The present disclosure is directed to a touch sensor for electronic computing devices. Specifically, the present disclosure is directed to a structure that provides structural support to the touch sensor as well as providing a ground reference for the touch sensor.
In certain computing devices, it may be desirable to have a thin form factor. However, as parts are removed or resized to achieve the thin form factor, the overall durability of the computing device may be diminished. For example, in some cases, as the computing device gets thinner, the computing device may bend or break more easily. In cases where components are removed, the computing device may not have the desired functionality.
It is with respect to these and other general considerations that embodiments have been made. Also, although relatively specific problems have been discussed, it should be understood that the embodiments should not be limited to solving the specific problems identified in the background.
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description section. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
One or more embodiments of the present disclosure provide an apparatus that provides both structural support and an electrical ground for components of a computing device or other such electronic device. More specifically, one or more embodiments of the present disclosure provide a semi-rigid member having at least one screw boss. An electronic component is coupled to the semi-rigid member. The electronic component may be coupled to the semi-rigid member using the at least one screw boss. The semi-rigid member is also configured to provide an electrical ground for the electronic component and also provides structural support for the electronic component.
In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a device is disclosed that includes, among other components, a coated glass member, an adhesive layer, a touch sensor, and a gel plate configured as a semi-rigid member. A first side of the adhesive layer is coupled to an underside of the coated glass member. Likewise, a first side of the sensor is coupled to a second side of the adhesive layer. In some embodiments, a first side of the gel plate is coupled to a second side of the sensor. Further, at least one screw boss is coupled to the gel plate. In embodiments, the at least one screw boss is configured to secure the sensor to the gel plate to provide structural support for the sensor. Additionally, the gel plate is configured to provide an electrical ground for the sensor. The components listed above may form a sensing stack which may be used as a touch-sensitive portion of a computing device (e.g., a touch pad of a laptop computer, in input-sensitive housing of a computing device and the like).
In yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method is provided for securing and grounding components of an electronic device. The method includes coupling a semi-rigid member to an electronic component to provide structural support to the electronic component. Once the semi-rigid member has been coupled to the electronic component, the electronic component is electrically grounded by the semi-rigid member using one or more screw bosses coupled to the semi-rigid member.
Reference will now be made to representative embodiments illustrated in the accompanying figures. It should be understood that the following descriptions are not intended to limit the disclosure to one preferred embodiment. To the contrary, each is intended to cover alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the described embodiments as defined by the appended claims.
Various embodiments are described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and which show specific exemplary embodiments. However, embodiments may be implemented in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the embodiments to those skilled in the art. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense.
One or more embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to touch sensors for computing devices. In embodiments, the touch sensors may be used for laptop computers, mobile phones, tablets and the like. Specifically, the sensors and the structures described herein may be used as opaque touch pads for laptop computers. Although touch pads are specifically mentioned, the components and structures disclosed herein could be used for touch sensitive regions, displays or housings for tablet computers, laptop computers, computer monitors, mobile phones, wearable electronic devices and the like.
Referring to
In certain embodiments, the electronic component may support mutual capacitance sensing. That is, a location of a touch may be determined through a change in capacitance between two capacitive elements spaced apart from one another, typically (but not necessarily) spaced apart along the Z-axis. When a touch occurs in the region of one of the capacitive elements, the overall capacitance as measured between the two elements may change due to the capacitance of the finger or touching object. This change in capacitance may be sensed and the location of the touch assigned to the corresponding region. In certain embodiments, a first array of capacitive elements may be configured to cover or correspond to an entirety (or near-entirety) of a touch surface, with a second array of capacitive elements disposed beneath the first array. The change in capacitance due to a touch may be measured from any elements of the first array to the underlying element of the second array.
In many embodiments that employ mutual capacitance systems, a reference or ground plane structure may assist in the sensing of a touch. For example, the ground plane may operate to shield one or both of the capacitive arrays from external noise, such as may be produced by other electronic components operating in the device, or from the object itself. Likewise, the plane may provide a reference voltage (such as a ground voltage) against which changes in capacitance may be measured. Further, it should be appreciated that such a reference structure may be located above or below the mutual capacitance arrays.
Other embodiments may employ self-capacitance structures to detect the location of a touch. In a self-capacitance structure, one or more of an array of capacitive elements may capacitively couple to a finger or object touching a cover glass or other surface. This capacitive coupling may change the value of the capacitance at the corresponding capacitive element, which may be interpreted as a touch. In such systems, a reference or ground structure may be useful for many of the reasons set forth above in the discussion of mutual capacitance.
In certain embodiments, the semi-rigid member 100 includes a stainless steel plate having a thickness of 0.2 mm and one or more pads 120 or other compliant members. In other embodiments, the semi-rigid member 100 may be an anodized aluminum plate. In still yet another embodiment, the semi-rigid member 100 is made of titanium. Although specific materials are mentioned, it is contemplated that any material may be used so as to enable the semi-rigid member 100 to act as both a structural support and a ground reference for certain electronic components.
As briefly discussed above, the semi-rigid member 100 may also include one or more pads 120. The pads 120 may be made be comprised of a gel, a polymer or other material. The pads 120 may be used to help insulate one or more electronic components that are coupled to the semi-rigid member 100 or may be used to help secure the one or more electronic components to the semi-rigid member 100. Although four pads 120 are specifically shown, it is contemplated that the semi-rigid member 100 may have any number of pads 120 secured thereon. Further, it is contemplated that the pads 120 may be placed in any desired configuration or orientation, such as, for example, in a configuration that matches or corresponds to the electrical component that is coupled to the semi-rigid member 100.
As also shown in
As will be discussed below, the screw bosses 110 are used to secure the electrical component to the semi-rigid member 100 and may also be used to provide the ground reference. For example, when an electrical component is secured to the semi-rigid member 100, the one or more electrical connections may be secured to the screw bosses 110 and/or the semi-rigid member 100 to provide an electrical ground for the electrical component.
For example, with respect to
Referring to
The gel plate 310 may be used to protect the components of the sensing stack 300 as well as to enable the sensor 320 to more accurately track movement. As shown in
In some embodiments, the glass member 340 is a coated glass structure that covers the sensing stack 300 and is used to receive physical touch from a user of the sensing stack 300 (e.g., finger movement of a user on an input pad, such as a touch pad, of a computing device, or input from a stylus or other such mechanism). In certain embodiments, the glass member 340 may be cosmetically altered to have different colors, shape, designs, opacities and the like.
In certain embodiments, the gel plate 310 may have a thickness of 0.130 mm, the sensor 320 may have a thickness of 0.105 mm, the adhesive layer 330 may have a thickness of 0.05 mm, and the glass member 340 may have a thickness of 1.11 mm. Given the above measurements, it is contemplated that the sensing stack 300 may have an overall thickness of 2.245 mm. Although specific measurements have been mentioned, it is contemplated that each of the components listed above may have different dimensions, widths and so on. However, given that the semi-rigid member 100 acts as a structural component and a ground component, the overall part count of the sensing stack 300 may be less than current implementations. Likewise, the overall thickness of the sensing stack 300 may be thinner than current implementations.
As discussed above, one or more components of the sensing stack 300, such as, for example, the sensor 320 may be electrically grounded to the semi-rigid member 100. Further, one or more additional components may be coupled and/or electrically grounded to the semi-rigid member 100. For example, an actuator may be coupled to the semi-rigid member 100 using one or more screw bosses 110 (
Method 400 begins when a semi-rigid member, such as, for example, semi-rigid member 100 (
Once the electronic component is secured to the semi-rigid member, flow proceeds to operation 420 in which the electronic component is electrically ground to the semi-rigid member. In certain embodiments, the electrical ground connection is facilitated by at least one screw boss. As discussed above, the screw boss may be used to secure the electronic component to the semi-rigid member as well as to provide the electrical ground for the electronic component.
Embodiments of the present disclosure are described above with reference to block diagrams and operational illustrations of methods and the like. The operations described may occur out of the order as shown in any of the figures. Additionally, one or more operations may be removed or executed substantially concurrently. For example, two blocks shown in succession may be executed substantially concurrently. Additionally, the blocks may be executed in the reverse order.
The description and illustration of one or more embodiments provided in this disclosure are not intended to limit or restrict the scope of the present disclosure as claimed. The embodiments, examples, and details provided in this disclosure are considered sufficient to convey possession and enable others to make and use the best mode of the claimed embodiments. Additionally, the claimed embodiments should not be construed as being limited to any embodiment, example, or detail provided above. Regardless of whether shown and described in combination or separately, the various features, including structural features and methodological features, are intended to be selectively included or omitted to produce an embodiment with a particular set of features. Having been provided with the description and illustration of the present application, one skilled in the art may envision variations, modifications, and alternate embodiments falling within the spirit of the broader aspects of the embodiments described herein that do not depart from the broader scope of the claimed embodiments.
This application is a nonprovisional patent application of and claims the benefit to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/934,322, filed Jan. 31, 2014 and titled “Structural Ground Reference for an Electronic Component of a Computing Device,” the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
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