TWI881452B - Composite touch module - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a composite touch module that is installed in the frame of a display. The composite touch module has a stacked circuit board with the first touch sensors and the second touch sensors positioned in different circuit layers for different functions. The first touch sensor faces the front surface of the display, while the second touch sensor is situated near the bottom surface of the display. This arrangement allows users to interact with different functions of the touch sensors separately from the front and bottom sides. Additionally, the incorporation of auxiliary sensing components determines whether the user is approaching from the front or the bottom, triggering the corresponding first or second touch sensor. Therefore, the invention enables the placement of two sets of touch sensors within a limited area, and it automatically detects the user's touch position, eliminating the need for extra steps and facilitating intuitive operation.

Description

Composite touch module

The present invention is a composite touch module, particularly a touch module with multiple touch functions.

With the advancement of technology, the application of touch sensing is becoming more and more extensive. In the existing technology, touch sensing has been used as a control button on the border of the display to replace the physical button. As for the control buttons on the border of the display, basic control buttons are generally required, such as volume control, multimedia function switching, etc. More advanced and less commonly used control buttons may include input signal switching, etc., but different control buttons need to be set with corresponding touch units. In the trend of pursuing narrow borders, how to set the required number of touch sensing buttons on the border of a limited area display has become the direction of research and development in this field.

In view of this, the present invention proposes a composite touch module, in order to provide two sets of touch sensing buttons within a limited area.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned invention purpose, the technical means adopted by the present invention is to provide a composite touch module, which includes: A circuit board, which has a first surface and a first side edge, the first surface is adjacent to the first side edge, the circuit board includes a multi-layer structure arranged in layers, including a first circuit layer and a second circuit layer, the first circuit layer constitutes the first surface, and the second circuit layer is stacked under the first circuit layer; A control unit, which is arranged on the circuit board; A plurality of first touch sensors, which are arranged on the first circuit layer and are electrically connected to the control unit; A plurality of second touch sensors, which are arranged on the second circuit layer and electrically connected to the control unit, and the second touch sensors are close to or aligned with the first side edge; and an auxiliary sensing component, which is arranged on the first circuit layer and electrically connected to the control unit; wherein the first touch sensor, the second touch sensor and the auxiliary sensing component generate sensing quantities in response to the approach of a touch object; When at least part of the first touch sensor and at least part of the second touch sensor detect the sensing quantity, the control unit determines whether the sensing quantity received by the auxiliary sensing component meets a first condition; if so, the control unit executes the function corresponding to the first touch sensor; if not, the control unit executes the function corresponding to the second touch sensor.

The advantage of the present invention is that different groups of touch sensors are arranged by a multi-layer structure, and the adjacent first surface and first side edge of the three-dimensional structure of the circuit board are utilized to allow the user to control different groups of touch sensors when touching the first surface and the first side edge, and cooperate with the auxiliary sensing component to automatically determine the position currently approached or touched by the user, and then trigger the function of the group of touch sensors at the corresponding position. Therefore, the effect of arranging two groups of touch sensing buttons in a limited area can be achieved, and through the automatic determination of the auxiliary sensing component, the user does not need to execute an additional switching procedure, and can intuitively operate different groups of touch sensors.

The following is a further description of the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the predetermined invention purpose, with reference to the drawings and the embodiments of the present invention. The drawings have been simplified for the purpose of illustration only, and the structure or method invention of the present invention is described by describing the relationship between the elements and assemblies of the present invention. Therefore, the elements shown in the drawings are not presented in actual quantity, actual shape, actual size and actual proportion. The size or size proportion has been enlarged or simplified to provide a better description. The actual quantity, actual shape or actual size proportion has been selectively designed and configured, and the detailed element layout may be more complicated.

1 to 3, the present invention includes a circuit board 10, a control unit 20, a plurality of first touch sensors 30, a plurality of second touch sensors 40, and an auxiliary sensing assembly 50, and may further include a first light emitting element 60 and a second light emitting element 70. The first touch sensor 30, the second touch sensor 40, the auxiliary sensing assembly 50, the first light emitting element 60, and the second light emitting element 70 are electrically connected to the control unit 20. In one embodiment, the first touch sensor 30, the second touch sensor 40 and the auxiliary sensing assembly 50 detect the touch object by capacitive sensing, that is, when the touch object approaches or touches, the first touch sensor 30, the second touch sensor 40 and the auxiliary sensing assembly 50 will generate a corresponding capacitive sensing amount due to the distance between the touch object and them.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3 , the circuit board 10 has a first surface 101 and a first side edge 102, wherein the first surface 101 is adjacent to the first side edge 102, and the circuit board 10 includes a multi-layer structure arranged in layers, wherein at least a first circuit layer 11, a second circuit layer 12, and a third circuit layer 13 are included, wherein the second circuit layer 12 is located between the first circuit layer 11 and the third circuit layer 13, and the first circuit layer 11 constitutes the first surface 101. The circuit board 10 may further include a fourth circuit layer 14 located between the second circuit layer 12 and the third circuit layer 13, and the fourth circuit layer 14 may be used for routing or setting a shielding layer. A dielectric layer is disposed between the first, second, third, and fourth circuit layers 11, 12, 13, and 14. In one embodiment, referring to FIGS. 3 to 5 , the control unit 20 is disposed on the third circuit layer 13, the first touch sensor 30 and the auxiliary sensing component 50 are disposed on the first circuit layer 11, the second touch sensor 40 is disposed on the second circuit layer 12, and the second touch sensor 40 is close to or aligned with the first side edge 102.

When the present invention is applied, please refer to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 in conjunction with FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 5. The circuit board 10 is installed in a frame 81 of a display 80. The first surface 101 of the circuit board 10 corresponds to the front surface 82 of the display 80. The first side edge 102 of the circuit board 10 corresponds to the bottom surface 83 of the display 80. A touch object 90 is moved from the front surface 82 of the display 80 (corresponding to The first touch sensor 30 is controlled by the user on the first surface 101 of the circuit board 10, and different functions are activated by touching different first touch sensors 30. The touch object 90 controls the second touch sensor 40 from the bottom surface 83 of the display 80 (corresponding to the first side edge 102 of the circuit board 10), and different functions are activated by touching different second touch sensors 40. The auxiliary sensing component 50 is used to assist in determining whether the touch object 90 (such as the user's finger) is approaching from the front surface 82 or the bottom surface 83 of the display 80, and further determine whether the function to be triggered by the user is the function corresponding to the first touch sensor 30 or the function corresponding to the second touch sensor 40.

When the touch object 90 approaches the front surface 82 of the display 80, although the first touch sensor 30 and the second touch sensor 40 can both generate changes in sensing quantity, the touch object 90 can also cause the auxiliary sensing component 50 located on the first surface 101 to generate changes in sensing quantity, so that the sensing quantity of the auxiliary sensing component 50 satisfies a first condition (for example, greater than a first threshold value), thereby allowing the control unit 20 to determine that the touch object 90 is If the function of the first touch sensor 30 is to be triggered, the first touch sensor 30 is determined according to the sensing amount of each first touch sensor 30 to determine which first touch sensor 30 the position touched by the touch object 90 corresponds to, and the function of the first touch sensor 30 is actuated. For example, the first touch sensor 30 with the largest sensing amount is used to determine that the position to be touched by the touch object 90 is the first touch sensor 30, and the function of the first touch sensor 30 with the largest sensing amount is executed. When the touch object 90 is about to touch the bottom surface 83 of the display 80, although the first touch sensor 30 and the second touch sensor 40 can both generate a change in the sensing amount, at this time the touch object 90 is far away from the auxiliary sensing component 50 located on the first surface 101, and the auxiliary sensing component 50 cannot generate a change in the sensing amount or the generated sensing amount cannot meet the first condition, then the control unit 20 determines that the touch object 90 is the one that is about to trigger the touch. The function of the second touch sensor 40 is determined, and the position touched by the touch object 90 corresponds to the second touch sensor 40 according to the sensitivity of each second touch sensor 40, and the function of the second touch sensor 40 is activated. For example, the second touch sensor 40 with the largest sensitivity is used to determine that the position to be touched by the touch object 90 is the second touch sensor 40, and the function corresponding to the second touch sensor 40 with the largest sensitivity is executed.

Therefore, the present invention can be provided with at least two sets of touch sensors 30, 40 on the stacked circuit board 10, and utilize the three-dimensional structure (front surface 82 and bottom surface 83) of the display 80, and cooperate with the first and second touch sensors 30, 40 to be arranged at different positions (first surface 101 and near the first side edge), so that the user can operate different touch buttons from different directions, and the position approached by the user can be identified through the auxiliary sensing component 50. Then, the corresponding first touch sensor 30 or the second touch sensor 40 is actuated according to the position touched by the user. Therefore, the present invention can arrange two sets of the first and second touch sensors 30, 40 with different functions in a limited area of the frame 81. Furthermore, the corresponding first touch sensor 30 or the second touch sensor 40 is automatically actuated through the judgment of the auxiliary sensing component 50, and the user does not need to perform an additional switching procedure, thereby maintaining convenience in use.

In one embodiment (as shown in FIG. 2 ), the circuit board 10 has a second side edge 103, the second side edge 103 and the first side edge 102 are disposed at opposite sides and are both adjacent to the first surface 101, the auxiliary sensing assembly 50 includes a first auxiliary sensor 51, the first auxiliary sensor 51 is disposed close to the second side edge 103 and away from the first side edge 102. 2, the sensing amount generated by the first auxiliary sensor 51 can be compared with a preset first threshold value. When the touch object 90 approaches the front side 82 of the display 80, since the first auxiliary sensor 51 is disposed on the first circuit layer 11 of the circuit board 10 (i.e., constituting the first surface 101), the sensing amount generated by the first auxiliary sensor 51 is greater than the first threshold value. The threshold value is regarded as satisfying the first condition, and the control unit 20 executes the function of the first touch sensor 30; when the touch object 90 approaches from the bottom surface 83 of the display 80, that is, from the first side edge 102, it is more difficult for the first auxiliary sensor 51 at a distance to produce a change in the sensing amount, and the sensing amount generated by the first auxiliary sensor 51 will be less than the first The control unit 20 executes the function of the second touch sensor 40 because the threshold value is not met. Therefore, the first auxiliary sensor 51 is set at a position close to the second side edge 103 and away from the first side edge 102 (corresponding to the bottom surface 83 of the display 80) to improve the accuracy of judging whether the touch object 90 approaches from the front surface 82 or the bottom surface 83.

In another embodiment (as shown in FIG. 8 ), the auxiliary sensing assembly 50A includes not only the first auxiliary sensor 51A but also a second auxiliary sensor 52A. The first touch sensor 30 is located between the first auxiliary sensor 51A and the second auxiliary sensor 52A. The second auxiliary sensor 52A is located near the first side edge 102 and away from the first side edge 102. At the position of the second side edge 103, the first auxiliary sensor 51A and the second auxiliary sensor 52A can be in the shape of a strip and are respectively arranged parallel to the second side edge 103 and the first side edge 102 to increase the contactable area, and the length of the first auxiliary sensor 51A and the second auxiliary sensor 52A can cover the distribution range of the first touch sensor 30. By matching the first and second auxiliary sensors 51A and 52A, the accuracy of judging whether the touch object 90 approaches from the front surface 82 or the bottom surface 83 is improved. When the touch object 90 approaches from the front of the display 80, the first and second auxiliary sensors 51A and 52A will both produce changes in the sensing amount. At this time, the sensing amount of the first auxiliary sensor 51A is greater than the first threshold value, which can be regarded as satisfying the first condition, thereby triggering the function of the first touch sensor 30. Since the touch object 90 approaches from the front of the display 80, the touch object 90 and the second auxiliary sensor 51A at the same position on the first surface are The distance difference between the first and second auxiliary sensors 51A and 52A on the surface 101 is not much different, and the sensing amounts of the first and second auxiliary sensors 51A and 52A can also be compared. If the difference between the sensing amounts of the two is less than a second threshold value, it means that the difference between the sensing amounts of the two is not much, then it is judged that the probability of the touch object 90 approaching from the front is higher. Therefore, it is judged that the first condition is met and the function of the first touch sensor 30 is triggered, which also meets the requirements. When the touch object 90 approaches from the bottom surface 83 of the display 80, that is, from the first side edge 102, the distance from the first auxiliary sensor 51A located near the second side edge 103 is relatively far. At this time, the sensing amount of the first auxiliary sensor 51A must be smaller and not greater than the first threshold value. It is considered that the first condition is not met, so the control unit 20 executes the function of the second touch sensor 40. Since the touch object 90 approaches from the bottom surface 83 of the display 80, that is, from the first side edge 102, the distance from the first auxiliary sensor 51A located near the second side edge 103 is relatively far. The bottom surface 83 of the device 80 (corresponding to the first side edge 102 of the circuit board 10) is close to the second auxiliary sensor 52A which is close to the first side edge 102. Therefore, the sensing amount of the second auxiliary sensor 52A is bound to be greater than the sensing amount of the first auxiliary sensor 51A. The difference between the sensing amounts of the two is greater than the preset second threshold value and is considered to not meet the first condition. Therefore, the control unit 20 executes the function of the second touch sensor 40. Therefore, by placing the first and second auxiliary sensors 52A close to the second side edge 103 and the first side edge 102 respectively, it is possible to more clearly determine whether the touch object 90 approaches from the front surface 82 or the bottom surface 83 (corresponding to the first side edge 102) of the display 80.

In one embodiment (as shown in FIG. 3 ), each of the first touch sensors 30 corresponds to one of the second touch sensors 40, and each of the second touch sensors 40 corresponds to one of the first touch sensors 30, that is, the first touch sensors 30 and the second touch sensors 40 are arranged one-to-one, and the corresponding first touch sensors 30 and The second touch sensors 40 are electrically connected through the conductive through-holes 111, and then the first touch sensor 30 or the second touch sensor 40 is electrically connected to the control unit 20 through wiring, so as to reduce the wiring electrically connected to the control unit 20, thereby reducing the number of pins used by the control unit 20, and the remaining pins can be used to connect other required electronic components. Although the sensing signals of the first and second touch sensors 30 and 40 connected correspondingly are transmitted to the control unit 20 together through this electrical connection method, since only the first touch sensor 30 or the second touch sensor 40 is selected to be triggered each time, the first and second touch sensors 30 and 40 are not triggered at the same time. Therefore, when the control unit 20 receives the sensing signals of each group of the first and second touch sensors 30 and 40, it can correspond to the sensing results of the auxiliary sensing component 50 to determine whether the currently received sensing signal is to be used to trigger the first touch sensor 30 or the second touch sensor 40.

Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6 . When the control unit 20 executes the function corresponding to the first touch sensor 30, the control unit 20 simultaneously controls the first light-emitting element 60 to emit light. When the control unit 20 executes the function corresponding to the second touch sensor 40, the control unit 20 simultaneously activates the second light-emitting element 70 to emit light. In one embodiment, please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 9A . When the first light-emitting element 60 emits light, a first pattern group 61 is presented on the frame 81 of the display 80. The pattern presented by the first pattern group 61 corresponds to the function of each of the first touch sensors 30, such as conference function, answering a call, volume control, etc.; please refer to FIG. 1 , FIG. 9B and FIG. 7 . When the second light-emitting element 70 emits light, a first pattern group 61 is presented on the frame 81 of the display 80. A second pattern set 71 is correspondingly presented on the frame 81 of the display 80. The pattern presented by the second pattern set 71 corresponds to the function of each of the second touch sensors 40. For example, the display 80 has different connection ports 84 for connecting different audio and video input sources, and the second touch sensor 40 is used to switch the image and sound displayed by the display 80 from which audio and video input source. The positions of the first pattern set 61 and the second pattern set 71 can be staggered, such as up and down or left and right, to correspond to the first light-emitting element 60 and the second light-emitting element 70 set at different positions.

The above is only an embodiment of the present invention and does not constitute any form of limitation on the present invention. Although the present invention has been disclosed as above by the embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Any person with ordinary knowledge in the relevant technical field can make some changes or modifications to the technical contents disclosed above into equivalent embodiments within the scope of the technical solution of the present invention. However, any simple modification, equivalent change and modification made to the above embodiments based on the technical essence of the present invention without departing from the content of the technical solution of the present invention still fall within the scope of the technical solution of the present invention.

10: Circuit board 101: First surface 102: First side edge 103: Second side edge 11: First circuit layer 12: Second circuit layer 13: Third circuit layer 14: Fourth circuit layer 20: Control unit 30: First touch sensor 40: Second touch sensor 50, 50A: Auxiliary sensing component 51, 51A: First auxiliary sensor 52A: Second auxiliary sensor 60: First light-emitting element 61: First pattern group 70: Second light-emitting element 71: Second pattern group 80: Display 81: Frame 82: Front 83: Bottom 84: Connection port

FIG1 is a block diagram of the present invention; FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a top view of the first circuit layer of the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a side cross-section along the cutting line 3-3 of FIG2; FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a side cross-section along the cutting line 4-4 of FIG2; FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a top view of the second circuit layer of the present invention; FIG6 is a schematic diagram of the front view of a display equipped with the present invention; FIG7 is a schematic diagram of the bottom view of a display equipped with the present invention; FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a top view of the first circuit layer of the second embodiment of the present invention; FIG9A is an enlarged schematic diagram of the lower left corner of the display of FIG6 in the first state; FIG9B is an enlarged schematic diagram of the lower left corner of the display of FIG6 in the second state.

20: Control unit

30: First touch sensor

40: Second touch sensor

50: Auxiliary sensing components

60: First light-emitting element

70: Second light-emitting element

Claims (11)

A composite touch module includes: A circuit board having a first surface and a first side edge, the first surface being adjacent to the first side edge, the circuit board including a stacked multi-layer structure, including a first circuit layer and a second circuit layer, the first circuit layer constituting the first surface, and the second circuit layer stacked under the first circuit layer; A control unit disposed on the circuit board; A plurality of first touch sensors disposed on the first circuit layer and electrically connected to the control unit; A plurality of second touch sensors disposed on the second circuit layer and electrically connected to the control unit, the second touch sensors being close to or aligned with the first side edge; and An auxiliary sensing component is arranged on the first circuit layer and is electrically connected to the control unit; wherein the first touch sensor, the second touch sensor and the auxiliary sensing component generate sensing quantities in response to the approach of a touch object; when at least part of the first touch sensor and at least part of the second touch sensor detect sensing quantities, the control unit determines whether the sensing quantities received by the auxiliary sensing component meet a first condition; if so, the control unit executes the function corresponding to the first touch sensor; if not, the control unit executes the function corresponding to the second touch sensor. A composite touch module as described in claim 1, wherein: The circuit board has a second side edge, the first side edge and the second side edge are arranged on opposite sides and are both adjacent to the first surface; The auxiliary sensing component includes a first auxiliary sensor, and the first auxiliary sensor is arranged at a position close to the second side edge and away from the first side edge. In the composite touch module as described in claim 2, the control unit determines whether the sensing amount received by the auxiliary sensing component satisfies a first condition, namely, determines whether the sensing amount received by the first auxiliary sensor is greater than a first threshold value. The composite touch module as described in claim 2, wherein the auxiliary sensing component further includes a second auxiliary sensor, the first touch sensor is arranged between the first auxiliary sensor and the second auxiliary sensor, and the second auxiliary sensor is arranged at a position close to the first side edge and away from the second side edge. In the composite touch module as described in claim 4, the control unit determines whether the sensing quantity received by the auxiliary sensing component satisfies a first condition, namely, determining whether the difference between the sensing quantity of the first auxiliary sensor and the sensing quantity of the second auxiliary sensor is less than a second threshold value. In the composite touch module as described in claim 4, the control unit determines whether the sensing quantity received by the auxiliary sensing component satisfies a first condition, namely, whether the sensing quantity of the first auxiliary sensor is greater than a first threshold value, and whether the difference between the sensing quantity of the first auxiliary sensor and the sensing quantity of the second auxiliary sensor is less than a second threshold value. A composite touch module as described in claim 2 or 3, wherein the first auxiliary sensor is in the shape of a long strip and is arranged parallel to the second side edge. A composite touch module as described in any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the first auxiliary sensor and the second auxiliary sensor are in the shape of strips and are respectively arranged parallel to the first side edge and the second side edge. A composite touch module as described in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein each of the first touch sensors corresponds to one of the second touch sensors, and each of the second touch sensors corresponds to one of the first touch sensors, and the corresponding first touch sensors and second touch sensors are electrically connected, and the first touch sensor is electrically connected to the control unit via the second touch sensor, or the second touch sensor is electrically connected to the control unit via the first touch sensor. The composite touch module as described in any one of claims 1 to 6 further comprises a first light-emitting element and a second light-emitting element, wherein the first light-emitting element and the second light-emitting element are electrically connected to the control unit, and when the control unit executes the function corresponding to the first touch sensor, the control unit simultaneously controls the first light-emitting element to make it emit light; when the control unit executes the function corresponding to the second touch sensor, the control unit simultaneously activates the second light-emitting element to make it emit light. A composite touch module as described in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein when the control unit executes the function corresponding to the first touch sensor, it executes the function corresponding to the first touch sensor with the largest sensitivity; when the control unit executes the function corresponding to the second touch sensor, it executes the function corresponding to the second touch sensor with the largest sensitivity.

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