has two conductive parts that are spaced apart and that are contacted and conducted by the corresponding conductive film. A manufacturing method of a micro-touch panel device, comprising the following steps: (A) An opaque atomized layer and a plurality of spaced conductive films are sequentially stacked on one side of a transparent plate, so that the atomized layer defines a plurality of layers around the side of the plate. corresponding to the transparent key marking areas of the conductive film; (B) attaching a diaphragm surrounding the conductive films to the atomized layer, the diaphragm having a plurality of openings respectively exposing the conductive films; and (C) stacking a control board on the diaphragm, so that a plurality of key circuits of the control board face the conductive films through the openings respectively. The method for manufacturing a micro-touch panel device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the step (A) comprises the following sub-steps: (A1) covering the board body with the atomized layer, so that the atomized layer is placed on the board defining the key marking areas; (A2) stacking a plurality of silver paste layers on the atomized layer, and drying and curing the silver paste layers; and (A3) stacking on the surface of each cured silver paste layer A carbon ink layer is arranged, so that the stacked silver paste layer and the carbon ink layer cooperate to form a conductive film. The method for manufacturing a micro-touch panel device according to claim 12, wherein the step (A) further comprises a sub-step (A4) forming the sub-step (A3) with a mold that has been preheated to a predetermined temperature The conductive films are pressed for a predetermined time. The method for manufacturing a micro-touch panel device according to claim 11, wherein the diaphragm used in the step (B) is a double-sided film.

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