TWI861949B - Multi-keyswitch light guide and backlight module - Google Patents

Abstract

A multi-keyswitch light guide is applied to a backlight module and includes a first light guiding body, a second light guiding body and a bridging portion. The second light guiding body is adjacent to and spaced from the first light guiding body. The bridging portion has a first section and a second section bent to each other. The first section is connected between the first light guiding body and the second section. The second section is connected between the second light guiding body and the first section.

Description

Multi-key light guide plate and backlight module

The present invention provides a multi-key light guide plate and a backlight module thereof, in particular, a multi-key light guide plate and a backlight module thereof that can effectively isolate light leakage and are easy to assemble.

With the advancement of technology, computer equipment will design a touch module composed of multiple operation keys in the input interface. Please refer to Figure 7, which is a schematic diagram of the light guide unit 70 and the light emitting unit 72 of the prior art. In order to prevent interference and light leakage between multiple operation keys, the traditional input interface will design the light guide plate of the backlight module into multiple light guide units 70, each of which is set under the corresponding operation key and next to the corresponding light emitting unit 72; that is, the number of operation keys corresponds to the number of light guide units 70 and the number of light emitting units 72. The key row of the traditional input interface will arrange multiple operation keys, which requires multiple independent light guide units 70; however, the multiple light guide units 70 are small in size and are spaced apart from each other. They need to be installed separately and pay attention to whether the corresponding light-emitting units 72 are correctly aligned and the spacing between adjacent light guide units 70 reaches a predetermined distance. Assembly is difficult, so how to design a light guide sheet that can be easily assembled and can be applied to multiple operation keys arranged in a strip is one of the development goals of the relevant mechanism design industry.

The present invention provides a multi-key light guide plate and its backlight module that can effectively isolate light leakage and is easy to assemble, so as to solve the above-mentioned problems.

The scope of the patent application of the present invention discloses a multi-key light guide sheet, which includes a first light guide body, a second light guide body and a bridge portion. The second light guide body is adjacent to and separated from the first light guide body. The bridge portion has a first section and a second section that are bent relative to each other. The first section is connected between the first light guide body and the second section, and the second section is connected between the second light guide body and the first section.

The patent application scope of the present invention further discloses that the first section is connected to the first light guide body in a relative bending manner, and the second section is also connected to the second light guide body in a relative bending manner. Alternatively, the connection between the first section and the second section presents an arc structure or an angle structure. Alternatively, the first section is a straight line section or a bent section.

The patent application scope of the present invention further discloses that the first section extends into a gap between the first light guide body and the second light guide body, or is located outside the gap. The multi-key light guide sheet further includes a light absorbing element disposed in a gap between the first light guide body and the second light guide body.

The patent application scope of the present invention further discloses that the bridge portion has an upper surface and a lower surface opposite to each other, and the multi-key light guide sheet further includes a plurality of dots disposed on at least one of the upper surface and the lower surface. The plurality of dots are further disposed on the first light guide body and the second light guide body. The bridge portion is made of the same material as the first light guide body and the second light guide body and is manufactured in an integral molding manner.

The patent application scope of the present invention further discloses a backlight module, including a multi-key light guide plate and a light-emitting element. The multi-key light guide plate includes a first light guide body, a second light guide body and a bridge portion. The second light guide body is adjacent to and separated from the first light guide body. The bridge portion has a first section and a second section that are bent relative to each other. The first section is connected between the first light guide body and the second section, and the second section is connected between the second light guide body and the first section.

The patent application scope of the present invention further discloses that the backlight module further comprises a shading element, which is disposed on an upper surface and/or a lower surface of the multi-key light guide sheet, and a light absorbing coating is disposed on a surface of the shading element facing the multi-key light guide sheet. A hydrogel layer is further coated on the surface of the shading element facing the multi-key light guide sheet.

The backlight module of the present invention is designed to be a multi-key light guide plate having a plurality of light guide bodies and a bridge portion. The plurality of light guide bodies are adjacent to each other and have intervals therebetween, and the bridge portion is connected to the adjacent light guide bodies so that the multi-key light guide plate can be easily assembled. The light guide body can be designed into a rectangular structure, a diamond structure, a circular structure, a polygonal structure, and the like. The bridge portion can be designed into a variety of styles, such as a C-shaped structure, an S-shaped structure, a W-shaped structure, an M-shaped structure, or a concave-convex structure. The bridge portion is further divided into a plurality of relatively bent sections, and the bridge portion is connected to the light guide body in a relatively bent manner. Therefore, the multi-key light guide plate is designed with a circuitous bridge portion between adjacent light guide bodies, with a width of approximately 0.1 mm to 2 mm, which can effectively increase the number of reflections and absorptions during light transmission to prevent light from being transmitted to other light guide bodies, achieving the design goal of no light leakage.

10: Input device

12: Backlight module

14: Input interface

141:Symbol

16: Circuit board

18: Light-emitting element

20,20’,20A,20B,20C: Light guide sheet

22: Network area

24: Reflective layer

26: Shielding layer

261: Translucent area

262: Shade area

28: First light guide body

30: Second light guide body

32: Bridge connection

34,34A,34B,34C: Section 1

36,36A,36B,36C:Second section

38: Light absorbing element

40: Upper surface

42: Lower surface

44: Network

46: Shading element

48: Light-absorbing coating

50: Hydrogel layer

70: Light guide unit

72: Light-emitting unit

Figure 1 is a side view of the structure of the input device of an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the multi-key light guide plate of the first embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the multi-key light guide sheet of the second embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the multi-key light guide sheet of the third embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the multi-key light guide sheet of the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of a multi-key light guide sheet of another embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a light guide unit and a light emitting unit of the prior art.

Please refer to Figure 1, which is a structural side view of the input device 10 of an embodiment of the present invention. The input device 10 can be a touch panel or a touch device with similar functions. The input device 10 can include a backlight module 12 and an input interface 14. The input interface 14 can be various types of touch interfaces, which are not described in detail here. The backlight module 12 can optionally include a circuit board 16, a light-emitting element 18 and a light guide 20. The light-emitting element 18 can be disposed on the circuit board 16. The light guide 20 is located on the light-emitting element 18 to provide a side-entry backlight function. In addition, a reflective layer 24 can be optionally disposed between the light guide 20 and the circuit board 16. A shielding layer 26 can be optionally provided between the backlight module 12 and the input interface 14. The shielding layer 26 has a light-transmitting area 261 and a light-shielding area 262. Black or dark ink can be printed on the upper or lower surface of the transparent film to form the light-shielding area 262. The area of the transparent film without the black or dark ink printed is the light-transmitting area 261; however, the actual application is not limited to this. The component configuration of the input device 10 is not limited to the aforementioned implementation mode, but depends on the design requirements.

The light guide plate 20 can be a multi-key light guide plate, which means that the multi-key light guide plate 20 can be used with multiple operation buttons applied to the input interface 14, so the multi-key light guide plate 20 can have multiple light guide bodies to be respectively set at positions corresponding to each operation button, and the multiple light guide bodies are respectively aligned with multiple light emitting elements 18; each light emitting element 18 can be a single-color or multi-color light emitting unit. In addition, in order to meet the design requirements of connecting multiple light guide bodies and isolating the light interference of adjacent operation buttons, the present invention further uses air isolation and bridge design, so that the multi-key light guide plate 20 can be applied to the backlight module 12 and its input device 10 to effectively isolate the light leakage between the operation buttons.

Please refer to FIG. 2, which is a schematic diagram of a multi-key light guide plate 20 of the first embodiment of the present invention. The multi-key light guide plate 20 may include at least a first light guide body 28, a second light guide body 30, and a bridge portion 32. The second light guide body 30 is adjacent to and separated from the first light guide body 28. The bridge portion 32 may be connected between the first light guide body 28 and the second light guide body 30. The multi-key light guide plate 20 may also selectively have a dot area 22, which is disposed on the first light guide body 28 and/or the second light guide body 30, and is used to guide light to illuminate the corresponding symbol 141 on the input interface 14. The dot area 22 can be selectively disposed on the top or bottom surface of the first light guide body 28 and/or the second light guide body 30, and its structure may be a micro-prism or white dot printing, but the actual application is not limited thereto. Generally speaking, the bridge portion 32 is made of the same material as the first light guide body 28 and the second light guide body 30 and is made in an integral molding manner, but the actual application is not limited thereto. The number and connection position of the light guide bodies 28 and 30 and the bridge portion 32 are also not limited to the embodiments shown in the figure, and can be determined according to the size of the backlight module 12 or the number of multiple operation buttons of the input interface 14. For example, the multi-key light guide plate 20 is made of a light guide material. The present invention can determine the overall length of the multi-key light guide plate 20 according to the characteristics of the light guide material, so as to reduce or avoid structural deformation of the multi-key light guide plate 20 caused by the elongation of the bridge portion.

The bridge portion 32 may have a first section 34 and a second section 36 that are bent relative to each other. The first section 34 may be connected between the first light guide body 28 and the second section 36, and the second section 36 may be connected between the second light guide body 30 and the first section 34. As shown in FIG. 2, the present invention designs the bridge portion 32 between the adjacent first light guide body 28 and the second light guide body 30 into a bent shape, such as a C-shaped structure or a semicircular structure, to increase the absorption and reflection times of light in the bridge portion 32, so as to prevent the light output by each light-emitting element 18 and entering the first light guide body 28 from being guided to the second light guide body 30.

In addition to the first section 34 and the second section 36 being relatively bendable structures, the multi-key light guide sheet 20 also connects the first section 34 to the first light guide body 28 in a relatively bendable manner, and connects the second section 36 to the second light guide body 30 in a relatively bendable manner. In other words, the connection between the first section 34 and the first light guide body 28 (or the second section 36 and the second light guide body 30) can be an arc structure or a hook structure, which can effectively increase the absorption and reflection times of light in the first section 34 (or the second section 36) to prevent the light output by each light-emitting element 18 from being guided to other light guide bodies.

In addition, the connection between the first section 34 and the second section 36 may also present an arc structure, as shown in FIG. 2. The arc structure can increase the absorption and reflection times of light when it is transmitted between the first section 34 and the second section 36; however, the connection between the first section 34 and the second section 36 is not limited to the aforementioned implementation. Please refer to FIG. 3, which is a schematic diagram of the multi-key light guide 20A of the second embodiment of the present invention. In each embodiment of the present invention, the components with the same number as other embodiments have the same structure and function, and will not be repeated here. The connection between the first section 34A and the second section 36A of the multi-key light guide 20A presents an angled structure, which is used to increase the absorption and reflection times of light when it is transmitted between the first section 34A and the second section 36A.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the first section 34 and the second section 36 (or the first section 34A and the second section 36A) are both bent sections, which are used to increase the absorption and reflection times of light when it is transmitted in each section; however, the actual application is not limited to this. Please refer to FIG. 4, which is a schematic diagram of a multi-key light guide plate 20B of the third embodiment of the present invention. The first section 34B and the second section 36B of the multi-key light guide plate 20B are both straight sections; as long as the connection between the first section 34B and the first light guide body 28, the connection between the first section 34B and the second section 36B, and the connection between the second section 36B and the second light guide body 30 are arc-shaped structures or angled structures, the absorption and reflection times of light when transmitted between the first light guide body 28 and the second light guide body 30 can be increased.

Furthermore, as shown in Figures 2 to 4, the first section 34 and the second section 36 (or the first section 34A and the second section 36A, or the first section 34B and the second section 36B) are located outside the gap between the first light guide body 28 and the second light guide body 30; however, the actual application is not limited to this. Please refer to Figure 5, which is a schematic diagram of the multi-key light guide plate 20C of the fourth embodiment of the present invention. The first section 34C and the second section 36C of the multi-key light guide plate 20C can be straight sections or bent sections, and the connection can present an arc structure or an angle structure, and can also be connected to the first light guide body 28 and the second light guide body 30 respectively in a relatively bent manner, and then extend into the gap between the first light guide body 28 and the second light guide body 30.

Please refer to FIG. 2 again. The multi-key light guide plate 20 may further include a light absorbing element 38 disposed in the gap between the first light guide body 28 and the second light guide body 30. The light output by the light emitting element 18 will increase the number of light absorption and reflection times due to the circuitous path of the bridge portion 32 to prevent it from being introduced into other light guide bodies; and the gap between the adjacent first light guide body 28 and the second light guide body 30 may be filled with the light absorbing element 38, which can further improve the light leakage isolation effect of the multi-key light guide plate 20. The material of the light absorbing element 38 can be determined according to the design requirements; the light absorbing element 38 can also completely fill the gap between the first light guide body 28 and the second light guide body 30, or leave a small gap. The installation method depends on the isolation intensity of the multi-key light guide plate 20 to prevent light leakage.

Please refer to FIG. 6, which is a schematic diagram of a multi-key light guide 20' of another embodiment of the present invention. There is no specific restriction on the shape of the bridge portion 32 of the present invention, so the appearance of the bridge portion 32 shown in FIG. 6 is slightly different from the embodiment shown in the above figure. Any bridge portion that meets the above description can be applied to the multi-key light guide 20'. The bridge portion 32 may have a relative upper surface 40 and a lower surface 42. The multi-key light guide 20' may coat or form a plurality of dots 44 on the upper surface 40 and/or the lower surface 42, the purpose of which is to destroy the total reflection characteristics of light and prevent light leakage. Correspondingly, the multi-key light guide sheet 20' can also selectively apply or form a plurality of dots 44 on the upper surface and the lower surface of the first light guide body 28 and/or the second light guide body 30. The material properties, distribution density and pattern of the dots 44 are not limited to the illustrated implementation.

As shown in FIG. 6, in order to further enhance the effect of the bridge portion 32 in preventing light leakage, the present invention can also set a shading element 46 on the upper surface and/or lower surface of the multi-key light guide plate 20'. The shading element 46 is made of a shading or light-absorbing material; and a light-absorbing coating 48 can be selectively additionally provided on the surface of the shading element 46 facing the multi-key light guide plate 20' to further enhance the shading effect of the shading element 46. In addition, the present invention can additionally coat a hydrogel layer 50 on the surface of the shading element 46 facing the multi-key light guide plate 20' to ensure that the shading element 46 can be closely attached to the multi-key light guide plate 20'.

In summary, the backlight module of the present invention is designed to be a multi-key light guide plate having a plurality of light guide bodies and a bridge portion. The plurality of light guide bodies are adjacent to each other and have intervals therebetween, and the bridge portion is connected to the adjacent light guide bodies so that the multi-key light guide plate can be easily assembled. The light guide body can be designed into a rectangular structure, a diamond structure, a circular structure, a polygonal structure, and the like. The bridge portion can be designed into a variety of styles, such as a C-shaped structure, an S-shaped structure, a W-shaped structure, an M-shaped structure, or a concave-convex structure. The bridge portion is further divided into a plurality of relatively bent sections, and the bridge portion is connected to the light guide body in a relatively bent manner. Therefore, the multi-key light guide plate is designed with a circuitous bridge portion between adjacent light guide bodies, with a width of approximately 0.1 mm to 2 mm, which can effectively increase the number of reflections and absorptions during light transmission to prevent light from being transmitted to other light guide bodies, achieving the design goal of no light leakage.

The above is only the preferred embodiment of the present invention. All equivalent changes and modifications made according to the scope of the patent application of the present invention shall fall within the scope of the present invention.

18: Light-emitting element

20: Light guide sheet

22: Network area

28: First light guide body

30: Second light guide body

32: Bridge connection

34: Section 1

36: Second section

38: Light absorbing element

Claims (12)

A multi-key light guide sheet includes: a first light guide body; a second light guide body adjacent to and separated from the first light guide body; a bridge portion having a first section and a second section bent opposite to each other, the first section connected between the first light guide body and the second section, the second section connected between the second light guide body and the first section, the bridge portion also having an upper surface and a lower surface opposite to each other; and a plurality of dots arranged on at least one of the upper surface and the lower surface. The multi-key light guide sheet as described in claim 1, wherein the first section is connected to the first light guide body in a relative bending manner, and the second section is also connected to the second light guide body in a relative bending manner. The multi-key light guide sheet as described in claim 1, wherein the connection between the first section and the second section presents an arc structure or an angle structure. The multi-key light guide sheet as described in claim 1, wherein the first section is a straight section or a bent section. A multi-key light guide sheet as described in claim 1, wherein the first section extends into a gap between the first light guide body and the second light guide body, or is located outside the gap. The multi-key light guide sheet as described in claim 1 further comprises: A light absorbing element disposed in a gap between the first light guide body and the second light guide body. The multi-key light guide sheet as described in claim 1, wherein the plurality of dots are further arranged on the first light guide body and the second light guide body. The multi-key light guide sheet as described in claim 1, wherein the bridge portion is made of the same material as the first light guide body and the second light guide body and is made in an integral molding manner. A multi-key light guide sheet includes: a first light guide body; a second light guide body adjacent to and separated from the first light guide body; and a bridge portion having a first section and a second section bent relative to each other, the first section connected between the first light guide body and the second section, the second section connected between the second light guide body and the first section, the first section extending into a gap between the first light guide body and the second light guide body, or located outside the gap. A backlight module, comprising a multi-key light guide plate as described in any one of claims 1-9 and at least one light-emitting element. The backlight module as described in claim 10, wherein the backlight module further comprises a shading element disposed on an upper surface and/or a lower surface of the multi-key light guide sheet, and a light absorbing coating is disposed on a surface of the shading element facing the multi-key light guide sheet. The backlight module as described in claim 11, wherein the surface of the shading element facing the multi-key light guide is coated with a hydrogel layer.

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