CN114764266A

CN114764266A - Touch panel structure

Info

Publication number: CN114764266A
Application number: CN202110048888.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 黄禹钦; 张正茂
Original assignee: Acer Inc
Current assignee: Acer Inc
Priority date: 2021-01-14
Filing date: 2021-01-14
Publication date: 2022-07-19
Anticipated expiration: 2041-01-14
Also published as: CN114764266B

Abstract

The invention provides a touch pad structure which comprises a base, a guide piece, a touch pad and a switch, wherein the guide piece is rotatably arranged on the base, and the touch pad and the switch are arranged above the base. The guide is located between the base and the touch pad. The touch pad has an inner surface facing the base, wherein the switch is disposed on the inner surface, and the inner surface is provided with a guide structure. The guide structure is slidably connected to the guide member. The touch pad moving towards the base drives the guide piece to rotate relative to the base through the guide structure, and the touch pad moves along the vertical direction.

Description

Touch panel structure

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to touch panels, and particularly to a touch panel applied to a notebook computer.

Background

Because the notebook computer has the characteristics of high operation efficiency, multitasking, portability and the like, the notebook computer becomes an indispensable tool for modern people in life or work. Generally, a notebook computer includes a first body and a second body pivotally connected to the first body, wherein the first body is a host with logical operation and data access capabilities, and the second body is a display with image display capabilities. In order to facilitate the user to operate or input information, the first body is mostly provided with a keyboard and a touch pad (touch pad), and the user can perform actions such as moving a cursor, selecting an application program item, scrolling a web page or a file, and zooming a web page or a file through the touch pad.

With the existing touch pad design, the touch pad includes a fulcrum end and a movable end opposite to the fulcrum end, wherein the fulcrum end is connected to the first body, and the switch (e.g., a dome switch) is disposed at the movable end. When a user's finger strikes the touch pad, the movable end swings downward relative to the fulcrum end and moves toward the boss, so that the boss contacts and triggers the switch. Based on the lever principle, if the force application point on the touch pad is too close to the fulcrum end, the movable end is not easy to be driven to swing downwards relative to the fulcrum end, so that the boss cannot contact and trigger the switch, and the operation of a user is quite inconvenient.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention is directed to a touch panel structure having excellent operational convenience.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a touch panel structure includes a base, a guide rotatably disposed on the base, a touch panel disposed above the base, and a switch. The guide is located between the base and the touch pad. The touch pad has an inner surface facing the base, wherein the switch is disposed on the inner surface, and the inner surface is provided with a guide structure. The guide structure is slidably connected to the guide member. The touch pad that moves toward the base passes through guide structure and drives the guide rotatory for the base, and the touch pad removes along the vertical direction.

Based on the above, the touch pad structure of the present invention adopts the vertical guiding design, and the touch pad can move downward along the vertical direction to trigger the switch no matter where the user applies force to the touch pad, so the touch pad structure of the present invention has excellent operation convenience.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a touch pad structure according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are exploded schematic views of the touch plate structure of FIG. 1 from two different perspectives;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a partial perspective view of the touch pad structure of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged partial schematic view of FIG. 4;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are schematic cross-sectional views of the touch pad structure of FIG. 1 in two different cross-sections;

FIGS. 8 and 9 are enlarged schematic views of the region R1 of FIG. 6 in two different states;

fig. 10 and 11 are enlarged schematic views of the region R2 of fig. 7 in two different states.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.

Referring to fig. 1, in the present embodiment, the touch panel structure 100 may be disposed on a host of a notebook computer for a user to execute actions such as moving a cursor, selecting an application program item, scrolling a web page or a file, and zooming a web page or a file. As shown in fig. 2, 3, 6 and 8, the touch panel structure 100 includes a base 110, a guide 120 rotatably disposed on the base 110, a touch panel 130 disposed above the base 110, and a switch 140, wherein the guide 120 is located between the base 110 and the touch panel 130. On the other hand, the touch pad 130 has an inner surface 131 facing the base 110, wherein the switch 140 is disposed on the inner surface 131 and between the base 110 and the touch pad 130.

As shown in fig. 4, 7 and 10, the switch 140 may be a dome switch, wherein the base 110 has a trigger protrusion 111 protruding toward the inner surface 131 of the touch pad 130, and the trigger protrusion 111 is aligned with the switch 140. When a user applies a force to the touch pad 130, the switch 140 moves along with the touch pad 130 and moves toward the trigger protrusion 111, so that the trigger protrusion 111 contacts and triggers the switch 140, as shown in fig. 10 and 11.

Referring to fig. 2 to fig. 5, in the present embodiment, the touch pad 130 includes a guide structure 1301 disposed on the inner surface 131, wherein the guide 120 is disposed on the base 110 corresponding to the guide structure 1301 and is slidably connected to the guide structure 1301. As shown in fig. 5, 8 and 9, when a user applies a force to the touch pad 130, the touch pad 130 moving toward the base 110 drives the guide 120 to rotate relative to the base 110 through the guide structure 1301, and the touch pad 130 moves along the vertical direction VD. At the same time, the guide 120 slides relative to the guide structure 1301.

As shown in fig. 5 and 8 to 11, the guide 120 and the guide structure 1301 are part of a vertical guide design, and the touch panel 130 can move downward along the vertical direction VD to trigger the switch 140 no matter any point on the touch panel 130 is applied with force by the user through the structural cooperation of the guide 120 and the guide structure 1301, so that the touch panel structure 100 has excellent operation convenience.

Referring to fig. 2, 3, 5 and 8, the guiding element 120 may be a guiding ring surrounding the guiding structure 1301. The guide 120 has a first guide surface 121 facing the guide structure 1301 and a spiral protrusion 122 protruding from the first guide surface 121, that is, the spiral protrusion 122 protrudes toward the guide structure 1301. On the other hand, the guiding structure 1301 has a second guiding surface 1302 facing the first guiding surface 121 and a spiral recess 1303 recessed in the second guiding surface 1302, wherein the geometrical contour of the spiral protrusion 122 matches or complements the geometrical contour of the spiral recess 1303, and the spiral protrusion 122 is slidably disposed in the spiral recess 1303. Because the spiral concave portion 1303 is engaged with the spiral convex portion 122 in a rotating direction, when the guiding structure 1301 moves toward the base 110, the spiral concave portion 1303 pushes the spiral convex portion 122 to drive the guiding element 120 to rotate relative to the base 110 and slide relative to the guiding structure 1301.

For example, the first guide surface 121 may be a concave arc surface, and the second guide surface 1302 may be a convex arc surface that mates with or complements the first guide surface 121. On the other hand, the number of the spiral convex portions 122 is equal to the number of the spiral concave portions 1303, and the numbers thereof are the same. The number of the spiral protrusions 122 may be plural, and the spiral protrusions are evenly distributed on the first guide surface 121. The number of the spiral recesses 1303 may be multiple and evenly distributed on the second guiding surface 1302. Therefore, when the guide structure 1301 moves toward the base 110 or away from the base 110, the spiral recess 1303 can apply an even force to the guide 120.

In detail, the spiral protrusion 122 has two opposite first guiding inclined surfaces 122a, and the spiral recess 1303 has two opposite second guiding inclined surfaces 1304. The two first guiding inclined surfaces 122a are located between the two second guiding inclined surfaces 1304 and respectively contact the two second guiding inclined surfaces 1304. When the guide 120 rotates relative to the base 110, each first guide slope 122a slides relative to the corresponding second guide slope 1304.

Referring to fig. 2, 5 and 8, in the present embodiment, the base 110 has a guide boss 112 protruding toward the touch pad 130, wherein the guide 120 surrounds the guide boss 112 and is coupled to the guide boss 112. Thus, the guide bosses 112 may serve to position the guide 120, preventing any slippage of the guide 120 on the base 110. In detail, the first guide surface 121 of the guide 120 faces the guide boss 112, and the guide boss 112 has a third guide surface 113 facing the first guide surface 121 and a guide rib 114 protruding from the third guide surface 113. The guiding rib 114 protrudes toward the spiral protrusion 122, wherein the spiral protrusion 122 has a guiding groove 123 facing the third guiding surface 113, and the guiding rib 114 is slidably disposed in the guiding groove 123.

When the guide member 120 rotates with respect to the base 110, the guide member 120 rotates with respect to the guide boss 112, and the rotational stability of the guide member 120 is improved by the structural cooperation of the guide rib 114 and the guide groove 123.

For example, the first guide surface 121 may be a concave arc surface, and the third guide surface 113 may be a convex arc surface that is matched or complementary to the first guide surface 121. On the other hand, the guide rib 114 may be an arc-shaped rib, and the guide groove 123 may be an arc-shaped groove that is matched or complementary with the guide rib 114. Except for this, the number of the spiral protrusions 122 is equal to the number of the guide ribs 114, and both are the same. The number of the spiral protrusions 122 may be plural, and the spiral protrusions are evenly distributed on the first guide surface 121. The number of the guide ribs 114 may be plural and is evenly distributed on the third guide surface 113. The rotation stability of the guide member 120 is improved by the structural cooperation of the plurality of guide ribs 114 and the plurality of guide grooves 123 of the plurality of spiral protrusions 122.

Referring to fig. 2, fig. 5, fig. 8 and fig. 9, in the present embodiment, the touch panel structure 100 further includes a spring 150, wherein the spring 150 is disposed between the touch panel 130 and the base 110, and a compression spring may be adopted. When the touch pad 130 moves toward the base 110, the spring 150 is pressed to be elastically deformed. Once the pressing force applied to the touch pad 130 is removed, the elastic restoring force of the spring 150 drives the touch pad 130 to move upward along the vertical direction VD and return to the initial position. Meanwhile, the guide 120 is driven by the guide structure 1301 to rotate relative to the base 110.

Specifically, when the touch pad 130 is moved toward the base 110, the guide 120 is rotated in a first direction. When the touch pad 130 is moved away from the base 110, the guide 120 is rotated in a second direction opposite to the first direction.

As shown in fig. 2, 3 and 8, the guide 120 surrounds the spring 150, wherein both ends of the spring 150 contact the guide boss 112 and the touch pad 130, respectively. Furthermore, the guiding structure 1301 has an annular groove 1305 facing the base 110, and one end of the spring 150 is disposed in the annular groove 1305 to prevent the spring 150 from being biased when it is deformed.

Referring to fig. 1, fig. 6 and fig. 7, the touch panel structure 100 further includes a position-limiting frame 160, wherein the position-limiting frame 160 is fixedly disposed on the base 110 and surrounds the touch pad 130. Therefore, the bezel 160 may also be used as part of the vertical guide design to ensure that the touch pad 130 moves up and down along the vertical direction VD. For example, the vertical direction VD is perpendicular to the operation surface of the touch panel 130 for the user's finger to contact.

In summary, the touch panel structure of the present invention adopts the vertical guiding design, and no matter where the user applies force to any point on the touch panel, the touch panel can move downward along the vertical direction to trigger the switch. On the other hand, after the downward force applied to the touch pad is removed, the elastic restoring force of the spring can drive the touch pad to move upwards along the vertical direction and return to the initial position.

Finally, it should be noted that: the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, and not to limit the same; while the invention has been described in detail and with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that: the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments may still be modified, or some or all of the technical features may be equivalently replaced; and the modifications or the substitutions do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions depart from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A touch pad structure, comprising:

a base;

the guide piece is rotatably arranged on the base;

the touch pad is arranged above the base, and the guide piece is positioned between the base and the touch pad; and

the switch, wherein the touch pad has towards the internal surface of base, just the switch set up in on the internal surface, the internal surface is equipped with guide structure, just guide structure sliding connection in the guide, toward the base removes the touch pad passes through guide structure drives the guide for the base is rotatory, just the touch pad removes along the vertical direction.

2. The touchpad structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guide member surrounds the guide structure, wherein the guide member has a first guide surface facing the guide structure and a spiral protrusion protruding from the first guide surface, and the guide structure has a second guide surface facing the first guide surface and a spiral recess recessed from the second guide surface, and the spiral protrusion is slidably disposed in the spiral recess.

3. A touch pad structure according to claim 2, wherein the spiral protrusion has two first guide slopes opposite to each other, and the spiral depression has two second guide slopes opposite to each other, the two first guide slopes being located between the two second guide slopes and contacting the two second guide slopes, respectively.

4. A touch pad structure according to claim 2, wherein the base has a guide projection projecting toward the touch pad, the guide member surrounds the guide projection, and the first guide surface faces the guide projection, the guide projection has a third guide surface facing the first guide surface and a guide rib projecting from the third guide surface, wherein the spiral projection has a guide groove facing the third guide surface, and the guide rib is slidably disposed in the guide groove.

5. The touchpad structure of claim 4, further comprising a spring, wherein the spring is disposed between the touchpad and the base, and an end of the spring contacts the guide boss.

6. A touch pad structure according to claim 1, further comprising a position-limiting frame fixedly disposed on the base, and the position-limiting frame surrounds the touch pad.

7. A touch pad structure according to claim 1, wherein the base has a trigger boss projecting towards the touch pad, and the trigger boss is aligned with the switch.

8. A touch pad structure according to claim 1, further comprising a spring, wherein the spring is disposed between the touch pad and the base.

9. The touchpad structure of claim 8 wherein the guide surrounds the spring.

10. The touchpad structure of claim 8, wherein the guide structure has an annular groove facing the base, and one end of the spring is disposed within the annular groove.