TWI662448B - Electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an electronic device including a transparent cover plate on which a touch sensing layer and an insulating layer formed on the touch sensing layer are formed. The electronic device further includes an insulating layer located far from the insulating layer. The light source on the side of the cover plate; the touch sensing layer can transmit light, and the insulating layer can transmit the light emitted by the light source and can evenly diffuse the transmitted light. The electronic device of the present invention uses an insulating layer as a diffusion sheet, does not need to use an additional diffusion sheet, reduces the cost of the electronic device, and does not increase the thickness of the product.

Description

Electronic device

The invention relates to an electronic device, in particular to an electronic device with an indicator light.

With the development of electronic technology, a variety of electronic products are flooding people's lives, and electronic products also have quite superior functions, such as multimedia playback, wireless communication services, satellite positioning and navigation, image capture and games Wait, bring a lot of convenience to people's lives. Among them, electronic devices with touch functions, such as mobile phones, tablet computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), etc., are integrated with a touch sensing layer and can be used to sense touch operations. In order to meet more needs of customers, the electronic device can also be provided with indicator lights for displaying various functions such as charging status, button status, or call information reminder. In the conventional technology, in order to display the indicator light, an electronic device usually needs to form a corresponding opening in a component or material between the cover plate and the indicator light in the electronic device to allow the light of the indicator light to pass through. In order to improve the uneven display of the indicator light and avoid the phenomenon of local over-brightness, it is usually necessary to additionally arrange a diffusion sheet in the electronic device.

For example, an electronic device with an indicator light and a touch function is taken as an example. The electronic device has a cover plate, an ink layer, a touch sensing layer, an insulating layer, and a diffusion sheet, which are sequentially stacked on the cover plate. Slide away from the indicator light on the side of the cover. In order to allow the light of the indicator light to pass through, the ink layer, the touch sensing layer, and the insulating layer are formed with through holes corresponding to the positions of the indicator lights, and the diffusion sheet is covered on the through holes. The diffusion sheet is used to improve uneven display of the indicator light and avoid the phenomenon of local over-brightness. However, using a diffusion sheet not only increases the cost of the electronic device, but also increases the thickness of the product.

In view of this, it is necessary to provide an electronic device with excellent display effect and thin thickness.

An electronic device includes a transparent cover plate, and a touch sensing layer and an insulating layer formed on the touch sensing layer are formed on the cover plate. The electronic device further includes an insulating layer located away from the cover plate. Side light source.

The touch sensing layer can transmit light, and the insulating layer can transmit light emitted from the light source and can diffuse the transmitted light uniformly.

Compared with the conventional technology, the electronic device of the present invention uses an insulating layer for insulating and protecting the touch sensing layer as a diffusion sheet, without using an additional diffusion sheet, reducing the cost of the electronic device and not increasing the thickness of the product.

100, 200‧‧‧ electronic devices

101‧‧‧Central District

102‧‧‧Peripheral area

103‧‧‧light-transmitting area

11, 21‧‧‧ Cover

12, 22‧‧‧ light source

13, 23‧‧‧ ink layer

131, 231‧‧‧ opening

14, 24‧‧‧ touch sensing layer

141、241‧‧‧First substrate

142, 242‧‧‧ first conductive layer

1421‧‧‧first sensing electrode

1422‧‧‧First Lead

143, 243‧‧‧Second conductive layer

244‧‧‧Second substrate

15, 25‧‧‧ Insulation

16‧‧‧Drive IC

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of an electronic device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of the touch-sensing layer of the electronic device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an electronic device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

The drawings show embodiments of the present invention, and the present invention can be implemented in many different forms, and should not be construed as being 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. For clarity, the dimensions of layers and regions have been exaggerated in the figure.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, elements, regions, layers and / or sections, such elements, elements, regions, layers and / or sections should not be limited to Those terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element, element, region, layer and / or part from another element, element, region, layer and / or part. Accordingly, the first part, element, region, layer, and / or part discussed below can be referred to as the second element, element, region, layer, and / or part without departing from the teachings of the present invention.

The proper nouns used herein are only used to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that when the terms "comprising" and "including" are used in the specification, the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements and / or components is indicated, but one or more other features, integers are not excluded , Steps, operations, presence of elements and / or components.

Embodiments of the present invention are described here with reference to cross-sectional views, which are schematic diagrams of idealized embodiments (and intermediate structures) of the present invention. Thus, variations in the shapes of the illustrations as a result of manufacturing processes and / or tolerances are to be expected. Therefore, the embodiments of the present invention should not be interpreted as being limited to the specific shape of the region illustrated here, but should include deviations in the shape due to, for example, manufacturing. The regions shown in the figures are only schematic, and their shapes are not intended to illustrate the actual shape of the device, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It should also be understood that terms such as those defined in the general dictionary should be interpreted to have meanings consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant field, and should not be interpreted in an over-ideal or over-formal meaning Unless explicitly defined in this article.

This embodiment is described by taking an electronic device with a display function as an example. However, it is not limited to an electronic device with a display function. In other embodiments, the electronic device of the present invention may be Other types of electronic devices suitable for this technical solution do not necessarily have a display function. Specifically, an electronic device with a display function is taken as an example to describe a specific embodiment of the electronic device of the present invention.

Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a schematic plan view of an electronic device 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The electronic device 100 may be a tablet computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or a mobile phone. In this embodiment, the electronic device 100 is a mobile phone. The electronic device 100 includes a cover 11 and a display panel (not shown) for protecting other components inside the electronic device 100. The cover plate 11 may be a suitable transparent material such as glass or plastic. The display panel may be a liquid crystal display panel, an organic light emitting display panel, and the like, but is not limited thereto. In this embodiment, the material of the cover plate 11 or the type of the display panel is not limited. The cover plate 11 includes a central region 101 and a peripheral region 102 surrounding the central region 101. In this embodiment, the display screen of the display panel is displayed through the central area 101, and the central area 101 is also used as an area for receiving touch sensing operations.

Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 together. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG. 1. The electronic device 100 further includes a light source 12 that can be used as an indicator light. The peripheral region 102 further includes a light transmitting region 103 corresponding to the light source 12. The light emitted by the light source 12 is transmitted by the light transmitting region 103. Observed by a user of the electronic device 100. An ink layer 13 is formed on an inner surface of the cover plate 11 corresponding to the peripheral area 102 except for the light-transmitting area 103. The inner surface refers to a surface of the cover plate 11 facing the display panel, and the ink layer 13 is opaque. The color is used to block components in the peripheral area 102 that do not need to be seen by the user. The ink layer 13 is provided with an opening 131 corresponding to the light transmitting region 103, and the opening 131 exposes the light transmitting region 103 of the cover plate 11.

Please refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 together. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a planar structure of a touch sensing layer of the electronic device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The electronic device 100 further includes a touch sensing layer 14, and the touch sensing layer 14 is formed on the cover 11. Specifically, the touch sensing layer 14 is located on a side of the ink layer 13 away from the cover plate 11, wherein the ink layer 13 covers a portion of the touch sensing layer 14 corresponding to the peripheral region 102 of the cover plate 11. In this embodiment, the touch-sensing layer 14 includes a first substrate 141 and is disposed on The first conductive layer 142 and the second conductive layer 143 on opposite sides of the first substrate 141, and the structure of the second conductive layer 143 is basically the same as the first conductive layer 142, but is not limited thereto. The first conductive layer 142 and the second conductive layer 143 may also have different structures, as long as the first conductive layer 142 and the second conductive layer 143 can cooperate with each other to form a mutual capacitance to realize touch sensing. For convenience of description, FIG. 3 only shows a side of the first substrate 141 on which the first conductive layer 142 is disposed. As shown in FIG. 3, the first conductive layer 142 includes a first sensing electrode 1421 and is connected to the first conductive layer 142. A plurality of first wires 1422 of a sensing electrode 1421. The second conductive layer 143 includes a second sensing electrode and a plurality of second wires (not shown) connected to the second sensing electrode. The first sensing electrodes 1421 and the second sensing electrodes are provided corresponding to the central area 101, the plurality of first conductive lines 1422 and the plurality of second conductive lines are provided corresponding to the peripheral area 102, and the plurality of second conductive lines are covered with ink. Covered by layer 13. In this embodiment, the first sensing electrode 1421 and the second sensing electrode are metal meshes, and the first conductive line 1422 and the second conductive line are metal, but are not limited thereto. In order not to block the light emitted by the light source 12, preferably, the first conductive line 1422 and the second conductive line are disposed away from the light transmitting area 103, but are not limited thereto; optionally, the first conductive line 1422 and The second conductive wire may be a transparent conductive material. In this case, the first conductive wire 1422 and the second conductive wire need not avoid the light transmitting region 103. The first sensing electrode 1421 and the second sensing electrode cooperate with each other to form a mutual capacitance for sensing a touch operation applied by the user to the central region 101 of the electronic device 100. The first wire 1422 is used to connect the first sensing electrode 1421 to a driving IC 16, and the second wire is used to connect the second sensing electrode to the driving IC 16 (not shown) ). In other embodiments, the touch sensing layer 14 may have other structures. For example, the first conductive layer 142 and the second conductive layer 143 may be formed on different substrates respectively, and then the different substrates are applied on the substrate. The touch sensing layer 14 is formed together, but is not limited thereto.

The electronic device 100 further includes an insulating layer 15, which covers a portion of the touch sensing layer 14 corresponding to the peripheral region 102 (including the light transmitting region 103) of the cover plate 11 and is located away from the ink in the touch sensing layer 14. The surface of the layer 13. The insulating layer 15 can not only prevent the touch sensing layer 14 from contacting with external water vapor, but also protect the touch sensing layer 14; the insulating layer 15 is a light-transmitting material with a haze value greater than 10 (Such as suitable insulation glue and diffusion glue), can also provide better light diffusion effect, so that the light transmitted through the light source 12 is uniform. A light-transmitting material with an appropriate Haze value can be used according to the needs in actual production; optionally, the Haze (value) can be 10-30. Therefore, the touch sensing layer 14 and the insulating layer 15 of the electronic device 100 of the present invention are not provided with openings at positions corresponding to the light-transmitting area 103 of the light source 12 as an indicator light, and the corresponding peripheral area 102 of the touch-sensing layer 14 is The first conductive wires 1422 and the second conductive wires are disposed to avoid the light-transmitting area 103 or are made of a light-transmitting material. The material of the insulating layer 15 (see below) can transmit light. The insulating layer 15 is made of a light-transmitting material with a certain haze and acts as a diffusion sheet, which can diffuse the light of the light source 12 so that the user of the electronic device 100 can see the indicator light with a uniform display effect, and will not appear. Local over-brightness.

In this embodiment, the peripheral region 102 of the touch sensing layer 14 is covered by an insulating layer 15 as a protection and the wires 1422 are insulated and isolated, and a portion of the touch sensing layer 14 corresponding to the central region 101 is covered. The optical adhesive (OCA) (not shown), which hardly affects the display effect, can be used to attach the display panel (not shown) to the portion of the touch sensing layer 14 corresponding to the central area 101. It can be understood that when the electronic device 100 does not have a display function, the central area 101 does not need to be used for display, and no optical glue is needed. The insulating layer 15 may also cover the portion of the touch sensing layer 14 corresponding to the central area 101 .

The light source 12 may be a suitable light emitting diode (LED), or other light sources.

The first substrate 141 is a transparent material, and may be selected from transparent polyimide (CPI), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), and polymer. Ethylene naphthalate (PEN), polyarylate (PAR), polycarbonate (PC), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), triethyl cellulose (TAC), cycloolefin polymer ( COP) or cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) plastic film. The first substrate is preferably a transparent plastic film. From the viewpoint of improving heat resistance, the first substrate is preferably a plastic film made of CPI, PAR, TAC, COP, and COC, and particularly preferably a CPI film. From From the viewpoint of cost reduction, the first substrate is preferably a plastic film made of PET, PC, and PMMA. The thickness of the first substrate is not particularly limited. In order to improve the light transmittance of the first substrate, the thickness of the first substrate is preferably less than 200 μm. In this embodiment, the first substrate 141 is a PET film.

The first sensing electrode 1421 and the second sensing electrode may be a metal mesh (also referred to as a metal mesh) that allows light to pass through without affecting the display function. Indium tin oxide (ITO) may also be used. Other transparent conductive materials.

The first conductive wire 1422 and the second conductive wire 1432 may be a suitable metal, such as copper (Cu), silver (Ag), or the like. It can also be a transparent conductive material, such as indium tin oxide (ITO).

The material of the insulating layer 15 is not limited, as long as it can provide the effect of uniformizing light and being able to block water vapor. Preferably, the Haze value of the insulating layer is greater than 10.

The touch sensing layer 14 according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a first substrate 141 and first and second conductive layers 142 and 143 respectively disposed on two sides of the first substrate 141. The first sensing electrode 1421 and a second sensing electrode (not shown) of the second conductive layer 143 interact to form a mutual capacitance. In other embodiments, the touch sensing layer 14 may be other suitable structures known in the art.

Please refer to FIG. 4, which is a schematic cross-sectional view of an electronic device 200 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Similar to the electronic device of the first embodiment, the electronic device 200 includes a central area and a peripheral area (not shown), the electronic device 200 further includes a light source 22 that can be used as an indicator light, and the peripheral area further includes a corresponding A light-transmitting area (not shown) of the light source 22, and the light emitted by the light source 22 is observed by the user of the electronic device 200 through the light-transmitting area. An ink layer 23 is formed on an inner surface of the cover plate 21 corresponding to a region (not shown) other than the light-transmitting area in the peripheral region. The inner surface refers to a surface of the cover plate 21 facing the display panel. The ink layer 23 is In an opaque color, the ink layer 23 is provided with an opening 231 corresponding to the transparent area, and the opening 231 exposes the transparent area of the cover plate 21. In this embodiment, the electronic device 200 includes a touch sensing layer 24, and the touch sensing layer 24 is formed on the cover 21. Specifically, the touch sensing layer 24 is located on a side of the ink layer 23 away from the cover plate 21, wherein the ink layer 23 covers the touch sensing The layer 24 corresponds to a portion (not shown) of the peripheral region 202 of the cover plate 21. In this embodiment, the touch sensing layer 24 includes a first substrate 241, a second substrate 244, a first conductive layer 242 disposed on a surface of the first substrate 241, and a second substrate 244. A second conductive layer 243 on one surface, the first conductive layer 242 includes a first sensing electrode (not shown), the second conductive layer 243 includes a second sensing electrode (not shown), and The first sensing electrode and the second sensing electrode interact to form a mutual capacitance to implement touch sensing. Specifically, a surface of the first substrate 241 away from the first conductive layer 242 and a surface of the second substrate 244 away from the second conductive layer 243 are bonded by an adhesive layer 245 to form the touch sensing. Layer 24. The first substrate 241, the second substrate 244, the first conductive layer 242, the second conductive layer 243, and the adhesive layer 245 are all transparent.

In this embodiment, the electronic device 200 further includes an insulating layer 25, and the insulating layer 25 covers a surface of the touch sensing layer 24 away from the ink layer 23. Similar to the insulating layer 15 of the first embodiment, the insulating layer 25 only covers a portion of the touch sensing layer 24 corresponding to the peripheral region (including the light transmitting region) of the cover plate 21. The insulating layer 25 can not only prevent the touch sensing layer 24 from contacting with external water vapor, and protect the touch sensing layer 24. The insulating layer 25 is a light-transmitting material with a haze value greater than 10 (such as a suitable insulating adhesive). , Diffusion glue), can also provide better light diffusion effect, so that the light transmitted through the light source 22 is uniform. A light-transmitting material with an appropriate Haze value can be used according to the needs in actual production; optionally, the Haze (value) can be 10-30. Therefore, the touch sensing layer 24 and the insulating layer 25 of the electronic device 200 of the present invention are not provided with openings at positions corresponding to the light-transmitting area of the light source 22 as an indicator light, so that light can pass through the touch sensing layer 24 and the insulating layer. 25. The insulating layer 25 is made of a light-transmitting material with a certain haze and acts as a diffusion sheet, which can diffuse the light from the light source 22, so that the user of the electronic device 200 can see the indicator with a uniform display effect, and will not appear. Local over-brightness.

The touch sensing layer and the insulating layer of the electronic device of the present invention do not need to provide openings corresponding to the light source, and the light emitted by the light source can be observed by the user through the touch sensing layer and the insulating layer. The insulating layer is a light-transmitting material with a certain haze, which can make the light source uniform after passing through the insulating layer. therefore, The electronic device of the present invention can form an indicator light with a good display effect without the need to additionally provide a diffusion sheet to uniformize the light emitted from the light source. Since the electronic device of the present invention saves the use of the diffusion sheet, it can not only save materials and save manufacturing costs, but also reduce the thickness of the electronic device.

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

Claims (10)

An electronic device includes a transparent cover plate, and a touch sensing layer and an insulating layer formed on the touch sensing layer are formed on the cover plate. The electronic device further includes an insulating layer located away from the cover plate. The light source on the side is improved in that at least part of the area corresponding to the touch sensing layer can transmit light, and at least part of the light emitted by the light source passes through the insulating layer, the touch sensing layer, and the cover in order. The haze value of the insulating layer is greater than 10. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the cover plate includes a central region and a peripheral region surrounding the central region, and the peripheral region includes a light-transmitting region capable of transmitting light from the light source. The electronic device according to claim 2, wherein the touch sensing layer includes at least one transparent substrate and a conductive layer formed on at least one surface of the at least one transparent substrate. The electronic device according to claim 2, wherein the touch sensing layer includes two transparent substrates and two conductive layers respectively formed on the two transparent substrates, and the two transparent substrates are formed by Adhesive layer fits. The electronic device according to any one of claims 3-4, wherein the conductive layer includes a sensing electrode for touch sensing and a wire connected to the sensing electrode, and the sensing electrode corresponds to the sensing electrode. The central area is provided, and the wire is provided corresponding to the peripheral area. The electronic device according to claim 5, wherein the wire is a transparent conductive material. The electronic device according to claim 5, wherein the wire is disposed to avoid the light transmitting area. The electronic device according to claim 2, wherein the electronic device further comprises an ink layer located in a peripheral region of the cover plate, the ink layer is opaque, and the light source corresponds to the transmission in the peripheral region. The light area is provided, and the ink layer is formed with an opening corresponding to the light transmission area to allow light to pass through. The electronic device according to claim 2 or 8, wherein the insulating layer is formed only in the peripheral region and covers the light transmitting region. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein a haze value of the insulating layer is less than 30.