JP2012198582A - Electronic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic apparatus which is small sized but has a touch panel with a large display area.SOLUTION: An electronic apparatus 1 comprises a display panel 25, a touch panel 26, a vibration element 20, and a vibration transmission member 24. The touch panel 26 is arranged over the display panel 25. The vibration element 20 is arranged below the display panel 25. The vibration transmission member 24 is in contact with the vibration element 20 and the touch panel 26. The vibration transmission member 24 transmits vibration of the vibration element 20 to the touch panel 26.

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device, and more particularly to an electronic device having a touch panel.

  In recent years, for example, electronic devices having a touch panel such as a portable information terminal and an automated teller machine (ATM) have come to be frequently used. In an electronic device with a touch panel, an operator can perform an input operation by touching the touch panel. However, unlike a button-type input device, for example, in an electronic device with a touch panel, the touch panel is not deformed during operation, so it is difficult to determine whether the operation has been performed reliably. For this reason, in a conventional electronic device with a touch panel, when the touch panel is operated, it is possible to notify the operator that the operation has been performed by generating sound or changing the screen. Has been done.

  As another method for notifying the operator that the operation has been performed, for example, as described in Patent Document 1 below, there is a method of vibrating the touch panel when the operation is completed. According to this method, for example, even when the amount of light in the surrounding environment of the electronic device with a touch panel is insufficient or the noise is loud, the operator can be surely notified of the completion of the operation.

  FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view of an electronic device described in Patent Document 1 that notifies completion of an operation by vibration. FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of the electronic device described in Patent Document 1 cut out at a section line XV-XV in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the electronic device 100 includes a main body 102. A housing portion 102 a in which the liquid crystal display portion 103 is housed is formed at the center of the main body 102. As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, a bimorph piezoelectric actuator 104 is disposed on the frame portion 102 b of the main body 102. A touch panel 105 is disposed on the main body 102 so as to cover the liquid crystal display unit 103 and the piezoelectric actuator 104.

  In the electronic device 100, when an input operation is performed on the touch panel 105, the piezoelectric actuator 104 is driven and the touch panel 105 vibrates. This notifies the operator of the completion of input.

Japanese Patent No. 3937982

  However, in the electronic device 100, since the piezoelectric actuator 104 is disposed in the frame portion 102b of the main body 102, it is difficult to narrow the frame portion 102b. Therefore, it is difficult to enlarge the screen of the electronic device 100 without increasing the size.

  This invention is made | formed in view of this point, The objective is to provide the electronic device which has a large display area, although it is an electronic device which has a touchscreen.

  An electronic apparatus according to the present invention includes a display panel, a touch panel, a vibration element, and a vibration propagation member. The touch panel is disposed above the display panel. The vibration element is disposed below the display panel. The vibration propagation member is in contact with the vibration element and the touch panel. The vibration propagation member propagates the vibration of the vibration element to the touch panel.

  In a specific aspect of the present invention, the vibration propagation member includes, on the lower side of the display panel, an element side contact portion that is in contact with the vibration element, a touch panel side contact portion that is in contact with the touch panel, and a side of the display panel. And a connection part that connects the element side contact part and the touch panel side contact part.

  In another specific aspect of the present invention, the display panel is not located below a part of the touch panel, and the touch panel side contact portion is at least a part of the part where the display panel is not located below the touch panel. In contact with.

  In another specific aspect of the present invention, the display panel includes a through hole extending in the thickness direction, and the vibration propagation member is in contact with the vibration element below the display panel. And a touch panel side contact part that is in contact with the touch panel, and a connection part that connects the element side contact part and the touch panel side contact part via a through hole.

  In still another specific aspect of the present invention, the vibration propagation member is not in contact with the display panel. According to this configuration, it is possible to propagate the vibration generated in the vibration element to the touch panel with high efficiency. For this reason, a vibration element can be reduced in size and output.

  In still another specific aspect of the present invention, the electronic device includes a display panel, a touch panel, a vibration propagation member, and a vibration element. The electronic device supports the display panel and the vibration element. A main body is further provided.

  In still another specific aspect of the present invention, the vibration element is a piezoelectric vibration element having a piezoelectric body and a pair of electrodes that sandwich the piezoelectric body.

  In the present invention, the vibration element is disposed below the display device, and the vibration generated in the vibration element is propagated to the touch panel by the vibration propagation member, so that the frame portion of the electronic apparatus can be narrowed, and the electronic apparatus It is possible to achieve both a reduction in size and an increase in display area. In addition, it is possible to increase the degree of freedom of shape, the size, and the amount of arrangement of the vibration element. Furthermore, it is possible to apply a stronger vibration to the touch panel by arranging a large vibration element with a large output or arranging a large number of vibration elements.

1 is a schematic plan view of an electronic device according to a first embodiment. It is the II-II arrow line view in FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a piezoelectric vibration element. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the electronic device of 2nd Embodiment. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the electronic device of 3rd Embodiment. It is a schematic plan view of an electronic device according to a fourth embodiment. It is a schematic plan view of an electronic device according to a fifth embodiment. It is a schematic plan view of an electronic device according to a sixth embodiment. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the electronic component of 7th Embodiment. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the electronic component of 8th Embodiment. It is a schematic plan view of a display panel in an eighth embodiment. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the electronic component of 9th Embodiment. It is a schematic plan view of a display panel in a ninth embodiment. 2 is an exploded perspective view of an electronic device described in Patent Document 1. FIG. It is a XV-XV arrow line view in FIG.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be clarified by describing specific embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of the electronic apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the electronic device. An electronic device 1 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 is a personal digital assistant (PDA) capable of displaying information and inputting information.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the electronic device 1 includes an electronic device main body 10. The electronic device main body 10 has a function as a housing that houses a control unit (not shown) of the electronic device 1 and a display panel 25 described later. The electronic device main body 10 is not particularly limited as long as it has a function as a casing. The electronic device main body 10 may be made of, for example, a metal such as stainless steel or aluminum, or may be made of a resin such as ABS resin or polycarbonate.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the electronic device main body 10 is formed with a housing portion 10 a that opens upward. A display panel 25 is accommodated in the accommodating portion 10a. The display panel 25 is not in contact with the touch panel 26 and the vibration propagation member 24. As shown in FIG. 1, the display panel 25 is supported by a protrusion 10 b formed on the electronic device main body 10. In addition, the attachment method of the display panel 25 to the protrusion part 10b is not specifically limited. For example, the display panel 25 can be attached to the protrusion 10b with an adhesive or an adhesive tape.

  The display panel 25 is not particularly limited as long as it can display images, characters, and the like. The display panel 25 may be, for example, a liquid crystal display panel, a plasma display panel, an electroluminescence display panel, an LED (Light Emitting Diode) display panel, or the like. In addition, the display panel 25 may be capable of displaying arbitrary information, or may display predetermined information such as numeric buttons and arrow buttons.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the touch panel 26 is disposed above the display panel 25 in the housing portion 10 a. The touch panel 26 is disposed so as to cover almost the entire opening of the housing portion 10a. That is, the touch panel 26 is formed so as to cover the display panel 25 and the piezoelectric vibration element 20 and the vibration propagation member 24 described later.

  The touch panel 26 is for an operator to input information to the electronic device 1. The method of the touch panel 26 is not particularly limited, and the touch panel 26 may be, for example, a resistive film method, a surface acoustic wave method, an infrared method, an electromagnetic induction method, or a capacitive method touch panel.

  For example, when the touch panel 26 is a capacitive touch panel, the touch panel 26 includes a transparent insulating layer made of a resin such as polyester, and a transparent electrode formed on one surface of the transparent insulating layer. Yes.

  On the other hand, below the display panel 25, a piezoelectric vibration element 20 is disposed as a vibration element. The piezoelectric vibration element 20 is a unimorph type piezoelectric vibration element. However, in the present invention, the piezoelectric vibration element is not limited to a unimorph type piezoelectric vibration element. The piezoelectric vibration element may be a bimorph type piezoelectric vibration element. Further, the piezoelectric vibration element may be an exciter type piezoelectric vibration element that vibrates in a state where the center or end of the rectangular piezoelectric element is held. Furthermore, the piezoelectric vibration element may be a laminated piezoelectric vibration element in which two or more piezoelectric ceramic layers are stacked.

  In the present invention, the vibration element is not limited to the piezoelectric vibration element. The vibration element may be, for example, an electromagnetic motor using a magnet or a coil, or an element using a spring or the like.

  The piezoelectric vibration element 20 includes an elastic plate 21, a piezoelectric element 22, and a contact pad (contact member) 23 provided on the piezoelectric element 22. In the present embodiment, the piezoelectric element 22 is provided on one surface of the elastic plate 21, but the piezoelectric element 22 may be provided on both surfaces of the elastic plate 21. That is, the piezoelectric vibration element 20 may be a unimorph type piezoelectric vibration element or a bimorph type piezoelectric vibration element. When the piezoelectric vibration element 20 is a unimorph type piezoelectric vibration element as in this embodiment, the piezoelectric element 22 is different from the side on which the contact pad 23 of the elastic plate 21 is provided, as shown in FIG. It may be provided on the opposite surface. In this case, direct contact between the contact pad 23 and the piezoelectric element 22 is suppressed, and damage to the piezoelectric element 22 can be suppressed. Alternatively, the piezoelectric element 22 may be provided on the same surface as the contact pad 23 of the elastic plate 21. In this case, cracking of the piezoelectric element 22 can be suppressed.

  The elastic plate 21 is supported by the electronic device main body 10 via the holding plate 11. Specifically, the holding plate 11 supports the peripheral edge of the elastic plate 21. In addition, it is possible to suppress the generation of driving sound due to the contact between the holding plate 11 and the bottom surface of the electronic device main body 10 and the elastic plate 21.

  More specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of support protrusions 11 b extending toward the center of the hole 11 a are formed on the holding plate 11 at intervals along the circumferential direction. The elastic plate 21 is supported by the support protrusion 11b. For this reason, the elastic plate 21 is supported in a part in the circumferential direction. By doing in this way, the space 11c (refer FIG. 2) between the elastic board 21 and the electronic device main body 10 can be made into an open space. For this reason, unlike the case where the space between the elastic board 21 and the electronic device main body 10 is a closed space, for example, the vibration of the elastic board 21 is not easily inhibited by the air resistance of the space 11c. Therefore, the vibration efficiency of the piezoelectric vibration element 20 can be increased.

  The holding plate 11 is not particularly limited as long as it can hold the elastic plate 21, and can be formed of, for example, stainless steel, high hardness metal such as SUS304, high hardness resin, or the like. In particular, the holding plate 11 is preferably formed of a high-hardness metal such as stainless steel or SUS304. When the holding plate 11 is formed of a metal having a high hardness, it is possible to suppress the holding plate 11 from being vibrated by the vibration of the piezoelectric vibration element 20 and to prevent unnecessary vibration from being generated.

  In addition, the holding plate 11 may be formed integrally with a printed circuit board on which wirings connected to the piezoelectric elements 22 are formed.

  The elastic plate 21 is not particularly limited as long as it has elasticity enough to vibrate by the vibration of the piezoelectric element 22, and can be formed of a metal such as stainless steel or aluminum, an alloy such as a nickel alloy, a resin, or the like.

  The contact pad 23 is a member for transmitting the vibration of the piezoelectric element 22 to a vibration propagation member 24 described later. The contact pad 23 is preferably located on a portion where the displacement of the piezoelectric element 22 is the largest. In the present embodiment, the contact pad 23 is located at the center of the disk-shaped piezoelectric element 22. In the present embodiment, only one contact pad 23 is provided for one piezoelectric element 22, but a plurality of contact pads 23 may be provided for one piezoelectric element 22.

  The contact pad 23 is preferably made of polyurethane resin, hard resin such as glass cloth base epoxy resin, rubber such as silicon rubber, or metal. In this embodiment, the contact pad 23 is provided separately from the vibration propagation member 24, but the contact pad 23 may be formed integrally with the vibration propagation member 24.

  FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the piezoelectric element 22. The piezoelectric element 22 includes a piezoelectric body 22b and a pair of electrodes 22a and 22c that sandwich the piezoelectric body 22b. The piezoelectric body 22b can be formed of a piezoelectric material such as lead zirconate titanate. The electrodes 22a and 22c can be formed of a conductive material such as a metal such as aluminum or copper, or an alloy such as an Ag-Pd alloy.

  In the present embodiment, the piezoelectric body 22b is formed in a disc shape, but the shape of the piezoelectric body 22b is not limited to the disc shape. The shape and size of the piezoelectric body 22b can be appropriately set according to the shape and size of the electronic device 1 and the magnitude of vibration to be obtained. The shape of the piezoelectric body 22b may be, for example, a square, a rectangle, an ellipse, or an ellipse. In addition, the piezoelectric body 22b may be columnar, for example.

  A vibration propagation member 24 is disposed between the piezoelectric vibration element 20 and the touch panel 26. That is, in the present embodiment, the piezoelectric vibration element 20, the display panel 25, and the touch panel 26 are arranged so as to overlap in a plan view.

  The vibration propagation member 24 is in contact with the piezoelectric vibration element 20 and the touch panel 26, and has a function of propagating the vibration of the piezoelectric vibration element 20 to the touch panel 26. The vibration propagation member 24 also has a function of supporting the touch panel 26. Specifically, the vibration propagation member 24 supports the edge of the long side of the touch panel 26. The touch panel 26 is not directly supported by the electronic device main body 10. A soft elastic body may be disposed between the touch panel 26 and the electronic device main body 10.

  The vibration propagation member 24 includes an element side contact portion 24a, a connection portion 24b, and a touch panel side contact portion 24c. The element side contact portion 24 a is located below the display panel 25. A part of the element side contact portion 24 a is in contact with the contact pad 23 of the piezoelectric vibration element 20. The element side contact portion 24 a is connected to the contact pad 23.

  The touch panel side contact portion 24 c is in contact with an end portion on the long side where the display panel 25 is not located below the touch panel 26. The touch panel side contact portion 24 c is connected to an end edge portion on the long side of the touch panel 26.

  In addition, the support aspect of the touch panel 26 by the touch panel side contact part 24c is not specifically limited. The touch panel side contact portion 24c may support the entire peripheral edge portion of the touch panel 26, may support the peripheral edge portion on the short side or the peripheral edge portion on the long side, and the four corners of the touch panel 26. The part may be supported.

  The element side contact portion 24 a and the touch panel side contact portion 24 c are connected by a connection portion 24 b that passes through the side of the display panel 25. For this reason, the vibration propagation member 24 is formed in a substantially U-shaped cross section.

  The vibration propagation member 24 is not particularly limited as long as it can propagate the vibration of the piezoelectric vibration element 20 to the touch panel 26. The vibration propagation member 24 is preferably made of an elastic member, and can be formed of a high hardness metal such as stainless steel or SUS304, for example. In this embodiment, the vibration propagation member 24 is integrally formed by bending a single metal plate. However, the element side contact portion 24a, the touch panel side contact portion 24c, and the connection portion 24b are separately provided. It may be formed.

  Next, the operation of the electronic apparatus 1 according to this embodiment will be described. When the operator of the electronic device 1 touches the touch panel 26, a location touched by the touch panel 26 is detected by a control unit (not shown), and input information from the operator is determined based on the result. The control unit drives the piezoelectric vibration element 20 according to the detected input information. Thereby, the vibration of the aspect according to input information propagates to the operator through the touch panel 26. As a result, the operator is notified of the completion of the input and the content of the input information.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the piezoelectric vibration element 20 is disposed below the display panel 25, and the vibration of the piezoelectric vibration element 20 is propagated to the touch panel 26 by the vibration propagation member 24. For this reason, the piezoelectric vibration element 20 can be arranged in the display area of the display panel 25. For this reason, the frame part excluding the display area of the electronic device 1 can be narrowed. As a result, both the downsizing of the electronic device 1 and the enlargement of the display area can be achieved.

  In the case of this embodiment, it is necessary to arrange the touch panel side contact portion 24 c outside the display area of the display panel 25. However, the touch panel side contact portion 24 c is very small compared to the piezoelectric vibration element 20. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the frame portion of the electronic device 1 can be made narrower than when the piezoelectric vibration element 20 is disposed outside the display area.

  In the present embodiment, any number of piezoelectric vibration elements 20 of any size may be arranged in any part as long as they are within the display area. For this reason, the freedom degree of the shape dimension of the piezoelectric vibration element 20, the freedom degree of an arrangement position, and the freedom degree of arrangement quantity can be raised. Furthermore, by arranging two or more piezoelectric vibration elements 20 as in the present embodiment, stronger vibration can be applied to the touch panel 26.

  In the present embodiment, the vibration propagation member 24 and the touch panel 26 are not in direct contact with the display panel 25 or the electronic device main body 10, and the vibration propagation member 24 is electronic via the piezoelectric vibration element 20 and the holding plate 11. It is supported by the device body 10. For this reason, the vibration of the piezoelectric vibration element 20 is difficult to leak to the electronic device main body 10 side, and the vibration can be propagated to the touch panel 26 with high efficiency. For this reason, the piezoelectric vibration element 20 can be reduced in size. In addition, strong vibration can be applied to the touch panel 26.

  In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the piezoelectric vibration element 20 is supported by the holding plate 11 has been described. However, the piezoelectric vibration element 20 is supported by, for example, a protrusion formed on the bottom surface of the housing portion 10a of the electronic device body 10. It may be supported by the contact pad arrange | positioned at the bottom face of the accommodating part 10a. Further, the holding plate 11 may be formed integrally with the elastic plate 21.

  In the above-described embodiment, the preferred embodiment of the electronic device embodying the present invention has been described by taking the portable information terminal as an example. However, the electronic device of the present invention is not limited to the portable information terminal as long as it is an electronic device having a touch panel. The electronic device of the present invention may be, for example, an automated teller machine (ATM), a personal computer with a touch panel, a television, a telephone, or a game machine.

  Hereinafter, other examples of preferred embodiments in which the present invention is implemented will be described in detail. In the following description of the embodiment, members having substantially the same function as those of the first embodiment are referred to by common reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. FIG. 3 is referred to in common with the first embodiment.

(Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the example in which the touch panel side contact portion 24c extends linearly from the connection portion 24b inward has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. As shown in FIG. 4, the touch panel side contact portion 24c may extend outward from the connection portion 24b. Further, the shape of the touch panel side contact portion 24c may not be a plate shape, but may be a curved shape.

(Third embodiment)
In the first and second embodiments, the example in which the piezoelectric vibration element 20 and the vibration propagation member 24 are in contact with each other in the contact pad 23 and the piezoelectric element 22 is attached to the elastic plate 21 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the piezoelectric element 22 may be directly attached to the vibration propagation member 24. Further, the piezoelectric element 22 may be supported by the contact pad 23 without providing the elastic plate 21. Further, the corners of the vibration propagation member 24 may be supported by the conduct pad 23. When the vibration propagation member 24 is formed of a conductive material, insulation is provided between the electrode 22c and the vibration propagation member 24 in order to insulate between the electrode 22c of the piezoelectric element 22 and the vibration propagation member 24. It is preferable to arrange the members.

(Fourth to sixth embodiments)
In the first embodiment, the case where two piezoelectric vibration elements 20 are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the display panel 25 as shown in FIG. 1 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, one piezoelectric vibration element 20 may be arranged at the center. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of piezoelectric vibration elements 20 may be arranged in a matrix. Specifically, in the example shown in FIG. 7, four piezoelectric vibration elements 20 are arranged. In addition, as shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of rectangular piezoelectric vibration elements 20 may be arranged along the peripheral edge of the touch panel 26.

(Seventh embodiment)
In the third embodiment, the example in which the entire surface of the piezoelectric element 22 is attached to the vibration propagation member 24 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, an opening may be formed in the vibration propagation member 24, and the piezoelectric element 22 may be attached to the opening.

(Eighth embodiment)
In the first embodiment, the example in which the vibration propagation member 24 passes through the side of the display panel 25 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the display panel 25 is formed with a through hole 25a penetrating the display panel 25 in the thickness direction, and the connecting portion 24b is disposed so as to pass through the through hole 25a. Also good.

(Ninth embodiment)
In the eighth embodiment, the example in which one through hole 25a is formed at the center of the display panel 25 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, as shown in FIG. 13, a plurality of through holes 25a may be formed. Further, the through hole 25 a may be opened on the side surface of the display panel 25. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, the vibration propagation member 24 is arrange | positioned at each of the through-hole 25a formed in multiple numbers.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Electronic device 10 ... Electronic device main body 10a ... Accommodating part 10b ... Protruding part 11 ... Holding plate 11a ... Hole 11b ... Supporting protrusion 11c ... Space 20 ... Piezoelectric vibration element 21 ... Elastic plate 22 ... Piezoelectric element 22a, 22c ... Electrode 22b ... Piezoelectric body 23 ... Contact pad 24 ... Vibration propagation member 24a ... Element side contact part 24b ... Connection part 24c ... Touch panel side contact part 25 ... Display panel 25a ... Through hole 26 ... Touch panel

Claims (7)

A display panel;
A touch panel disposed above the display panel;
A vibration element disposed below the display panel;
An electronic device comprising: a vibration propagation member that is in contact with the vibration element and the touch panel and propagates vibration of the vibration element to the touch panel.   The vibration propagation member is disposed below the display panel via an element side contact portion in contact with the vibration element, a touch panel side contact portion in contact with the touch panel, and a side of the display panel. The electronic device of Claim 1 which has a connection part which has connected the said element side contact part and the said touch panel side contact part.   The display panel is not located below a part of the touch panel, and the touch panel side contact portion is in contact with at least a part of a part where the display panel is not located below the touch panel. The electronic device according to claim 2.   A through-hole extending in the thickness direction is formed in the display panel, and the vibration propagation member is in contact with the touch panel and an element side contact portion that is in contact with the vibration element below the display panel. The electronic component according to claim 1, further comprising: a touch panel side contact portion that is connected, and a connection portion that connects the element side contact portion and the touch panel side contact portion via the through hole.   The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vibration propagation member is not in contact with the display panel.   The housing | casing part which accommodates the said display panel, the said touch panel, the said vibration propagation member, and the said vibration element is formed, The electronic device main body which supports the said display panel and the said vibration element is further provided. The electronic device according to any one of 5.   The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the vibration element is a piezoelectric vibration element including a piezoelectric body and a pair of electrodes that sandwich the piezoelectric body.

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