Stepped Lens Stacked With Touch Panel Connectors
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Solution Overview
Problem
In smaller mobile communication devices, there is a need to maximize the touch screen active area while minimizing hardware and software components to reduce costs, as existing designs often compromise on space due to the presence of peripheral connectors.
Innovation Solution
A lens with a stepped edge and viewing area is stacked with the active area wiring of a touch sensitive panel, where the stepped edge aligns with the panel's connectors, allowing the housing to cover the connectors without a decorative piece, thus optimizing the touch screen's surface area usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of moving object
If a lens covers the entire touch panel including peripheral connectors, then the viewing area is maximized, but the connectors are exposed and require decorative coverage
Solution Approach 1:
The lens is divided into multiple levels or steps, with the lens body extending beyond the viewing area to form a stepped structure. This segmentation allows the lens to cover both the active area and the peripheral connectors simultaneously, eliminating the need for separate decorative pieces while maximizing the touch screen active area.
Solution Approach 2:
The lens design transitions from a flat, single-level structure to a multi-level stepped structure by utilizing the vertical dimension. The lens body extends downward or outward beyond the viewing area plane, creating steps that provide coverage for the peripheral connectors without increasing the horizontal footprint, thus maximizing the active area.
2Device complexity
If the lens viewing area is extended to cover peripheral connectors, then connector coverage is achieved, but the device surface area dimensions increase
Solution Approach 1:
The lens utilizes the vertical dimension by extending the lens body downward or outward beyond the viewing area plane to form steps. This allows the lens to cover the peripheral connectors located at the edges of the touch panel without increasing the horizontal surface area dimensions of the device, maintaining a compact footprint while achieving complete connector coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The stepped lens structure nests the connector coverage function within the existing device footprint. The lens body is configured to extend beyond the viewing area in a nested manner, with the steps providing additional coverage for connectors without adding to the overall device surface area, effectively hiding connectors within the lens structure itself.
3Device complexity
If a decorative piece is added to hide connectors, then connector coverage is achieved, but the touch screen active area is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The lens structure is merged with the decorative coverage function by integrating the stepped design directly into the lens body. The lens itself is configured to extend beyond the viewing area and cover the peripheral connectors, eliminating the need for a separate decorative piece. This merging of functions allows the lens to simultaneously provide optical coverage and decorative coverage, maximizing the touch screen active area.
Solution Approach 2:
The stepped lens structure serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides optical focusing for the display, extends coverage to include peripheral connectors, and eliminates the need for separate decorative pieces. This multi-functionality is achieved through the lens body being configured to extend beyond the viewing area in a stepped manner, making the lens a universal component that handles both optical and aesthetic requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is an electronic device including a lens having a stepped edge and a viewing area and more particularly, an electronic device having a display in which the viewing area of the lens is stacked with the active area wiring of a display panel and the stepped edge of the lens is stacked with the connectors on the periphery of the display panel. A housing portion is stacked with the stepped edge of the lens and the connectors on the periphery of the display panel. In this way, a maker of electronic devices can make use of the space occupied by the connectors of the display panel so that the active area of the display panel may occupy more of the total area of the surface of the device.