CN113311935A

CN113311935A - Touch pad module and electronic computer with same

Info

Publication number: CN113311935A
Application number: CN202010120631.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 杨维文; 黄大受
Original assignee: Primax Electronics Ltd
Current assignee: Primax Electronics Ltd
Priority date: 2020-02-26
Filing date: 2020-02-26
Publication date: 2021-08-27

Abstract

The present invention provides a touch panel module. The touch panel module includes a carriage, a touch panel assembly and a support assembly. The touch panel assembly is disposed above the carriage and includes a thin film circuit board and is disposed above the thin film circuit board. the circuit board, and the support component is arranged between the second end of the touch panel component and the drag frame, when the first end of the touch panel component is pressed, the first end of the touch panel component can swing relative to the drag frame , and the membrane switch of the membrane circuit board is triggered. In addition, the present invention also provides an electronic computer having the above touch panel module.

Description

Touch pad module and electronic computer with same

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of input devices, and in particular, to an input device with a touch function.

Background

With the development of technology, the electronic devices are greatly developed to bring convenience to human life, and therefore it is an important issue how to make the operations of the electronic devices more humanized. For example, the common electronic devices in daily life include notebook computers, mobile phones, satellite navigation devices …, etc., and their functions are becoming increasingly powerful and complex due to the significant increase in storage capacity and processor performance. In order to operate these electronic devices efficiently, manufacturers of electronic devices use touch pads as input devices to operate these electronic devices.

Please refer to fig. 1, which is a schematic structural diagram of a conventional notebook computer and a touch pad module thereof. The touch pad module 1 is disposed in the housing 21 of the notebook computer 2 and at least partially exposed to allow a user to touch the touch pad module 1 to operate the notebook computer 2, for example, the user can touch the touch pad module 1 with fingers and slide on the touch pad module 1 to move a cursor 23 on a screen 22, or can press the touch pad module 1 to allow the notebook computer 2 to perform a specific function, so that the touch pad module 1 can replace the function of a mouse, and the user does not need to carry or install the mouse additionally, which is inconvenient.

Referring to fig. 2 and fig. 3 simultaneously, fig. 2 is a conceptual diagram of the touch pad module shown in fig. 1 when the touch pad module is not pressed, and fig. 3 is a conceptual diagram of the touch pad module shown in fig. 2 after the touch pad module is pressed. The housing 21 of the notebook computer 2 has an inwardly recessed frame 24, and opposite sides of the frame 24 are respectively provided with a supporting structure 241 and a triggering portion 242 extending into the frame 24, and the first end 11 of the touch pad module 1 is provided with a metal dome switch (dome switch), and the second end 12 of the touch pad module 1 is connected to the supporting structure 241. When the user touches the touch pad module 1, the first end 11 of the touch pad module 1 swings downward relative to the trigger portion 242 with the supporting structure 241 as a fulcrum, so that the metal dome elastic switch 13 of the touch pad module 1 abuts against the trigger portion 242 of the frame 24, and the metal dome elastic switch 13 is triggered to generate a feedback sound of knocking. In addition, when the metal dome elastic switch 13 is triggered, the touch pad module 1 outputs a switch control signal to the notebook computer 2, so that the notebook computer 2 performs a corresponding function, and when the user no longer touches the touch pad module 1, the first end 11 of the touch pad module 1 swings upward relative to the triggering portion 242 due to the elastic force of the supporting structure 241, so that the touch pad module 1 returns to the original position.

However, the conventional touch pad module 1 has a disadvantage in that the touch pad module 1 may cause different positions to have different moving strokes after being touched, thereby causing operational hindrance. Taking fig. 1 as an example, the areas a and B are respectively located at two corners of the touch pad module 1 and are also located at two opposite sides of the first end 11 of the touch pad module 1, when a user touches one of the areas a and B, the difference between the downward movement amplitude of the area a and the downward movement amplitude of the area B is too large, so that the operation feeling is poor, and even the metal dome elastic switch 13 cannot be effectively triggered.

In view of this, the conventional touch panel module is further provided with a balance rod therein for improving the linkage of the touch panel module after being pressed, as disclosed in the chinese patent application with publication number CN108268179, however, the above structure will result in an increase in the number of parts, an increase in assembly complexity, and an ineffective thinning of the overall thickness. Therefore, there is room for improvement in the conventional touch panel module and the electronic computer having the touch panel module.

Disclosure of Invention

An object of the present invention is to provide a touch panel module with a thin film circuit board.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide an electronic computer having the above touch pad module. In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a touch pad module, comprising: a bracket, a touch pad subassembly and a supporting component, the touch pad subassembly sets up in the top of this bracket, includes: the touch control panel comprises a thin film circuit board and a circuit board, wherein the thin film circuit board comprises at least one thin film switch, and the at least one thin film switch is positioned at a first end of the touch control panel component; the circuit board is arranged above the thin film circuit board and is used for outputting a control signal in response to a touch action of a user on the touch pad component; the supporting component is arranged between a second end of the touch pad component and the bracket, and when a first end of the touch pad component is pressed, the first end of the touch pad component can swing relative to the bracket, so that the at least one membrane switch is triggered.

In a preferred embodiment, the touch pad module further comprises a tactile feedback sensor (haptics) disposed between the bracket and the circuit board for generating a tactile feedback when the membrane switch is triggered.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention also provides an electronic computer, comprising: the touch control panel comprises a shell, a processor and a touch control panel module, wherein the shell is provided with an accommodating space which is inwards sunken; the processor is arranged in the shell; the touch pad module is arranged in the accommodating space and electrically connected with the processor, and comprises: the touch control panel assembly is arranged above the bracket, the thin film circuit board comprises at least one thin film switch, and the at least one thin film switch is positioned at a first end of the touch control panel assembly; the circuit board is arranged above the thin film circuit board and is used for outputting a control signal to the processor in response to a touch action of a user on the touch pad component; the supporting component is arranged between a second end of the touch pad component and the bracket, and when a first end of the touch pad component is pressed, the first end of the touch pad component can swing relative to the bracket, so that the at least one membrane switch is triggered.

The advantages and benefits of an embodiment of the invention are:

the touch pad module of the invention adopts the thin film circuit board as a medium for providing a click function, and the thin film circuit board is designed to be respectively provided with the thin film switches at the two opposite sides of the first end of the touch pad component, so that when a user wants to use the click function of the touch pad module, the thin film switches are easy to be effectively triggered no matter where the touch pad module is touched, and the touch pad module is effectively thinned due to the adoption of the design of the thin film circuit board.

Drawings

FIG. 1: is a schematic structural diagram of a conventional notebook computer and a touch pad module thereof.

FIG. 2: is a conceptual diagram of the touch pad module shown in fig. 1 when not pressed.

FIG. 3: is a conceptual diagram of the touch pad module shown in fig. 2 after being pressed.

FIG. 4: the present invention is an appearance structure diagram of the electronic computer and the touch pad module thereof in a preferred embodiment.

FIG. 5: fig. 4 is a schematic view of an appearance structure of a portion of the housing and the touch pad module of the electronic computer at a top view angle.

FIG. 6: fig. 4 is a schematic view of an appearance structure of a portion of the housing and the touch pad module of the electronic computer at a bottom view angle.

FIG. 7: a side view of the trackpad module shown in fig. 5.

FIG. 8: is a schematic exploded perspective view of a portion of the touch pad module shown in fig. 7.

FIG. 9A: is a conceptual diagram of a partial structure of the touch pad module shown in fig. 5 before being pressed.

FIG. 9B: is a conceptual diagram of a partial structure of the touch pad module shown in fig. 5 after being pressed.

FIG. 10: an application diagram of the touch pad module of the present invention in another preferred embodiment is shown.

The reference numerals are explained below:

1 touch control panel module

2 notebook computer

3 touch control panel module

3' touch pad module

4 electronic computer

5 Signal transmission means

6 desktop computer

11 first end of touch pad module

12 second end of touch pad module

13 metal dome elastic switch

14 circuit board

21 outer cover

22 Screen

23 Cursor

24 frame

31 touch pad assembly

32 towing bracket

33 support assembly

34 tactile feedback sensor

35 casing

39 locking element

41 casing

42 Screen

43 processor

44 Cursor

311 first end of touch pad assembly

312 second end of touch pad assembly

313 upper cover plate

314 circuit board

315 colloid

316 thin film circuit board

317 elastic trigger part

321 butting convex part

411 inner wall of the housing

3161 Membrane switch

3162 an upper film

3163 lower film

3164 spacer layer

31621 Upper contact

31631A lower contact

Direction D1

Direction D2

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the invention will be further explained by the following in conjunction with the associated drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts. In the drawings, the shape and thickness may be exaggerated for simplicity and convenience. It is to be understood that elements not specifically shown in the drawings or described in the specification are in a form known to those skilled in the art. Various changes and modifications may be suggested to one skilled in the art in light of this disclosure.

Please refer to fig. 4, which is a schematic diagram of an appearance structure of an electronic computer and a touch pad module thereof according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. The electronic computer 4 is a notebook computer, but not limited thereto, and includes a housing 41, a screen 42, a processor 43, and a touch pad module 3, where the housing 41 has an inward recessed accommodating space for the touch pad module 3 to be disposed therein and electrically connected to the processor 43, and at least a portion of the touch pad module 3 is exposed to the outside for a user to contact to operate the electronic computer 4, for example, the user can move a cursor 44 on the screen 42 by touching the touch pad module 3 with a finger and sliding on the touch pad module 3, or can execute a specific function by clicking (pressing) the touch pad module 3.

Referring to fig. 5 to 7, fig. 5 is an external view structure diagram of a portion of the housing and the touch pad module of the electronic computer shown in fig. 4 at a top view angle, fig. 6 is an external view structure diagram of a portion of the housing and the touch pad module of the electronic computer shown in fig. 4 at a bottom view angle, fig. 7 is a side view of the touch pad module shown in fig. 5, and fig. 8 is an exploded perspective view of a portion of the structure of the touch pad module shown in fig. 7. The touch pad module 3 includes a touch pad assembly 31, a bracket 32 and a supporting member 33, wherein the bracket 32 is disposed below the touch pad assembly 31 and is locked to an inner wall 411 of the housing 41 by a locking member 39 such as a screw, as shown in fig. 6, and the supporting member 33 is disposed between the second end 312 of the touch pad assembly 31 and the bracket 32 for acting as a fulcrum for the first end 311 of the touch pad assembly 31 to swing, that is, when the first end 311 of the touch pad assembly 31 is pressed, the first end 311 of the touch pad assembly 31 can swing in a direction D1 with respect to the bracket 32, as shown in fig. 7.

Furthermore, the touch pad assembly 31 includes, in order from top to bottom, an upper cover plate 313, a circuit board 314 and a thin film circuit board 316, wherein at least a portion of the upper cover plate 313 is exposed outside the housing 41, and the thin film circuit board 316 is electrically connected to the circuit board 314 and includes two thin film switches 3161 respectively located at two opposite sides of the first end 311 of the touch pad assembly 31; the circuit board 314 outputs a corresponding control signal in response to a user's touch action on the touch pad assembly 31, for example, a displacement control signal is output in response to a user's sliding action on the upper cover 313, or a switch control signal is output after the user touches the upper cover 313 to trigger the membrane switch 3161, so that the electronic computer 4 executes a corresponding command. Preferably, but not limited thereto, the upper cover 313 and the circuit board 314 are combined by a glue 315, the upper cover 313 may be a glass cover or a plastic cover, and the glue may be a Pressure Sensitive Adhesive (PSA).

In the preferred embodiment, the film circuit board 316 includes an upper film 3162, a lower film 3163, and a spacer layer 3164 stacked on each other, wherein the lower surface of the upper film 3162 has a first circuit pattern (not shown) having two upper contacts 31621 thereon, and the upper surface of the lower film 3163 has a second circuit pattern (not shown) having two lower contacts 31631 respectively corresponding to the two upper contacts 31621 thereon; each upper contact 31621 has a space with its corresponding lower contact 31631, and forms a membrane switch 3161 together with the corresponding lower contact 31631. The spacer layer 3164 is disposed between the upper film 3162 and the lower film 3163 to provide a space between each upper contact 31621 and its corresponding lower contact 31631. Preferably, but not limited thereto, any one of the upper film 3162, the lower film 3163 and the spacer layer 3164 may be made of a Polycarbonate (PC) material, a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) material, a polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) material, a Polyurethane (PU) material or a Polyimide (PI) material.

Next, the operation of the touch panel assembly 31 will be described. Referring to fig. 9A and 9B simultaneously, fig. 9A is a conceptual diagram of a partial structure of the touch pad module shown in fig. 5 before being touched and pressed, and fig. 9B is a conceptual diagram of a partial structure of the touch pad module shown in fig. 5 after being touched and pressed. When the first end 311 of the touch pad assembly 31 is pressed to swing the first end 311 of the touch pad assembly 31 in the direction D1 with respect to the bracket 32, the lower film 3163 of the film circuit board 22 is pressed against the lower contact 31631 to contact the upper contact 31621 of the upper film 3162, so that the film switch 3161 is turned on and triggered. When the first end 311 of the touch pad assembly 31 is no longer pressed, the first end 311 of the touch pad assembly 31 swings in the direction D2 relative to the carriage 32 in response to the supporting member 33, and the touch pad assembly 31 returns to its original position.

In the preferred embodiment, the touch panel assembly 31 further includes two elastic triggering portions 317 respectively corresponding to the two membrane switches 3161, the two elastic triggering portions are disposed below the lower membrane 3163, and the bracket 32 is also provided with two abutting convex portions 321 respectively corresponding to the two membrane switches 3161, so that the membrane switches 3161 are easily and effectively triggered after the touch panel assembly 31 is pressed, and the service life of the membrane circuit board 316 can be effectively prolonged due to the fact that the elastic triggering portions 317 are made of a soft material.

Preferably, but not limited thereto, the touch pad module 3 further includes a tactile feedback sensor (gestures) 34 disposed between the bracket 33 and the circuit board 314 of the touch pad assembly 31 and electrically connected to the circuit board 314, wherein when the touch pad assembly 31 is pressed to trigger the membrane switch 3161, the circuit board 314 drives the tactile feedback sensor 34 to generate a tactile feedback, for example, drives the tactile feedback sensor 34 to generate a vibration, thereby improving the operation feeling of the user.

In particular, in the touch pad module 3 of the present disclosure, the thin film circuit board 316 is used as a medium for providing a clicking function, and the thin film switches 3161 are respectively disposed on the thin film circuit board 316 on two opposite sides of the first end 311 of the touch pad assembly 31, so that when a user wants to use the clicking function of the touch pad module 3, the thin film switches 3161 are easily and effectively triggered no matter where the touch pad module 3 is touched, and the touch pad module 3 is effectively thinned due to the design of the thin film circuit board 316. However, in the above embodiments, although two membrane switches 3161 are disposed in the membrane circuit board 316 of the touch pad module 3, the number is not limited to the above, and those skilled in the art can make any equivalent design according to the actual application requirements. In addition, since the touch pad module 3 is a modularized device, which is only locked to the housing 41 of the electronic computer 4 by the locking element 39 such as a screw, it is beneficial for the production line personnel to assemble the touch pad module 3 into the electronic computer 4.

In addition, the touch pad module is not limited to be arranged in the electronic computer. Please refer to fig. 10, which is a schematic diagram illustrating an application of a touch pad module according to another preferred embodiment of the invention. The touch pad module 3' shown in fig. 10 is independent of an input device outside the electronic computer, and can be connected to the desktop computer 6 through a signal transmission means 5, such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB). Furthermore, the composition structure of the touch pad module 3 'of the preferred embodiment can adopt the touch pad module 3 described in the above preferred embodiments, but the difference is that the touch pad module 3' further includes a housing 35 which is independent and used for accommodating the touch pad assembly 31, the supporting assembly 33 and the bracket 32.

The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and should not be taken as limiting the claims, so that other equivalent changes and modifications without departing from the spirit of the present invention are intended to be included in the claims.

Claims

1. A trackpad module, comprising:

a towing bracket;

a touch pad assembly disposed above the carriage, comprising:

the thin film circuit board comprises at least one thin film switch, and the at least one thin film switch is positioned at a first end of the touch pad component; and

the circuit board is arranged above the thin film circuit board and is used for outputting a control signal in response to a touch action of a user on the touch pad component; and

and the supporting component is arranged between a second end of the touch control panel component and the bracket, and when a first end of the touch control panel component is pressed, the first end of the touch control panel component can swing relative to the bracket, so that the at least one film switch is triggered.

2. The trackpad module of claim 1, wherein the trackpad module further comprises a haptic feedback sensor disposed between the carriage and the circuit board and configured to generate a haptic feedback in response to the membrane switch being activated.

3. The touch panel module of claim 2, wherein the touch feedback sensor and the thin film circuit board are electrically connected to the circuit board, respectively, and the circuit board drives the touch feedback sensor to generate the touch feedback when the thin film switch is triggered.

4. The trackpad module of claim 1, wherein the thin-film circuit board comprises an upper thin film and a lower thin film, the upper thin film having at least one upper contact, and the lower thin film having at least one lower contact corresponding to the at least one upper contact; wherein, each upper contact and the corresponding lower contact have a space therebetween and together form the membrane switch.

5. The trackpad module of claim 4, wherein the thin-film circuit board further comprises a spacer layer disposed between the upper film and the lower film such that each of the upper contacts has the distance from the corresponding lower contact.

6. The trackpad module of claim 1, wherein the at least one membrane switch comprises two membrane switches, and the two membrane switches are respectively located on opposite sides of the trackpad assembly.

7. The touch panel module of claim 1, wherein the touch panel assembly further comprises at least one elastic trigger portion corresponding to the at least one membrane switch, and the at least one elastic trigger portion is disposed under the membrane circuit board.

8. The trackpad module of claim 1, wherein the bracket is provided with at least one abutting protrusion corresponding to the at least one membrane switch.

9. The touch panel module of claim 1, wherein the control signal is a displacement control signal when the touch behavior is a sliding behavior, and a switch control signal when the touch behavior is a pressing behavior.

10. The trackpad module of claim 1, wherein the trackpad assembly further comprises an upper cover plate disposed above the circuit board and at least partially exposed outside a housing.

11. The trackpad module of claim 10, wherein the top cover is a glass cover or a plastic cover, and the top cover is glued to the circuit board via a glue.

12. The trackpad module of claim 10, wherein the housing is located on an electronic computer or the trackpad module comprises the housing.

13. An electronic computer, comprising:

a shell with an inward concave containing space;

a processor disposed in the housing; and

a touch pad module disposed in the accommodating space and electrically connected to the processor, the touch pad module comprising:

a towing bracket;

a touch pad assembly disposed above the carriage, comprising:

the circuit board is arranged above the thin film circuit board and is used for outputting a control signal to the processor in response to a touch action of a user on the touch pad component; and

14. The computer of claim 13, wherein the touch pad module further comprises a tactile feedback sensor disposed between the bracket and the circuit board and configured to generate a tactile feedback when the membrane switch is triggered.

15. The computer of claim 14, wherein the tactile feedback sensor and the thin film circuit board are electrically connected to the circuit board, respectively, and the circuit board drives the tactile feedback sensor to generate the tactile feedback when the thin film switch is triggered.

16. The electronic computer of claim 13, wherein the thin film circuit board comprises an upper film and a lower film, and the upper film has at least one upper contact and the lower film has at least one lower contact corresponding to the at least one upper contact; wherein, each upper contact and the corresponding lower contact have a space therebetween and together form the membrane switch.

17. The electronic computer of claim 13, wherein the at least one membrane switch comprises two membrane switches, and the two membrane switches are respectively located on two opposite sides of the touch pad assembly.

18. The electronic computer of claim 13, wherein the touch pad assembly further comprises at least one elastic trigger portion corresponding to the at least one membrane switch, and the at least one elastic trigger portion is disposed under the membrane circuit board.

19. The electronic computer as claimed in claim 13, wherein the bracket is provided with at least one abutting protrusion corresponding to the at least one membrane switch.

20. The computer according to claim 13, wherein the control signal is a displacement control signal when the touch behavior is a sliding behavior, and the control signal is a switch control signal when the touch behavior is a touch behavior.