Patent Application
20110148816
This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 98143388, filed on Dec. 17, 2009. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification.
1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a touch display apparatus. More particularly, the invention relates to an optical touch display apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
With advancement of electro-optical science and technology, a consumer is no longer content to use his or her computer and control the screen by operating a mouse. A more ergonomic concept allowing users to control by simply using their fingers gradually becomes available. Finger-touch operation is an integral part of our daily lives. It is especially convenient for children and seniors who tend to have trouble using the mouse. As an evident proof, many banks have applied touch screens on their automatic teller machines (ATMs).
Most of the conventional notebook computers are fitted with a touchpad or a track point located beside the keys on a keyboard for operating the computers, given that no external mouse is connected. However, many users may find that the touchpad and the track point are not as ergonomic as the external mouse. With the touch-screen function, users may enjoy more convenience. The touch-screen operation is a rather instinctual control method allowing users to have direct contact with screens. When touch panels are equipped in notebook computers, users may operate without much trouble and enjoy convenience even if no external mouse is connected.
The currently available touch panels are namely resistant touch panels, capacitive touch panels, optical touch panels, sonic wave touch panels, and electromagnetic touch panels. An optical touch display apparatus normally includes a display, an infrared light source, a light guiding unit, a sensor, and a processor. Here, the display includes a backlight module and a display panel. The infrared light source is disposed next to the display area to emit an infrared beam, and the infrared beam may be detected by the sensor after passing through the light guiding unit. When a touch object comes in contact with the display panel, the processor determines a location of the touch point by the intensity of the infrared beam detected by the sensor. However, since the infrared light source and the light guiding unit guiding the infrared beam are located next to the display area and are both isolated from the backlight module, the entire thickness of the touch display apparatus, the number of optical elements, and the costs are increased, and the assembly time may lengthen as well.
The invention is directed to an optical touch display apparatus with low cost and reduced thickness.
Numerous features and advantages of the invention may be better understood by referring to the disclosure herein.
In order to achieve one or a part of or all of the object or other objects, an embodiment of the invention provides an optical touch display apparatus including a backlight module, a display panel, and at least an optical detector. The backlight module is capable of providing a visible beam and an invisible beam. The display panel is disposed at one side of the backlight module. A sensing space is located in front of the display panel, and the display panel is located between the backlight module and the sensing space. The visible beam and the invisible beam are capable of passing through the display panel and then being transmitted to the sensing space. The optical detector is disposed outside the display panel. When a touch object enters the sensing space, a part of the invisible beam is reflected by the touch object, and the optical detector is disposed in a transmission path of the part of the invisible beam reflected by the touch object, so as to detect the part of the invisible beam. The part of the invisible beam transmitted to the optical detector forms a bright region in a frame detected by the optical detector, and the optical touch display apparatus is capable of determining a location of the touch object in the sensing space based on a location of the bright region in the frame.
In summary, the embodiment or embodiments of the invention may have at least one of the following advantages. In the optical touch display apparatus according to the embodiment of the invention, the backlight module may simultaneously emit the visible beam and the invisible beam. Therefore, it is not necessary to install other invisible light sources or light guiding units on the display panel and beside the sensing space. As such, the entire thickness of the optical touch display apparatus, the number of optical elements, the costs, and the assembly time may be reduced.
Other objectives, features and advantages of the invention will be further understood from the further technological features disclosed by the embodiments of the invention wherein there are shown and described preferred embodiments of this invention, simply by way of illustration of modes best suited to carry out the invention.
The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
In the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. In this regard, directional terminology, such as “top,” “bottom,” “front,” “back,” etc., is used with reference to the orientation of the Figure(s) being described. The components of the invention can be positioned in a number of different orientations. As such, the directional terminology is used for purposes of illustration and is in no way limiting. On the other hand, the drawings are only schematic and the sizes of components may be exaggerated for clarity. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless limited otherwise, the terms “connected,” “coupled,” and “mounted” and variations thereof herein are used broadly and encompass direct and indirect connections, couplings, and mountings. Similarly, the terms “facing,” “faces” and variations thereof herein are used broadly and encompass direct and indirect facing, and “adjacent to” and variations thereof herein are used broadly and encompass directly and indirectly “adjacent to”. Therefore, the description of “A” component facing “B” component herein may contain the situations that “A” component directly faces “B” component or one or more additional components are between “A” component and “B” component. Also, the description of “A” component “adjacent to” “B” component herein may contain the situations that “A” component is directly “adjacent to” “B” component or one or more additional components are between “A” component and “B” component. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions will be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.
Referring to
The light guide plate 210 has a first surface 212 facing the display panel 110, a second surface 214 facing away from the display panel 110, and a light incident surface 216 connecting the first surface 212 and the second surface 214. The visible light emitting elements 220 are capable of emitting the visible beam 221. The visible beam 221 is capable of entering the light guide plate 210 through the light incident surface 216 and being transmitted to the display panel 110 through the first surface 212. The invisible light emitting elements 230 are capable of emitting the invisible beam 231. The invisible beam 231 is capable of entering the light guide plate 210 through the light incident surface 216 and being transmitted to the display panel 110 through the first surface 212. In this embodiment, the backlight module 220 further includes a reflection unit 240 disposed at a side of the second surface 214, so as to reflect the visible beam 221 and the invisible beam 231 from the second surface 214 back to the light guide plate 210. Here, the reflection unit 240 is, for example, a reflection sheet.
In particular, when the visible beam 221 and the invisible beam 231 enter the light guide plate 210 through the light incident surface 216, the visible beam 221 and the invisible beam 231 are constantly and totally internally reflected by the first surface 212 and the second surface 214, such that the visible beam 221 and the invisible beam 231 are restrained within the light guide plate 210. However, scattering microstructures 218 on a surface of the light guide plate 210, e.g. the second surface 214 in this embodiment, break the total internal reflection, and a part of the visible beam 221 and a part of the invisible beam 231 are scattered to the first surface 212 and transmitted out of the light guide plate 210 through the first surface 212. Besides, another part of the visible beam 221 and another part of the invisible beam 231 are scattered by the scattering microstructures 218 to the reflection unit 240. The reflection unit 240 reflects the visible beam 221 and the invisible beam 231, such that the visible beam 221 and the invisible beam 231 sequentially pass through the second surface 214 and the first surface 212 to form a visible surface light source and an invisible surface light source on the first surface 212. It should be noted that the scattering microstructures 218 may also be formed on the first surface 212 or on both the first surface 212 and the second surfaces 214 in other embodiments.
In this embodiment, the visible light emitting elements 220 and the invisible light emitting elements 230 are alternately arranged beside the light incident surface 216. Besides, in this embodiment, the backlight module 200 further includes a carrier 250 on which the visible light emitting elements 220 and the invisible light emitting elements 230 are alternately disposed. The carrier 250 is, for example, a circuit board electrically connected to the visible light emitting elements 220 and the invisible light emitting elements 230.
The display panel 110 is disposed at a side of the backlight module 200. A sensing space S is located in front of the display panel 110, and the display panel 110 is located between the backlight module 200 and the sensing space S. The visible beam 221 and the invisible beam 231 (e.g. the visible beam 221 and the invisible beam 231 from the first surface 212) are capable of passing through the display panel 110 and being transmitted to the sensing space S. In this embodiment, the display panel 110 is, for example, a liquid crystal display panel and includes an active device array substrate 112, a liquid crystal layer 114, and an opposite substrate 116. The liquid crystal layer 114 is disposed between the active device array substrate 112 and the opposite substrate 116, and the active device array substrate 112 is disposed between the liquid crystal layer 114 and the backlight module 200. In this embodiment, the active device array substrate 112 is, for example, a thin film transistor (TFT) array substrate, and the opposite substrate 116 is, for example, a color filter array substrate.
The optical detector 120 is disposed outside the display panel 110 for sensing the invisible beam 231 from the sensing space S. In this embodiment, the optical detector 120 is disposed beside the sensing space S and at a side of the display panel 110 facing away from the backlight module 200. The optical detector 120 is, for example, a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensor, a charge coupled device (CCD), a photo multiplier tube (PMT), or any other image detector. In this embodiment, a range detected by the optical detector 120 extends to the sensing space S right above the entire display area of the display panel 110. When a touch object 50 (e.g. a user's finger, the tip of a stylus, or any other appropriate object) enters the sensing space S, the invisible beam 231 irradiating the touch object 50 is scattered. Thus, the touch object 50 reflects a part of the invisible beam 231 to the optical detector 120. That is to say, the optical detector 120 is disposed in a transmission path of the part of the invisible beam 231 reflected by the touch object 50, so as to form a bright region in a frame detected by the optical detector 120. Here, the bright region is, for example, a bright spot. On the other hand, in parts of the sensing space S remaining unoccupied by the touch object 50, the invisible beam 231 is not reflected by any object to the optical detector 120, and thus a dark region (i.e. a dark background) is formed in the frame detected by the optical detector 120. The optical touch display apparatus 100 is capable of determining a location of the touch object 50 in the sensing space S based on a location of the bright region in the frame. To be more specific, the optical touch display apparatus 100 may further include a processing unit 130 electrically connected to the optical detector 120. In this embodiment, the processing unit 130 is electrically connected to the optical detectors 120a and 120b simultaneously. The processing unit 130 is capable of determining the location of the touch object 50 in the sensing space S based on the location of the bright region in the frame.
The backlight module 200 in this embodiment further includes an optical film set 260 disposed between the light guide plate 210 and the display panel 110. The optical film set 260 includes at least one of a brightness enhancement film (BEF), a prism sheet, and a diffusion sheet, i.e. the optical film set 260 includes a BEF, a prism sheet, a diffusion sheet, or any combination thereof.
In this embodiment, the optical touch display apparatus 100 further includes a front frame 140 covering an edge of the display panel 110. The optical detector 120 is disposed on the front frame 140, and a part of the front frame 140 is located between the optical detector 120 and the edge of the display panel 110. In addition, the optical detectors 120a and 120b in this embodiment are respectively disposed at two adjacent corners of the front frame 140. Moreover, the optical touch display apparatus 100 in this embodiment further includes a back frame 150 for accommodating the carrier 250 and the reflection unit 240.
In the optical touch display apparatus 100 of this embodiment, the backlight module 200 may simultaneously emit the visible beam 221 and the invisible beam 231. Therefore, it is not necessary to install other invisible light sources or light guiding units on the display panel 110 and beside the sensing space S. As such, the entire thickness of the optical touch display apparatus 100, the number of optical elements, the costs, and the assembly time may be reduced.
In
Besides, a plurality of scattering microstructures 218a and a plurality of scattering microstructures 218b may be formed on the first surface 212, on the second surface 214, or on both the first surface 212 and the second surfaces 214 of the light guide plate 210′ (e.g. In
In
In
Particularly, each of the light emitting elements 225 includes a visible LED chip 222, an invisible LED chip 232, and an encapsulant 228. The visible LED chip 222 is capable of emitting the visible beam 221. The invisible LED chip 232 (e.g. an infrared LED chip) is capable of emitting the invisible beam 231 (e.g. an infrared beam). The encapsulant 228 encapsulates the visible LED chip 222 and the invisible LED chip 232. In other words, the visible LED chip 222 and the invisible LED chip 232 are located in the same LED package.
In
It should be noted that the light emitting elements are not limited to be the LEDs in this invention. In other embodiments, the light emitting elements may also be fluorescent tubes, incandescent bulbs, halogen bulbs, or other proper light emitting elements.
In
The light emitting elements 225 in
In
It should be noted that the number of the optical detectors 120 in the optical touch display apparatus 100e is not limited in this invention. The more the number of the optical detectors 120 is, the more touch points accurately determined by the multi-touch function may be achieved by the optical touch display apparatus. On the other hand, when there is only one optical detector 120, costs of the optical touch display apparatus may be effectively lowered down. In an embodiment, one optical detector 120 is sufficient to detect location variations of the touch object 50 in a one-dimensional manner, and the embodiment may be applied to an optical touch display apparatus requiring a simple touch function, e.g. a screen on an automatic teller machine (ATM).
In
In summary, the embodiment or embodiments of the invention may have at least one of the following advantages. In the embodiments of the invention, the backlight module in the optical touch display apparatus may simultaneously emit the visible beam and the invisible beam. Therefore, it is not necessary to install other invisible light sources or light guiding units on the display panel and beside the sensing space. As such, the entire thickness of the optical touch display apparatus, the number of optical elements, the costs, and the assembly time may be reduced.
The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form or to exemplary embodiments disclosed. Accordingly, the foregoing description should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Obviously, many modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in this art. The embodiments are chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its best mode practical application, thereby to enable persons skilled in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use or implementation contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents in which all terms are meant in their broadest reasonable sense unless otherwise indicated. Therefore, the term “the invention”, “the invention” or the like does not necessarily limit the claim scope to a specific embodiment, and the reference to particularly preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention does not imply a limitation on the invention, and no such limitation is to be inferred. The invention is limited only by the spirit and scope of the appended claims. The abstract of the disclosure is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract, which will allow a searcher to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the technical disclosure of any patent issued from this disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Any advantages and benefits described may not apply to all embodiments of the invention. It should be appreciated that variations may be made in the embodiments described by persons skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims. Moreover, no element and component in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether the element or component is explicitly recited in the following claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 98143388 | Dec 2009 | TW | national |
