TWM519767U - Curved touch panel having antenna structure - Google Patents

Abstract

This invention provides a curved touch panel which comprises a cover plate, a touch-sensitive structure and at least one antenna structure. The cover plate includes a base portion and a side portion bent from the edge of the base portion. The touch-sensitive structure is disposed on the base portion of the cover plate. The antenna structure is disposed on the side portion of the cover plate.

Description

Curved touch panel with antenna structure

The present invention relates to a touch panel, and more particularly to a curved touch panel provided with an antenna structure.

Today's touch screens, in addition to the general flat touch screen, have also developed a new type of curved touch screen. The screen of the curved touch screen extends from the front to the side of the electronic product. In addition to the general touch operation from the front, the user can select icons, virtual buttons, and messages from the side. Read and other different touch operations to enhance the convenience of use.

At present, electronic products using curved touch screens, such as mobile phones, tablet computers and other portable devices, usually have wireless communication modules, global positioning system (GPS) and other wireless signal transceiver units, so need to use a variety of antennas. However, the existing technology usually integrates an antenna into a circuit board inside an electronic product, which not only occupies space, but also is limited by the circuit configuration mode to affect signal transmission and reception.

Therefore, one of the purposes of the present invention is to provide an energy A curved touch panel having an antenna structure capable of solving the aforementioned problems.

Therefore, the curved touch panel having the antenna structure comprises a cover, a touch sensing structure and at least one antenna structure. The cover plate includes a base portion and a side edge portion formed by bending an outer edge of the base portion. The touch sensing structure is disposed on the base portion of the cover. The antenna structure is disposed on the side edge portion of the cover.

In some embodiments, the cover has an inner surface, the touch sensing structure is located on the inner surface of the base portion, and the antenna structure is located on the inner surface of the side edge portion.

In some embodiments, the cover has an inner surface, an outer surface on an opposite side of the inner surface, and a transverse surface on the side edge connecting the inner surface to the outer surface. The touch sensing structure is located on the inner surface of the base portion, and the antenna structure is located at the transverse surface of the side edge portion.

In some embodiments, the curved touch panel further includes a shielding layer disposed on the inner surface of the side edge portion and located between the cover plate and the antenna structure.

In some implementations, the curved touch panel further includes a shielding layer and a protective layer disposed on the outer surface of the side edge portion, and the shielding layer is disposed between the protective layer and the substrate .

In some embodiments, the inner surface of the side edge portion is recessed to form a recess for the antenna structure to be disposed therein.

In some embodiments, the transverse surface of the side edge portion is recessed to form a recess for the antenna structure to be disposed therein.

In some implementations, the curved touch panel further includes a protective structure disposed on the side edge of the cover and covering the antenna structure.

In some embodiments, the protective structure is made of cerium oxide, tantalum nitride, epoxy resin or hot melt adhesive.

In some implementations, the number of the antenna structures is plural, and the antenna structures are spaced apart from each other at the side edge portion of the cover.

In some implementations, the touch sensing structure includes a plurality of metal wires and at least one shielding structure disposed between the metal wires and the antenna structure.

In some embodiments, the antenna structure is adhered to the side edge portion by a bonding technique, or is fabricated on the side edge portion by a coating technique.

In some implementations, the touch sensing structure includes a plurality of metal wires spaced apart from the metal wires by a distance of 0.17 mm to 0.47 mm.

The present invention proposes another curved touch panel having an antenna structure, comprising a cover, a substrate, an adhesive layer, a touch sensing structure and an antenna structure. The cover has an inner surface and includes a base portion and a side edge portion formed by bending the outer edge of the base portion. The substrate is disposed on the inner surface of the cover. The adhesive layer is disposed between the cover plate and the substrate. The touch sensing structure is disposed on the substrate and located at the base portion of the cover. The antenna structure is disposed on the substrate and located at the side edge portion of the cover.

The effect of the novel is that the curved touch panel can reduce the antenna structure in the electronic product by integrating the antenna structure on the side edge of the cover. The occupied space enhances the flexibility of the circuit configuration and helps to improve the transmission quality of the wireless signal.

100‧‧‧ curved touch panel

101‧‧‧visible area

102‧‧‧Invisible area

1‧‧‧ cover

11‧‧‧ base

12‧‧‧lateral edge

121‧‧‧ Groove

13‧‧‧ inner surface

14‧‧‧ outer surface

15‧‧‧crossing

2‧‧‧shading layer

21‧‧‧Protective layer

3‧‧‧ touch sensing structure

31‧‧‧Metal wire

4‧‧‧Antenna structure

5‧‧‧Protective structure

6‧‧‧Shielding structure

7‧‧‧Substrate

71‧‧‧Adhesive layer

The other features and functions of the present invention will be apparent from the detailed description of the embodiments of the drawings, wherein: FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of the present curved touch panel applied to an electronic product; FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the curved touch panel of FIG. 2; FIG. 4 to FIG. 11 are schematic views of a modified embodiment of the curved touch panel.

Before the present invention is described in detail, it should be noted that in the following description, similar elements are denoted by the same reference numerals.

Referring to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 , an embodiment of the curved touch panel 100 of the present invention can be applied to various electronic products. For example, the mobile phone shown in FIG. 1 can be implemented, but limit.

Specifically, the structure of the curved touch panel 100 includes a cover 1 , a shielding layer 2 , a touch sensing structure 3 , an antenna structure 4 , and a protection structure 5 .

The cover plate 1 is a surface layer structure of the curved touch panel 100 and has an inner surface 13 , an outer surface 14 on the opposite side from the inner surface 13 , and two transverse faces 15 respectively connecting the inner surface 13 and the outer surface 14 . . cover The inner surface 13 of the panel 1 can be used as a bearing surface for the internal structure, and the outer surface 14 can be used for the user to perform a touch operation through a finger, a stylus, or the like.

Structurally, the cover plate 1 includes a base portion 11 and at least two side edge portions 12 formed by bending the outer edges of the base portion 11 in the same direction, the side edge portions 12 including the transverse faces 15. The base portion 11 is a planar structure having a large area and is suitable for being disposed on the front surface of the electronic device. The side edge portion 12 is a bent structure having a small area and is suitable for being placed on the side of the electronic product, through the base portion 11 and The form fit of the side edge portions 12 allows the cover plate 1 to assume a non-planar three-dimensional (3D) structure. It should be noted that, in the present embodiment, although the base portion 11 is implemented in a planar structure, the base portion 11 may be embodied as a slightly curved arc-shaped structure as needed. In addition, the side edge portion 12 of the embodiment is described by taking two examples as an example, but the number thereof is not limited thereto. In different embodiments, the cover plate 1 may also form only one single or form more side edges. Department 12, depending on actual needs.

In the material selection, the cover plate 1 can be made of transparent hard materials such as glass and sapphire glass, and the surface hardness can be strengthened by tempering treatment as needed to improve the characteristics of resistance to falling, pressure, and scratch. Of course, the surface of the cover plate 1 can further form a film layer (not drawn) having scratch resistance, anti-reflection, anti-glare or anti-blue light through the coating technology to improve the performance of the curved touch panel 100.

The shielding layer 2 is disposed on the side edge portion 12 of the cover plate 1 and is located on the inner surface 13 of the cover plate 1 , and is made of a single layer or a plurality of layers of shielding structures through printing, coating, etc. through the ink and the photoresist material, thereby forming the curved touch panel. 100 is divided into a visible area 101 that does not cover the masking layer 2 and a covering area The non-visible area 102 of the cover 2. In the non-visible area 102, the shielding layer 2 can shield the antenna structure 4, non-transparent structures such as conductive circuits (not shown), and prevent such non-transparent structures from being visually perceived to provide a function of appearance modification.

The touch sensing structure 3 is disposed on the base portion 11 of the cover 1 and located on the inner surface 13 thereof, including a touch sensing electrode, an insulating layer, a protective layer, and a plurality of layers on the shielding layer 2, which are not shown in detail. And a structure such as a metal trace 31 adjacent to the antenna structure 4 is schematically illustrated in a layered structure in the drawings of the present invention. The touch sensing electrode of the touch sensing structure 3 can be made of transparent conductive materials such as indium tin oxide (ITO), nano silver, metal mesh, graphene, carbon nanotubes, conductive polymer, etc., and is made into a diamond shape, a triangle shape, An electrode pattern in which the rectangles and the like are alternately arranged in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction respectively provides a touch sensing function when the user touches the outer surface 14 of the cover 1. The non-transparent structure such as the metal wire 31 of the touch sensing structure 3 is mainly located at the outer edge thereof and covers the shielding layer 2, so that the non-transparent structure is shielded by the shielding layer 2 and is not visually perceived by the user.

The antenna structure 4 is disposed on the inner surface 13 of the side edge portion 12 and is located on the shielding layer 2 such that the shielding layer 2 is located between the cover plate 1 and the antenna structure 4. The antenna structure 4 can be realized by various antennas such as a monopole antenna and a planar inverted F antenna (PIFA antenna) for mobile communication signals, Wi-Fi signals, GPS signals, Bluetooth signals, radio signals, and near Transmitting and receiving various types of wireless signals such as field wireless communication (NFC) signals. In this embodiment, the antenna structure 4 is disposed on the side edge portion 12 of the cover 1. This configuration can effectively utilize the space on the cover 1 that is not occupied by other structures, and can be used for the antenna structure 4 and the touch sensing structure. 3 is integrated on the cover 1 at the same time, such as Therefore, the space for arranging the antenna structure 4 in the electronic product can be saved, and the flexible circuit configuration mode can be provided, and the signal transmission and reception quality of the antenna is facilitated. In a preferred embodiment, the distance between the antenna structure 4 and the metal wire 31 of the touch sensing structure 3 can be set to be between 0.17 mm and 0.47 mm. Such a separation distance can avoid the metal wire to the antenna structure 4. The signal transmission and reception generates interference, and the structural arrangement density between the antenna structure 4 and the touch sensing structure 3 can be maintained, and the plane area of the cover 1 is effectively utilized.

Structurally, the material of the antenna structure 4 of the present embodiment is mainly selected from metals, including copper, beryllium copper, phosphor bronze, gold, nickel or alloys thereof, or stainless steel, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The shape of the antenna structure 4 may be a flat strip shape or an irregular shape, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

In terms of production, the antenna structure 4 can be fixed to the side edge portion 12 of the cover plate 1 by means of lamination, heat fusion or the like. Finally, a protective structure 5 is disposed above the antenna structure 4. The material of the protective structure 5 may be selected from cerium oxide (SiO ₂ ), tantalum nitride (Si ₃ N ₄ ), epoxy resin, hot melt adhesive or the like. The protection structure 5 can protect the antenna structure 4 from the air from being oxidized and can shield the interference from the metal wires 31 of the touch sensing structure 3.

In another embodiment, at a higher temperature, the antenna structure 4 can be fixed to the side edge portion 12 of the cover 1 by hot melt adhesive, and the solidified hot melt adhesive is cooled and formed, and the formed hot melt adhesive coating is coated. The antenna structure 4 is described. Thus, the hot melt adhesive not only functions as a fixed antenna structure 4 but also protects, and also saves the process, and can also form the protective structure 5.

In addition to the foregoing fabrication methods, the antenna structure 4 can also be used The coating technique is directly formed on the side edge portion 12, so that the aforementioned bonding and fixing process can be omitted, and different embodiments are provided.

Referring to FIG. 4, in this embodiment, the difference from FIG. 3 is that the antenna structure 4 of the curved touch panel 100 can be as long as the circular cross-section as shown in FIG. The strip copper wire, such an embodiment can also achieve the effect of the aforementioned antenna structure 4.

Referring to FIG. 5, in this embodiment, the difference from FIG. 3 is that the antenna structure 4 can be disposed on the side edge portion 12 as shown in FIG. 5 in addition to the inner surface 13 of the side edge portion 12 as shown in FIG. The cross-face 15 is covered by the protective structure 5, and such an embodiment allows the inner surface 13 of the side edge portion 12 to be provided with other structures to provide different structural configurations.

Referring to FIG. 6, in this embodiment, the difference from FIG. 3 is that the inner surface 13 of the side edge portion 12 of the cover plate 1 is further recessed to form a recess 121. Thus, the antenna structure 4 of the embodiment is in addition to the foregoing. 3, which is directly disposed on the inner surface 13 of the side edge portion 12, can be further provided in the recess 121 in which the inner surface 13 is recessed. The groove 121 can be formed by engraving, laser, etching, etc. After the antenna structure 4 is fixed to the groove 121, cerium oxide (SiO ₂ ), tantalum nitride (Si ₃ N ₄ ), and a ring can be used. A material such as an oxygen resin or a hot melt adhesive fills the groove 121. Such an embodiment facilitates adhesion and positioning of the antenna structure 4 during the manufacturing process, and can also embed the antenna structure 4 in the cover 1 to help reduce the overall thickness and maintain the inner surface of the side edge portion 12. 13 surface flatness.

Referring to FIG. 7 , in this embodiment, the difference from FIG. 6 is that the recessed position of the recess 121 may be located on the cross surface 15 of the side edge portion 12 . The antenna structure 4 of the present embodiment can be embedded in the recess 121 formed by the recessed surface 15 in addition to the embodiment of FIG. 6 described above. This embodiment not only occupies the surface space of the transverse surface 15 of the side edge portion 12, but also maintains the surface flatness of the transverse surface 15 to facilitate the engagement of the cover plate 1 with the shell member (not shown) of the electronic product. At the same time, when the cover 1 is joined to the casing of the electronic product, the antenna structure 4 can be prevented from being damaged.

Referring to FIG. 8 , the curved touch panel 100 can also be configured with multiple antenna structures 4 as shown in FIG. 8 , and the antenna structures 4 are along a first embodiment. The side edges 12 of the cover 1 are axially spaced apart from each other to perform transceiving functions of different wireless signals. It should be noted that, according to actual needs, the antenna structures 4 may be disposed at any position of the side edge portion 12 at intervals from each other, and are not limited to the axial arrangement. In this embodiment, the protection structure 5 may be disposed one by one above the plurality of antenna structures 4, or a protective structure 5 may be uniformly disposed above the plurality of antenna structures 4.

Referring to FIG. 9 , in this embodiment, the difference from FIG. 3 is that the shielding layer 2 can be disposed on the inner surface 13 of the side edge portion 12 as shown in FIG. 3 , and can also be disposed outside the side edge portion 12 as shown in FIG. 9 . The surface 14 is protected by a protective layer 21. Correspondingly, the touch sensing structure 3, the antenna structure 4 and the protection structure 5 are directly disposed on the inner surface 13 of the cover plate 1, and the three are located on different sides of the cover plate 1 with the shielding layer 2. In this way, since the bottom-up orthographic projection range of the shielding layer 2 in the figure covers the non-transparent structure such as the metal wire 31, the antenna structure 4 and the protection structure 5 on the outer side of the touch sensing structure 3, the non-visible area 102 can be Provide shielding functions for these structures to reach outside The effect of the decoration.

Referring to FIG. 10 , the difference between FIG. 3 and FIG. 3 is that the curved touch panel 100 further includes two shielding structures 6 . The shielding structure 6 is made of a conductive material such as metal, and is disposed on the shielding layer 2 and respectively located on the touch layer. The sensing structure 3 and the antenna structure 4 can reduce the interference of the touch sensing structure 3 on the antenna structure 4 by using the shielding function to improve the signal transmission quality of the wireless signal.

Referring to FIG. 11 , in this embodiment, the difference from FIG. 3 is that the curved touch panel 100 further includes a substrate 7 as a supporting component for the touch sensing structure 3 , the antenna structure 4 and the protection structure. After being formed on the upper surface, the adhesive layer 71 is attached to the inner surface 13 of the cover 1 and the outer edge of the touch sensing structure 3, the antenna structure 4 and the protective structure 5 are located in the non-visible area 102. Different from the previous structure configuration and production method. It should be noted that, in FIG. 11, the metal wire 31, the antenna structure 4 and the protective structure 5 are disposed on the substrate 7, that is, the three sides and the cover plate 1 are respectively located on opposite sides of the substrate 7, but The metal wire 31, the antenna structure 4, and the protective structure 5 may also be disposed under the substrate 7, that is, the three are located between the cover plate 1 and the substrate 7, and are not limited to the foregoing disclosure.

In summary, the curved touch panel 100 of the present invention can reduce the space occupied by the antenna structure 4 in the electronic product by integrating the antenna structure 4 on the side edge portion 12 of the cover plate 1 , thereby improving the flexibility of the circuit configuration and contributing to the improvement. Improve the transmission quality of wireless signals, so it can achieve the purpose of this new type.

In addition, the present invention is integrated into the antenna junction of the cover 1 The structure 4 can be realized by a flexible circuit board (not shown) shared or unshared with the touch sensing structure 3 or by direct contact with the electrical conductor to reach a wireless signal transceiving unit (not shown) of the electronic product. Electrical connection.

However, the above description is only for the embodiments of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention cannot be limited thereto, that is, the simple equivalent changes and modifications made by the present patent application scope and the contents of the patent specification are still It is within the scope of this new patent.

100‧‧‧ curved touch panel

101‧‧‧visible area

102‧‧‧Invisible area

1‧‧‧ cover

11‧‧‧ base

12‧‧‧lateral edge

13‧‧‧ inner surface

14‧‧‧ outer surface

15‧‧‧crossing

2‧‧‧shading layer

3‧‧‧ touch sensing structure

31‧‧‧Metal wire

4‧‧‧Antenna structure

5‧‧‧Protective structure

Claims (14)

A curved touch panel having an antenna structure, comprising: a cover plate comprising a base portion and a side edge portion formed by bending an outer edge of the base portion; a touch sensing structure disposed on the base of the cover plate And at least one antenna structure disposed on the side edge portion of the cover. The curved touch panel having an antenna structure according to claim 1, wherein the cover has an inner surface, the touch sensing structure is located on the inner surface of the base portion, and the antenna structure is located at the side edge portion The inner surface. The curved touch panel having an antenna structure according to claim 1, wherein the cover has an inner surface, an outer surface on an opposite side of the inner surface, and a side edge portion connecting the inner surface a transverse interface with the outer surface; the touch sensing structure is located on the inner surface of the base portion, and the antenna structure is located on the transverse surface. The curved touch panel having an antenna structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a shielding layer disposed on the inner surface of the side edge portion and located at the cover plate and the antenna Between the structures. The curved touch panel having an antenna structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a shielding layer and a protective layer, the shielding layer being disposed on the outer surface of the side edge portion, and the shielding layer Placed between the protective layer and the substrate. The curved touch panel having an antenna structure according to claim 2, wherein the inner surface of the side edge portion is recessed to form a recess for the antenna structure to be disposed therein. The curved touch panel having an antenna structure according to claim 3, wherein the lateral surface of the side edge portion is recessed to form a recess for the antenna structure to be disposed therein. The curved touch panel having the antenna structure according to claim 1, further comprising a protection structure disposed on the side edge portion of the cover and covering the antenna structure. The curved touch panel having the antenna structure according to claim 8, wherein the protective structure is made of cerium oxide, tantalum nitride, epoxy resin or hot melt adhesive. The curved touch panel having the antenna structure according to claim 1, wherein the number of the antenna structures is plural, and the antenna structures are spaced apart from each other at the side edge portion of the cover. The curved touch panel having an antenna structure according to claim 1, wherein the touch sensing structure comprises a plurality of metal wires and at least one shielding structure, the shielding structure being disposed between the metal wires and the antenna structure. The curved touch panel having an antenna structure according to claim 1, wherein the antenna structure is adhered to the side edge portion by a bonding technique, or is formed on the side edge portion by a coating technique. The curved touch panel having an antenna structure according to claim 1, wherein the touch sensing structure comprises a plurality of metal wires, and the antenna structure is spaced apart from the metal wires by a distance of 0.17 mm to 0.47 mm. A curved touch panel having an antenna structure, comprising: a cover having an inner surface and including a base portion and a a side edge portion formed by bending an outer edge of the base portion; a substrate disposed on the inner surface of the cover plate; an adhesive layer disposed between the cover plate and the substrate; and a touch sensing structure And the base portion of the cover plate; and an antenna structure disposed on the substrate and located at the side edge portion of the cover plate.