Touch panel assembly

• US 7,237,937 B2
• Filed: 11/06/2002
• Issued: 07/03/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Minebea Company Limited (MinebeaMitsumi Inc.), Nissha Printing Company Limited (Nissha Co., Ltd.), Nokia Corporation
• Original Assignee: Minebea Company Limited (MinebeaMitsumi Inc.), Nissha Printing Company Limited (Nissha Co., Ltd.), Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Nishikawa, Kazuhiro, Takagi, Takayuki, Hashimoto, Takao, Kawashima, Satoshi, Chousa, Yoshitaka
• Primary Examiner(s): O'Shea; Sandra
• Assistant Examiner(s): Makiya; David
• Application Number:
  US10/495,047
• Publication Number:
  US 20050030728A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,700 Days
• Field of Search: 362/612, 362/602, 362/633, 362/616, 345/104, 345/173, 349/12, 349/60
• US Class Current: 362/602
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133308 Support structures for LCD panels, e.g. frames or bezels
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13338 Input devices, e.g. touch panels
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133616 Front illuminating devices

Abstract

In a touch panel assembly, the thickness of a touch panel is successfully reduced by using a touch panel 10 provided with no reinforcement member. A housing frame 50 that supports the components of a front light unit 20 in an integral manner is provided with a touch panel positioning mechanism, and the touch panel 10 is fixed to the positioning mechanism, whereby the absence of a reinforcement member is duly compensated for, thus ensuring the strength of the touch panel 10. Deformation of the touch panel 10 that occurs when the touch panel 10 is pressed for operation can be attenuated by a transparent buffer member 5 disposed between the touch panel 10 and a light conductor plate 22. Therefore, the touch panel 10 deformed is prohibited from contacting and damaging the light conductor plate 22, thus preventing the light conductor plate 22 from deteriorating in its functional performance. Consequently, reduction in dimension and reduction of the number of components can be achieved without deteriorating the functional performance of the touch panel assembly.

Claims

1. A touch panel assembly in a front-light spread illuminating device, the touch panel assembly comprising:

a light conductor plate made of a transparent material, the light conductor plate having, on a major surface, a light reflecting pattern;

a rod-like lamp composed of a light conductor rod made of a transparent material and disposed close to and along at least one of end surfaces of the light conductor plate, and a point light source disposed adjacent to at least one of two ends of the light conductor rod;

a liquid crystal display device having a display portion in which light, that is emitted from the rod-like lamp, falls incident on the end surface of the light conductor plate and is introduced into the light conductor plate, exits out of the light conductor plate from its major surface toward the display portion of the liquid crystal display device;

a housing frame supporting components of the spread illuminating device in an integral manner and being provided with a positioning mechanism for a touch panel, wherein a touch panel having no reinforcement member is fixed to the positioning mechanism; and

a transparent buffer member disposed between the touch panel and the light conductor plate,

wherein a gap is provided between the transparent buffer member and the light conductor plate, and

wherein the transparent buffer member is composed of a polyethylene terephthalate film and a transparent gel layer, and the transparent gel layer is disposed in contact with the touch panel.

2. The touch panel assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that the touch panel positioning mechanism is constituted by a recess formed in the housing frame.

3. The touch panel assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that the transparent buffer member is provided so as to keep clear of a portion of the spread illuminating device, at which the spread illuminating device defines its maximum thickness.

4. The touch panel assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that the polyethylene terephthalate film is either an AR film or an LR film.

5. The touch panel assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that the transparent buffer member is formed such that either a liquid or gel-like buffer material is coated on a surface of the touch panel and a coat surface portion of the buffer material is hardened for eliminating stickiness.

6. The touch panel assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that a thickness of the polyethylene terephthalate film is set to range from 10 to 500 μ

m.

7. The touch panel assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that a thickness of the transparent gel layer is set to range from 50 to 500 μ

m.

8. The touch panel assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that the gap ranges from 10 μ

m to 1 mm.

9. The touch panel assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that a transparent flat plate that constitutes the touch panel having no reinforcement member is a thin tempered glass plate.

10. The touch panel assembly claim 1, characterized in that the housing frame is a resin molded part.

11. The touch panel assembly according to claim 5, characterized in that a thickness of the coat surface portion of the buffer material hardened for eliminating stickiness is set to range from 10 to 500 μ

m.

12. The touch panel assembly according to claim 5, characterized in that a thickness of an unhardened portion of the buffer material coated on the surface of the touch panel is set to range from 50 to 500 μ

m.

13. A touch panel assembly in a front-light spread illuminating device, the touch panel assembly comprising:

a light conductor plate made of a transparent material, the light conductor plate having, on a major surface, a light reflecting pattern;

a rod-like lamp composed of a light conductor rod made of a transparent material and disposed close to and along at least one of end surfaces of the light conductor plate, and a point light source disposed adjacent to at least one of two ends of the light conductor rod;

a liquid crystal display device having a display portion in which light, that is emitted from the rod-like lamp, falls incident on the end surface of the light conductor plate and is introduced into the light conductor plate, exits out of the light conductor plate from its major surface toward the display portion of the liquid crystal display device; and

a housing frame supporting components of the spread illuminating device in an integral manner and being provided with positioning mechanisms for the light conductive plate, the point light source, the light conductor rod and a touch panel on a top surface side of the housing frame, and for the display device on a bottom surface side of the housing frame,

wherein the touch panel having no reinforcement member is fixed to the positioning mechanism, and

wherein the housing frame is configured to receive a first buffer member at the top surface side of the housing frame and a second buffer member at the bottom surface side of the housing frame.

14. The touch panel assembly of claim 13, wherein the first buffer member is a transparent buffer member interposed between the touch panel and the light conductor plate, and the second buffer member is a cushion provided between the bottom surface side of the housing frame and the display device.

15. The touch panel assembly of claim 14, characterized in that FPC is so disposed so as to be interposed between a frame-like seat of the housing frame and the cushion.