TWM624447U - Touchpad structure - Google Patents

Abstract

A touchpad structure includes a casing, a touchpad and elastic arms. The casing has an opening. The touchpad is movably disposed in the opening relative to the casing. The touchpad includes a central region and a peripheral region surrounded the central region. Each elastic arm has a fixed end and a movable end. The fixed ends of the elastic arms are connected to the casing. The movable ends of the elastic arms are connected to the peripheral region. The touchpad is floatingly disposed to the opening relative to the casing via the elastic arms. The movement of the touchpad relative to the casing caused by the external force pressed the touchpad drives the movable ends of the elastic arms to swing relative to the fixed ends of the elastic arms.

Description

touchpad structure

The new model relates to a touch panel structure.

Because of its high computing performance, multi-tasking, and easy portability, notebook computers have become an indispensable tool for modern people in life or work. Generally speaking, a notebook computer includes a first body and a second body pivotally connected to the first body, wherein the first body is a host capable of logical operations and data access, and the second body is capable of developing images. monitor. In order to facilitate the user to operate or input information, most of the first bodies are provided with a keyboard and a touchpad, and the user can use the touchpad to move the cursor, select application items, scroll web pages or documents, and zoom web pages or file, etc.

As far as the design of the existing touchpad is concerned, the touchpad includes a fulcrum end and a movable end relative to the fulcrum end, wherein the fulcrum end is connected to the casing of the first body. Based on the lever principle, if the user's force application point on the touch panel is too close to the fulcrum end, it is difficult to drive the movable end to swing downward relative to the fulcrum end. That is to say, the operable range of the touchpad is limited. Once the user's finger taps too close to the fulcrum, it may be impossible to move the cursor, select application items, scroll web pages or documents, and zoom in and out of web pages or documents. and so on.

The novel creation provides a touchpad structure, which can reduce the downforce required for operating the touchpad and enable the touchpad to have a full operating range.

The touchpad structure of the novel creation includes a casing, a touchpad and a plurality of elastic arms. The casing has an opening. The touchpad is movably disposed in the opening relative to the casing. The touchpad includes a central area and a peripheral area surrounding the central area. Each elastic arm has a fixed end and a movable end. The fixed ends of the spring arms are connected to the casing. The movable ends of the elastic arms are respectively connected to the peripheral region. The touchpad is floated in the opening relative to the casing by the elastic arms. When the touchpad is pressed by an external force and moves relative to the casing, the movable ends of the elastic arms swing relative to the fixed ends.

Based on the above, in the touchpad structure created by the present invention, since the casing and the touchpad are connected by four elastic arms, each elastic arm is connected to the fixed end of the casing and the movable end connected to the touchpad. a certain distance. Accordingly, compared with the conventional touchpad structure, the structure connected to the casing is directly disposed on one end (ie, the fixed end) of the touchpad, so that the user's force application point on the touchpad is too close to the fixed end. It is not easy to drive the touchpad to swing relative to the fixed end, and the operable range of the touchpad is limited. The touchpad structure of this embodiment can be set by four elastic arms, that is, the fixed end is increased. The lever arm between the movable end and the movable end effectively reduces the downforce required by the user to operate the touchpad, and enables the touchpad to have a full operating range.

In order to make the above-mentioned features and advantages of the novel creation more obvious and easy to understand, the following embodiments are given and described in detail with the accompanying drawings as follows.

FIG. 1 is a partial schematic diagram of a touch panel structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. At the same time, the rectangular coordinates X-Y-Z are provided to facilitate the related description and reference of subsequent components. Referring to FIG. 1 , the touch panel structure 100 of the present embodiment can be installed on the host of the notebook computer for the user to perform actions such as moving a cursor, selecting application items, scrolling web pages or documents, and zooming in and out of web pages or documents.

FIG. 2 is a schematic bottom view of the touch panel structure of FIG. 1 . It should be noted here that a part of the casing, such as the lower casing, is omitted from FIGS. 2 to 4 . Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 , in this embodiment, the touchpad structure 100 includes a casing 110 , a touchpad 120 and four elastic arms 130 , wherein the casing 110 has an opening 111 , and the touchpad 120 is opposite to The casing 110 is movably disposed in the opening 111 . The operation surface 120a of the touch panel 120 is exposed from the opening 111 of the casing 110, so that the user's fingers can tap the operation surface 120a or slide on the operation surface 120a.

2 , in this embodiment, the touch panel 120 includes a central region CR and a peripheral region PR surrounding the central region CR, and each elastic arm 130 has a fixed end 131 and a movable end 132 . The four fixed ends 131 of the four elastic arms 130 are respectively connected to the casing 110 , and the four movable ends 132 of the four elastic arms 130 are respectively connected to the peripheral region PR.

That is to say, in the present embodiment, the touchpad structure 100 is disposed in the opening 111 in a floating manner relative to the casing 110 by the arrangement of the four elastic arms 130 . When the user's finger taps the operation surface 120a or slides on the operation surface 120a to apply an external force and press the touchpad 120, the movement of the touchpad 120 relative to the casing 110 will drive the movable end of each elastic arm 130 132 swings downward relative to the fixed end 131 (ie, in the direction of the -Z axis). When the user's finger moves away from the operation surface 120a, the movable end 132 of each elastic arm 130 swings upward relative to the fixed end 131 (ie, the direction of the Z axis), and returns to the initial position.

It is worth mentioning that, in the touchpad structure 100 of this embodiment, since the casing 110 and the touchpad 120 are connected by four elastic arms 130 , each elastic arm 130 is connected to the fixed end of the casing 110 131 is at a distance from the movable end 132 connected to the touchpad 120 . Compared with the conventional touchpad structure, the structure connected to the casing is directly disposed on one end (ie, the fixed end) of the touchpad, so that it is difficult for the user to apply force on the touchpad too close to the fixed end. Since the touch panel is driven to swing relative to the fixed end, the operable range of the touch panel is limited. The touchpad structure 100 of the present embodiment can effectively reduce the amount of time required for the user to operate the touchpad 120 by disposing four elastic arms 130 , that is, increasing the force arm between the fixed end 131 and the movable end 132 . The size of the downforce is adjusted so that the touchpad 120 has a full operating range.

The touch panel structure 100 is further described below.

FIG. 3 is a schematic bottom view of the touch panel structure of FIG. 2 after removing the support plate. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the touch panel structure of FIG. 1 along the line A-A. Referring to FIGS. 2 to 4 , in this embodiment, the touch panel 120 includes a support frame 121 , a circuit board 122 disposed on the support frame 121 , and a cover plate 123 disposed on the circuit board 122 . Here, the support frame 121 , the circuit board 122 and the cover plate 123 are connected to each other through, for example, an adhesive layer (not shown).

In detail, the casing 110 may be an upper casing of the main unit of the notebook computer, and the cover plate 123 is exposed from the opening 111 of the casing 110 . The support frame 121 includes four extending portions 121 a extending from the peripheral region PR, and the four extending portions 121 a are located outside the opening 111 and abut against the casing 110 to prevent the touchpad 120 from detaching from the opening 111 to the outside of the casing 110 . In other words, the support frame 121 interferes with the casing 110 in the positive Z-axis direction through the extension portion 121 a to generate a blocking effect, and thus the movement of the support frame 121 is restricted within the casing 110 .

Referring to FIG. 3 , in this embodiment, the touch panel structure 100 further includes a trigger element 140 . The trigger member 140 is swingably disposed in the casing 110 , and the area where the trigger member 140 is projected on the touchpad 120 is the central region CR of the touchpad 120 . The peripheral region PR of the touch panel 120 includes four corners PR1 , and the four movable ends 132 of the four elastic arms 130 are connected to the support frame 121 and located at the four corners PR1 respectively.

In detail, please refer to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 , in this embodiment, the support frame 121 has a pressing portion 121 b , and the trigger member 140 has a fulcrum portion 141 , a first contact portion 142 and a second contact portion 143 . The first contact portion 142 is located between the fulcrum portion 141 and the second contact portion 143 , and the fulcrum portion 141 of the trigger member 140 is clamped between the pressing portion 121 b and the circuit board 122 .

When the touchpad 120 is pressed by an external force to move relative to the casing 110 , the elastic arm 130 connected to the peripheral region PR is driven to swing relative to the casing 110 along the Z axis, and at the same time, the first contact of the trigger 140 is driven. The portion 142 and the second contact portion 143 swing relative to the fulcrum portion 141 .

In more detail, please refer to FIG. 3 , in this embodiment, the trigger member 140 is a plate-like structure extending along the Y-axis direction. The fulcrum portion 141 of the trigger member 140 is connected with the touch panel 120 in an at least two-dimensional structure, so that when any part of the touch panel 120 is pressed by an external force, the rest of the touch panel 120 is different from the rest of the touch panel 120 . Consistent travel stroke anywhere.

For example, please refer to FIG. 3 , in this embodiment, the trigger element 140 has opposite ends E1 and E2 (ie, the left and right ends of the trigger element 140 in FIG. 3 ), and the touchpad 120 has opposite sides Sides S1 and S2 (ie, the left and right sides of the touchpad 120 in FIG. 3 ). The two ends E1 and E2 of the trigger element 140 are adjacent to the two sides S1 and S2 of the touch panel 120 , and the movement of the touch panel 120 relative to the casing 110 when the touch panel 120 is pressed by an external force will drive the two ends E1 and E2 of the trigger element 140 Swing at the same time.

As described above, since the trigger member 140 is designed as a plate-like structure extending along the Y-axis direction, and the fulcrum portion 141 of the trigger member 140 is connected to the touch panel 120 in at least a two-dimensional structure (ie, the two ends E1, E2 is adjacent to the left and right sides S1 and S2 of the touchpad 120 in FIG. 3 , so that when any part of the touchpad 120 is pressed by an external force, the two ends E1 and E2 of the trigger element 140 can swing at the same time The force applied to the touch panel 120 is balanced, so as to prevent the touch panel 120 from being skewed due to uneven application of force.

Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 , in this embodiment, the touch panel structure 100 further includes a support plate 150 and a switch element 160 . The support plate 150 is detachably disposed in the casing 110 , the switch element 160 is disposed on the circuit board 122 , and the trigger element 140 is located between the support plate 150 and the switch element 160 .

In detail, please refer to FIG. 4 , in this embodiment, the trigger member 140 has a protruding portion 142 a protruding from one side of the first contact portion 142 . The protruding portion 142 a of the first contact portion 142 contacts the switch element 160 , and the second contact portion 143 abuts against the support plate 150 .

Therefore, in this embodiment, when the user's finger taps the operation surface 120a of the touchpad 120 and the touchpad 120 is pressed by an external force, the touchpad 120 moves downward relative to the casing 110 (ie -Z axis direction). At this time, the movement of the touchpad 120 relative to the casing 110 will drive the trigger 140 . Since the second contact portion 143 of the trigger 140 is supported by the support plate 150 , the first contact portion 142 and the second contact portion 143 will swing upward relative to the fulcrum portion 141 (ie, in the direction of the Z axis), so that the first contact portion 142 The protruding portion 142a of the upper portion presses the switch member 160 into the switch member 160 to trigger the switch member 160.

To sum up, in the touchpad structure of the present invention, since the casing and the touchpad are connected by four elastic arms, each elastic arm is connected to the fixed end of the casing and the movable side of the touchpad. The ends have a certain distance. Accordingly, compared with the conventional touchpad structure, the structure connected to the casing is directly disposed on one end (ie, the fixed end) of the touchpad, so that the user's force application point on the touchpad is too close to the fixed end. It is not easy to drive the touchpad to swing relative to the fixed end, and the operable range of the touchpad is limited. The touchpad structure of this embodiment can be set by four elastic arms, that is, the fixed end is increased. The lever arm between the movable end and the movable end effectively reduces the downforce required by the user to operate the touchpad, and enables the touchpad to have a full operating range.

In addition, since the trigger member in the touchpad structure is designed as a plate-like structure, and the fulcrum portion of the trigger member is connected with the touchpad in an at least two-dimensional structure, so that when any part of the touchpad is pressed by an external force, the touch The control panel is different from the rest of the above-mentioned places and has the same movement stroke as that of any place, so as to balance the force applied to any part of the touch panel, and avoid the touch panel from being skewed due to uneven application of force. situation.

Although the present invention has been disclosed above with examples, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone with ordinary knowledge in the technical field can make some changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the new creation should be determined by the scope of the appended patent application.

100: Touchpad structure 110: Chassis 111: Opening 120: Trackpad 120a: Operation surface 121: Support frame 121a: Extensions 121b: Pressing part 122: circuit board 123: Cover 130: spring arm 131: Fixed end 132: Active end 140: Trigger 141: Pivot Department 142: The first contact part 142a: convex part 143: Second contact part 150: support plate 160: switch parts E1, E2: terminal S1, S2: side CR: Central District PR: Peripheral area PR1: Corner X-Y-Z: Cartesian coordinates

FIG. 1 is a partial schematic diagram of a touch panel structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic bottom view of the touch panel structure of FIG. 1 . FIG. 3 is a schematic bottom view of the touch panel structure of FIG. 2 after removing the support plate. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the touch panel structure of FIG. 1 along the line A-A.

100: Touchpad structure

110: Chassis

111: Opening

120: Trackpad

121: Support frame

121a: Extensions

122: circuit board

130: spring arm

131: Fixed end

132: Active end

150: support plate

CR: Central District

PR: Peripheral area

X-Y-Z: Cartesian coordinates

Claims (10)

A touch panel structure, comprising: a casing, having an opening; a touch panel, movably disposed in the opening relative to the casing, and comprising a central area and a peripheral area surrounding the central area; and A plurality of elastic arms, each of which has a fixed end and a movable end, wherein the fixed ends of the elastic arms are connected to the casing, the movable ends of the elastic arms are respectively connected to the peripheral region, the contact The control panel is floated in the opening relative to the casing by the elastic arms, and the touchpad is pressed by an external force and moves relative to the casing, which drives the movable ends of the elastic arms to face each other. swing at the fixed ends. The touch panel structure of claim 1, wherein the touch panel includes a support frame, a circuit board disposed on the support frame, and a cover plate disposed on the circuit board, and the movements of the elastic arms The ends are connected to the support frame. The touch panel structure of claim 2, wherein the support frame includes a plurality of extension portions extending from the peripheral region, and the extension portions are located outside the opening and abut against the casing. The touch panel structure according to claim 2, further comprising a trigger member and a support plate, the support plate is disposed in the casing, the trigger member is swingably disposed in the casing and located between the support plate and the touch panel Between the control boards, one side of the trigger piece is connected to the touch board, and the other side of the trigger piece is abutted against the support plate. The touch panel structure of claim 4, wherein the area where the trigger element is projected on the touch panel is the central area of the touch panel. The touch panel structure of claim 4, wherein the trigger has a fulcrum portion, a first contact portion and a second contact portion, the first contact portion is located between the fulcrum portion and the second contact portion, the fulcrum The touch panel is connected to the touch panel, and the touch panel is pressed by an external force and moves relative to the casing to drive the first contact part and the second contact part to swing relative to the fulcrum part. The touch panel structure of claim 6, wherein the support frame has a pressing portion, and the fulcrum portion of the trigger element is clamped between the pressing portion and the circuit board. The touchpad structure of claim 6, wherein the trigger is a plate-like structure, and the fulcrum portion is connected to the touchpad in at least two-dimensional structure, so that any part of the touchpad is pressed by an external force When the touchpad is different from the rest of the touchpad, the rest of the touchpad has a movement stroke that is consistent with the any one. The touch panel structure according to claim 4, further comprising a switch member disposed on the circuit board, and the trigger member is located between the switch member and the support plate. The touchpad structure of claim 1, wherein the peripheral region of the touchpad includes a plurality of corners, and the movable ends of the elastic arms are respectively connected to the corners.

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