TWI871861B - Screwless touchpad assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

A screwless touchpad assembly for assembling to a housing of a portable electronic device is provided. The screwless touchpad assembly includes a plurality of first guide pin disposed on an inner surface of the housing, a touchpad having a plurality of elastic arms, and a first bracket. The elastic arms are constrained to the first guide pins, the touchpad leans against the inner surface, and a portion of the touchpad is exposed out of an external surface of the housing via an opening of the housing. The inner surface and the external surface are opposite surfaces of the housing, and the opening connects the inner surface and the external surface. The first bracket is assembled to the inner surface of the housing, and the elastic arm is clamped and fixed between the first bracket and the inner surface of the housing.

Description

Screwless touch panel assembly

The present invention relates to a touch panel assembly, and in particular to a screwless touch panel assembly.

In the existing structure of laptop computers, the related electronic components or electronic modules are usually fixed in the system host case by screw locking means, and in order to meet the requirements of being thin and short, these electronic components are partially or completely stacked on each other to achieve the best space utilization and the required compact structure effect. However, this has caused considerable trouble for the disassembly and assembly process of the laptop computer. It is precisely because of this fixing method using screws that tools are required for installation or disassembly. Therefore, the disassembly and assembly process is time-consuming, the disassembly and assembly steps are complicated, labor-intensive, and the applicability is relatively poor.

In particular, when assembly or disassembly must be completed in a certain order, it is easy to disassemble and assemble only one component, and most or even all components must be removed before the component can be disassembled smoothly, which undoubtedly increases the difficulty and complexity of subsequent maintenance.

Nowadays, the requirements for enterprises in the three major aspects of environment, society, and governance (ESG) and carbon reduction are becoming more and more stringent. If ESG or carbon reduction standards are not met, orders or supplier qualifications may be lost. Therefore, for the manufacturing industry, in addition to reducing electricity and carbon emission costs during the production process, another condition that must meet the above standards is to make the product recyclable, that is, by improving the deconstruction ability of the product, so that the components and products can be continuously repaired, recycled or reused. Based on this, the structural characteristics and configuration layout of the components of laptops have become issues that relevant technical personnel must face when designing products.

The present invention provides a screwless touch panel assembly, which completes the assembly of the touch panel through a screwless snap mechanism, so as to effectively reduce the manufacturing cost and simplify the disassembly and assembly process.

The screwless touch panel assembly of the present invention is assembled on the housing of a portable electronic device. The screwless touch panel assembly includes a plurality of first guide pins, a touch panel and a first bracket. The first guide pins are arranged on the inner surface of the housing. The touch panel has a plurality of spring arms, which are limited by the first guide pins so that the touch panel abuts the inner surface and a part of the touch panel is exposed to the outer surface of the housing through the opening of the housing. The outer surface and the inner surface are two opposite surfaces of the housing, and the opening connects the inner surface and the outer surface. The first bracket is assembled to the inner surface of the housing so that the spring arms are clamped and fixed between the first bracket and the inner surface of the housing.

Based on the above, the screwless touch panel assembly targets the pressing characteristics of the touch panel and fixes the touch panel to the inner surface of the housing with a first bracket, wherein the spring arm of the touch panel is first limited to the inner surface of the housing and then assembled to the inner surface with the first bracket, in particular, a portion of the first bracket is fastened to the first guide pin, thereby clamping and fixing the spring arm of the touch panel between the first bracket and the inner surface of the housing.

In this way, for the touch panel, the existence of the spring arm and the clamping and fixing between the above components can allow the touch panel to be pressed relative to the housing through the spring arm, and no screws are required for locking during the combination process, so the assembly process of the touch panel can be effectively simplified. When the touch panel is facing disassembly, it is only necessary to release the assembly relationship of the first bracket relative to the inner surface of the housing, so that the touch panel can be removed from the inner surface of the housing. In short, the first bracket is equivalent to a bolt structure used to assemble the touch panel to the housing or remove it from the housing.

FIG. 1 is a portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a partial schematic diagram of a touch panel assembly, and is shown from another viewing angle to facilitate component identification. FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B show exploded views of the touch panel assembly from different viewing angles. Please first refer to FIG. 1 , FIG. 2 and FIG. 3A . In this embodiment, a screwless touch panel assembly (hereinafter referred to as the touch panel assembly 100 ) is used to be assembled in a housing 11 of a portable electronic device 10 . The touch panel assembly 100 includes a plurality of first guide pins P1 , a touch panel and a first bracket 130 , wherein the touch panel includes a second bracket 120 and a touch panel body 110 assembled together, for example, the two are combined into one by a connection method.

Please refer to FIG. 2 , FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B again. In this embodiment, the first guide pin P1 is disposed on the inner surface 11B of the housing 11. The second bracket 120 of the touch panel has a plurality of elastic arms 121, and the elastic arms 121 are clamped and limited to the first guide pin P1, so that the second bracket 120 of the touch panel abuts against the inner surface 11B and the touch panel body 110 is exposed to the outer surface 11A of the housing 11 through the opening 11C of the housing 11, as shown in FIG. 1 . Here, the outer surface 11A and the inner surface 11B are two opposite surfaces of the housing 11, and the opening 11C connects the inner surface 11B and the outer surface 11A. The first bracket 130 is assembled to the inner surface 11B of the housing 11 , and a portion of the first bracket 130 is buckled on the first guide pin P1 so that the elastic arm 121 of the second bracket 120 is clamped and fixed between the first bracket 130 and the inner surface 11B of the housing 11 .

FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram of the assembly of the touch panel assembly. FIG. 4B is a partial enlarged view of the touch panel assembly. It should also be mentioned that the present embodiment provides rectangular coordinates X-Y-Z starting from FIG. 3A to facilitate component description. Please refer to FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B and FIG. 4A simultaneously. In further detail, the second bracket 120 of the present embodiment also has a second protrusion 123, which is located on the opposite side of the elastic arm 121, that is, the second protrusion 123 and the elastic arm 121 are located on the opposite sides of the second bracket 120 along the Y axis, and the second protrusion 123 is against the inner surface 11B of the housing 11, that is, because the second bracket 120 of the touch panel is only provided with the elastic arm 121, the second protrusion 123 is provided with the second protrusion 123. 1 is connected to the inner surface 11B of the housing 11, so that the second bracket 120 is fixed to the housing 11 through the elastic arm 121 and thus forms a cantilever structure, so that the user can press the touch panel. At the same time, the elastic arm 121 is also used to reset the touch panel after the user presses it. Therefore, the second protrusion 123 is equivalent to a stop structure for the touch panel, which is used to prevent the touch panel body 110 from protruding from the outer surface 11A of the housing 11. In this embodiment, in order to keep the touch panel stable before and after the movement process, the same number of elastic arms 121 and second protrusions 123 are symmetrically arranged on opposite sides of the touch panel.

From FIG. 3A , FIG. 3B and FIG. 4A , the assembly process of the touch panel assembly 100 can be clearly understood, that is, after the touch panel body 110 and the second bracket 120 of the touch panel are assembled together, the second bracket 120 is assembled to the housing 11, and finally the first bracket 130 is assembled to the housing 11 to clamp and fix the touch panel. The steps of the assembly process will be described in sequence below.

First, for the second bracket 120 of the present embodiment, it has a first U-shaped groove 122 located at the elastic arm 121, and the first guide pin P1 has a first head P11 and a first neck P12, the first neck P12 is connected between the inner surface 11B and the first head P11, and the outer diameter of the first head P11 is larger than the outer diameter of the first neck P12, and the inner diameter of the first U-shaped groove 122 is larger than the outer diameter of the first neck P12 but smaller than the outer diameter of the first head P11, so as shown in the partial enlargement of Figure 4A, the first guide pin P1 slides and embeds into the first U-shaped groove 122 of the second bracket 120 with its first neck P12, and thereby provides a preliminary limiting effect on the second bracket 120, that is, limiting is generated along the X-axis.

Next, the first bracket 130 is generally in a U-shaped structure, wherein the first bracket 130 has a plurality of calabash holes 131 located at opposite sides of the U-shaped structure, and the touch panel assembly 100 further includes a plurality of second guide pins P2 located at opposite sides of the opening 11C along the X-axis and corresponding to the second guide pins P2. The second guide pin P2 has a second head P21 and a second neck P22, the second neck P22 is connected between the inner surface 11B and the second head P21, and the outer diameter of the second head P21 is greater than the outer diameter of the second neck P22. The gourd hole 131 has a first sub-opening 131a and a second sub-opening 131b connected to each other, the outer diameter of the second neck P22 is smaller than the inner diameter of the second sub-opening 131b, the inner diameter of the second sub-opening 131b is smaller than the inner diameter of the first sub-opening 131a, and the outer diameter of the second head P21 is smaller than the inner diameter of the first sub-opening 131a but larger than the inner diameter of the second sub-opening 131b.

Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B , the second guide pin P2 first passes through the first sub-opening 131a of the first bracket 130 with its second head P21, and the second neck P22 is located in the first sub-opening 131a, and then the first bracket 130 is driven to move in the negative Y-axis direction in FIG. 4B , so that the second guide pin P2 moves from the first sub-opening 131a to the second sub-opening 131b. At this point, the second guide pin P2 on the housing 11 and the first bracket 130 produce a limiting effect on the X-axis and the Z-axis. FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of the touch panel assembly. Please refer to Figure 5. In this embodiment, the shell 11 also has a first protrusion 11D, and the first bracket 130 also has a buckle hole 133. When the first bracket 130 moves in the negative Y-axis direction, the first protrusion 11D will fall into and be stuck in the buckle hole 133, thereby generating a limiting effect on the Y-axis for the shell 11 and the first bracket 130.

Accordingly, the gourd hole 131 and the second guide pin P2 are first used to generate the limit of the X-axis (first dimension) and the Z-axis (third dimension), and then the Y-axis (second dimension) limit effect is generated with the shell 11 during the movement of the first bracket 130, so that the first bracket 130 can be stably assembled to the inner surface 11B of the shell 11.

More importantly, the first bracket 130 also has a second U-shaped groove 132, which is located on the two extending wings of the U-shaped structure facing each other. When the first bracket 130 moves toward the negative Y axis, the second U-shaped groove 132 moves toward the first guide pin P1, so that the first guide pin P1 moves into the second U-shaped groove 132. It should be noted that, referring to FIG. 4A, FIG. 4B and FIG. 5 at the same time, it can be clearly seen that the first U-shaped groove 122 and the second U-shaped groove 132 are opened to face each other and are connected to the first neck P12 of the first guide pin P1, so that the elastic arm 121 and the first bracket 130 are clamped and fixed between the first head P11 and the inner surface 11B of the housing 11. In other words, by the mutual interference and superposition of the components on the Z axis, the first bracket 130 and the second bracket 120 are sandwiched between the first head P11 of the first guide pin P1 and the inner surface 11B of the housing 11. That is, the first U-shaped groove 122 is located between the second U-shaped groove 132 and the inner surface 11B along the first neck P12, and the second U-shaped groove 132 is located between the first head P11 and the first U-shaped groove 122 along the first neck P12.

In this way, when the first bracket 130 completes its assembly process to the shell 11, it is also equivalent to allowing the first bracket 130 to complete the clamping and fixing of the second bracket 120 of the touch panel to the shell 11, so that the elastic arm 121 of the second bracket 120 and the first bracket 130 are clamped and fixed between the first head P11 and the inner surface 11B of the shell 11.

Please refer to FIG. 2, FIG. 3A and FIG. 5 at the same time. With the opening 11C of the housing 11 as a reference, the opening 11C has a first side and a fourth side disposed along the Y axis and opposite to each other, and a second side and a third side disposed along the X axis and opposite to each other. For the touch panel and the first bracket 130 assembled to the housing 11, the elastic arm 121 and the first guide pins P1 are located on the first side of the opening 11C, the second protrusion 123 is located on the second side, and the second guide pins P2 and the gourd hole 131 are located on the second side and the third side of the opening 11C. Accordingly, for the touch panel and the housing 11, the touch panel is equivalent to being assembled on the inner surface 11B of the housing 11 with the second bracket 120 and pre-positioned (along the X axis). Next, when the first bracket 130 is assembled to the inner surface 11B of the shell 11, in addition to using the second guide pin P2 to correspond to the gourd hole 131 and the first protrusion 11D to engage the buckle hole 133 to complete the assembly and fixation of the first bracket 130 and the shell 11, the first head P11 of the first guide pin P1 also provides a clamping effect along the Z axis for the first bracket 130 and the second bracket 120, so that the first bracket 130 and the second bracket 120 are fixed between the first head P11 and the inner surface 11B, completing the fixing effect of the second bracket 120 of the touch panel. On the contrary, the first bracket 130 is driven to move in the positive Y-axis direction (so that the second guide pin P2 moves to the first sub-opening 131a and the first protrusion 11D exits the buckle hole 133), and then the first bracket 130 is removed from the housing 11 along the positive Z-axis direction, thereby releasing the clamping relationship with the touch panel.

In summary, in the above-mentioned embodiments of the present invention, the touch panel of the touch panel assembly uses the first bracket as a latching mechanism to determine whether it is fixed to the housing, that is, the touch panel is fixed or released based on the assembly relationship of the first bracket to the housing (and the first guide pin and the second guide pin thereon).

In this way, for the touch panel, the existence of the spring arm and the clamping and fixing between the above components can allow the touch panel to be pressed relative to the housing through the spring arm, and no screws are required for locking during the combination process, so the assembly process of the touch panel can be effectively simplified. When the touch panel is facing disassembly, it is only necessary to release the assembly relationship of the first bracket relative to the inner surface of the housing, so that the touch panel can be removed from the inner surface of the housing. In short, the first bracket is equivalent to a bolt structure for assembling the touch panel to the housing or removing it from the housing, so that the touch panel assembly can be free of screw disassembly and has the characteristics of easy disassembly, repairability and recycling.

10: Portable electronic device 11: Housing 11A: Outer surface 11B: Inner surface 11C: Opening 11D: First protrusion 100: Touch panel assembly 110: Touch panel body 120: Second bracket 121: Elastic arm 122: First U-shaped groove 123: Second protrusion 130: First bracket 131: Gourd hole 131a: First sub-opening 131b: Second sub-opening 132: Second U-shaped groove 133: Buckle hole P1: First guide pin P11: First head P12: First neck P2: Second guide pin P21: Second head P22: Second neck X-Y-Z: Right angle coordinates

FIG. 1 is a portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a partial schematic diagram of a touch panel assembly. FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B show exploded views of the touch panel assembly from different perspectives. FIG. 4A is an assembly schematic diagram of the touch panel assembly. FIG. 4B is a partial enlarged view of the touch panel assembly. FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of the touch panel assembly.

11: Shell

11A: External surface

11B: Inner surface

11C: Open mouth

100: Touch panel assembly

110: Touch panel body

120: Second bracket

121: Bullet Arm

122: First U-shaped groove

123: Second convex part

130: First bracket

131: Gourd hole

132: Second U-shaped groove

133: Button hole

P1: First guide pin

P11: First head

P12: First neck

P2: Second guide pin

P21: Second head

P22: Second neck

X-Y-Z: Cartesian coordinates

Claims (11)

A screwless touch panel assembly is assembled in a housing of a portable electronic device, the screwless touch panel assembly comprising: a plurality of first guide pins, arranged on the inner surface of the housing; a touch panel, having a plurality of elastic arms, the elastic arms being limited to the first guide pins, so that the touch panel abuts against the inner surface and a part of the touch panel is exposed to the outer surface of the housing through an opening of the housing, the outer surface and the inner surface are two opposite surfaces of the housing, and the opening is connected to the inner surface of the housing. The inner surface and the outer surface are connected; and a first bracket is assembled to the inner surface of the shell, and a part of the first bracket is buckled on the first guide pin, so that the at least one elastic arm is clamped and fixed between the first bracket and the inner surface of the shell, wherein the shell has at least one first protrusion, the first bracket has at least one buckle hole, and the at least one first protrusion is inserted into and clamped in the at least one buckle hole, so that the first bracket and the shell are mutually limited. The screwless touch panel assembly as described in claim 1, wherein the at least one first protrusion and the at least one buckle hole after being clamped are located on opposite sides of the at least one elastic arm. The screwless touch panel assembly as described in claim 1, wherein the touch panel includes a touch panel body and a second bracket, which are assembled together, the second bracket has the elastic arms, and the second bracket is fixed to the housing through the elastic arms to form a cantilever structure. The screwless touch panel assembly as described in claim 3, wherein the second bracket also has a plurality of second protrusions abutting against the inner surface of the housing, and the second protrusions are located on opposite sides of the spring arms. The screwless touch panel assembly as described in claim 1, wherein the elastic arm has a first U-shaped groove, the first bracket has a second U-shaped groove, and the first guide pin has a first head and a first neck, the first neck is connected between the inner surface and the first head, and the outer diameter of the first head is larger than the outer diameter of the first neck, and the first U-shaped groove and the second U-shaped groove are opened and connected to the first neck facing each other, so that the elastic arm and the first bracket are clamped and fixed between the first head and the inner surface of the housing. A screwless touch panel assembly as described in claim 5, wherein the first U-shaped groove is located between the second U-shaped groove and the inner surface along the first neck, and the second U-shaped groove is located between the first head and the first U-shaped groove along the first neck. The screwless touch panel assembly as described in claim 1, wherein the first bracket has a plurality of gourd holes, and the screwless touch panel assembly further includes a plurality of second guide pins disposed on the inner surface of the housing and located on opposite sides of the opening, and the first bracket is positioned together with the housing by being clamped on the second guide pins through the gourd holes. A screwless touch panel assembly as described in claim 7, wherein the second guide pin has a second head and a second neck, the second neck is connected between the inner surface and the second head, and the outer diameter of the second head is larger than the outer diameter of the second neck, the gourd hole has a first sub-opening and a second sub-opening connected to each other, the outer diameter of the second neck is smaller than the inner diameter of the second sub-opening, the inner diameter of the second sub-opening is smaller than the inner diameter of the first sub-opening, and the outer diameter of the second head is smaller than the inner diameter of the first sub-opening but larger than the inner diameter of the second sub-opening. A screwless touch panel assembly as described in claim 7, wherein the spring arms and the first guide pins are located on the first side of the opening, the second guide pins and the gourd holes are located on the second and third sides of the opening, the second side and the third side are opposite to each other, and the first side is adjacent to the second side and the third side. The screwless touch panel assembly as described in claim 7, wherein the housing further has a first protrusion, and the first bracket further has a buckle hole, the first protrusion is locked in the buckle hole, and provides the housing and the first bracket with a first dimension limit. A screwless touch panel assembly as described in claim 10, wherein the second guide pins and the gourd holes provide positioning of the housing and the first bracket in the second dimension and the third dimension, and the first dimension, the second dimension and the third dimension are different from each other.

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