Touch display module and household appliance

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a touch display module and a household appliance. The touch display module comprises at least one touch key for a user to touch and display an icon, characterized in that the touch key comprises: a circuit board; a light emitting unit arranged on the circuit board and used for illuminating the icon, the light emitting unit comprising at least two light emitting elements; a touch sensing disc arranged on the circuit board and surrounding the at least one light emitting element and used for detecting a touch operation signal; an encapsulation glue layer covering the light emitting unit; and a light shielding member provided with a light guide hole, the light shielding member being configured to be light shielding and the light guide hole being used for guiding light emitted by the light emitting unit to the icon, the encapsulation glue layer being arranged in the light guide hole, wherein a thickness of the encapsulation glue layer is less than a height of the light shielding member. Thus, the touch display module and the household appliance according to the present disclosure can become lighter and thinner while being cost advantageous.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure generally relates to the fields of touch display and home appliances, and in particular to a touch display module and a corresponding home appliance. Background Technology

[0002] In the traditional home appliance industry, touch display modules are often used as the core component of touch display panels and can be widely used in home appliances such as refrigerators, air conditioners, and washing machines.

[0003] Existing touch display modules often suffer from issues such as large thickness, high cost, or complex manufacturing processes in touch display applications. For example, existing LED light sources require a large mixing distance within the light guide holes of the bracket, resulting in a bracket height generally exceeding 10mm, which increases the module thickness and prevents the achievement of thinner designs. Furthermore, integrating touch functionality often requires additional components such as touch films, increasing structural complexity and cost. Therefore, as consumers increasingly demand thinner and more cost-effective home appliances, developing an ultra-thin display solution with high integration, controllable cost, and suitability for home appliance manufacturing has become a pressing technical challenge in this field. Utility Model Content

[0004] The purpose of this disclosure is to provide a touch display module and a corresponding home appliance that can be made thinner and lighter while being cost-effective.

[0005] In a first aspect, this disclosure provides a touch display module, including at least one touch button for a user to touch and display an icon. The touch button includes: a circuit board; a light-emitting unit disposed on the circuit board for illuminating the icon, the light-emitting unit including at least two light-emitting elements; a touch sensor disk disposed on the circuit board and surrounding the at least one light-emitting element for detecting touch operation signals; an encapsulating adhesive layer covering the light-emitting unit; and a light-blocking member having a light-guiding hole. The light-blocking member is constructed to be opaque, and the light-guiding hole guides light emitted by the light-emitting unit to the icon. The encapsulating adhesive layer is disposed within the light-guiding hole, wherein the thickness of the encapsulating adhesive layer is less than the height of the light-blocking member. In other words, the encapsulating adhesive layer covering the multiple light-emitting elements within the light-guiding hole not only protects the light-emitting elements but, more importantly, diffuses the light emitted by the multiple light-emitting elements to produce uniform light. The light-blocking member not only effectively isolates light and prevents light crosstalk but also, when necessary, acts as a barrier for the encapsulating adhesive layer, thereby facilitating the injection of the adhesive layer.

[0006] Therefore, in the touch display module according to this disclosure, the encapsulating adhesive layer constitutes an incomplete encapsulating adhesive layer, which avoids the problem of excessively thick adhesive layers caused by traditional full-adhesion encapsulation (such as potting). The reduction in the volume of the adhesive layer can further compress the overall structure of the touch buttons, and the reduction in the amount of adhesive used can reduce the encapsulation cost. Moreover, this encapsulation process is relatively simple (such as dispensing, local spraying), and does not require complex molds or long curing times. In addition, the cooperation between the light-blocking component and the encapsulating adhesive layer can limit the light scattering range and prevent light leakage between different buttons, thereby facilitating the achievement of a uniform surface light source and improving display contrast.

[0007] In some embodiments, the light-blocking member is constructed of a bracket made of a flexible and / or rigid material, and the light guide holes are formed in the bracket. For touch display modules including multiple touch buttons, the bracket can be injection molded in one step to form multiple light guide holes corresponding to the multiple touch buttons, while the bracket has high stability. This simplifies the manufacturing of touch display modules and reduces their manufacturing costs.

[0008] In some embodiments, the light-blocking member is formed by a surrounding structure of a flexible or rigid material, which constitutes the light guide hole. In particular, this surrounding structure of colloidal material can be achieved by a dam similar to that in existing COB (Chip on Board) packaging technology, thus being compatible with existing COB technology and facilitating mass production.

[0009] In some embodiments, a surrounding structure made of a soft or hard material is further included between the light guide hole and the encapsulating adhesive layer, with the encapsulating adhesive layer filling the surrounding structure. Here, the encapsulating adhesive layer is surrounded by an inner surrounding structure and an outer light-blocking member. The surrounding structure acts as a barrier for the encapsulating adhesive layer, and the light-blocking member acts as an anti-light-crossing structure for the module. This dual-structure design provides more operational possibilities for practical applications. For example, a traditional dammed adhesive can be used to surround the encapsulating adhesive layer, and then a bracket can be used for light blocking, thereby combining the advantages of the bracket and the surrounding structure.

[0010] In this regard, in some embodiments, the surrounding structure is disposed on the circuit board; and / or the surrounding structure is fabricated using an adhesive coating process; and / or the height of the surrounding structure is between 1 mm and 5 mm; and / or the surrounding structure is constructed to be conductive and the orthographic projection of the surrounding structure on the circuit board at least partially overlaps with the orthographic projection of the touch sensor pad on the circuit board. Here, the surrounding structure is pre-disposed on the circuit board, and then an encapsulating adhesive layer is filled in the surrounding structure. In this embodiment, the surrounding structure directly adopts the existing damming adhesive fabrication process. The height design of the surrounding structure has a significant impact on the thinness of the entire module; the smaller the height, the thinner the module. Furthermore, the conductive surrounding structure and the connected touch sensor pad together form a sensing element. The surrounding structure extending from the circuit board towards the panel / touch area effectively reduces the distance between the circuit board and the touching finger, which is beneficial for improving touch sensitivity.

[0011] In some embodiments, the bracket is pre-fixed to the circuit board or additionally pressed onto the circuit board; and / or the touch display module further includes a panel disposed on the bracket, and the bracket is configured as a recessed structure formed on the back side of the panel. This allows for flexible bracket configuration. Depending on the specific application, the bracket can be pre-fixed to the circuit board, with the light guide holes of the bracket used to fill the encapsulating adhesive layer; alternatively, it can be disposed around the circuit board to fill the encapsulating adhesive layer, and then the bracket is pressed and connected to the circuit board; alternatively, the encapsulating adhesive layer can be pre-formed at a predetermined position on the circuit board without a retainer, and then the bracket is connected to the circuit board. In other embodiments, the bracket can be integrated with the panel, for example, the back side of the panel has a recessed structure, including recesses forming light guide holes. In this case, the encapsulating adhesive layer is accommodated in the recess, and the height of the panel is the distance from the circuit board to the touch finger, significantly reducing the module thickness.

[0012] In this regard, in some embodiments, the height of the bracket is between 1mm and 5mm, where the sum of the height of the bracket and the height of the panel is the distance from the circuit board in the module to the touch finger, resulting in a thinner module; and / or the height of the panel is between 1mm and 5mm, where the height of the panel alone is the distance from the circuit board in the module to the touch finger, resulting in an even thinner module.

[0013] In some embodiments, the height of the light-blocking member is between 1 mm and 5 mm. It should be noted that, according to this disclosure, the light-blocking member is disposed on a circuit board; therefore, the height of the light-blocking member refers to the distance extending from the surface of the circuit board towards the direction of the touching finger, and can also be understood as the distance between the circuit board and the panel. Here, compared to the existing light-blocking brackets with a height of 10 mm or more, the height of the light-blocking member in this embodiment is significantly reduced, which is beneficial for achieving an ultra-thin touch display module.

[0014] In some embodiments, the encapsulating adhesive layer is made by dispensing and / or potting and / or spraying; and / or the encapsulating adhesive layer wholly or partially covers the light-emitting unit; and / or the encapsulating adhesive layer is a transparent adhesive, a transparent adhesive doped with phosphor and / or diffusing particles, or a combination thereof. Here, the encapsulating adhesive layer can be made using a process similar to that used in COB packaging, including but not limited to common dispensing, potting, and spraying processes. In this embodiment, the encapsulating adhesive layer completely covers all light-emitting elements in the light guide hole, which is particularly simple for small-sized light-emitting elements with high density and large number of elements. Of course, the encapsulating adhesive layer can also partially cover one, two, or more combinations of light-emitting elements, as long as each light-emitting element is covered. If necessary, an additional diffusion layer can be provided to diffuse the light emitted by all light-emitting elements within a single light guide hole. The choice of encapsulating adhesive layer is actually designed based on the color of the light-emitting element and the color requirements of the emitted light. For example, for blue LED chips as light-emitting elements, transparent adhesive doped with yellow phosphor is preferred. This is because the blue light emitted by the blue LED chip can be excited into white light through the adhesive. Adding diffusing particles to the transparent adhesive can further mix the light to emit a more uniform white light. Of course, if a blue LED chip is selected to emit blue light, there is no need to add phosphor.

[0015] In some embodiments, the light-emitting element is configured as a bare LED chip, a chip-scale packaged LED, or a surface-mount LED; and / or the light-emitting element is a top-emitting LED or a side-emitting LED; and / or the light-emitting element is flip-chip mounted on the circuit board. In this embodiment, flip-chip LEDs are preferred as the light-emitting element because the size / thickness of bare chips is much smaller than that of conventionally packaged LEDs, and the cost is relatively low. Of course, chip-scale packaged LEDs can also be used due to their extremely small package size and low cost. Furthermore, with the increasing development of surface-mount LEDs, smaller size / thickness models are also applicable, especially models with a thickness of no more than 300 μm. It should be particularly noted that side-emitting surface-mount LEDs are also suitable for this purpose compared to top-emitting LEDs. Although there is no light guide plate as a light diffusion medium, the encapsulating adhesive layer covering the light-emitting element plays a similar light diffusion role. Therefore, the thickness of the touch display module according to this disclosure can be further reduced. In addition, the manufacturing cost of this touch display module can also be reduced.

[0016] In some embodiments, a fluorescent layer for converting the color of light emitted from the light-emitting unit, and / or a diffusion layer for diffusing light emitted from the light-emitting unit, and / or a display layer for displaying icons are also provided.

[0017] In some embodiments, the fluorescent layer is configured as a fluorescent film, phosphor, or fluorescent adhesive located above or below the encapsulating adhesive layer, or the fluorescent layer is achieved by incorporating phosphor into the encapsulating adhesive layer; and / or the diffusion layer is configured as a diffusion film or a diffusion ink portion disposed on the light-blocking member, or the diffusion layer is achieved by incorporating diffusion particles into the encapsulating adhesive layer; and / or the display layer is configured as a display film, or is configured by the shape of a light guide hole or the shape of an encapsulating adhesive layer disposed within the light guide hole, or is achieved by a light-transmitting area disposed on a panel on the light-blocking member. Furthermore, at least two of the display layer, fluorescent layer, and diffusion layer may be integrated with each other.

[0018] In some embodiments, the touch sensor disk includes a copper foil layer disposed on the surface of a circuit board, and the copper foil layer can be configured with a certain size and shape as needed.

[0019] In a second aspect, this disclosure provides a household appliance, characterized in that the household appliance includes a touch display module according to this disclosure as described above.

[0020] In some embodiments, the household appliance is an air conditioner, range hood, stove, water heater, refrigerator, oven, dishwasher, food processor, washing machine, dryer, stereo, television, smart faucet, or smart toilet.

[0021] The household appliances according to the second aspect of this disclosure also have the same advantages as the touch display modules according to the first aspect of this disclosure, which will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0022] To make the above-mentioned objects, features, and advantages of this disclosure more apparent and understandable, the specific embodiments of this disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

[0023] Figure 1 A schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary embodiment of a touch display module for a washing machine is shown.

[0024] Figure 2 An embodiment of the present disclosure is shown for use with Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the display layer of the touch display module.

[0025] Figure 3 An embodiment of the present disclosure is shown for use with Figure 1 A partial schematic top view of the touch display module.

[0026] Figure 4 A schematic front view of the touch buttons of a touch display module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0027] Figure 5 Show Figure 4A schematic side sectional view of the touch buttons.

[0028] Figure 6 A schematic side cross-sectional view of a touch button according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0029] Figure 7 A partial schematic exploded view of a touch button according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0030] Figure 8 A schematic cross-sectional view of a plurality of touch buttons according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0031] Figure 9 A schematic top view showing the overlap between the touch sensor disk and the surrounding structure.

[0032] Figure 10 A schematic front view of a touch button according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0033] The present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate several embodiments of the present disclosure. However, it should be understood that the present disclosure can be presented in many different ways and is not limited to the embodiments described below; in fact, the embodiments described below are intended to make the disclosure more complete and to fully illustrate the scope of protection of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art. It should also be understood that the embodiments disclosed herein can be combined in various ways to provide further additional embodiments.

[0034] It should be understood that the same reference numerals denote the same elements in all the accompanying drawings. For clarity, the dimensions of certain features may be modified in the drawings.

[0035] It should be understood that the terminology used in this specification is for describing specific embodiments only and is not intended to limit this disclosure. All terms used in this specification (including technical and scientific terms) have the meanings commonly understood by those skilled in the art unless otherwise defined. For the sake of brevity and / or clarity, well-known functions or structures may not be described in detail.

[0036] In the field of touch displays, touch display modules are widely used. For example, a known touch display module includes a side-emitting LED module and a touchpad. The LED (such as side-mounted SMD-LED) light source is arranged on the side of a light guide plate, which evenly diffuses the light. The touchpad is independently positioned above the display area. However, the light guide plate, which serves as the touch medium and light diffuser, is expensive. Furthermore, controlling the individual illumination of each icon on the entire light guide plate is difficult, and the design of multiple light guide plates for multiple icons not only increases installation difficulty but also costs. In addition, the high light loss of the light guide plate leads to uneven brightness and low luminous efficiency, requiring multiple LEDs for supplemental lighting, further increasing costs.

[0037] Another known touch display module includes a top-emitting LED module and a touchpad, wherein the LED light source (such as through-hole or SMD-LED) is mounted in a pre-drilled hole in the PCB, and the backlighting of the LED light source allows the light-transmitting panel to directly contact the touchpad on the PCB without an air gap. In this case, PCB openings can affect circuit layout, requiring a multi-layer board design, thus increasing costs.

[0038] Furthermore, traditional glue encapsulation methods typically employ full-fill encapsulation. This means the transparent adhesive completely fills the light-transmitting hole, making it prone to overflow. This overflow can cause light leakage and crosstalk between touch buttons, and may also contaminate the touch area, interfering with touch signals. Full-fill encapsulation also increases the encapsulation thickness, thus limiting ultra-thin designs. Additionally, this process is difficult to control, resulting in insufficient adhesive application precision, which can lead to an uneven adhesive surface and affect the uniformity of light emission.

[0039] In view of this, the present disclosure specifically proposes an incomplete encapsulation in which an encapsulating colloid is filled in the light-transmitting hole, but the height of the colloid is strictly lower than the height of the light-blocking member, so as to avoid colloid overflow contaminating the touch area and thus prevent light leakage, and to reduce the amount of colloid used and thus reduce thickness and cost.

[0040] The touch display module according to this disclosure can be used, but is not limited to, in home appliances. The touch display module can also be adapted to other fields, such as medical devices, industrial robots, and vehicle control panels.

[0041] Figure 1 A schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary embodiment of a touch display module 10 for a washing machine is shown. A top view of the touch display module 10, including a panel, is shown here. Figure 1As shown, the panel has at least one touch area 100 for user touch, and each touch area 100 corresponds to a touch button 40. Each touch button 40 can activate its function based on the proximity / touch of an object (e.g., a human finger) on the touch area 100. At least one, and particularly multiple, icons 11 can be displayed on the touch display module 10, and the icons 11 correspond to the touch areas 100 / touch buttons 40. That is, according to the embodiments of this disclosure, the touch buttons 40 are integrated with the touch display, meaning the touch area 100 simultaneously includes icons 11 for identification purposes. Here, an icon can be understood as a light-transmitting area corresponding to the icon content, configured to be at least partially light-transmitting, and particularly fully light-transmitting, so that when the light-transmitting area is illuminated, the icon content can be displayed to the user, i.e., characters and / or patterns conforming to the icon content can be presented. The characters and / or patterns can include text, numbers, symbols, etc., thereby indicating information, status, and / or functions of home appliances to the user. Furthermore, the icons can be colored or have a color.

[0042] Touch display module 10 includes, for example Figure 3 The touch display assembly 30 shown includes at least a circuit board 200, a light-blocking member 400 with multiple light guide holes 401, and a light-emitting unit 300 correspondingly disposed in each light guide hole 401. In other embodiments, the touch display module 10 may also include, for example, Figure 2 The display layer 20 shown may include at least one icon 11 as described above, and the display layer 20 may be configured as a display film having the at least one icon 11.

[0043] The touch display module 10 may include at least one touch button 40 for users to touch and display corresponding icons 11. The specific number of touch buttons 40 can be set according to actual needs. In addition to the touch buttons 40, the touch display module 10 may also include a number and / or icon display area, such as... Figures 1 to 3 The areas located on either side of the center are for display purposes only and do not have touch functionality. The following explanation will focus on a single touch button 40 as an example. Figures 4 to 10 Touch buttons 40 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure are shown.

[0044] The touch button 40 may include a circuit board 200. The circuit board 200 may be constructed as a rigid printed circuit board, a flexible printed circuit board, or a combination of both. For example, the substrate of the circuit board 200 may be made of materials such as FR4, aluminum plate, or ceramic plate, or it may be made of flexible materials to form a curved touch display module.

[0045] The light-emitting unit 300 can be disposed on the circuit board 200 and used to illuminate the icon 11. The light-emitting unit 300 may include at least two light-emitting elements 310. The surface of the circuit board 200 may include a plurality of pads for soldering the light-emitting elements 310, and the light-emitting elements 310 may be soldered onto the circuit board 200, for example, by a process such as reflow soldering, to achieve an electrical connection between the light-emitting elements 310 and the circuit board 200.

[0046] A touch sensor 500 for detecting touch operation signals can be disposed on a circuit board 200 and arranged around at least one light-emitting element 310. Specifically, the touch sensor 500 can be arranged corresponding to icon 11 or touch area 100. Therefore, the touch sensor 500 can act as a touch sensing conductor to sense whether the touch area 100 is approached / touched by an object (e.g., a human finger). For example, by detecting changes in the capacitance of the touch sensor 500, it can be determined whether the corresponding touch area 100 has been touched. Then, a control device for the touch button 40 can receive the signal emitted by the touch sensor 500 to control the on / off state, brightness, etc., of the corresponding light-emitting unit 300.

[0047] Reference Figure 9 The touch sensor pad 500 (shown in shaded area) surrounding the light-emitting element 310 can be constructed as a circle, square, serrated, star, ring, and / or rhombus. Of course, the touch sensor pad 500 can also be constructed in other shapes, such as a ring with a notch. The shape of the touch sensor pad 500 can be selected based on sensitivity requirements, interference resistance, spatial layout, and user experience. Furthermore, the shape of the touch sensor pad 500 can be designed through simulation to optimize the electric field distribution.

[0048] It is conceivable that the touch sensor 500 may include a copper foil layer disposed on the surface of the circuit board 200. The copper foil layer may be continuously or discretely distributed in the gap area between adjacent light-emitting elements 310. In this embodiment, in order to maximize the sensing capacitance to obtain good touch sensitivity, such as... Figure 4 As shown, on the circuit board 200 corresponding to the light guide hole 401, the copper foil layer is continuously distributed on all areas except for the light-emitting unit 310. Of course, to improve the sensitivity of the edge portion of the touch area 100, the copper foil layer can also extend to the edge of the light guide hole 401. Because the copper foil layer is directly connected to the circuit board, the signal transmission path is shorter, thus enabling fast and accurate detection of touch operation signals, reducing signal delay and interference, improving the response speed and accuracy of touch operations, and enhancing the user experience.

[0049] The touch button 40 may also include an encapsulating adhesive layer 600 covering the light-emitting unit 300, and a light-blocking member 400 having a light guide hole 401. The light-blocking member 400 may be constructed to be opaque and may, for example, be disposed around the light-emitting unit 300. The height H1 of the light-blocking member 400 may be higher than the light-emitting surface of the light-emitting unit 300. Thus, the light-blocking member 400 can act as a light barrier for the touch button 40, thereby preventing light leakage, especially between adjacent touch buttons 40. The light guide hole 401 can be used to guide the light emitted by the light-emitting unit 300 to icon 11. Therefore, for example, the light-emitting unit 300 may be arranged within the light guide hole 401. The encapsulating adhesive layer 600 can be configured, for example, to fill within the light guide hole 401, and the thickness H2 of the encapsulating adhesive layer 600 can be less than the height H1 of the light-blocking member 400. For example, the thickness H2 of the encapsulating adhesive layer 600 is 1 mm, and the height H1 of the light-blocking member 400 is 1.5 mm. In practical applications, corresponding to the predetermined height of the light-blocking member 400, the thickness of the encapsulating adhesive layer only needs to completely cover all the light-emitting elements 310. Accordingly, the touch display module according to the embodiments of this disclosure combines a circuit board touch sensor pad as the contact point and an ultra-thin light-blocking member as the light guide structure, covering multiple light-emitting elements with an incomplete or even small amount of encapsulating adhesive layer, which not only effectively solves the light leakage problem caused by full encapsulation, but also has advantages in terms of simplified production process, reduced cost, and thinner module.

[0050] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, the encapsulating adhesive layer 600 is a transparent adhesive, specifically a polymer colloid, such as epoxy resin or silicone. In this embodiment, silicone is used. The encapsulating adhesive layer 600 can also be a transparent adhesive doped with phosphor and / or diffusing particles. For example, when the light-emitting element 301 is a blue LED chip used to emit blue light, using transparent adhesive as the encapsulating adhesive layer 600 can achieve the light diffusion function. When a blue LED chip is used as the light-emitting element to emit white light, a transparent adhesive doped with yellow phosphor (i.e., a phosphor adhesive) is preferred. This is because the blue light emitted by the blue LED chip can be excited into white light by passing through the adhesive, and the addition of diffusing particles to the transparent adhesive can further increase the scattering of light propagating into the encapsulating adhesive layer so that the light is fully mixed to emit a more uniform white light.

[0051] Furthermore, the encapsulating adhesive layer 600 may partially or completely cover the touch sensor pad 500. Alternatively, the encapsulating adhesive layer 600 may not cover the touch sensor pad 500, but only cover the light-emitting unit 300. For example, a light-emitting unit 300 may be located in the central annular area of ​​a ring-shaped touch sensor pad 500, with a small icon above the light-emitting unit 300. In this case, the encapsulating adhesive layer 600 may only cover the light-emitting unit 300 in the central area.

[0052] Therefore, in the touch display module according to this disclosure, the encapsulating adhesive layer 600 constitutes an unfilled encapsulating adhesive layer, which not only avoids adhesive overflow contaminating the touch area to prevent light leakage and decreased touch sensitivity, but also reduces the amount of adhesive used to reduce thickness and cost. Furthermore, this encapsulation process is simpler (e.g., dispensing, localized spraying), requiring no complex molds or long curing times. This enables ultra-thin, highly integrated touch buttons.

[0053] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, particularly referring to Figures 3 to 6 The light-blocking component 400 may be constructed from a support 410 of a flexible and / or rigid material, in which the light guide hole 401 is formed. For example, the support 410 may be made of rubber, plastic, and / or foam. It is also conceivable that the support 410 may be constructed as a single piece or as separate pieces (e.g., the parts may be connected to each other by connecting ribs).

[0054] Taking plastic as an example, the bracket 410 can be manufactured using injection molding. The bracket 410 can be injection molded in one step to create multiple light guide holes 401 corresponding to the multiple touch buttons 40. Rigid materials offer high stability and pressure resistance, thus increasing production cycle time and reducing manufacturing costs in mass production. However, other processes such as compression molding, 3D printing, and laser cutting can also be used. Taking foam as an example, multiple light guide holes 401 corresponding to the multiple touch buttons 40 can be formed by punching holes in the foam. Soft materials, due to their elasticity, can fill gaps when pressed with the panel. Furthermore, the advantages of both soft and rigid materials can be combined, for example, by laying a foam bracket on a plastic bracket. This simplifies the manufacturing of the touch buttons 40 and reduces their manufacturing costs.

[0055] Furthermore, to facilitate demolding during injection molding and / or to ensure the light from the light-emitting unit 300 diffuses as required, the light guide hole 401 may be configured to taper towards the circuit board 200. This means that the size of the light guide hole 401 can gradually decrease towards the circuit board 200. For this purpose, the support 410 may, for example, be constructed with a ramp, step, or curved surface that is inclined towards the circuit board 100 (e.g., from...). Figure 5 or Figure 6 (This can be clearly seen in the image). In addition, the sides of the bracket 410 can also have a similar slope.

[0056] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, particularly referring to Figure 7The light-blocking component 400 can be constructed from a surrounding structure 420 made of a flexible or rigid material, which forms the light guide hole 401. Here, the surrounding structure 420 can be manufactured from the same material as the aforementioned bracket 410, including plastic, foam, etc. Alternatively, it can be implemented using existing COB (Chip on Board) encapsulation technology, for example, the surrounding structure 420 can be made of UV-curable adhesive, thermosetting adhesive, epoxy resin, and / or silicone.

[0057] In this case, such as Figure 7 As shown, the light-blocking member 400 is composed of a surrounding structure 420, which encloses the light guide hole 401. Furthermore, since all the light-emitting elements 310 of the light-emitting unit 300 are surrounded by the surrounding structure 420, the encapsulating adhesive layer 600 can be integrally encapsulated into the corresponding light guide hole 401 after the surrounding structure 420 is set, for example, by spraying and / or potting and / or dispensing. Referring to the dam of COB packaging, the surrounding structure 429 can be formed by dispensing using a dispensing device or by preforming. Additionally, when the light-blocking member 400 is composed of the surrounding structure 420, the height of the surrounding structure 420 is the height of the light-blocking member 400, and is therefore designed to be higher than the thickness H2 of the encapsulating adhesive layer 600. It is conceivable that when the light-blocking member 400 around a light guide hole 401 is composed of the surrounding structure 420, the light-blocking member 400, i.e., the surrounding structure 420, is the circumferential wall constituting the light guide hole 401. When the light-blocking members 400 of the multiple touch buttons 40 are all composed of the surrounding structure 420, the light-blocking members 400 can be configured as multiple circumferential walls.

[0058] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, particularly referring to Figure 8When the light-blocking component 400 is composed of a bracket 410 with a light guide hole 401, a surrounding structure 420 made of a soft or hard material may be included between the light guide hole 401 and the encapsulating adhesive layer 600. In other words, the encapsulating adhesive layer 600 is surrounded by a surrounding structure 420 located in the inner layer and a light-blocking component 400 / bracket 410 located in the outer layer. The surrounding structure 420 serves as a barrier for the encapsulating adhesive layer 600, and the bracket 410 serves as an anti-light-crossing structure. This dual-structure design provides more operational possibilities for practical applications. For example, a traditional damming adhesive can be used to surround the encapsulating adhesive layer 600, and then the bracket 410 can be used for light blocking, thereby combining the advantages of the bracket and the surrounding structure. Here, the encapsulating adhesive layer 600 can be filled within the surrounding structure 420. In this case, the height of the surrounding structure 420 can be selected as needed, for example, slightly higher than the height of the encapsulating adhesive layer 600 to facilitate the filling of the adhesive, or slightly higher than the height of the bracket 410 to utilize the elastic damming adhesive to compensate for the compression gap of the module. It should be noted that whether it is a surrounding structure as a light-blocking component or an additional surrounding structure inside a light-blocking component / support, its materials and manufacturing process are similar.

[0059] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, the surrounding structure 420 can be pre-set on the circuit board 200. The surrounding structure 420 can be fabricated using an adhesive coating process, such as directly using existing damming adhesive fabrication processes. Then, an encapsulating adhesive layer 600 is filled into the surrounding structure 420, and the height of the surrounding structure 420 can be between 1 mm and 5 mm. In particular, when the surrounding structure 420 is formed inside the support 420 and is not required for light leakage prevention, but only serves as a barrier for the encapsulating adhesive layer 600, the height of the surrounding structure 420 can even be as low as 0.5 mm.

[0060] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, particularly referring to Figure 9The surrounding structure 420 can be configured to be conductive, and its orthographic projection on the circuit board 200 can at least partially overlap with the orthographic projection of the touch sensor pad 500 on the circuit board 200. Here, the surrounding structure 420 can be made of a conductive damming adhesive, such as conductive epoxy resin, conductive silver paste, and / or conductive UV adhesive. It is not limited to these; it can also be conductive foam, a metal ring, or solder paste, etc. Here, the conductive surrounding structure 420 and the connected touch sensor pad 500 together form a sensing element. The surrounding structure 420, extending from the circuit board 200 towards the panel / touch area 100, effectively reduces the distance between the circuit board 200 and the touching finger, which is beneficial for improving touch sensitivity. Furthermore, the conductive surrounding structure 420 can also be understood as expanding the effective area of ​​the touch sensor pad 500. This conductive surrounding structure can extend the edge effect of the touch electric field of the touch sensor pad 500 outwards, allowing more charge to be coupled through the surrounding structure even if the finger is not directly aligned with the center of the touch sensor pad, thereby improving the sensing range and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Furthermore, in this case, the semi-adhesive encapsulation according to this disclosure can reduce the dielectric layer thickness, thereby enhancing the transmission efficiency of capacitive touch signals, especially beneficial for air-touch (non-contact operation). Therefore, an integrated design of touch functionality and LED display can be achieved, eliminating the need for an additional touch layer.

[0061] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, the bracket 410 can be pre-fixed to the circuit board 200, and the light guide hole 401 of the bracket 410 is used to fill the encapsulating adhesive layer 600; or the bracket 410 can be additionally pressed onto the circuit board 200, for example, the encapsulating adhesive layer 600 can be pre-formed in a predetermined position on the circuit board 200 without a barrier, and then the bracket 410 is connected to the circuit board 200. Advantageously, the height of the bracket 410 can be between 1mm and 5mm, where the height of the bracket refers to the distance between the circuit board 200 / touch sensor pad 500 and the panel. The sum of this height and the thickness of the panel is the air-touch distance, realizing a low-cost and highly sensitive thin touch display module.

[0062] In other embodiments, the bracket 410 can be integrated with the panel. For example, the bracket 410 can be configured as a recessed structure formed on the back side of the panel, the recessed structure including a recess forming a light guide hole 401. The encapsulating adhesive layer 600 can be first applied to the circuit board 200, and then the panel can be pressed and mounted onto the circuit board 200. In this case, the encapsulating adhesive layer 600 is accommodated in the recess, and the height of the panel is the distance from the circuit board 200 to the touch finger, greatly reducing the module thickness. It should be noted that the opaque bracket and the translucent panel can be manufactured, for example, through a two-color injection molding process.

[0063] Advantageously, the height of the panel can be between 1mm and 5mm. In this case, the encapsulating adhesive layer 600 is accommodated in the groove, and the height of the panel is the distance from the circuit board 200 to the touching finger, or the distance for contactless touch, which greatly reduces the module thickness.

[0064] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, the height of the light-blocking member 400 can be between 1 mm and 5 mm. It should be noted that, according to this disclosure, the light-blocking member 400 is disposed on the circuit board 200; therefore, the height of the light-blocking member 400 refers to the distance extending from the surface of the circuit board 200 towards the direction of the touching finger, and can also be understood as the distance between the circuit board 200 and the panel. Here, compared to the existing light-blocking brackets with a height of 10 mm or more, the height of the light-blocking member in this embodiment is significantly reduced, which is beneficial for realizing an ultra-thin touch display module.

[0065] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, the encapsulating adhesive layer 600 can be made by dispensing and / or potting and / or spraying adhesive, for example by injecting a specified amount of adhesive using a dispensing device, or by injecting in multiple quantitative injections to ensure that the thickness of the encapsulating adhesive layer 600 is lower than the height of the light-blocking member 400.

[0066] The encapsulating adhesive layer 600 can cover the light-emitting unit 300 entirely or partially. In this embodiment, the encapsulating adhesive layer 600 completely covers all light-emitting elements 301 in the light guide hole 401. This is especially true for small-sized light-emitting elements 301 with high density and large number of arrangement, where the process of applying the adhesive layer in one step is simpler. Of course, the encapsulating adhesive layer 600 can also partially cover one, two or more combinations of light-emitting elements 301, as long as each light-emitting element 301 is covered. If necessary, an additional diffusion layer can be provided to diffuse the light emitted by all light-emitting elements 301 within a single light guide hole 401.

[0067] The encapsulating layer 600 can be a transparent adhesive, a transparent adhesive doped with phosphor and / or diffusing particles, or a combination thereof. The selection of the encapsulating layer is actually designed based on the color of the light-emitting element and the color requirements of the emitted light. For example, for a blue LED chip as the light-emitting element, a transparent adhesive doped with yellow phosphor is preferred. This is because the blue light emitted by the blue LED chip can be excited into white light by passing through the adhesive. The addition of diffusing particles to the transparent adhesive can further ensure that the light is fully mixed and emits a more uniform white light. Of course, if a blue LED chip is selected to emit blue light, there is no need to add phosphor. In addition, the thickness of the encapsulating layer 600 can be greater than 0.5 mm and less than 5 mm.

[0068] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, the light-emitting element 310 may be configured as a small-sized surface-mount light-emitting diode (SMD-LED) chip, such as a 0201 type SMD-LED chip and / or as... Figure 5The bare LED chip shown and / or such as Figure 6 The chip-scale packaged light-emitting diode (CSP-LED) chip shown is shown.

[0069] Here, it is particularly advantageous that the light-emitting element 310 is constructed as a bare LED chip and / or a CSP-LED chip. This is because, compared to conventional SMD-LEDs, bare LED chips and / or CSP-LED chips have smaller volume and height, thus allowing for a significantly increased density in each light guide hole, thereby achieving a surface light source with a smaller structural thickness. Furthermore, since the light emission angle of the bare LED chip and / or CSP-LED chip can reach 160° to 180°, the light mixing distance for the touch button can be shortened. Therefore, the thickness of the touch button according to this disclosure can be significantly reduced, thereby achieving a thinner touch button. Additionally, since the cost of bare LED chips and / or CSP-LED chips is also lower, the manufacturing cost of the touch button can be further reduced. Preferably, this embodiment uses a flip-chip light-emitting element because it is easier to install.

[0070] Alternatively or additionally, the thickness of the light-emitting element 310 may not exceed 300 μm. In particular, with the increasing development of surface-mount LEDs, smaller size / thickness models can also be used for thinner touch buttons.

[0071] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, a fluorescent layer for converting the color of light emitted from the light-emitting unit 300 may be provided. Here, the fluorescent layer may be configured as a fluorescent film, phosphor, or fluorescent adhesive located above or below the encapsulating layer 600, wherein a separate fluorescent film is directly placed above or below the encapsulating layer 600, and the phosphor or fluorescent adhesive is formed, for example, through processes such as injection molding, film pressing, or spraying. Alternatively, the fluorescent layer may be achieved by incorporating phosphor into the encapsulating layer 600. This allows adjustment of the color temperature of the light-emitting unit 300. According to some embodiments of this disclosure, a diffusion layer for diffusing light emitted from the light-emitting unit 300 may be provided. Here, the diffusion layer may be configured as a diffusion film located on the encapsulating layer 600 or on the light-blocking member 400, or a diffusion ink portion disposed on the light-blocking member 400, or the diffusion layer may be achieved by incorporating diffusion particles into the encapsulating layer 600. This allows adjustment of the light emission uniformity of the light-emitting unit 300, thereby further contributing to reducing the thickness of the touch button and thus achieving an ultra-thin touch button.

[0072] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, a display layer 20 for displaying icons as described above may be provided. Here, the display layer 20 may be configured as a display film, or it may be configured by the shape of the light guide hole 401 or the shape of the encapsulating adhesive layer 600 arranged in the light guide hole 401, or it may be implemented by a light-transmitting area integrated on a panel disposed above the light-blocking member 400, for example, on the panel.

[0073] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, at least two of the display layer 20, the fluorescent layer, and the diffusion layer can be integrated with each other; in other words, two or all three of the display layer, the fluorescent layer, and the diffusion layer can be integrated into one unit in any manner and / or in any order. For example, the corresponding integrated layers can be integrated together by lamination, particle mixing, etc. Another example is the integration of the display layer and the diffusion layer by fabricating a display film using a diffusion substrate. Preferably, this embodiment uses a blue LED chip as the light-emitting element, thus the integration of the fluorescent layer and the diffusion layer is achieved by uniformly mixing yellow phosphor and diffusion particles in a transparent colloid. Other embodiments will not be described in detail here.

[0074] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, particularly referring to Figures 3 to 8 At least two light-emitting elements 310 can be configured as top-emitting LED chips uniformly arranged within the light guide hole 401.

[0075] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, particularly referring to Figure 10 The light-emitting element 310 can be configured as a side-emitting surface-mount LED arranged at the edge of the light guide hole 401. In this case, it should be mentioned that since the encapsulating adhesive layer 600 covering all the light-emitting elements 310 plays a role in diffusing and making the emitted light uniform, it is not necessary to set up the light guide plate as described above in the prior art.

[0076] Furthermore, this disclosure also proposes a household appliance that may include a touch display module 10 according to this disclosure. The household appliance may be, for example, an air conditioner, range hood, stove, water heater, refrigerator, oven, dishwasher, food processor, washing machine, dryer, stereo, television, smart faucet, or smart toilet.

[0077] Unless explicitly stated otherwise, the singular forms “a,” “the,” and “the” used in this specification include the plural forms. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “containing” used in this specification indicate the presence of the claimed feature but do not exclude the presence of one or more other features. The term “and / or” used in this specification includes any and all combinations of one or more of the related listed items. The terms “between X and Y” and “between approximately X and Y” used in this specification should be interpreted as including both X and Y. The term “between approximately X and Y” used in this specification means “between approximately X and approximately Y,” and the term “from approximately X to Y” used in this specification means “from approximately X to approximately Y.”

[0078] In the specification, when an element is described as being "on," "attached," "connected," "coupled," or "in contact" with another element, the element can be directly located on, attached to, connected to, coupled to, or in contact with the other element, or there may be intermediate elements present. Conversely, when an element is described as being "directly" located on, directly attached to, directly connected to, directly coupled to, or directly in contact with another element, no intermediate elements are present. In the specification, the description of a feature being arranged "adjacent" to another feature can mean that a feature has a portion overlapping with the adjacent feature or a portion located above or below the adjacent feature.

[0079] In the specification, spatial relation terms such as "up," "down," "left," "right," "front," "back," "high," and "low" describe the relationship between one feature and another in the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that spatial relation terms include not only the orientation shown in the drawings but also the different orientations of the device during use or operation. For example, when the device in the drawings is inverted, a feature previously described as "below" other features can now be described as "above" other features. The device can also be oriented in other ways (rotated 90 degrees or in other orientations), in which case the relative spatial relationships will be explained accordingly.

[0080] In the description of the embodiments of this disclosure, technical terms such as "first" and "second" are used only to distinguish different objects and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number, specific order, or primary or secondary relationship of the indicated technical features. In the description of the embodiments of this disclosure, "a plurality of" means two or more, unless otherwise explicitly defined.

[0081] In this document, the term "embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of this disclosure. The appearance of this phrase in various places throughout the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it a separate or alternative embodiment mutually exclusive with other embodiments. It will be explicitly and implicitly understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein can be combined with other embodiments.

[0082] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this disclosure, and not to limit them. Although this disclosure has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some or all of the technical features therein. These modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this disclosure, and they should all be covered within the scope of the claims and specification of this disclosure. In particular, as long as there is no structural conflict, the various technical features mentioned in the various embodiments can be combined in any way. This disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed herein, but includes all technical solutions falling within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A touch display module, comprising at least one touch button (40) for a user to touch and display an icon (11), characterized in that, The touch button (40) includes: Circuit board (200); A light-emitting unit (300) disposed on a circuit board (200) and used to light up the icon (11) includes at least two light-emitting elements (310); A touch sensor disk (500) for detecting touch operation signals is disposed on a circuit board (200) and surrounding at least one light-emitting element (310); An encapsulating adhesive layer (600) covering the light-emitting unit (300); and A light-blocking member (400) is provided with a light guide hole (401), the light-blocking member (400) is constructed to be opaque and the light guide hole (401) is used to guide the light emitted by the light-emitting unit (300) to the icon (11), the encapsulating adhesive layer (600) is disposed in the light guide hole (401), wherein the thickness (H2) of the encapsulating adhesive layer (600) is less than the height (H1) of the light-blocking member.

2. The touch display module according to claim 1, characterized in that, The light-blocking component (400) is made of a bracket (410) of soft material and / or hard material, and the light guide hole (401) is constructed in the bracket (410).

3. The touch display module according to claim 1, characterized in that, The light-blocking component (400) is composed of a surrounding structure (420) of soft or hard material, and the surrounding structure (420) constitutes the light guide hole (401).

4. The touch display module according to claim 2, characterized in that, Between the light guide hole (401) and the encapsulating adhesive layer (600), there is also a surrounding structure (420) made of a soft or hard material, the encapsulating adhesive layer (600) filling the surrounding structure (420).

5. The touch display module according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that, The surrounding structure (420) is disposed on the circuit board (200); and / or The surrounding structure (420) is fabricated using a colloidal coating process; and / or The height of the surrounding structure (420) is between 1 mm and 5 mm; and / or The surrounding structure (420) is configured to be conductive and the orthographic projection of the surrounding structure (420) on the circuit board (200) at least partially overlaps with the orthographic projection of the touch sensor disk (500) on the circuit board (200).

6. The touch display module according to claim 2 or 4, characterized in that, The bracket (410) is pre-fixed to the circuit board (200) or the bracket (410) is additionally pressed onto the circuit board (200); and / or The touch display module also includes a panel disposed on a bracket, and the bracket (410) is configured as a groove structure formed on the back side of the panel.

7. The touch display module according to claim 6, characterized in that, The height of the bracket (410) is between 1 mm and 5 mm; and / or The height of the panel is between 1mm and 5mm.

8. The touch display module according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The height of the light-blocking component (400) is between 1 mm and 5 mm.

9. The touch display module according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The encapsulating adhesive layer (600) is made by dispensing and / or potting and / or spraying; and / or The encapsulating adhesive layer (600) wholly or partially covers the light-emitting unit (300); and / or The encapsulating adhesive layer (600) is a transparent adhesive, a transparent adhesive doped with phosphor and / or diffusing particles, or a combination thereof.

10. The touch display module according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The light-emitting element (310) is configured as a bare light-emitting diode chip, a chip-scale packaged light-emitting diode, or a surface-mount light-emitting diode; and / or The light-emitting element (310) is a top-emitting light-emitting diode or a side-emitting light-emitting diode; and / or The light-emitting element (310) is flip-mounted on the circuit board (200).

11. The touch display module according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, It also includes a fluorescent layer for converting the color of the light emitted from the light-emitting unit (300), and / or a diffusion layer for diffusing the light emitted from the light-emitting unit (300), and / or a display layer (20) for displaying icons.

12. The touch display module according to claim 11, characterized in that, The fluorescent layer is configured as a fluorescent film, phosphor, or fluorescent adhesive located above or below the encapsulating adhesive layer (600), or the fluorescent layer is achieved by incorporating phosphor into the encapsulating adhesive layer (600); and / or The diffusion layer is configured as a diffusion film or a diffusion ink portion disposed on the light-blocking member (400), or the diffusion layer is achieved by incorporating diffusion particles into the encapsulating adhesive layer (600); and / or The display layer is configured as a display film, or is configured by the shape of the light guide hole (401) or the shape of the encapsulating adhesive layer (600) arranged in the light guide hole (401), or is implemented by a light-transmitting area on the panel provided on the light-blocking member.

13. The touch display module according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The touch sensor disk (500) includes a copper foil layer disposed on the surface of the circuit board (200).

14. A household appliance, characterized in that, The household appliance includes a touch display module according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

15. The household appliance according to claim 14, characterized in that, The household appliances mentioned include air conditioners, range hoods, stoves, water heaters, refrigerators, ovens, dishwashers, food processors, washing machines, dryers, stereos, televisions, smart faucets, or smart toilets.

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