Touch display apparatus and electronic reading apparatus with touch input function

• US 8,692,782 B2
• Filed: 06/21/2010
• Issued: 04/08/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: E Ink Holdings Incorporated
• Original Assignee: E Ink Holdings Incorporated
• Inventors: Chang, Yung-Sheng, Chuang, Kai-Cheng, Wang, Tzu-Ming, Hsiao, Po-Wen
• Primary Examiner(s): PARDO, THUY N
• Application Number:
  US12/819,638
• Publication Number:
  US 20110279385A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,387 Days
• Field of Search: 345/173, 345/174, 345/610, 340/407.2, 313/485, 341/20, 349/160
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/045 using resistive elements, e.g. a single continuous surface or two parallel surfaces put in contact

Abstract

The present invention relates to a touch display apparatus, which is including a display unit and a touch unit installed under the display unit. The display unit includes a first substrate and a second substrate installed in parallel. The touch unit includes a third substrate installed under the second substrate in parallel, and a plurality of first electrodes and a plurality of second electrodes separately installed on the lower surface of the second substrate and on the upper surface of the third substrate and facing each other. When a user touches the display unit of the electronic reading apparatus, the display unit will have a local deformation accordingly, the first electrode and the second electrode touch each other, and thus a touch signal is generated. Therefore, a touch function can be achieved.

Claims

1. A touch display apparatus, comprising:

a display unit, which has a first substrate paralleling a second substrate, and a display dielectric layer sandwiched between the first substrate and the second substrate; and

a touch unit, which is installed under the display unit and consists of;

a third substrate, installed under the second substrate in parallel, with a gap of fixed distance retained relatively to the second substrate;

a plurality of first electrodes, installed on the lower surface of the second substrate; and

a plurality of second electrodes, installed on the upper surface of the third substrate and facing toward such a plurality of first electrodes, wherein the second substrate has at least one linear distribution area, the first electrodes are distributed in the at least one linear distribution area, and no other touch sensing electrodes are disposed on the second substrate besides the first electrodes in the at least one linear distribution area.

2. The touch display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first substrate is a transparent substrate, and the first substrate and the second substrate are one of a reelable substrate or a substrate allowable for bending to a certain degree.

3. The touch display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the third substrate is a transparent or a non-transparent substrate, and the third substrate is one of a rigid or a reelable substrate.

4. The touch display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of first electrodes and the plurality of second electrodes are made of one of the metal, carbon or other electrically conducting polymer.

5. The touch display apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display dielectric layer sandwiched between the first substrate and the second substrate, and the display dielectric layer is the E-Ink or an electro-wetting layer.

6. An electronic reading apparatus, comprising:

a display unit, which has a first substrate paralleling a second substrate, as well as a display dielectric layer sandwiched between the first substrate and the second substrate;

a touch unit, which is installed under the display unit, and generates a touch signal as the display unit being touched with a slide by a touch object, consisting of;

a third substrate, installed under the second substrate in parallel, with a gap of fixed distance retained relatively to the second substrate;

a plurality of first electrodes, installed on the lower surface of the second substrate; and

a plurality of second electrodes, installed on the upper surface of the third substrate and facing toward such a plurality of first electrodes, thereby generating a touch signal by the contact occurring between the first electrode and the corresponding second electrode as the touch unit being touched, wherein the second substrate has at least one linear distribution area, the first electrodes are distributed in the at least one linear distribution area, and no other touch sensing electrodes are disposed on the second substrate besides the first electrodes in the at least one linear distribution area; and

a touch controller, which receives the touch signal, and controls the display operation for the display contents of the display unit in accordance with a display instruction corresponding to the received touch signal.

7. The electronic reading apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the display instruction is an instruction of zoom-out, zoom-in, rotate or turn-page to be performed on the display contents.

8. The electronic reading apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the touch controller performs the zoom-out or zoom-in display instruction on the display contents when the slide direction of the touch object is parallel to the direction of the diagonal direction in the display unit.

9. The electronic reading apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the touch controller performs the rotate display instruction on the display contents when the slide direction of the touch object is semi-arc shape.

10. The electronic reading apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the touch controller performs the turn-page display instruction on the display contents when the slide direction of the touch object is the horizontal direction of the display unit.