TWM637428U - Touch pad device - Google Patents

Abstract

A touch pad structure includes a base plate, a touch pad module, an elastic bracket, a plurality of upper springs and a plurality of lower springs. The touch pad module is disposed above the base plate. The elastic bracket is disposed between the touch pad module and the base plate and includes a core portion and a plurality of cantilever portions, which is extended from the core portion toward a plurality of corners of the touch pad module. The plurality of upper springs are coupled to the touch pad module and a plurality of upper surfaces of the plurality of cantilever portions respectively. The plurality of lower springs are coupled to the base plate and a plurality of lower surfaces of the plurality of cantilever portions respectively.

Description

Touchpad device

The present disclosure relates to a touch panel device.

Generally speaking, in order to reduce the overall structural space of the touch panel of portable electronic devices (such as notebook computers, etc.), there have been methods in the industry to directly integrate the push switch on the touch circuit board and use the direct push-down touch panel. The design of the trigger is carried out in the form of a board, so as to further omit the configuration of the above-mentioned left and right buttons arranged side by side, so as to facilitate the thin design of the touch-sensitive computer.

However, the traditional design method is to make the fulcrum of the fixed end on the upper side of the touchpad, and the shrapnel and metal reed (Metal Dome) on the lower side, so the place with the best touch experience will be on the lower side, and the uppermost edge is close to the lock. The area with the fixed end fulcrum will be almost impossible to compress. When the operator presses hard on the upper side of the fulcrum of the fixed end, or the triggering state is too close to the fulcrum of the fixed end, the touch circuit board cannot rotate relative to the base plate with the position of the fulcrum of the fixed end as the axis, and the triggering purpose cannot be achieved. As a result, problems such as poor pressing feeling of the user and the inability to trigger the pressing switch of the touch circuit board are caused.

The disclosure provides a touch panel device, which can make the pressing strokes of the entire touch panel roughly consistent, thereby improving the user's pressing feel.

A touch panel device disclosed in the present disclosure includes a base plate, a touch panel module, an elastic support, a plurality of upper elastic pieces and a plurality of lower elastic pieces. The touch panel module is arranged above the base plate. The elastic bracket is arranged between the touch panel module and the base plate and includes a core part and a plurality of cantilever parts. A plurality of cantilever portions respectively extend from the core portion to directions corresponding to a plurality of corners of the touch panel module. The plurality of upper elastic pieces are respectively coupled between the plurality of upper surfaces of the plurality of cantilever portions and the touch panel module. The plurality of lower elastic pieces are respectively coupled between the plurality of lower surfaces of the plurality of cantilever portions and the base plate.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, viewed from a top view, the plurality of upper elastic pieces and the plurality of lower elastic pieces do not overlap with each other.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the plurality of upper elastic pieces are respectively disposed on the plurality of end portions of the plurality of cantilever portions.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the plurality of lower elastic pieces are respectively disposed between the plurality of end portions of the plurality of cantilever portions and the core portion.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the elastic bracket includes an X-shaped elastic piece.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the touch panel module includes a touch circuit board and a transparent cover covering the touch circuit board.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the touch circuit board includes a contact spring disposed at the center of the lower surface of the touch circuit board.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the core part of the elastic support includes A protruding contact boss of the plate module corresponds to the contact spring.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the touch panel module further includes a support frame disposed under the touch circuit board and surrounding a peripheral area of the touch circuit board.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the plurality of upper elastic pieces are respectively locked to the support frame of the touch panel module.

Based on the above, in the touch panel device of the present disclosure, the elastic bracket is arranged between the touch panel module and the bottom plate, and the upper elastic pieces are respectively coupled between the plurality of cantilever portions of the elastic bracket and the touch panel module, And the plurality of lower elastic pieces are respectively coupled between the plurality of cantilever parts and the base plate. With such a configuration, when the user presses the touch panel device with a finger, the upper elastic piece is deformed by the downward pressure, and the downward pressure is respectively transmitted to the elastic bracket, and the lower elastic piece below is deformed. At this time, the lower elastic piece and the The actuation mode similar to the planar four-bar linkage mechanism can be generated between the elastic brackets, and then the elastic brackets are driven down along the entire horizontal plane, so that the force-bearing side and the non-force-bearing side of the entire touch panel device can achieve a linkage effect. Therefore, the touch quality of the touch panel device can be effectively improved.

100: Touchpad device

110: Bottom plate

120:Touchpad module

122: transparent cover

123: The first adhesive layer

124:Touch circuit board

125: Second adhesive layer

126: Support frame

128: contact reed

130: elastic support

132: Core Department

134: Cantilever

136: contact boss

140: Upper shrapnel

150: Lower shrapnel

152: first end

154: second end

160: screw

FIG. 1 is an exploded diagram of components of a touch panel device according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a touch panel device according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is an initial state of a touch panel device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure sectional schematic diagram.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a touch panel device in a pressed state according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a schematic top view of some components of a touch panel device according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a schematic top view of an elastic bracket, an upper elastic piece and a lower elastic piece of a touch panel device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a schematic bottom view of some components of a touch panel device according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

The aforementioned and other technical contents, features and effects of the present disclosure will be clearly presented in the following detailed descriptions of the embodiments with reference to the drawings. The directional terms mentioned in the following embodiments, such as "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", etc., are only referring to the directions of the attached drawings. Accordingly, the directional terms used are for illustration, not for limitation of the present disclosure. Also, in the following embodiments, the same or similar components will be given the same or similar symbols.

FIG. 1 is an exploded diagram of components of a touch panel device according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Referring to FIG. 1 , in some embodiments, the touchpad device 100 may include a bottom plate 110 , a touchpad module 120 , an elastic bracket 130 , a plurality of upper elastic pieces 140 and a plurality of lower elastic pieces 150 . The touch panel device 100 can be applied to portable electronic devices, for example. In one embodiment, the portable electronic device may include, for example, a display, a keyboard, and a touchpad device 100. It should be noted that the portable electronic device can be a notebook computer, a smart phone, a tablet computer, a drawing pad or any portable electronic device that can be operated with a touch panel device. In this embodiment, the portable electronic device can be a notebook computer. In some embodiments, the touch panel device 100 may not only provide the function of a general mouse operation interface, but also serve as an input interface for computer functions, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the touch panel module 120 may include a transparent cover 122 , a touch circuit board 124 and a supporting frame 126 . In this embodiment, the transparent cover 122 can be a glass cover, which covers the touch circuit board 124 . The support frame 126 is disposed under the touch circuit board 124 and surrounds the peripheral area of the touch circuit board 124 .

In one embodiment, the touch panel module 120 may further include a first adhesive layer 123 and a second adhesive layer 125 . The first adhesive layer 123 is disposed between the transparent cover 122 and the touch circuit board 124 to attach the transparent cover 122 to the touch circuit board 124 . The second adhesive layer 125 can be disposed between the touch circuit board 124 and the support frame 126 to attach the touch circuit board 124 to the support frame 126 . In one embodiment, the first adhesive layer 123 can be coated on the transparent cover 122 or the touch circuit board 124 , and then bonded together. In one embodiment, the second adhesive layer 125 can be coated on the support frame 126 along the outline of the support frame 126 , and then the touch circuit board 124 is attached to the support frame 126 . Of course, the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a touch panel device according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a touch panel device in an initial state according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. It should be noted that FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the touch panel device 100 along its long axis. For example, FIG. 3 can be the touch panel device 100 of FIG. A schematic cross-sectional view of line A-A'. Please refer to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 at the same time. In some embodiments, the touchpad module 120 is disposed above the base plate 110 , and the elastic bracket 130 can be disposed between the touch pad module 120 and the base plate 110 . Specifically, the elastic bracket 130 may include a core portion 132 and a plurality of cantilever portions 134, wherein, viewed from a top view, the cantilever portions 134 are respectively extended from the core portion 132 to a plurality of corners corresponding to the touch panel module 120 ( corners) extend in the direction.

For example, the touchpad module 120 of this embodiment can be rectangular as shown in FIG. The cantilever portion 134 radiates from the central core portion 132 to positions corresponding to the four corners of the touch panel module 120 . Thus, in this embodiment, the elastic bracket 130 can be an X-shaped elastic piece as shown in FIG. 1 . In this embodiment, the elastic support 130 can be made of a thin metal plate or a steel strip, so that when the elastic support 130 is bent and deformed under pressure, it rebounds back to the original state by the elastic restoring force of the thin plate.

In some embodiments, a plurality of upper elastic pieces 140 can be respectively coupled between the upper surfaces of the plurality of cantilever portions 134 and the touch panel module 120, and a plurality of lower elastic pieces 150 can be respectively coupled to the plurality of cantilever portions. 134 and the bottom plate 110. In this embodiment, the upper end of the upper elastic piece 140 can be coupled to the upper surface of the cantilever portion 134 by, for example, welding, and the lower end of the upper elastic piece 140 can also be coupled to the lower surface of the touch panel module 120 by welding or the like. surface. Specifically, the upper elastic piece 140 can be coupled to the supporting frame 126 of the touch panel module 120 by means of welding or the like. In this embodiment, the upper end of the lower elastic piece 150 can be coupled to the cantilever portion 134 by, for example, welding. The lower surface of the lower elastic piece 150 is coupled to the upper surface of the bottom plate 110 by, for example, locking with screws 160 . Of course, this embodiment does not limit the coupling manner of the upper elastic piece 140 and the lower elastic piece 150 , and the upper elastic piece 140 and the lower elastic piece 150 can be coupled with other components in various suitable ways.

FIG. 5 is a schematic top view of some components of a touch panel device according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 6 is a schematic top view of an elastic bracket, an upper elastic piece and a lower elastic piece of a touch panel device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 7 is a schematic bottom view of some components of a touch panel device according to an embodiment of the disclosure. It should be noted that, in order to present the components and structures below more clearly, the touch circuit board 124 in the top view of FIG. 5 is presented in a perspective manner. Likewise, the base plate in the bottom view of FIG. 7 is presented in a perspective manner in order to more clearly present the underlying components and structures. Please refer to FIG. 5 to FIG. 7 , in some embodiments, when viewed from the top view, the positions of the upper elastic piece 140 and the lower elastic piece 150 do not overlap with each other. For example, in this embodiment, the lower ends of the upper elastic pieces 140 can be respectively disposed at the ends of the cantilever portion 134 , and the upper ends of the lower elastic pieces 150 can be respectively disposed between the ends of the cantilever portion 134 and the core portion 132 .

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a touch panel device in a pressed state according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Please refer to FIG. 4 and FIG. 6 again. Under such a structural configuration, when the user presses one side of the touch panel module 120 (for example, the right side shown in FIG. 4 ), the upper elastic piece 140 close to the right side respectively Deformation is generated by the downward pressure, and the downward pressure is transmitted to the elastic brackets 130 respectively, and the lower elastic pieces 150 below are deformed. The actuation mode of the four-bar linkage (four-bar linkage) mechanism on the surface further drives the elastic bracket 130 down along the entire horizontal plane, so that the upper elastic piece on the opposite side (for example, the left side shown in Figure 4 ) 140 receives the downward pulling force and simultaneously drives the opposite side (left side) of the touch panel module 120 downward, so that the force-bearing side and the non-force-bearing side of the entire touch panel module 120 can achieve a linkage effect.

Specifically, the lower elastic piece 150 may include a first end 152 coupled to the cantilever portion 134 and a second end 154 coupled to the bottom plate. In this embodiment, the first end 152 can be coupled to the cantilever portion 134 through welding, and the second end 154 can be fixed on the bottom plate through screws 160 , but the disclosure is not limited thereto. In this embodiment, the lower elastic pieces 150 can be L-shaped elastic pieces, and the long sides of the L-shape of each lower elastic piece 150 are all facing the same side (for example, the right side). In other words, the first end 152 of the lower elastic piece 150 on the right is closer to the end of the cantilever portion 134 , and the first end 152 of the lower elastic piece 150 on the left is closer to the core portion 132 . With such a configuration, the lower elastic piece 150 and the elastic bracket 130 can produce a linkage effect similar to a planar four-bar linkage mechanism. Of course, this embodiment is only for illustration. In other embodiments, the L-shaped long sides of each lower elastic piece 150 can also face to the left, or there are other coupling methods so that it can form a plane with the elastic bracket 130 The linkage effect of the four-bar linkage mechanism is sufficient.

Please refer to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 again. In some embodiments, the touch circuit board 124 may further include a contact spring 128 disposed at the center of the lower surface of the touch circuit board 124 . In one embodiment, the contact spring 128 is a metal spring, but not limited thereto. Correspondingly, the core portion 132 of the elastic bracket 130 may also include a contact protrusion 136 protruding toward the touch panel module 120 , which corresponds to the contact spring 128 of the touch circuit board 124 . in this way Under the configuration of this embodiment, due to the configuration similar to the planar four-bar linkage mechanism of this embodiment, the elastic bracket 130 can drive the touch circuit board 124 to move downwards along the horizontal plane as a whole. Therefore, the contact spring 128 of this embodiment can be arranged on the touch The center of the control circuit board 124 is triggered by contacting the contact boss 136 on the elastic support 130 . As above configuration, since the upper and lower sides of the elastic bracket 130 are respectively provided with a plurality of upper elastic pieces 140 and a plurality of lower elastic pieces 150, and the installation positions of the upper elastic pieces 140 and the lower elastic pieces 150 do not overlap with each other from the top view direction (for example, they are respectively arranged at outside and inside of the cantilever portion 134), therefore, regardless of whether the contact point of the touchpad device 100 pressed by the user is located at any position of the touchpad module 120, the lower elastic piece 150 can effectively support the elastic bracket 130 to move downward. The pressure is favorable for the contact spring 128 of the touch circuit board 124 to contact the contact boss 136 of the elastic bracket 130, so that the control quality of the touch panel device 100 can be effectively improved. When the contact reed 128 was in contact with the contact boss 136, the original gap between the contact reed 128 and the contact boss 136 (the gap between the contact reed 128 as shown in Figure 3 and the contact boss 136) disappeared immediately. , and the contact spring 128 is pressed by the contact boss 136 to provide a corresponding signal to the touch circuit board 124 .

To sum up, in the touch panel device of the present disclosure, the elastic bracket is arranged between the touch panel module and the bottom plate, and the upper elastic pieces are respectively coupled to the plurality of cantilever parts of the elastic bracket and the touch panel module. The space, and the plurality of lower elastic pieces are respectively coupled between the plurality of cantilever parts and the bottom plate. With such a configuration, when the user presses the touch panel device with a finger, the upper elastic piece is deformed by the downward pressure, and the downward pressure is respectively transmitted to the elastic bracket, and the lower elastic piece below is deformed. At this time, the lower elastic piece and the An actuation mode similar to a planar four-bar linkage mechanism can be generated between the elastic supports, and then the elastic supports can be moved along the entire horizontal The surface is driven downward, so that both the force-bearing side and the non-force-bearing side of the entire touch panel device can achieve a linkage effect, thus effectively improving the touch quality of the touch panel device.

110: Bottom plate

120:Touchpad module

122: transparent cover

124:Touch circuit board

126: Support frame

128: contact reed

130: elastic support

132: Core Department

134: Cantilever

136: contact boss

140: Upper shrapnel

150: Lower shrapnel

Claims (10)

A touch panel device, comprising: a bottom plate; A touch panel module is arranged on the top of the base plate; An elastic bracket is arranged between the touch panel module and the base plate and includes a core part and a plurality of cantilever parts, wherein the plurality of cantilever parts respectively go from the core part to a plurality of corresponding to the touch panel module direction extension of the corner; A plurality of upper elastic pieces are respectively coupled between a plurality of upper surfaces of the plurality of cantilever portions and the touch panel module; and The plurality of lower elastic pieces are respectively coupled between the plurality of lower surfaces of the plurality of cantilever portions and the bottom plate. The touch panel device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of upper elastic pieces and the plurality of lower elastic pieces do not overlap each other when viewed from a top view. The touch panel device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of upper elastic pieces are respectively disposed on a plurality of ends of the plurality of cantilever portions. The touch panel device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of lower elastic pieces are respectively disposed between the plurality of end portions of the plurality of cantilever portions and the core portion. The touch panel device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the elastic support includes an X-shaped elastic piece. The touch panel device according to claim 1, wherein the touch panel module includes a touch circuit board and a transparent cover covering the touch circuit board. The touch panel device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the touch circuit board includes a contact spring disposed at the center of the lower surface of the touch circuit board. The touchpad device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the core portion of the elastic support includes a contact protrusion protruding toward the touchpad module, which corresponds to the contact spring. The touch panel device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the touch panel module further includes a support frame disposed under the touch circuit board and surrounding a peripheral area of the touch circuit board. The touchpad device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the plurality of upper elastic pieces are respectively coupled to the support frame of the touchpad module.

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