WO2018058299A1

WO2018058299A1 - Flexible touch sensor, electronic device, and method for bonding flexible touch sensor

Info

Publication number: WO2018058299A1
Application number: PCT/CN2016/100323
Authority: WO
Inventors: 周瑜; 包春贵
Original assignee: 深圳市柔宇科技有限公司
Priority date: 2016-09-27
Filing date: 2016-09-27
Publication date: 2018-04-05
Also published as: CN107690610A; CN107690610B

Abstract

A flexible touch sensor (100) comprises a touch function region (10) and a force deformable region (20). The touch function region (10) is provided with an electrode (11) avoiding the force deformable region (20) and used to bear a pressing force to generate a trigger signal. A slot (21) extending through the force deformable region (20) from an upper surface (22) of the force deformable region (20) to a lower surface (23) of the force deformable region (20). The flexible touch sensor (100) can absorb external shock, thereby protecting conductive traces therein from being damaged due to external shock. The flexible touch sensor adapts to a variety of application environments. Also provided are an electronic device (300) and a method for bonding a flexible touch sensor (100).

Description

Flexible touch sensor, electronic device and flexible touch sensor bonding method

Technical field

The present invention relates to the field of electronics, and in particular, to a flexible touch sensor, an electronic device, and a flexible touch sensor.

Background technique

As a data input device, touch sensors are widely used in electronic devices such as smartphones, tablets, and notebook computers. With lighter, thinner, and faster performance requirements for electronic products, rigid touch sensors are increasingly being replaced by flexible touch sensors to meet more attractive touch designs. However, when the existing flexible touch sensor touch sensor is impacted by an external force, the line conductor is easily damaged, and the touch function is disabled. For example, when the flexible sensor is placed in a place where it is required to be bent frequently, if the frequency of bending is relatively high and the force is relatively large, it is easy to cause damage to the internal wire of the flexible sensor in this part during long-term use.

Summary of the invention

The embodiment of the invention provides a flexible sensor to alleviate external impact, so that it can be applied to various application environments.

A flexible touch sensor includes a touch function area and a force deformation area, wherein the touch function area is provided with an electrode that avoids the force deformation area for receiving a touch voltage to generate a trigger signal. The force deformation zone is formed with a through groove that penetrates the top surface and the bottom surface of the force deformation zone.

The through slot of the force deformation zone is close to the electrode of the adjacent touch function area, and the touch action on the through slot is sensed by the electrodes of the adjacent touch function area to generate a trigger signal.

The through groove penetrates one end of the force deformation zone to form an opening of the through groove.

The flexible touch sensor includes a plurality of touch function regions and a plurality of force deformation regions, and the adjacent two touch function regions have a force deformation region.

Wherein, the through groove is U-shaped.

The touch function area of the flexible touch sensor includes a free end near the opening and a fixed end away from the opening, and the fixed ends of the adjacent touch function areas are connected to each other.

Wherein, the width of the through groove gradually decreases in a direction toward the opening.

Among them, adjacent touch functional areas gradually approach in a direction toward the free end.

The number of the through slots is plural, and the through slots are arranged at intervals in the force deformation zone.

The two sides of the through slot are provided with electrodes, and the spacing between the through slot and the one side electrode is smaller than the distance between the through slot and the other side electrode.

The present invention provides an electronic device including a carrier, a controller, and the above-described flexible touch sensor. The flexible touch sensor is disposed on the carrier for receiving a touch voltage to generate a trigger signal, and the controller is connected. The flexible touch sensor receives the trigger signal.

A method for fitting a flexible touch sensor, comprising:

Providing a carrier comprising a three-dimensional surface;

The flexible touch sensor is attached to the three-dimensional curved surface of the carrier, wherein the adjacent touch function regions are gradually approached along the contraction direction of the three-dimensional curved surface.

The flexible touch sensor of the present invention includes a touch function area and a force deformation area, and the touch function area is provided with an electrode that avoids the force deformation area for receiving a touch voltage to generate a trigger signal, and the force is applied. The deformation zone is formed with a through groove that penetrates the top surface and the bottom surface of the force deformation zone. The through slot increases the flexibility of the flexible touch sensor, alleviates the external force impact, and the electrode inside the flexible touch sensor can be prevented from being damaged due to an external force impact because the electrode avoids the force deformation zone. phenomenon. Therefore, the flexible touch sensor of the present invention can be applied to various application environments.

DRAWINGS

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings to be used in the embodiments will be briefly described below. It is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can also obtain other drawings based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

1 is a partial schematic view of a flexible touch sensor according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of Figure 1.

3 is a schematic diagram of a flexible sensor according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a schematic diagram of an application of a flexible sensor attached to a hemisphere according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a partial schematic view of a flexible touch sensor according to another embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is another partial schematic diagram of a flexible sensor according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

detailed description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , a first embodiment of the present invention provides a flexible touch sensor 100 . The flexible touch sensor 100 includes a touch function area 10 and a force deformation area 20 . The touch function area 10 is provided with an electrode 11 that avoids the force deformation zone 20 for receiving a touch voltage to generate a trigger signal. The force deformation zone 20 is formed with a through groove 21 . The through groove 21 penetrates the top surface 22 and the bottom surface 23 of the force deformation zone 20 .

In the embodiment, the force deformation zone 20 is formed with a through groove 21 . The through groove 21 penetrates the top surface 22 and the bottom surface 23 of the force deformation zone 20 . The through slot 21 increases the flexibility of the flexible touch sensor 100, reduces the area of the external touch impact on the flexible touch sensor 100, and changes the deformation position caused by the external force impact, thereby alleviating the external force impact. Moreover, since the position of the electrode 11 avoids the force deformation zone 20, it is possible to prevent the wire line inside the flexible touch sensor 100 from being damaged due to an external force impact. Therefore, the flexible touch sensor 100 of the present invention can be applied to a variety of application environments.

Further, the through slot 21 of the force deformation zone 20 is close to the electrode 11 of the adjacent touch function area 10, and the touch action acting on the through slot 21 is sensed by the electrode 11 of the adjacent touch function area 10 Generate a trigger signal.

The electrode 11 of the touch function area 10 also forms a virtual touch area with the through slot 21 to generate a trigger signal when the virtual touch area is touched. It should be noted that the through slot 21 is formed by hollowing out the force deformation zone 20, and the flexible touch sensor 100 is blocked. The through slot 21 is a touch dead zone. The flexible touch sensor 100 is prevented from being affected by the partition, and the touch effect acting on the through groove 21 is simulated by the electrode 11 located at the periphery of the through groove 21. The area of the through groove is small, and when the position of the through groove 21 is touched, the electrode 11 around the through groove 21 is inevitably touched, so that the peripheral electrode 11 can generate a trigger signal by calculating a trigger signal. Position, the touch behavior at the position of the through slot 21 can be identified, and the trigger signal is the through slot The trigger signal at the 21 position solves the problem of the touch dead zone, so that the performance of the flexible touch sensor is not affected by the partition.

In this embodiment, the touch function area 10 is located on both sides of the force deformation zone 20 . The through groove 21 penetrates one end of the force deformation zone 20 to form an opening of the through groove 21.

Please continue to refer to FIG. 3 . Further, the flexible touch sensor 100 includes a plurality of touch function areas 10 and a plurality of force deformation zones 20 , and a force deformation between the two adjacent touch function areas 10 . District 20.

It should be noted that the through slot 21 penetrates one end of the force deformation region 20 such that one end of the opening of the flexible touch sensor 100 corresponding to the through slot 21 forms a free edge. The left and right movement of the free edge can change the width of the opening of the through groove 21. Thus, the flexible touch sensor 100 can be applied not only to a planar or two-dimensional curved surface but also to a three-dimensional curved surface. For example, the flexible touch sensor 100 can be attached to the hemispherical surface 101. The through grooves 21 of the flexible touch sensor 100 are changed in shape according to the curved surface of the fit, so that each touch function area 10 can closely fit the hemispherical surface 101 (refer to FIG. 4). The width of the through slot 21 of the flexible touch sensor 100 gradually decreases from the closed end to the open end, so that the adjacent touch functional areas 10 gradually approach each other in a direction toward the free edge. The opposite sides of the through groove 21 are provided with electrodes, and the distance between the through groove 21 and the one side electrode 11 is smaller than the distance between the through groove 21 and the other side electrode 11. It can be understood that the two-dimensional curved surface referred to in the present invention refers to a curved surface that is curved in a single direction, and the three-dimensional curved surface refers to a curved surface that is curved in two or more directions.

In particular, the present invention also provides a method for bonding a flexible touch sensor, including:

Providing a carrier comprising a three-dimensional surface;

The flexible touch sensor is attached to the three-dimensional curved surface of the carrier, wherein the adjacent touch function regions 10 are gradually approached along the contraction direction of the three-dimensional curved surface.

When the three-dimensional surface is the hemispherical surface 101, the contraction direction of the three-dimensional curved surface is the top of the hemispherical surface, and the adjacent touch functional area 10 gradually approaches toward the top of the hemispherical surface 101.

In this embodiment, the number of the through slots 21 is one. The through slot 21 is U-shaped. In other embodiments, the number of the through slots 21 can also be adjusted according to actual needs, such as the number of the through slots 21 being multiple. The plurality of through grooves 21 may be spaced apart from each other in the force deformation zone 20. (Refer to FIG. 5), the through groove 21 may have other shapes according to actual needs. The through groove 21 may not penetrate one end of the force deformation zone 20 .

Referring to FIG. 6 , the touch function area 10 of the flexible touch sensor 100 includes a free end near the opening and a fixed end away from the opening, and the fixed ends of the adjacent touch function areas 10 are connected to each other. In the present embodiment, the width of the through groove 21 gradually decreases in a direction toward the opening. Adjacent touch functional areas 10 are gradually approached in a direction toward the free end.

It should be noted that when the carrier to which the flexible touch sensor 100 is attached is a deformed curved surface, the non-linear shape of the free edge of the flexible touch sensor 100 can ensure consistency with the deformed curved surface of the carrier.

Referring to FIG. 7, a second aspect of the present invention provides an electronic device 300. The electronic device 300 includes a carrier, a flexible touch sensor, and a controller 310. The flexible touch sensor is disposed on the carrier for receiving a touch voltage to generate a trigger signal. The controller 310 is further connected to the flexible touch sensor to receive the trigger signal. The flexible touch sensor is the flexible touch sensor 100 provided by the first embodiment of the present invention. Since the flexible touch sensor 100 has been described in detail in the above first embodiment, it will not be described herein.

In the embodiment, the electronic device 300 includes the flexible touch sensor 100. In the flexible touch sensor 100, the force deformation zone 20 is formed with a through groove 21. The through groove 21 penetrates the top surface 22 and the bottom surface 23 of the force deformation zone 20 . The through slot 21 increases the flexibility of the flexible touch sensor 100, reduces the area of the external touch impact on the flexible touch sensor 100, and changes the deformation position caused by the external force impact, thereby alleviating the external force impact. Moreover, since the position of the electrode 11 avoids the force deformation zone 20, it is possible to prevent the wire line inside the flexible touch sensor 100 from being damaged due to an external force impact. Therefore, the device 300 has an ability to withstand external impact.

It will be appreciated that the input device body 30 of the present invention may also be replaced with a flexible display for use as a rollable display. In addition, the flexible display can also be used with the input device body for more functions.

The above is a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and it should be noted that those skilled in the art can also make several improvements and retouchings without departing from the principles of the present invention. It is the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

A flexible touch sensor includes a touch function area and a force deformation area, wherein the touch function area is provided with an electrode that avoids the force deformation area, and is used for receiving a touch voltage to generate a trigger signal. The force deformation zone is formed with a through groove, and the through groove penetrates the top surface and the bottom surface of the force deformation zone.
The flexible touch sensor of claim 1 , wherein the through groove of the force deformation zone is close to the electrode of the adjacent touch function area, and the electrode sensing function of the adjacent touch function area is A touch action on the slot to generate a trigger signal.
The flexible touch sensor according to claim 1, wherein the through groove penetrates one end of the force deformation zone to form an opening of the through groove.
The flexible touch sensor of claim 3, wherein the flexible touch sensor comprises a plurality of touch function areas and a plurality of force deformation zones, and one of the adjacent two touch function areas has a Force deformation zone.
The flexible touch sensor of claim 3, wherein the through groove is U-shaped.
The flexible touch sensor of claim 3, wherein the touch function area of the flexible touch sensor comprises a free end near the opening and a fixed end away from the opening, and the fixed ends of the adjacent touch function areas are mutually connection.
The flexible touch sensor of claim 6 wherein the width of the through slot tapers in a direction toward the opening.
The flexible touch sensor of claim 6 wherein adjacent touch functional areas are progressively closer along a direction toward the free end.
The flexible touch sensor according to claim 1, wherein the number of the through grooves is plural, and the through grooves are spaced apart from each other in the force deformation region.
The flexible touch sensor of claim 1 , wherein the two sides of the through slot are provided with electrodes, and the spacing between the through slot and the one side electrode is smaller than the distance between the through slot and the other side electrode.
An electronic device includes a carrier, a controller, and a flexible touch sensor according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the flexible touch sensor is disposed on the carrier for receiving a touch voltage to generate a trigger signal. The controller is coupled to the flexible touch sensor to receive the trigger signal.
A method for attaching a flexible touch sensor according to any one of claims 1 to 10, comprising:

Providing a carrier comprising a three-dimensional surface;

The flexible touch sensor is attached to the three-dimensional curved surface of the carrier, wherein the adjacent touch function regions are gradually approached along the contraction direction of the three-dimensional curved surface.