Patent Application
20140092060
1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to input devices, and particularly to a touch panel with a button-input mode.
2. Description of Related Art
Many electronic devices have input devices. Two usual input methods are buttons and touch panels. The buttons have the benefit of providing tactile feedback when pressed, such as clicking or resisting being pressed when the button has been pressed far enough. However, the appearance of buttons on an electronic device is not as aesthetic as touch panels. On the other hand, a touch panel is more aesthetic, but does not provide the tactile feedback of buttons and may feel unsatisfactory to a user.
Therefore, what is needed is a touch panel having an aesthetic appearance and providing a button-input mode.
Many aspects of the embodiments can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
The disclosure, including the accompanying, is illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation. It should be noted that references to “an” or “one” embodiment in this disclosure are not necessarily to the same embodiment, and such references mean “at least one.”
Referring to
The insulating layer 12 is attached to another surface of the cover layer 11 opposite to the operating surface 110. The touch-sensing layer13 is arranged between the insulating layer 12 and the circuit board 15 and is electrically connected to the circuit board 15. The touch-sensing layer 13 is configured to generate a first signal to indicate a location of a user's touch. In a touch mode, when a conductor, such as a human finger or a touch pen, touches the cover layer 11, an electrical signal at a point of contact of the touching sensing layer 13 indicates the location of the touch. The touching sensing layer 13 can be a resistive touching layer or a capacitive touching layer. In other embodiments, the touch-sensing layer13 is attached on the cover layer 11.
Each of the button members 14 includes a post 140 and a sensing portion 141. Each of the sensing portions 141 is electrically connected to the circuit board 15. Each of the button members 14 is respectively aligned with the key area 112 of the operating surface 110.
Referring to
The sensing portion 141 is configured to generate a second signal when the corresponding key area 112 is pressed. In a button mode, when a key area 112 of the operating surface 110 is pressed by a user, the second end 142 of the post 140 presses the sensing portion 141, and the sensing portion 141 deforms and generates the second signal. The pressed point is then determined based on the second signal.
In an embodiment, the sensing portion 141 includes a metal dome and contacting tabs. When the sensing portion 141 is pressed by the second end 142 of the post 140, the metal dome deforms and contacts the contacting tab, thereby generating the second signal.
Moreover, it is to be understood that the disclosure may be embodied in other forms without departing from the spirit thereof. Thus, the present examples and embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and the disclosure is not to be limited to the details given herein.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201210371424X | Sep 2012 | CN | national |
