Protective shell and touch connector thereof

Abstract

The utility model discloses a protective shell and a touch connector thereof, the touch connector comprises a base, a panel and a conduction module, the base comprises a circle of side wall, the top of the side wall is enclosed to form a top opening, the conduction module is a PCB (printed circuit board), and the panel is arranged on the PCB. Comprising a base plate, a plurality of upper conducting strips arranged on the upper surface of the base plate, a plurality of lower conducting strips arranged on the lower surface of the base plate and a plurality of via holes penetrating through the base plate, the upper conducting strips and the lower conducting strips which vertically correspond to each other are conducted through the via holes, and the conducting module is located in the base and exposed out of the top face through a top opening. The panel is located in the top opening and is bonded to the top surface of the conduction module through a double faced adhesive tape. According to the touch connector of the protective shell, the panel is independently arranged for the conduction module, so that the panel can adopt a high-hardness and high-conductivity medium, deformation can be avoided, appearance flaws are reduced, and the sensitivity of capacitance transmission is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to a protective shell for mobile smart devices and its tactile connector. Background Technology

[0002] Current mobile smart devices, such as mobile phones and tablets, typically have touch keys on their sides. These touch keys allow users to control the device, such as waking it up and adjusting the volume. Existing protective cases for mobile smart devices usually have openings to expose the touch keys for easy operation. However, these openings can affect the case's waterproofing. Conversely, if the case completely covers the touch keys, it can hinder touch operation. Therefore, the applicant is developing a haptic connector that can transmit touch signals, which, when fitted onto a protective case, can both cover the touch keys and allow them to operate normally.

[0003] This tactile connector typically consists of a plastic housing and a conductive module located within the housing. The plastic housing has a top wall on top of the conductive module, and this top wall is designed to be very thin to allow the conductive module to properly transmit user touch operations, i.e., capacitive transmission. To increase rigidity, the surface of the top wall needs to be UV-coated. However, during development, it was discovered that the plastic housing provides poor support for the top wall, making it prone to deformation during UV coating. Furthermore, because the top wall is too thin, it is prone to appearance defects such as weld lines and shrinkage marks during injection molding, and the capacitive transmission sensitivity of the top wall is also slower.

[0004] Therefore, improvements are needed to the current tactile connectors. Utility Model Content

[0005] This utility model provides a protective shell with a panel and its tactile connector.

[0006] Specifically, this utility model is achieved through the following technical solution: a tactile connector, including a base, a panel, and a conductive module. The base includes a ring of sidewalls, and a top opening is formed around the top of the sidewalls. The conductive module is a PCB board, including a substrate, a plurality of upper conductive sheets disposed on the upper surface of the substrate, a plurality of lower conductive sheets disposed on the lower surface of the substrate, and a plurality of through holes penetrating the substrate. The through holes conduct the upper and lower conductive sheets corresponding to the upper and lower conductive sheets. The conductive module is located in the base and its top surface is exposed through the top opening. The panel is located in the top opening and is bonded to the top surface of the conductive module with double-sided adhesive.

[0007] In a preferred embodiment, the base and the top surface of the conductive module together form a groove, and the panel is embedded in the groove.

[0008] In a preferred embodiment, the edge of the top opening is provided with a stepped surface, which is flush with the top surface of the conductive module.

[0009] In a preferred embodiment, the double-sided adhesive bondes the panel to the stepped surface.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment, the base is injection molded outside the conductive module.

[0011] In a preferred embodiment, the panel is made of plexiglass, tempered glass, ceramic, acrylic sheet, or sapphire.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment, the surface of the panel is coated with insulating ink.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment, the conductive module includes a substrate, a plurality of upper conductive sheets disposed on the upper surface of the substrate, a plurality of lower conductive sheets disposed on the lower surface of the substrate, and a plurality of through holes penetrating the substrate, wherein the through holes conduct the upper and lower corresponding upper conductive sheets and the lower conductive sheets.

[0014] In a preferred embodiment, the surfaces of the upper conductive sheet and / or the lower conductive sheet are provided with an ink coating.

[0015] This utility model also provides the following technical solution: a protective shell for covering a mobile device, including a shell and the aforementioned tactile connector, wherein the tactile connector is installed on the side of the shell.

[0016] The tactile connector of the protective shell of this utility model has a separate panel for the conductive module. Therefore, the panel can be made of a high-hardness and high-conductivity medium, which can avoid deformation, reduce appearance defects and improve the sensitivity of capacitive transmission.

[0017] It should be understood that the above general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only, and do not limit the present invention. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 This is a perspective view of the protective shell in one embodiment of the present utility model;

[0019] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A perspective view of the tactile connector of the protective shell shown;

[0020] Figure 3 This is a three-dimensional view of the tactile connector from another angle.

[0021] Figure 4 This is an exploded 3D view of the tactile connector;

[0022] Figure 5 and Figure 4 Similarity, taken from another perspective;

[0023] Figure 6 This is a perspective view of the housing of the tactile connector.

[0024] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures:

[0025] Protective shell 100, housing 1, side 11, retaining hole 12, edge 121, tactile connector 2, base 21, side wall 211, top opening 212, stepped surface 213, groove 214, mating groove 215, conductive module 22, substrate 221, upper conductive sheet 222, lower conductive sheet 223, through hole 224, panel 23, double-sided adhesive 24. Detailed Implementation

[0026] Exemplary embodiments will now be described in detail, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description relates to the drawings, unless otherwise indicated, the same numbers in different drawings denote the same or similar elements. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with this invention. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatuses, systems, devices, and methods consistent with some aspects of this invention.

[0027] refer to Figure 1 As shown, the protective case 100 of this utility model is used to protect smart mobile devices, which can be either a mobile phone case or a tablet case. The following description uses the mobile phone case 100 as an example. The protective case 100 is wrapped around the mobile phone (not shown). The protective case 100 includes a housing 1 and a touch connector 2 disposed on the side 11 of the housing 1. The touch connector 2 is used to block the touch keys (not shown) and transmit the user's touch operation to the touch keys (not shown).

[0028] refer to Figures 2 to 6 As shown, the tactile connector 2 is generally strip-shaped and includes a plastic base 21, a conductive module 22, a panel 23, and double-sided adhesive 24. The conductive module 22 is fixed inside the base 21 and its top surface is exposed. The panel 23 is attached to the top surface of the conductive module 22 by the double-sided adhesive 24 and is also embedded in the top of the base 21. The panel 23 is close to the top surface of the conductive module 22 so that capacitive transmission can be performed between the panel 23 and the conductive module 22 through the double-sided adhesive 24.

[0029] The base 21 is elongated and has a ring of sidewalls 211. The top of the sidewalls 211 forms a top opening 212, and the edge of the top opening 212 has a ring of stepped surfaces 213. The base 21 is injection molded directly from plastic onto the conductive module 22, allowing the base 21 and the conductive module 22 to be tightly bonded together. The top surface of the conductive module 22 is exposed through the top opening 212, and the stepped surface 213 of the base 21 is flush with the top surface of the conductive module 22. The top opening 212 of the base 21 and the top surface of the conductive module 22 together form a groove 214 for accommodating the panel 23.

[0030] The conductive module 22 is a PCB board, including a substrate 221, a plurality of upper conductive sheets 222 disposed on the upper surface of the substrate 221, a plurality of lower conductive sheets 223 disposed on the lower surface of the substrate 221, and a plurality of vias 224. The upper conductive sheets 222 and the lower conductive sheets 223 are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence. The vias 224 penetrate the upper conductive sheets 222, the substrate 221, and the corresponding lower conductive sheets 223 to electrically connect the upper conductive sheets 222 and the lower conductive sheets 223. During manufacturing, gold is plated on the upper surface, the lower surface of the PCB board, and the inner wall of the vias 224 by electroplating to form a gold plating layer, which is the upper conductive sheets 222 and the lower conductive sheets 223 that are connected to each other. The conductive module 22 adopts a conventional double-sided board process, and the blanking uses a splitting machine to reduce dust; the surface gold immersion area adopts a multi-segment split design to increase the smoothness of product contact, and the surface of the upper conductive sheet 222 and / or the lower conductive sheet 223 can also be coated with ink (not shown) to avoid wear and extend service life.

[0031] The shape of panel 23 is roughly the same as the top of the top opening 212 on the top side of base 21, i.e., the groove 214. Panel 23 is embedded in the groove 214 from the top side. Double-sided adhesive 24 is attached to the bottom surface of panel 23. Double-sided adhesive 24 glues and fixes panel 23 to the stepped surface 213 of base 21 and the top surface of conductive module 22. Panel 23 is supported by stepped surface 213 and conductive module 22. Panel 23 is reliably fixed to base 21.

[0032] Panel 23 is manufactured using CNC (Computer Numerical Control) molding, and its surface is coated with insulating ink. Panel 23 can be made of high-hardness materials such as plexiglass, tempered glass, ceramic, acrylic sheet, or sapphire, making it resistant to deformation. Panel 23 has a smooth surface without any visible defects and possesses a high dielectric constant, resulting in higher capacitive transfer sensitivity. Double-sided adhesive 24 is a strong-adhesive double-sided adhesive, produced using conventional die-cutting processes. Both panel 23 and double-sided adhesive 24 are very thin, not affecting capacitive transfer.

[0033] The assembly process of the touch connector 2 is as follows: 1. First, form a base 21 on the outside of the conductive module 22. The top surface of the conductive module 22 and the base 21 together form a groove 214; 2. Apply double-sided adhesive 24 to the bottom surface of the panel 23; 3. Embed the panel 23 into the groove 214 so that the panel 23 is bonded to the top surface of the conductive module 22.

[0034] The side 11 of the housing 1 has a through retaining hole (not shown), and the outer surface of the side wall 211 of the base 21 of the touch connector 2 has a mating groove 215. The touch connector 2 passes through the retaining hole 12 (not shown) from the inside to the outside, and can be snapped onto the protective housing 100.

[0035] When the protective case 100 is used with a mobile phone (not shown), the user's finger sliding on its panel 23 can transmit the signal to multiple upper conductive sheets 222, which in turn transmit it to multiple lower conductive sheets 223, making the multiple lower conductive sheets 223 electrically connected. The lower conductive sheets 223 are electrically connected to the touch keys (not shown) on the mobile phone (not shown), thus producing a sliding contact tactile effect on the surface of the touch keys (not shown). According to the function definition of the touch keys (not shown) themselves, the screen can be magnified or reduced, or the screen pages can be flipped up or down, etc.

[0036] The above are merely preferred embodiments of this utility model and are not intended to limit this utility model. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this utility model should be included within the scope of protection of this utility model.

Claims

1. A tactile connector, characterized in that: The device includes a base, a panel, and a conductive module. The base includes a ring of sidewalls, and a top opening is formed around the top of the sidewalls. The conductive module is a PCB board, including a substrate, a plurality of upper conductive sheets disposed on the upper surface of the substrate, a plurality of lower conductive sheets disposed on the lower surface of the substrate, and a plurality of through holes penetrating the substrate. The through holes conduct the upper and lower conductive sheets corresponding to the upper and lower conductive sheets. The conductive module is located in the base and its top surface is exposed through the top opening. The panel is located in the top opening and is bonded to the top surface of the conductive module with double-sided adhesive.

2. The tactile connector according to claim 1, characterized in that: The base and the top surface of the conductive module together form a groove, and the panel is embedded in the groove.

3. The tactile connector according to claim 2, characterized in that: The edge of the top opening is provided with a stepped surface, which is flush with the top surface of the conductive module.

4. The tactile connector according to claim 3, characterized in that: The double-sided adhesive bondes the panel to the stepped surface.

5. The tactile connector according to claim 1, characterized in that: The base is injection molded onto the outside of the conductive module.

6. The tactile connector according to claim 1, characterized in that: The panel is made of plexiglass, tempered glass, ceramic, acrylic sheet, or sapphire.

7. The tactile connector according to claim 6, characterized in that: The surface of the panel is coated with insulating ink.

8. The tactile connector according to claim 7, characterized in that: The surfaces of the upper conductive sheet and / or the lower conductive sheet are coated with ink.

9. A protective case for covering a mobile device, characterized in that: It includes a housing and a tactile connector as described in any one of claims 1 to 8, the tactile connector being mounted on the side of the housing.

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