A segment code screen and smart switch with integrated touch function

Abstract

This utility model discloses a segment code screen and a smart switch with integrated touch function. The segment code screen includes a display area and a touch area. The segment code screen also includes an upper glass substrate, a lower glass substrate, a liquid crystal layer located between the upper and lower glass substrates, a capacitive touch sensor, and a flexible circuit board. The lower glass substrate has a common electrode on its inner side, which is electrically connected to the flexible circuit board. The capacitive touch sensor is disposed in the touch area and is implemented through one of the following three structures: a first structure in which the capacitive touch sensor is formed on the common electrode, which is reused as a display driving electrode and a touch sensing electrode; a second structure in which the capacitive touch sensor is formed on the outer surface of the upper glass substrate; or a third structure in which the capacitive touch sensor is formed on the outer surface of the lower glass substrate. For the second and third structures, the segment code screen also includes a touch FPC, with both ends of the touch FPC electrically connected to the capacitive touch sensor and the flexible circuit board, respectively.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to segment code screens, and in particular to segment code screens with integrated touch functions and smart switches using the same. Background Technology

[0002] In embedded electrical devices (such as smart switches, thermostats, and fresh air controllers) in home, building, and industrial control applications, the 86-type recessed panel is widely used due to its standardized size and installation method. For a long time, these devices have commonly used segment LCD screens as the human-machine interface. Segment LCDs have the advantages of low cost and low power consumption, but their display content is fixed and limited in format, only able to display simple numbers, characters, or predefined icons, and cannot achieve rich graphical information display.

[0003] With the development of IoT and smart home technologies, users have placed higher demands on the intuitiveness, aesthetics, and functionality of device interaction. In order to achieve touch functionality while retaining the original 86-type installation structure, the traditional upgrade solution is to adopt a superimposed structure: that is, to add an additional independent touch screen (such as a capacitive or resistive touch screen) on top of the original segment LCD screen.

[0004] However, this traditional stacking solution of "segment screen + independent touch screen" has the following drawbacks: the independent touch screen itself is a complete functional component, and its material cost accounts for a significant portion of the entire display touch module. Adopting this traditional stacking solution will increase the total material cost by more than 30% compared to the solution using a single segment screen, which seriously restricts the product's competitiveness in cost-sensitive markets. The stacking of multiple layers inevitably increases the overall thickness of the module. The total thickness of the module in the traditional stacking solution is usually not less than 3.5 mm. This thickness poses a significant mechanical design challenge for the 86-type recessed equipment that pursues extreme thinness and needs to be installed close to the wall, often resulting in the front panel protruding, affecting the overall aesthetics, and even hindering installation. Utility Model Content

[0005] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, this utility model provides a segment code screen with integrated touch functionality. By directly fabricating a capacitive touch sensor on the segment code screen, it overcomes the defects of increased material and thickness caused by traditional stacking methods.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, on the one hand, this utility model provides a segment code screen with integrated touch functionality, including a display area and a touch area; the segment code screen includes an upper glass substrate, a lower glass substrate, a liquid crystal layer located between the upper glass substrate and the lower glass substrate, a capacitive touch sensor, and a flexible circuit board, wherein the inner side of the lower glass substrate is a common electrode, and the common electrode is electrically connected to the flexible circuit board; the capacitive touch sensor is disposed in the touch area and is implemented through one of the following three structures: a first structure, in which the capacitive touch sensor is formed on the common electrode, and the common electrode is multiplexed as a display driving electrode and a touch sensing electrode; a second structure, in which the capacitive touch sensor is formed on the outer surface of the upper glass substrate; a third structure, in which the capacitive touch sensor is formed on the outer surface of the lower glass substrate; for the second structure and the third structure, the segment code screen further includes a touch FPC, and the two ends of the touch FPC are electrically connected to the capacitive touch sensor and the flexible circuit board, respectively.

[0007] The capacitive touch sensor is an ITO pattern formed by laser etching.

[0008] The linewidth of the conductor in the ITO pattern is less than or equal to 50 μm.

[0009] The inner side of the upper glass substrate is a segment electrode, and the flexible circuit board is connected to the segment electrode.

[0010] The touch area includes multiple separate and insulated touch units.

[0011] Each of the touch units is connected to the connection pins of the flexible circuit board via an independent touch signal trace through the touch FPC.

[0012] The display area includes multiple digital tube units. Each digital tube unit's display segment corresponds to a segment electrode. Segments with the same function are connected in parallel to the segment pins of the display driver chip on the flexible circuit board through a first set of signal lines. The bit selection electrode of each digital tube unit is part of the common electrode and is connected to the bit selection control pin of the display driver chip through a second set of signal lines.

[0013] On the other hand, this utility model provides an intelligent switch, including a front cover assembly, a display touch module, a light guide assembly, a PCB board, and a rear shell arranged sequentially from front to back, wherein: the front cover assembly includes a panel and a front frame fixed to the back of the panel; the display touch module is the segment code screen with integrated touch function as described above; the light guide assembly includes multiple light guide tubes and multiple light sources corresponding to the multiple light guide tubes, the multiple light guide tubes being arranged corresponding to the display area of ​​the segment code screen; the PCB board is fixedly disposed inside the rear shell, and the PCB board connects the flexible circuit board and the light sources.

[0014] The panel is a transparent cover made of tempered glass or acrylic material.

[0015] The rear shell is provided with an installation structure that matches the bottom box, and the bottom box includes an 86-type concealed bottom box.

[0016] As can be seen from the above solutions, the advantages of this utility model are:

[0017] By directly fabricating the capacitive touch sensor on the inside (i.e., on the common electrode) or outside (outer surface of the upper or lower glass substrate) of the segment display, the amount of individual touch material is reduced, production costs are lowered, and the overall structure thickness is reduced.

[0018] For capacitive touch sensors with second and third structures, a dedicated touch FPC first transfers the signal to the flexible circuit board (i.e., display FPC) of the segment display, ultimately providing only a unified physical interface to the end product (such as a smart switch). This greatly simplifies the internal structure design of the end product, requiring only a single connector for alignment and insertion, significantly simplifying the assembly process and improving production efficiency. Attached Figure Description

[0019] Figure 1A Here is a structural diagram (I) of the segment code screen of this utility model;

[0020] Figure 1B This is a structural diagram (II) of the segment code screen of this utility model;

[0021] Figure 1C This is a structural diagram (III) of the segment code screen of this utility model;

[0022] Figure 2A For corresponding Figure 1B A schematic diagram showing the location of the touch FPC in a segment display structure;

[0023] Figure 2B This is a schematic diagram showing the position of the touch FPC in the segment code screen structure corresponding to the 1C segment.

[0024] Figure 3 This is a front view of the segment code screen overlay panel of this utility model;

[0025] Figure 4 The segment code screen overlay panel of this utility model corresponds to Figure 1B or Figure 1C Signal routing diagram;

[0026] Figure 5 This is an exploded view of the intelligent switch of this utility model;

[0027] In the attached figures, the following labels are used:

[0028] 1-Segment code screen;

[0029] 10 - Display area;

[0030] 100-digit LED display unit;

[0031] 101 - First group of signal traces;

[0032] 102 - Second group of signal traces;

[0033] 11-Touch area;

[0034] 110 - Touch unit;

[0035] 1110 - Touch signal trace;

[0036] 12-Upper glass substrate;

[0037] 120-segment electrode;

[0038] 13-Lower glass substrate;

[0039] 130 - Common electrode;

[0040] 14-Liquid crystal layer;

[0041] 15 - Capacitive touch sensor;

[0042] 150-ITO pattern;

[0043] 16- Flexible circuit board;

[0044] 160 - Connection pin;

[0045] 161-segment pin;

[0046] 162 - Bit selection control pin;

[0047] 17-Touch FPC;

[0048] 2-Smart switch;

[0049] 20 - Front cover assembly;

[0050] 200-panel;

[0051] 201 - Front frame;

[0052] 2010 - Opening;

[0053] 21-Display touch module;

[0054] 22-Light guide assembly;

[0055] 220-Light Guide Tube;

[0056] 221-Light source;

[0057] 23-PCB board;

[0058] 24-back cover;

[0059] 240 - Bolt hole;

[0060] 241- Bolt post;

[0061] 242-Snap fastener. Detailed Implementation

[0062] The technical solution of this utility model will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments to further understand the purpose, solution and effect of this utility model, but it is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the appended claims of this utility model.

[0063] References to "embodiment," "another embodiment," "this embodiment," etc., in the specification refer to embodiments that may include specific features, structures, or characteristics, but not every embodiment must include these specific features, structures, or characteristics. Furthermore, such expressions do not refer to the same embodiment. Moreover, when describing specific features, structures, or characteristics in conjunction with embodiments, whether or not explicitly described, it is indicated that incorporating such features, structures, or characteristics into other embodiments is within the knowledge of those skilled in the art.

[0064] The specification and subsequent claims use certain terms to refer to specific components or parts. Those skilled in the art will understand that users or manufacturers may use different names or terms to refer to the same component or part. This specification and claims do not distinguish components or parts by differences in name, but rather by differences in function. The terms "comprising" and "including" used throughout the specification and claims are open-ended and should be interpreted as "including but not limited to". Furthermore, the term "connection" here includes any direct and indirect electrical connection means. Indirect electrical connection means include connections via other means.

[0065] It should be noted that in the description of this utility model, the terms "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", and "about" indicate the orientation or positional relationship or parameters based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this utility model and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, a specific size, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this utility model.

[0066] like Figures 1A to 4As shown, some embodiments of this utility model provide a segment code screen 1 with integrated touch functionality. The segment code screen 1 includes a display area 10 and a touch area 11, which do not overlap or partially overlap. The cross-sectional structure of the segment code screen 1 includes: an upper glass substrate 12, a lower glass substrate 13, a liquid crystal layer 14, a capacitive touch sensor 15, and a flexible circuit board 16. The liquid crystal layer 14 is located between the upper glass substrate 12 and the lower glass substrate 13. Segment electrodes 120 are disposed on the inner side of the upper glass substrate 12, and a common electrode 130 is disposed on the inner side of the lower glass substrate 13. Both the segment electrodes 120 and the common electrode 130 are connected to the flexible circuit board 16. The upper glass substrate 12 and the lower glass substrate 13 are transparent insulating substrates, for example, made of glass material.

[0067] A capacitive touch sensor 15 is disposed in the touch area 11 and is implemented through one of the following three structures: First structure, the capacitive touch sensor 15 is formed on a common electrode 130, which is reused as both a display driving electrode and a touch sensing electrode; second structure, the capacitive touch sensor 15 is formed on the outer surface of the upper glass substrate 12; third structure, the capacitive touch sensor 15 is formed on the outer surface of the lower glass substrate 13. For the second and third structures, the segment display 1 further includes a touch FPC 17, the two ends of which are electrically connected to the capacitive touch sensor 15 in the touch area 11 and the flexible circuit board 16, respectively. Preferably, the capacitive touch sensor 15 is an ITO pattern 150 formed by laser etching, and the line width of the ITO pattern 150 is less than or equal to 50 μm.

[0068] Specifically, such as Figure 1A This is a cross-sectional view of the first structure time segment code screen 1 with capacitive touch sensor 15. In this first structure, capacitive touch sensor 15 is formed on common electrode 130 by laser etching, so that common electrode 130 is reused as display driving electrode and touch sensing electrode.

[0069] like Figure 1B This is a cross-sectional view of the capacitive touch sensor 15 as the second structure of the time-lapse code screen 1. In this second structure, the capacitive touch sensor 15 is formed on the outer surface of the upper glass substrate 12 by laser etching, and as shown... Figure 2A As shown, the segment code screen 1 also includes a touch FPC 17. The two ends of the touch FPC 17 are respectively connected to the touch area 11 and the flexible circuit board 16 of the segment code screen 1. The connection pins 160 of the flexible circuit board 16 (e.g., ...) Figure 4 Sending and receiving signals.

[0070] like Figure 1C This is a cross-sectional view of the third structure time-limited display screen 1, in which the capacitive touch sensor 15 is formed on the outer surface of the lower glass substrate 13 by laser etching, and as shown... Figure 2BAs shown, the segment code screen 1 also includes a touch FPC 17. The two ends of the touch FPC 17 are respectively connected to the touch area 11 and the flexible circuit board 16 of the segment code screen 1. The connection pins 160 of the flexible circuit board 16 (e.g., ...) Figure 4 Sending and receiving signals.

[0071] In other words, for both the first and second structures, the flexible circuit board 16 (i.e., the display FPC) of the segment display 1 not only integrates a display driver chip (not shown in the figure), but also has a connection pin 160 for touch signal transmission. The touch FPC 17 guides the signal from the touch area 11 to this connection pin 160, and then connects it to the main circuit board via the flexible circuit board 16 as a whole, for example... Figure 5 The PCB board 23 in the middle, the touch driver chip on the PCB board 23 sends excitation signals and receives sensing signals through this path to realize the touch function. Thus, the display and touch signals share the same segment screen display FPC interface, improving the module integration.

[0072] like Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the touch area 11 includes multiple separate and insulated touch units 110, and an ITO pattern 150 is disposed on the multiple touch units 110. For the second and third structures described above, each touch unit 110 is connected to the connection pin 160 of the flexible circuit board 16 via an independent touch signal trace 1100 through the touch FPC 17.

[0073] like Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, see also Figure 1B or Figure 1C The display area 10 includes multiple digital tube units 100. Each digital tube unit 100 has a display segment corresponding to a segment electrode 120 (not shown in the figure). Segments with the same function are connected in parallel to the segment pins 161 of the display driver chip on the flexible circuit board 16 through the first set of signal lines 101. Note: Figure 4 Only a portion of the signal connections are shown; the digit selection electrode (not shown) of each digital tube unit 100 is part of the common electrode 130 and is connected in series to the digit selection control pin 162 of the display driver chip via the second set of signal traces 102. The display driver chip (not shown) is used to drive the segment electrodes 120 and the common electrode 130.

[0074] It should be noted that Figure 3 and Figure 4 All of them have a segment code screen 1 covered with a transparent panel 200 (e.g.) Figure 5 The effect shown is as shown. Figure 3 The dashed outlines of display area 10 and touch area 11 are merely indications of their location and do not imply that display area 10 and touch area 11 are located on panel 200.

[0075] like Figure 5 As shown, another embodiment of the present invention provides a smart switch 2. The smart switch 2 includes a front cover assembly 20, a display touch module 21, a light guide assembly 22, a PCB board 23, and a back cover 24 arranged sequentially from front to back. The front cover assembly 20 includes a panel 200 and a front frame 201 fixed to the back of the panel 200. Preferably, the panel 200 is a transparent cover made of tempered glass or acrylic material. The display touch module 21 is a segment screen 1 with integrated touch function in the above embodiment. The segment screen 1 also includes an upper polarizer and a lower polarizer, which are located on the outer side of the upper glass substrate 12 and the lower glass substrate 13, respectively. The light guide assembly 22 includes multiple light guide tubes 220 and multiple light sources 221 corresponding to the multiple light guide tubes 220. The light sources 221 are, for example, LED lights. The multiple light guide tubes 220 are set in the display area 10 of the segment code screen 1 and assembled in the front frame 201. The PCB board 23 is fixedly set in the rear shell 24. The multiple light sources 221 are set on the PCB board 23. The PCB board 23 is connected to the flexible circuit board 16 of the segment code screen 1.

[0076] Specifically, the PCB board 23 is equipped with a main control chip and a touch driver chip (not shown in the figure). The main control chip is connected to the display driver chip (not shown in the figure) of the flexible circuit board 16 to drive the display. The touch driver chip is connected to the capacitive touch sensor 15 through the flexible circuit board 16 and the touch FPC 17 to receive touch signals.

[0077] In this embodiment, the front frame 201 has multiple openings 2010 at its upper and lower ends, and the rear shell 24 has multiple elastic buckles 242 at the positions corresponding to the openings 2010. When the front frame 201 and the rear shell 24 are assembled together, the elastic buckles 242 are accommodated in the corresponding openings 2010.

[0078] Preferably, the rear housing 24 is provided with a mounting structure that matches the bottom box, such as an 86-type concealed bottom box, and the mounting structure is such as bolt holes 240 or bolt posts 241. The bolt holes 240 or bolt posts 241 and the outer contour of the rear housing 24 match the 86-type concealed bottom box so that the smart switch 2 is compatible with the 86-type concealed bottom box.

[0079] The embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. The specific embodiments described above are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Those skilled in the art can make many other forms under the guidance of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims, and all of these forms fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An integrated touch function segment code screen, characterized in that, The display includes a display area and a touch area; the segment code screen includes an upper glass substrate, a lower glass substrate, a liquid crystal layer located between the upper and lower glass substrates, a capacitive touch sensor, and a flexible circuit board, wherein the inner side of the lower glass substrate is a common electrode, and the common electrode is electrically connected to the flexible circuit board; the capacitive touch sensor is disposed in the touch area and is implemented through one of the following three structures: In the first structure, the capacitive touch sensor is formed on the common electrode, and the common electrode is multiplexed as a display driving electrode and a touch sensing electrode; In the second structure, the capacitive touch sensor is formed on the outer surface of the upper glass substrate; The third structure is that the capacitive touch sensor is formed on the outer surface of the lower glass substrate; For the second structure and the third structure, the segment code screen further includes a touch FPC, the two ends of which are electrically connected to the capacitive touch sensor and the flexible circuit board, respectively.

2. The segment code screen with integrated touch functionality according to claim 1, wherein, The capacitive touch sensor is an ITO pattern formed by laser etching.

3. The segment code screen with integrated touch functionality according to claim 2, wherein, The linewidth of the conductor in the ITO pattern is less than or equal to 50 μm.

4. The segment code screen with integrated touch functionality according to claim 1, wherein, The inner side of the upper glass substrate is a segment electrode, and the flexible circuit board is connected to the segment electrode.

5. The segment code screen with integrated touch functionality of claim 1, wherein, The touch area comprises multiple separate and insulated touch units.

6. The segment code screen with integrated touch functionality according to claim 5, wherein, Each of the touch units is connected to the connection pins of the flexible circuit board via an independent touch signal trace through the touch FPC.

7. The segment code screen with integrated touch functionality according to claim 4, wherein, The display area includes multiple digital tube units. Each digital tube unit's display segment corresponds to one segment electrode, and segments with the same function are connected in parallel to the segment pins of the display driver chip on the flexible circuit board through the first set of signal lines. The digit selection electrode of each of the digital tube units is part of the common electrode and is connected to the digit selection control pin of the display driver chip through a second set of signal traces.

8. An intelligent switch, characterized by It includes, from front to back, a front cover assembly, a display touch module, a light guide assembly, a PCB board, and a back cover, wherein: The front cover assembly includes a panel and a front frame fixed to the back of the panel; The display touch module is a segment screen with integrated touch function as described in any one of claims 1 to 7; The light guide assembly includes multiple light guide tubes and multiple light sources corresponding to the multiple light guide tubes. The multiple light guide tubes are arranged in the display area of ​​the segment code screen and assembled in the front frame. The PCB board is fixedly disposed inside the rear shell, and the PCB board connects the flexible circuit board and the light source.

9. The intelligent switch of claim 8, wherein, The panel is a transparent cover made of tempered glass or acrylic material.

10. The intelligent switch of claim 8, wherein, The rear shell is equipped with a mounting structure that matches the bottom box.

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