Touchscreen Lightguide Over-moulded Substrate
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional touchscreens utilizing the TIR phenomenon are costly, space-consuming, and power-intensive, with additional weight and design complexities due to required light funneling structures, which affect manufacturing costs and usability, especially in mobile devices.
Innovation Solution
A touchscreen arrangement where a lightguide is over-moulded onto a substrate with integrated optoelectronic components, allowing for total internal reflection and touch detection without the need for external light funneling structures, using a mold-on-film approach that minimizes coupling losses and maintains transparency for display visibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional touchscreens utilize TIR phenomenon with external light funneling structures, then touch detection capability is achieved, but manufacturing costs increase and device weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the lightguide function directly with the touchscreen overlay by over-moulding the lightguide material onto the substrate containing optoelectronic components. This integration eliminates the need for separate external light funneling structures, thereby reducing device weight while maintaining touch detection capability through the combined structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The overlay structure serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as both the touchscreen interface for touch detection and the lightguide for optical signal transmission. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for dedicated separate components, reducing overall device weight while preserving both touch detection and optical guidance capabilities.
2Measurement precision
If traditional touchscreens utilize TIR phenomenon with external light funneling structures, then touch detection capability is achieved, but manufacturing costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the lightguide and touchscreen overlay into a single integrated component through over-moulding. This merger reduces the number of separate parts that need to be manufactured and assembled, simplifying the manufacturing process and reducing costs while maintaining full touch detection functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated overlay performs both touchscreen interface functions and lightguide functions simultaneously. This multi-functionality reduces component count and assembly complexity, leading to lower manufacturing costs while preserving touch detection capability.
3Measurement precision
If traditional touchscreens utilize TIR phenomenon with external light funneling structures, then touch detection capability is achieved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the lightguide structure with the touchscreen overlay into a single integrated component. This consolidation reduces structural complexity by eliminating the need for separate external light funneling structures while maintaining the necessary optical pathways for touch detection.
4Ease of manufacture
If lightguide is over-moulded onto substrate with integrated components, then manufacturing costs are reduced and weight is minimized, but coupling losses must be controlled
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the refractive index of the over-moulded lightguide material to match or exceed that of the substrate and embedded components. This parameter optimization ensures efficient optical coupling between the substrate and lightguide, minimizing coupling losses while maintaining the cost and weight advantages of the integrated structure.
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 reduces manufacturing costs, minimizes weight and energy consumption, and enhances touch detection sensitivity while being adaptable for various applications, including mobile devices and industrial automation, with improved durability and ease of integration with existing displays.
Implementation Method 1
the properties of the lightguide including the refractive index of the lightguide material being selected and the emitters and detectors being configured so as to enable, when in use, total internal reflection (TIR)-type propagation of light within the lightguide between the emitters and detectors
Implementation Method 2
recognition of a touch on the basis of a drop in the TIR performance as determined from the detected light
Data Source
AI summary
Arrangement for use with a touchscreen, includes a substrate, such as an optically substantially transparent film or a film defining a through hole, the substrate including support electronics, such as printed electronics including a number of printed conductors, for providing power, control and/or communications connection to further electronic components, a number of emitters and detectors arranged on the substrate into contact with the support electronics, for emitting and detecting light, respectively, and a lightguide arranged onto the substrate such that the emitters and detectors, and optionally at least part of the support electronics, are substantially immersed in the lightguide material, the properties of the lightguide including the refractive index of the lightguide material being selected and the emitters and detectors being configured so as to enable, when in use, total internal reflection (TIR)-type propagation of light within the lightguide between the emitters and detectors and recognition of a touch on the basis of a drop in the TIR performance as determined from the detected light. A related method of manufacture is presented.