Touchpad with light emitting diodes

Abstract

A touchpad includes at least one light emitting diode and a printed circuit board. The light emitting diode has two connection ends. The printed circuit board has a surface on which a touch sensing pattern is formed to sense a touch operation. At least one light emitting diode placement area is defined on the touch sensing pattern. The light emitting diode is disposed in the light emitting diode placement area so that the two connection ends of the light emitting diode are connected to the printed circuit board and electrically isolated from the touch sensing pattern. Since the light emitting diode is disposed in the placement area defined by the touch sensing pattern, a touchpad with a light emitting diode that can achieve full touch function without forming a touch dead zone is provided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the technical field of touchpads, and more particularly to a touchpad with light-emitting diodes that provides full touch functionality. Background Technology

[0002] Most laptops are equipped with a touchpad for users to operate the laptop by touch. However, with the advancement of touch technology, a touchpad that simply provides touch functionality can no longer meet the needs of users. Nowadays, touchpads can be switched to touch numeric keys to give them numeric input capabilities. For example, if a user presses a specific location on the touchpad, such as the location on the upper right of the touchpad that represents a toggle key, the touchpad will switch to touch numeric keys and light up the touchpad's LEDs to display the numeric keys.

[0003] like Figure 1 The diagram shows a configuration of a touchpad 10 that can be switched to touch operation or numeric input. The operation surface of the touchpad 10 is divided into a touch area 11 and a light-emitting diode (LED) setting area 13. The upper edge of the operation surface of the touchpad 10 is used as the LED area 13, and the rest is used as the touch area 11 where touch sensing patterns are laid out. When the touchpad 10 is switched to touch numeric keys, the LEDs can be lit to illuminate a light guide plate on the touchpad 10 to display the touch numeric keys, making it convenient for users to input numeric keys by touch.

[0004] However, based on the above Figure 1 Due to its configuration, the LED area 13 of the touchpad 10's operating surface cannot provide touch functionality, forming a so-called dead zone. For a typical 140mm x 80mm touchpad 10, the dead zone is approximately 140mm x 5mm in size, occupying 6.25% of the touch surface. Users are unaware of this dead zone's existence during touch operations, often leading to choppy touch operations or even the mistaken belief that the touchpad 10 is malfunctioning. Furthermore, the presence of a dead zone reduces the touchable area of ​​the touchpad, preventing it from providing full-area touch control.

[0005] Therefore, the design of existing touchpads with LEDs still has many shortcomings and needs to be improved. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The main objective of this invention is to provide a touchpad with light-emitting diodes that can avoid the formation of touch dead zones, thereby addressing the deficiencies of the prior art.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides a touch panel comprising: at least one light-emitting diode (LED) having two connection terminals; and a printed circuit board having a surface on which a touch-sensing pattern is formed to sense touch operations; wherein at least one LED placement area is defined on the touch-sensing pattern, and the LED is disposed in the LED placement area such that the two connection terminals of the LED are connected to the printed circuit board and electrically isolated from the touch-sensing pattern.

[0008] In embodiments of the present invention, the light-emitting diodes are disposed within the placement area defined by the touch-sensing pattern, thus avoiding the formation of touch dead zones and enabling a touchpad with light-emitting diodes to achieve full touch functionality. In other words, the touchpad provided by the embodiments of the present invention not only enables illuminated touch keys but also achieves full touch functionality.

[0009] The above overview and the following detailed description are illustrative in nature and are intended to further illustrate the claims of the present invention. Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be set forth in the following description and drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0010] Figure 1 This is a configuration diagram of an existing touchpad that can be switched between touch operation and digital input.

[0011] Figure 2(A) shows a plan view of the touch panel of the present invention.

[0012] Figure 2(B) shows a side view of the touchpad of the present invention as seen from the direction of the arrow in Figure 2(A).

[0013] Figure 3 This is a partial enlarged view of the touch panel of the present invention to schematically show an embodiment of the light-emitting diode placement area.

[0014] Figure 4 This is a partial enlarged view of the touch panel of the present invention to schematically show another embodiment of the light-emitting diode placement area.

[0015] Figure 5 The diagram illustrates the compensation for the reduction in touch sensitivity caused by the formation of a cutout area on the touch sensing pattern corresponding to the touch sensing area.

[0016] Figure 6 The diagram illustrates how a current-limiting resistor controls the brightness of an LED to ensure uniform overall brightness.

[0017] Figure 7 A configuration diagram showing the touchpad of the present invention can be switched between touch operation and digital input.

[0018] Symbol explanation:

[0019] Touchpad 10, 20, Touch area 11

[0020] LED Area 13 LED 21

[0021] Printed circuit board 23 Connector 211

[0022] Surface 231, 233 Touch-sensitive pattern 25

[0023] Control circuit 29, drive line pattern 251

[0024] Induction line pattern 253; Touch sensing areas 27, 271, 272

[0025] LED placement area 22 Through hole 24

[0026] Excavated areas 31 and 41 are at distances D and d respectively. Detailed Implementation

[0027] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this invention clearer, the invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of implementation methods and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

[0028] Figure 2(A) shows a plan view of the touch panel 20 of the present invention, and Figure 2(B) shows a side view of the touch panel 20 of the present invention viewed from the direction of the arrow in Figure 2(A). As shown in the figures, the touch panel 20 includes at least one light-emitting diode 21 and a printed circuit board 23. Each light-emitting diode 21 has at least two connection terminals 211. Multiple light-emitting diodes 21 are drawn at equal distances in the figure to provide sufficient brightness. However, the present invention only requires at least one light-emitting diode 21 to achieve the brightness that can be displayed. Each light-emitting diode 21 in the figure has two connection terminals 211. However, the present invention is not limited to this and can also be applied to light-emitting diodes with more connection terminals.

[0029] A touch-sensitive pattern 25 is formed on one surface 231 of the printed circuit board 23 to sense touch operations, while a control circuit 29 is provided on the other surface 233 of the printed circuit board 23. The touch-sensitive pattern 25 includes a plurality of drive line patterns 251 and a plurality of sensing line patterns 253 arranged in an alternating manner to define a plurality of touch-sensitive areas 27 arranged in rows and columns. Therefore, each touch-sensitive area 27 corresponds to a portion of the touch-sensitive pattern 25, that is, the portion of the touch-sensitive pattern framed by the dashed squares as shown in the figure. Each sensing line pattern 253 is an integral sensing line as shown in the figure. Each driving line pattern 251 is an electrically connected driving line connected together via wires inside the printed circuit board 23 or on another surface 233 (not shown). During touch operation, the control circuit 29 applies a driving signal to the majority of driving line patterns 251 and determines whether a touch has occurred in one or more touch sensing areas 27 by reading the sensing signals on the majority of sensing line patterns 253. The above touch operation is known to those skilled in touch technology and will not be described in detail. The shape of the touch sensing pattern 25 (driving line pattern 251 and sensing line pattern 253) shown in Figure 2(A) is only an example. Those skilled in touch technology will know that various different touch sensing patterns can also be applied. The present invention is not limited to this specific touch sensing pattern 25.

[0030] Referring again to Figure 2(A), at least one LED placement area 22 is defined on the touch sensing pattern 25 for placing an LED 21 therein. Since multiple LEDs 21 are shown in Figure 2(A), multiple LED placement areas 22 are also required. The LED placement area 22 is configured to connect the two connection terminals 211 of the LED 21 placed therein to the printed circuit board 23 and electrically isolate it from the touch sensing pattern 25. In addition, as shown in Figure 2(B), the two connection terminals 211 of the LED 21 can be electrically connected to the control circuit 29 disposed on another surface 233 of the printed circuit board 23 via the through hole 24 on the printed circuit board 23.

[0031] Reference Figure 3The diagram shows a partial enlarged view of the touchpad 20 of the present invention, schematically illustrating one embodiment of the LED placement area 22. The LED placement area 22 is formed by removing two portions of the touch-sensing pattern 25, resulting in two cut-out areas 31. The position and extent of each cut-out area 31 correspond to a connection terminal 211 of the LED 21. The two connection terminals 211 of the LED 21 are respectively connected to the printed circuit board 23 through the two second cut-out areas 31. As shown, in this embodiment, the two second cut-out areas 31 are located within two adjacent touch-sensing areas 271 and 272, respectively. Therefore, the LED 22 is positioned across the two adjacent touch-sensing areas 271 and 272. Furthermore, in other embodiments, the two second cut-out areas 31 may also be located within the same touch-sensing area 27, thus the LED 21 is also located within the same touch-sensing area 27. In another embodiment, the LED 21 may also be composed of a plurality of LEDs capable of emitting different colors of light, in which case the LED may also include multiple connection terminals.

[0032] As mentioned above, the majority of touch sensing areas 27 are arranged in rows and columns. In one embodiment, the majority of light-emitting diode placement areas 22 are defined in the first row of touch sensing areas 27, so that the majority of light-emitting diodes 21 can be placed in the first row of touch sensing areas 27. Therefore, only the portion of the first row of touch sensing areas 27 corresponding to the touch sensing pattern 25 where the light-emitting diodes 21 are provided has a cutout area 31. However, in order to achieve pattern consistency and not affect the touch sensing amount, the same cutout area 31 can also be formed in the portion of the touch sensing pattern 25 corresponding to each touch sensing area 27 in the first row. In addition, the majority of light-emitting diodes 21 of the present invention are not limited to being placed in the first row. It is conceivable that the majority of light-emitting diodes 21 can also be placed in the first column or other suitable positions.

[0033] Reference Figure 4The enlarged partial view of the touchpad 20 of the present invention schematically shows another embodiment of the LED placement area 22, wherein the LED placement area 22 is formed as a cutout area 41 by removing a portion of the touch sensing pattern 25. The position and extent of the cutout area 41 correspond to the LED 21, and the two connection terminals 211 of the LED 21 are connected to the printed circuit board 23 through the cutout area 41. That is, the touch sensing pattern 25 may not be formed within the LED placement area 22. As shown in the figure, in this embodiment, the cutout area 41 spans two adjacent touch sensing areas 271 and 272; therefore, the LED 22 is disposed across the two adjacent touch sensing areas 271 and 272. Furthermore, in other embodiments, the cutout area 41 may also be located within the same touch sensing area 27; therefore, the LED 21 is also located within the same touch sensing area 27.

[0034] Similarly, in one embodiment, only the portion of the touch sensing pattern 25 corresponding to the first row of touch sensing areas 27 arranged in rows and columns has a cutout area 41. However, in order to ensure the consistency of the pattern and not affect the amount of touch sensing, the same cutout area 41 may be formed in the portion of the touch sensing pattern 25 corresponding to each touch sensing area 27 in the first row.

[0035] In some embodiments, when only a portion of the touch-sensing pattern 25 corresponding to the first row of touch-sensing areas 27 has a cutout area 31 or 41 formed, the formation of the cutout area may reduce the amount of touch sensing, therefore compensation is required, such as... Figure 5 As shown, this can be achieved by enhancing the driving signal of the input driving line pattern 251 (e.g., making the gain of the driving signal applied to the first row input driving line pattern 251 greater than 1), or by strengthening the sensing signal output from the sensing line pattern 253 (e.g., when reading the sensing signal from the first row input driving line pattern 251, adjusting the output gain of the sensing line pattern 253 to strengthen the output sensing signal), or by using software to compensate for the reduction in touch sensing amount caused by the formation of the cutout area 31 or 41 on the touch sensing pattern 25 corresponding to the touch sensing area 27.

[0036] Please refer to the following: Figure 6 Furthermore, it is explained that the brightness of the light-emitting diode 21 is controlled by a current-limiting resistor to make the overall brightness uniform, which is different from the above embodiment where the plurality of light-emitting diodes 21 are arranged at equal intervals in the touch sensing area 27 of the first row. Figure 6 The majority of light-emitting diodes 21 are arranged at non-equidistant intervals in the touch-sensing area 27 of the first row. Figure 6The distance D between the first light-emitting diode 21 and the boundary is greater than the distance d between any two light-emitting diodes 21 or the distance d between the last light-emitting diode 21 and the other boundary, which may cause the first light-emitting diode 21 to not provide sufficient brightness. Therefore, this phenomenon can be improved by the current-limiting resistors connected to the light-emitting diodes 21. That is, different resistance values (R1 to R8) of the current-limiting resistors are selected to compensate for the uneven brightness caused by the non-equidistantly distributed light-emitting diodes 21. In Figure 6 the example of, the resistance value R1 < R2 = R3 = R4 = R5 = R6 = R7 = R8 is selected. Since the resistance value R1 of the current-limiting resistor connected to the first light-emitting diode 21 is smaller, the current flowing through it is larger, resulting in a higher brightness of the first light-emitting diode 21, which can compensate for the uneven brightness caused by the non-equidistantly distributed light-emitting diodes 21.

[0037] From the above description, it can be seen that for the touchpad of the present invention, the touch-sensitive area is distributed on the entire surface of the touchpad. By removing some of the touch-sensitive patterns for arranging the light-emitting diodes, the light of the light-emitting diodes can be provided without forming a touch dead zone to display the touch digital keys, such as Figure 7 shown in the configuration diagram of the touchpad 20 of the present invention that can be switched to touch operation or digital input. Since no additional touch dead zone is formed, the touchpad 20 of the embodiment of the present invention can additionally increase the touch surface by 6.25%, and further enables the touchpad 20 to have a full-surface touch function, and its touch operation can be more smooth.

[0038] The above embodiments are only examples for convenience of description. The scope of the rights claimed by the present invention should be subject to what is described in the claims, rather than being limited to the above embodiments.

Claims

1. A touch panel with light-emitting diodes, characterized in that, Include: At least one light-emitting diode; and A printed circuit board has a surface on which a touch-sensitive pattern is formed to define a plurality of touch-sensitive areas, each touch-sensitive area corresponding to a portion of the touch-sensitive pattern. In this plurality of touch sensing areas, at least one touch sensing area has a touch sensing pattern portion that is smaller than the touch sensing pattern portions of each of the other touch sensing areas. At least one light-emitting diode is disposed in the at least one touch sensing area and is electrically isolated from the touch sensing pattern. The at least one touch sensing area includes two adjacent touch sensing areas, and the portion of the two adjacent touch sensing areas without a touch sensing pattern is formed as a first cutout area spanning the two adjacent touch sensing areas. The range and position of the first cutout area correspond to the at least one light-emitting diode, and the at least one light-emitting diode is electrically connected to the printed circuit board through the first cutout area.

2. The touchpad as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The touch-sensitive pattern includes a plurality of drive line patterns and a plurality of sensor line patterns arranged in an interleaved manner.

3. The touchpad as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The light-emitting diode spans the two adjacent touch-sensitive areas.

4. The touchpad as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Each touch-sensing area has the same cut-out area in the corresponding touch-sensing pattern.

5. The touchpad as described in claim 2, characterized in that, For the driving line pattern and sensing line pattern corresponding to the touch sensing area provided with at least one light-emitting diode, the driving signal input to the driving line pattern is enhanced, or the sensing signal output from the sensing line pattern is strengthened, or the reduction in touch sensing amount is compensated by software.

6. The touchpad as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The majority of touch-sensitive areas are arranged in rows and columns, and at least one touch-sensitive area is defined in the first row of touch-sensitive areas.

7. A touch panel with light-emitting diodes, characterized in that, Include: At least one light-emitting diode; and A printed circuit board has a surface on which a touch-sensitive pattern is formed to define a plurality of touch-sensitive areas, each touch-sensitive area corresponding to a portion of the touch-sensitive pattern. In this plurality of touch sensing areas, at least one touch sensing area has a touch sensing pattern portion that is smaller than the touch sensing pattern portions of each of the other touch sensing areas. At least one light-emitting diode is disposed in the at least one touch sensing area and is electrically isolated from the touch sensing pattern. The portion of the at least one touch-sensing area without a touch-sensing pattern is formed as two second cut-out areas. The range and position of the two second cut-out areas correspond to the two connection terminals of the at least one light-emitting diode. The two connection terminals of the at least one light-emitting diode are electrically connected to the printed circuit board through the two second cut-out areas.

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