Touch Sensor Mounting Assembly with Spring Arms
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing touch sensor mounting solutions for mobile devices often require multiple assembly steps, tools, and adhesives, leading to potential false triggers and inconsistent sensitivity due to relative movement and improper sensor placement.
Innovation Solution
A touch sensor mounting assembly featuring a carrier with a front-side surface for attaching a touch sensor circuit and a back-side spring structure with integral spring arms that flex to urge the carrier and sensor circuitry toward the interior of the device case, eliminating the need for adhesives and reducing assembly complexity while securing the sensor in place.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple assembly steps, tools, and adhesives are used to mount touch sensor, then the sensor can be attached to device case, but the assembly complexity increases and potential false triggers occur due to relative movement and improper sensor placement
Solution Approach 1:
The carrier integrates multiple functions into a single component: it provides the mounting structure, the spring arms for mechanical retention, and the positioning features for the touch sensor. This consolidation eliminates the need for separate adhesives and multiple assembly steps, reducing assembly complexity while ensuring consistent sensor placement through the integrated mechanical structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring arms provide dynamic mechanical retention by flexing to accommodate the sensor and then maintaining constant contact pressure. This dynamic mechanism ensures the sensor remains properly positioned without requiring adhesives, eliminating relative movement that causes false triggers while simplifying assembly to a single mechanical attachment process.
2Ease of manufacture
If adhesives are used to secure touch sensor, then the sensor can be attached to device case, but the assembly process becomes more complex and sensor placement consistency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces the chemical bonding mechanism (adhesives) with a mechanical retention system using spring arms. This mechanical system is simpler to manufacture and assemble, while the integrated carrier structure with positioning features ensures precise and consistent sensor placement through mechanical constraints rather than adhesive application.
3Reliability
If mechanical spring arms are used to secure carrier, then the sensor placement consistency improves, but the device structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The spring arms are integrated directly into the carrier as a single-piece structure, merging the retention mechanism with the mounting assembly. This eliminates the need for separate components and fasteners, reducing overall structural complexity while maintaining reliable sensor positioning through the spring arms' mechanical retention and constant contact pressure.
4Reliability
If multiple assembly steps and adhesives are used, then the sensor can be mounted, but false triggers increase due to relative movement
Solution Approach 1:
The spring arms provide dynamic mechanical retention that maintains constant contact pressure on the sensor, preventing relative movement between the sensor and device case. This mechanical constraint eliminates the false triggers caused by adhesive failure or sensor displacement, while the single-step assembly process reduces complexity compared to multi-step adhesive application and curing processes.
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 solution enhances button sensitivity and consistency, reduces false triggers, and simplifies installation by using mechanical spring arms to maintain sensor position, improving resistance to mechanical stress and eliminating the need for adhesives, thus providing a more secure and reliable touch sensing experience.
Implementation Method 1
back-side spring arms are flexed to urge the carrier with front-side mounted touch sensor circuitry toward an interior side of the touch button area
Data Source
AI summary
A touch sensor mounting assembly includes a carrier with a front-side surface for attaching a touch sensor circuit (such as a flex circuit board), and a back-side spring structure. The touch sensor mounting assembly can be used for mounting at least one touch sensor in a device case with at least on touch button area defined on a surface of the device case. The touch sensor mounting assembly can include a carrier including a front-side sensor-attach surface, and a back-side spring structure including at least two spring arms integral with the carrier. Touch sensor circuitry can be mounted on the front-side sensor-attach surface of the carrier, such that when, the touch sensor mounting assembly is installed in the device case adjacent the at least one touch button area, the back-side spring arms are flexed to urge the carrier with front-side mounted touch sensor circuitry toward an interior side of the touch button area of the device case. In one implementation, the devices case includes first and second adjacent touch button areas (such as up/dn), and the carrier includes a front-side sensor-attach surface dimensioned for respective first and second touch sensor circuits, and can include a back-side spring structure with dual crossed spring arms for each of the first and second touch sensor circuits.