Electro-Optical Touchscreen With Integrated Capacitive Force Sensing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing touchscreens with electro-optical displays require additional space and time for assembly due to discrete capacitive sensors, which increase installation effort and costs.
Innovation Solution
Integrating the electrode of the second sensing device within the plane of the display's electrodes and using a cranked leaf spring as both a mechanical and electrical component, eliminating the need for a separate second electrode and simplifying movement definitions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If discrete capacitive sensors are used for the second sensing device, then the touchscreen can reliably detect touch force, but additional mounting space and assembly time are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the second sensing device electrode directly into the display structure, merging the display and sensing functions into a single integrated component. This eliminates the need for separate discrete capacitive sensors and their associated mounting hardware, thereby maintaining reliable touch detection while significantly reducing assembly complexity and space requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The display structure serves multiple functions: it acts as both the visual display component and the sensing element for detecting touch force. By making the display electrode serve dual purposes as both display and sensor, the patent eliminates the need for separate sensing components, reducing overall device complexity while maintaining detection reliability.
2Measurement precision
If discrete capacitive sensors are used for the second sensing device, then accurate force measurement is achieved, but production costs and assembly effort increase
Solution Approach 1:
The sensing electrode is merged with the display electrode structure, creating a unified component that is manufactured as a single integrated unit. This integration maintains the precision needed for accurate force measurement through capacitive sensing while dramatically simplifying manufacturing and assembly processes by eliminating separate sensor components and their mounting procedures.
3Area of stationary object
If the leaf spring is positioned close to the electrode of the second sensing device, then space is optimized, but the risk of contact increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent positions the leaf spring in a different spatial dimension or plane relative to the electrode, allowing close proximity for space optimization while maintaining adequate separation to prevent contact. This dimensional arrangement enables both compact space utilization and reliable operation without the need for complex isolation mechanisms.
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 integration reduces production and assembly costs, enhances accuracy by forming a capacitor from the distance between the electrode and spring element, and allows for efficient detection of touch and force applied to the screen.
Implementation Method 1
The second sensing device can be designed as a capacitive sensor, in which a change in the relative position of two electrodes of a capacitor causes a change in the capacitor's capacitance. By measuring the capacitance of the capacitor, the corresponding change in the relative position of the electrodes can be inferred, thus reliably detecting a touch of the touchscreen by an input device.
Implementation Method 2
the leaf spring or leaf springs are cranked. This allows the leaf spring to be arranged at a particularly easy distance from the electrode of the second sensing device, the distance being advantageously chosen to be as small as possible without the spring element and the electrode of the second sensing device touching, according to the invention. In this way, the spring element can be used as the second electrode of the sensing device, thus eliminating the need for a separate second electrode of the respective second sensing device and forming a capacitor, the capacitance of which can be used to determine the distance between the electrode of the second sensing device and the spring element.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to an electro-optical touchscreen, wherein inputs can be made into an electronic system by means of the electro-optical touchscreen (1, 2, 4) by touching the electro-optical touchscreen (1, 2, 4) with an input member, and wherein the electro-optical touchscreen (1, 2, 4) has a display (1) and a first sensing device (2) for determining the location at which the electro-optical touchscreen (1, 2, 4) is touched and a second sensing device (3, 6) for determining a force applied to the electro-optical touchscreen (1, 2, 4). The position of the electro-optical touchscreen (1, 2, 4) relative to a reference surface (8) can be changed by applying the force to the surface (4) of the touchscreen. The second sensing device (3, 6) is capacitive and has an electrode (3). The electrode (3) of the second sensing device (3, 6) lies in a plane with electrodes of the display (1) or in a plane with electrodes of the first sensing device (2).