TWI815398B - Micro touch panel device - Google Patents

Abstract

A micro-touch panel device includes a stacked circuit board unit, a light shielding frame plate, an optical film unit, a plurality of light shielding sheets and an operation panel unit, and a plurality of LEDs arranged on the circuit board unit. The light-shielding frame plate defines a hollow area surrounding the micro-touch button of the circuit board unit. The LEDs and the optical film unit are located in the hollow area, and the light shielding sheets are respectively shielded on the front sides of the LEDs. The optical film unit can guide and diffuse the light generated by the LEDs forward toward the operation panel unit. . Through the above structural design, the LEDs can be prevented from showing bright spots with uneven brightness on the operation panel unit, and all the buttons of the operation panel unit can have uniform brightness, which can improve the uneven brightness of the buttons in the previous technology. And the problem of halo caused by excessive brightness.

Description

Micro touch panel device

The present invention relates to an input device, in particular to a micro-touch panel device.

Micro-touch panel device is an input device that is different from traditional key input panels and touch panels. It has the thin structure and flat operating surface appearance of a touch panel, but it can provide a pressing feel similar to traditional buttons. . The current micro-touch panel device generally includes a circuit board provided with a button circuit, a plurality of LEDs provided on the circuit board, and an operation panel stacked on the front side of the circuit board. The operation panel has multiple The light generated by these LEDs shines forward and displays key areas with specific symbols. Each key area can be pressed to trigger the corresponding key circuit. Some micro-touch panel devices also have multiple micro-touch buttons between the key circuits on the circuit board and the key areas. Each micro-touch button can be pressed by the corresponding key area to touch the corresponding button. circuit.

Although this kind of micro-touch panel device can make use of the light emitted from the key areas to facilitate users to view operations in a dark environment, because the LEDs are usually designed to emit light forward toward the operation panel, it is easy to make the Some areas of the operation panel are brighter, and the brightness of the key areas is uneven. And because the light generated by the LEDs is usually reflected in the layered space between the circuit board and the operation panel, it is then transmitted forward through the key areas of the operation panel, so over-brightness of the key areas often occurs. The halo problem will not only make the indicator symbols on the key area unclear, but also cause glare and discomfort when used at night.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a micro-touch panel device that can improve at least one shortcoming of the prior art.

Therefore, the micro-touch panel device of the present invention includes a circuit board unit stacked front and back, a light-shielding frame plate made of opaque material, an optical film unit, a plurality of light-shielding sheets made of opaque material, and an operation panel unit. and a plurality of electrical connections provided to the LEDs of the circuit board unit. Wherein, the circuit board unit has a plurality of micro-touch buttons that can be touched backward. The light-shielding frame plate is stacked on the front side of the circuit board unit and defines a hollow area that surrounds the micro-touch buttons. The LEDs protrude forward into the hollow area and can be controlled to emit light. The optical film unit is disposed in the hollow area and can be used to guide and diffuse the light generated by the LEDs forward toward the operation panel unit. The light shielding sheets are arranged on the light shielding frame plate, and respectively cover and shield the front sides of the LEDs. The operation panel unit covers the optical film unit and the light-shielding sheets and is laminated and fixed on the front side of the light-shielding frame plate. It has a plurality of micro-touch buttons corresponding to the corresponding ones, and can allow the light from the optical film unit to pass forward. There are key parts, and each key part can be pressed to touch the corresponding micro-touch key.

The effect of the present invention is that through the above structural design, the LEDs can be prevented from showing bright spots of uneven brightness on the operation panel unit, and all the key parts can have uniform brightness, which can improve the key parts of the previous technology. Uneven brightness and halo problems caused by over-brightness.

Before the present invention is described in detail, it must be noted that the components in this case are stacked in layers. The thickness of the components shown in the drawings is only for illustration, and the implementation is not limited to the dimensions shown in the drawings.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, an embodiment of the micro-touch panel device 200 of the present invention is suitable for being electrically connected to an electronic device (not shown) and can be operated to input control instructions to the electronic device. The electronic device may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic lock. The micro-touch panel device 200 includes a circuit board unit 3, a light-shielding frame plate 5, an optical film unit 6, a plurality of light-shielding sheets 7 and an operation panel unit 8 that are stacked back and forth, and a plurality of electrical connections are provided on the LED 4 of circuit board unit 3.

Referring to Figures 2, 3, and 4, the circuit board unit 3 includes a circuit board 31 with a plurality of key circuits 310 disposed on the front side, and a plurality of micro-touch contacts disposed on the front side of the circuit board 31 and respectively corresponding to the key circuits 310. micro-touch buttons 32, and a fixed plate module 33 that is stacked on the front side of the circuit board 31 and positions the micro-touch buttons 32 on the circuit board 31. In this embodiment, the key circuits 310 are arranged in a 3X4 matrix, but the implementation is not limited to this.

Each micro-touch button 32 has a sheet-shaped conductive portion 321 and a plurality of elastic feet 322 extending outwardly and obliquely backward from the periphery of the conductive portion 321 . The elastic legs 322 of the micro-touch button 32 lean back against the front side of the circuit board 31 so that the conductive portion 321 is spaced on the front side of the corresponding button circuit 310 . When the micro-touch button 32 is pressed backward, the elastic feet 322 will be elastically deformed by force, so that the conductive part 321 moves backward and electrically connects and activates the corresponding button circuit 310, so that the circuit board 31 Generate corresponding signals. Since there are many types of micro-touch buttons 32 , the implementation is not limited to the above structure.

The LEDs 4 are electrically connected and protruded on the front side of the circuit board 31 near the periphery, and are distributed around the key circuits 310 . In this embodiment, some of the LEDs 4 are located above the key circuits 310, and the remaining LEDs 4 are distributed on the left and right sides of the key circuits 310, and the LEDs 4 located on the left and right sides of the key circuits 310 are in a rectangular shape. The left, right, and bottom are arranged in a staggered manner, and correspond to the key circuits 310 of one column respectively. The LEDs 4 are side-emitting, and each LED 4 on the left and right sides will emit sidelights toward the key circuits 310 in the corresponding row.

The fixed board module 33 is disposed on the front side of the circuit board 31 to cover and position the micro-touch buttons 32 , and has a plurality of through holes 330 that penetrate front and rear for the LEDs 4 to pass forward. The fixed plate module 33 includes a limiting frame plate 333 stacked on the front side of the circuit board 31 , and a fixed shutter 335 stacked on the front side of the limiting frame plate 333 . The limiting frame plate 333 has a plurality of limiting holes 334 that penetrate from front to back and are exposed for the micro-touch buttons 32 to be embedded. The limiting holes 334 can be used to separate and limit the micro-touch buttons 32 . on the circuit board 31. The fixed shield 335 covers and shields the limiting holes 334 , and can be elastically pressed backward to deform, thereby pressing and touching the micro-touch buttons 32 . Each through hole 330 has a rear hole section 331 that penetrates the limiting frame plate 333 , and a front hole section 332 that penetrates the fixed cover 335 .

The light shielding frame plate 5 is stacked and fixed on the front side of the fixed shielding plate 335, and has two hollow areas 50 that penetrate front and back and are spaced up and down. The hollow area 50 below is larger than the hollow area 50 above. The upper hollow area 50 is for the LEDs 4 located above the key circuits 310 to protrude forward, and the lower hollow area 50 is arranged in front of the micro-touch buttons 32 relative to the frame, that is, Its periphery is relatively surrounding the outside of the micro-touch buttons 32, and allows the LEDs 4 located on the left and right sides of the button circuits 310 to protrude forward and be inserted. The light-shielding frame plate 5 is made of an opaque material, which prevents the light from the LEDs 4 enclosed by the frame from leaking out in the up, down, left, and right directions. In this embodiment, the light-shielding frame plate 5 is a black PET (polyethylene terephthalate) sheet with a thickness of 300±5 μm. However, during implementation, the material and color of the light-shielding frame plate 5 are not limited to this, as long as it can block light.

The optical film units 6 are respectively embedded in the hollow areas 50 , and the optical film units 6 located in the upper hollow areas 50 are located between the left and right opposite sides of the corresponding two LEDs 4 . The optical film unit 6 located in the hollow area 50 below is relatively located in front of the micro-touch buttons 32 and is between the left and right opposite sides of the corresponding LEDs 4 . The optical film units 6 will have their peripheral edges facing the light-emitting side of the corresponding LEDs 4, and can be used to guide the light generated laterally by the corresponding LEDs 4 forward and diffuse it evenly.

In this embodiment, each optical film unit 6 includes a light guide film 61 and a diffusion film 62 laminated back and forth. The light guide film 61 can guide the light corresponding to the LEDs 4 forward to the diffusion film 62, and the diffusion film 62 can diffuse the light from the light guide film 61 forward and emit evenly. During implementation, since there are many types of the light guide film 61 and the diffusion film 62 and are not the object of improvement of the present invention, they will not be described in detail.

The light-shielding sheets 7 are made of opaque materials, are disposed between the light-shielding frame plate 5 and the front sides of the optical film units 6, and cover and shield the front sides of the LEDs 4 respectively, and can be used to block the LEDs 4. LED 4 scatters light forward. In this embodiment, the light shielding sheets 7 are also black PET (polyethylene terephthalate) sheets with a thickness of 35±5 μm. However, during implementation, the material and color of the light-shielding sheets 7 are not limited to this, as long as they can block light.

Referring to Figures 1, 2, and 5, the operation panel unit 8 has a plurality of key portions 810 corresponding to the front sides of the micro-touch keys 32. Each key portion 810 can be pressed to drive the optical film unit 6 and The fixed plate module 33 touches the corresponding micro-touch button 32 backward, so that the micro-touch button 32 is electrically connected to activate the corresponding button circuit 310 .

The operation panel unit 8 includes a panel 81 and a key panel 82 stacked front and back. The key plate 82 is made of opaque material and is stacked on the front side of the light-shielding frame plate 5 and the optical film units 6 . It has a plurality of front and rear penetrations and is respectively between the micro-touch keys 32 and the key portions 810 There are operation holes 820 in between, and a plurality of embedding holes 821 that penetrate front and back and are respectively used for the light-shielding sheets 7 to be embedded.

The panel 81 has a light-transmitting plate layer 811 that can transmit light, and an opaque light-shielding paint layer 812 coated on the rear side of the light-transmitting plate layer 811 . The light-shielding paint layer 812 surrounds the rear side of the light-transmitting plate layer 811 to define a plurality of indicator symbol areas 813 that allow light to penetrate forward, and cooperates with the light-transmissive plate layer 811 to define areas covering the indicator symbols respectively. The key portions 810 of area 813. The indicator symbol areas 813 present different indicator symbol shapes, and the indicator symbols may be numbers, English letters or other symbols.

Referring to Figures 1, 2, and 4, when the micro-touch panel device 200 of the present invention is installed on an electronic device, it can connect the required power from the electronic device. When the LEDs 4 are controlled to emit light, the LEDs 4 emit light sideways toward the periphery of the optical film units 6. Each optical film unit 6 uses the light guide film 61 to guide the light from the corresponding LED 4. The light is directed forward to the diffusion film 62 , and then diffused through the diffusion film 62 before being evenly directed forward to the operation panel unit 8 . The light will penetrate forward from the operation holes 820 to the key portions 810, and then penetrate and emit forward through the indicator symbol areas 813, so that each key portion 810 displays a luminous indicator symbol.

When the user presses one of the button portions 810, the button portion 810 will elastically deform backward toward the corresponding operation hole 820, thereby forcing the optical film unit 6 and the fixed plate module 33 to elastically deform backward, and the elastic top will Pushing the corresponding micro-touch button 32 causes the micro-touch button 32 to elastically deform and electrically connect to the corresponding button circuit 310, causing the circuit board 31 to generate a corresponding signal.

To sum up, through the above structural design, the light shielding sheets 7 can be used to block the forward scattered light of the LED 4, so that the light of the LED 4 cannot directly forward to the operation panel unit 8, so this can be avoided. The LED 4 presents bright spots with uneven brightness on the operation panel unit 8 . Furthermore, the design of the optical film units 6 will uniformly diffuse the light of the LEDs 4 forward towards the operation panel unit 8, so that the light of the LEDs can evenly transmit the instructions of the button portions 810. Symbol area 813, and all key portions 810 will have uniform brightness, which can improve the problem of uneven brightness in the previous technology that some key portions 810 are too bright, and the problem of halo that affects viewing, and thus can relatively improve the overall The quality of the micro-touch panel device 200. Therefore, the purpose of the present invention can indeed be achieved.

However, the above are only examples of the present invention. They cannot be used to limit the scope of the present invention. All simple equivalent changes and modifications made based on the patent scope of the present invention and the contents of the patent specification are still within the scope of the present invention. within the scope covered by the patent of this invention.

200:Micro touch panel device

3: Circuit board unit

31:Circuit board

310:Button circuit

32:Micro touch button

321: Conductive Department

322: Elastic feet

33: Fixed plate module

330:Perforation

331: Back hole section

332: Front hole section

333: Limiting frame plate

334: Limit hole

335: Fixed shutter

4:LED

5: Shading frame plate

50: Hollow area

6: Optical film unit

61:Light guide film

62: Diffusion film

7: Shading film

8: Operation panel unit

81:Panel

810:Button department

811: Translucent plate layer

812:Light-blocking paint layer

813: Indicator area

82:Keyboard

820: Operation hole

821: Embedded hole

Other features and effects of the present invention will be clearly presented in the embodiments with reference to the drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of the micro-touch panel device of the present invention; Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the structure of this embodiment; Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the structure of a circuit board unit in this embodiment; Figure 4 is an incomplete bottom cross-sectional view illustrating the structure of the embodiment; and Figure 5 is a rear view illustrating a panel structure of this embodiment.

200:Micro touch panel device

3: Circuit board unit

31:Circuit board

32:Micro touch button

33: Fixed plate module

330:Perforation

334: Limit hole

335: Fixed shutter

4:LED

5: Shading frame plate

50: Hollow area

6: Optical film unit

7: Shading film

8: Operation panel unit

81:Panel

810:Button department

811: Translucent plate layer

82:Keyboard

820: Operation hole

821: Embedded hole

Claims (8)

A micro-touch panel device includes a circuit board unit stacked front and back, a light-shielding frame plate made of opaque material, an optical film unit, a plurality of light-shielding sheets made of opaque material, an operation panel unit, and a plurality of Electrically connected to the LED provided on the circuit board unit, wherein: the circuit board unit has a plurality of micro-touch buttons that can be touched backwards, and the light-shielding frame plate is stacked on the front side of the circuit board unit and defines a relative A hollow area surrounding the micro-touch buttons is framed. The LEDs protrude forward into the hollow area and can be controlled to emit light. The optical film unit is disposed in the hollow area and can be used to generate light from the LEDs. The light is directed forward and diffused towards the operation panel unit. The light shielding sheets are arranged on the light shielding frame plate and cover and shield the front sides of the LEDs respectively. The operation panel unit covers the optical film unit and is stacked with the light shielding sheets. Fixed on the front side of the light-shielding frame plate, there are a plurality of button portions respectively corresponding to the micro-touch buttons and allowing the light from the optical film unit to transmit forward. Each button portion can be pressed to touch the corresponding micro-touch button. Micro-touch buttons. The micro-touch panel device according to claim 1, wherein the LEDs are distributed on the peripheral side of the optical film unit and can emit light toward the peripheral side of the optical film unit. The micro-touch panel device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the optical film unit has a light guide for guiding the light from the film, and a diffusion film laminated on the front side of the light guide film and used to uniformly diffuse the light passing through the light guide film forward. The micro-touch panel device according to claim 2, wherein the light-shielding sheets are fixed across the front side of the optical film unit and the light-shielding frame plate. The micro-touch panel device according to claim 1, wherein the operation panel unit includes a panel defining the key portions, and a key plate of opaque material laminated on the rear side of the panel. The board has a plurality of operation holes that penetrate from front to back and are located between the hollow area and the key parts, and a plurality of embedded holes that penetrate from front to back and are respectively used for inserting the light shielding sheets. Each key part can be pressed to operate. After elastic deformation, the corresponding operating hole is inserted, and the corresponding micro-touch button is touched. The micro-touch panel device according to claim 5, wherein the panel has a light-transmitting plate layer of light-transmitting material and a light-shielding paint layer of opaque material laminated back and forth, and the light-shielding paint layer is on the light-transmitting material. A plurality of light-transmissive indicator symbol areas respectively corresponding to the operation holes are defined around the rear side of the plate layer, and the key portions respectively having the indicator symbol areas are defined in cooperation with the light-transmissive plate layer. The micro-touch panel device according to claim 1, wherein the circuit board unit further includes a circuit board and a fixed plate module stacked front and back, and a plurality of key circuits are provided on the front side of the circuit board, such as the micro-touch panel device. The buttons are arranged on the front side of the circuit board and correspond to the button circuits respectively. Each micro-touch button can be touched and electrically connected to the corresponding button circuit. The fixed plate module is stacked on the front side of the circuit board, and The micro-touch buttons are positioned on the circuit board, and are provided with a plurality of respective The LEDs pass forward through the exposed through holes. The micro-touch panel device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the fixed plate module includes a limiting frame plate and a fixed shutter laminated front and back, and the limiting frame plate is laminated and fixed on the front side of the circuit board and has multiple There are limit holes that pass through the front and back and are used for the micro-touch buttons to be embedded and limited respectively. The fixed shutters are stacked on the front side of the limit frame plate and cover the limit holes. Each through hole has One is penetrated through the rear hole section of the limiting frame plate, and the other is penetrated through the front hole section of the fixed shutter.