Touch Panel Virtual Button Integration Slim Border Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional touch panels with physical buttons require additional components and increased space for connection lines, making it difficult to design a touch panel with a slim border, while virtual buttons occupy significant peripheral area and complicate layout.
Innovation Solution
A touch panel design featuring a substrate with an active region and peripheral region, including a sensing array and button sensing pads electrically connected to first connection lines, allowing for the formation of virtual buttons without additional components, enabling slim border design by integrating button sensing pads as part of the connection lines.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If virtual buttons are added to the peripheral region of the touch panel, then touch input functionality is improved, but the peripheral area must be increased to accommodate the virtual buttons and their connection lines
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the button sensing pads with the connection lines by making the connection lines extend into the active region to form the button sensing pads. This integration eliminates the need for separate peripheral areas for both connection lines and button sensing elements, thereby maintaining slim border design while providing virtual button functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection lines serve dual functions: they connect the sensing array to the controller and simultaneously form the button sensing pads in the peripheral region. This multi-functionality allows the same structural element to provide both electrical connection and touch sensing capabilities, reducing the overall peripheral area requirement.
2Ease of operation
If physical buttons are used to provide touch input functionality, then ease of operation is improved, but additional components such as PCB and conductive lines are required, causing volume increase and layout difficulty
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the button sensing functionality from the traditional physical button structure and integrates it directly into the touch panel's sensing array. By removing the need for separate physical buttons, PCB connections, and additional conductive lines, the design simplifies the overall structure while maintaining ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical physical button system with an electrical touch sensing system. Instead of using mechanical switches or contacts, the invention uses capacitive sensing through the integrated button sensing pads, eliminating moving parts and reducing structural complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design allows for ultra-slim border implementation without enlarging the peripheral area, as button sensing pads are part of the connection lines, and the touch signal sensing method distinguishes between virtual button and sensing array inputs by analyzing signal differences, ensuring efficient space utilization and user interaction.
Implementation Method 1
The sensing array includes a plurality of first sensing electrode series disposed in the active region of the substrate along a first direction, and a plurality of second sensing electrode series, disposed in the active region of the substrate along a second direction, where the first sensing electrode series and the second sensing electrode series intersect and form a plurality of sensing units
Data Source
AI summary
A touch panel includes a substrate, a sensing array, a plurality of first connection lines and at least two button sensing pads. The substrate has an active region and a peripheral region disposed on at least one side of the active region. The sensing array is disposed in the active region, which includes a plurality of first sensing electrode series disposed in the active region along a first direction and a plurality of second sensing electrode series disposed in the active region along a second direction. The first and second sensing electrode series intersect and form a plurality of sensing units. The first connection lines are disposed in the peripheral region and electrically connected to the first sensing electrode series respectively. The at least two button sensing pads are disposed in the peripheral region, and electrically connected to at least two first connection lines respectively to form a virtual button.