U.S. patent application number 14/489478 was filed with the patent office on 2015-01-01 for decoration plate and electronic apparatus having the same.
This patent application is currently assigned to Dongguan Masstop Liquid Crystal Display Co., Ltd.. The applicant listed for this patent is Chin-Liang Chen, Fu-Min Hsu, Kuo-Chang Su, Chih-Jung Teng. Invention is credited to Chin-Liang Chen, Fu-Min Hsu, Kuo-Chang Su, Chih-Jung Teng.
Application Number | 20150002980 14/489478 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46064226 |
Filed Date | 2015-01-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150002980 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hsu; Fu-Min ; et
al. |
January 1, 2015 |
DECORATION PLATE AND ELECTRONIC APPARATUS HAVING THE SAME
Abstract
A decoration plate and an electronic apparatus having the same
are provided. The decoration plate includes a cover plate, a
conductive ring, an insulating layer, and a conductive element. The
conductive ring is disposed on a surface of the cover plate. The
insulating layer is disposed on the surface of the cover plate and
covers the conductive ring, and the insulating layer has at least
one opening. The conductive element is disposed in the opening.
Inventors: |
Hsu; Fu-Min; (Taichung City,
TW) ; Teng; Chih-Jung; (Taichung City, TW) ;
Su; Kuo-Chang; (Tainan City, TW) ; Chen;
Chin-Liang; (Taichung City, TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Hsu; Fu-Min
Teng; Chih-Jung
Su; Kuo-Chang
Chen; Chin-Liang |
Taichung City
Taichung City
Tainan City
Taichung City |
|
TW
TW
TW
TW |
|
|
Assignee: |
Dongguan Masstop Liquid Crystal
Display Co., Ltd.
Guangdong Province
CN
Wintek Corporation
Taichung City
TW
|
Family ID: |
46064226 |
Appl. No.: |
14/489478 |
Filed: |
September 18, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
13303147 |
Nov 23, 2011 |
8873248 |
|
|
14489478 |
|
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|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
361/220 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H05K 5/0243 20130101;
H05F 3/04 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
361/220 |
International
Class: |
H05F 3/04 20060101
H05F003/04 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Nov 24, 2010 |
TW |
99140580 |
Claims
1. A decoration plate, comprising: a cover plate; a decoration
layer, disposed on the cover plate; a conductive ring, disposed on
a surface of the cover plate, wherein the decoration layer is
disposed between the cover plate and the conductive ring; and at
least one conductive element contacting the conductive ring.
2. The decoration plate according to claim 1, further comprising:
an insulating layer disposed on the surface of the cover plate, at
least partially covering the conductive ring and having at least
one area to expose a part of the conductive ring.
3. The decoration plate according to claim 1, wherein the
conductive element is a conductive glue, a conductive plug or a
short metal pillar.
4. The decoration plate according to claim 2, wherein the area is
set to be annular to expose the conductive ring.
5. The decoration plate according to claim 2, wherein an amount of
the area is more than two to expose segments of the conductive
ring.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation application of and claims
the priority benefit of a prior application Ser. No. 13/303,147,
filed on Nov. 23, 2011, now pending. The prior application Ser. No.
13/303,147 claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial
no. 99140580, filed on Nov. 24, 2010. The entirety of each of the
above-mentioned patent applications is hereby incorporated by
reference herein and made a part of this specification.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention generally relates to an electronic
apparatus, in particular, to an electronic apparatus capable of
effectively preventing damages caused by electrostatic discharge
(ESD).
[0004] 2. Description of Related Art
[0005] In the delay life environment, the electrostatic discharge
(ESD) phenomenon can be seen everywhere. Basically, due to
different electric affinities of different objects, charge transfer
between objects likely occurs when any two objects are separated
after contact, thus resulting in electrostatic charge accumulation.
Once the electrostatic charges in an object accumulate to a certain
degree, when the object with electrostatic charges contacts or gets
close to another object of different potential, transient charge
transfer will occur, which is the so-called ESD.
[0006] Specifically, electronic products are easily damaged by ESD
in manufacturing, production, assembly, transportation, and even in
use after being purchased by users. Therefore, electronic products
must have an ESD protection design, to effectively prolong the
service life. Especially, for the products fabricated through
advanced semiconductor processes, such as integrated circuits (ICs)
and planar displays, the size of the elements is very small.
Therefore, when the elements are subjected to high-voltage ESD,
wires inside the ICs or the planar displays are likely to be
permanently damaged, and leading to element failure.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a
decoration plate, which is capable of providing an ESD
protection.
[0008] The present invention provides an electronic apparatus,
which is capable of preventing damages caused by ESD.
[0009] The present invention provides a decoration plate, which
includes a cover plate, a conductive ring, an insulating layer, and
a conductive element. The conductive ring is disposed on a surface
of the cover plate. The insulating layer is disposed on the surface
of the cover plate and covering the conductive ring, and the
insulating layer has at least one opening. The conductive element
is disposed in the opening.
[0010] The present invention further provides an electronic
apparatus, which includes a panel, a conductive housing, a cover
plate, a conductive ring, an insulating layer, and a conductive
element. The panel has a display surface. The conductive housing
encloses the panel and exposes the display surface of the panel.
The cover plate is disposed on the conductive housing and is
located above the display surface. The conductive ring is disposed
on the cover plate. The insulating layer is disposed on the cover
plate, located between the conductive housing and the conductive
ring, and covers the conductive ring, in which the insulating layer
has an opening. The conductive element is disposed in the opening,
and the conductive ring is electrically connected to the conductive
housing through the conductive element.
[0011] Based on the above, in the present invention, a decoration
layer and a conductive ring are disposed on a cover plate of an
electronic apparatus to form a decoration plate, and the conductive
ring is electrically connected to the conductive housing of the
electronic apparatus. Thus, the electronic apparatus may have good
ESD protection capability, which facilitates the improvement of the
service life of the electronic apparatus.
[0012] In order to make the aforementioned and other objectives and
advantages of the present invention comprehensible, embodiments
accompanied with figures are described in detail below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further
understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and
constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate
embodiments of the invention and, together with the description,
serve to explain the principles of the invention.
[0014] FIG. 1A is a schematic exploded view of an electronic
apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0015] FIG. 1B shows a film layer stacking order of a decoration
plate in the electronic apparatus in FIG. 1A.
[0016] FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of the decoration plate and
a conductive housing in the electronic apparatus in FIG. 1.
[0017] FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional structural design along a
line A-A' in FIG. 2.
[0018] FIG. 4 shows another cross-sectional structural design along
a line A-A' in FIG. 2.
[0019] FIG. 5A is a schematic exploded view of an electronic
apparatus according to another embodiment of the present
invention.
[0020] FIG. 5B shows a film layer stacking order of a decoration
plate in the electronic apparatus in FIG. 5A.
[0021] FIG. 6 is a top schematic view of a decoration plate.
[0022] FIGS. 7 to 10 are cross-sectional structural designs along a
line B-B' and a line C-C' in FIG. 6.
DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0023] Reference will now be made in detail to the present
embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in
the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference
numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to
the same or like parts.
[0024] FIG. 1A is a schematic exploded view of an electronic
apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and
FIG. 1B shows a film layer stacking order of a decoration plate in
the electronic apparatus in FIG. 1A. FIG. 2 is a top perspective
view of the decoration plate and a conductive housing in the
electronic apparatus in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional
structural design along a line A-A' in FIG. 2.
[0025] Referring to FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2, and 3, an electronic apparatus
100 includes a decoration plate 10, a conductive housing 160, and a
panel 170. As shown in FIG. 1B, the decoration plate 10 includes a
cover plate 110, a decoration layer 120, a conductive ring 130, an
insulating layer 140, and a conductive element 150. The material of
the cover plate 110 is, for example, glass or plastic. The panel
170 has a display surface 172, and the panel 170 is, for example, a
display panel, a touch panel, or a touch display panel, in which
the display panel is, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD),
an organic light-emitting diode display, an electro-wetting
display, or a bistable display. The panel 170 and the conductive
housing 160 are individually shown as independent components, but
when being assembled together, the conductive housing 160 may
enclose the panel 170 and expose the display surface 172 of the
panel 170. That is to say, the conductive housing 160 has an
accommodation space 162 to accommodate and protect the panel
170.
[0026] The cover plate 110 of the decoration plate 10 is disposed
on the conductive housing 160 and is located above display surface
172, and the decoration layer 120 and the conductive ring 130 are
disposed on a surface of the cover plate 110 and are located at a
side of the cover plate 110 close to the conductive housing 160.
Alternately, the decoration layer 120 may also be selectively
disposed at a side of the cover plate 110 away from the conductive
housing 160. The insulating layer 140 is disposed on the cover
plate 110, and is located between the conductive housing 160 and
the conductive ring 130, the insulating layer 140 covering the
conductive ring 130 has at least one opening 142, and the
conductive element 150 is disposed in the opening 142, such that
the conductive ring 130 is electrically connected to the conductive
housing 160 through the conductive element 150.
[0027] Specifically, the conductive element 150 may be a conductive
glue, for example, an anisotropic conductive glue, a conductive
plug, or a short metal pillar, such that the conductive ring 130 is
electrically connected to the conductive housing 160 through the
conductive element 150. When the electronic apparatus 100 has
undesired electrostatic charge accumulation, the electrostatic
charges may be transferred to the conductive housing 160 through
the conductive ring 130 and the conductive element 150 for release.
Therefore, the electrostatic charges in the electronic apparatus
100 is not liable to be accumulated and the ESD phenomenon is
prevented, thereby reducing the risk of element damage and
prolonging the service life.
[0028] The amount and the shape of the opening 142 in the
insulating layer 140 and the amount and the shape of the conductive
element 150 are not specifically limited. As long as the opening
142 is disposed in the insulating layer 140 for facilitating the
conductive ring 130 electrically connected to conductive housing
160 through the conductive element 150 in the opening 142, the
design will conform to the spirit of the present invention.
[0029] The decoration layer 120 of this embodiment may be an
annular pattern formed by an opaque ink or other non-transparent
materials such as ceramic materials. The area of the decoration
layer 120 may cover the conductive ring 130 and a part of the
conductive housing 160 to prevent a user from directly seeing the
conductive ring 130 and the conductive housing 160 in a top view,
which facilitates the improvement of the appearance of the
electronic apparatus 100.
[0030] In addition to the components mentioned above, the
electronic apparatus 100 in FIG. 1 may further include a plastic
housing 180 shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 4 shows another cross-sectional
structural design along a line A-A' in FIG. 2. Referring to FIG. 4,
the relative position of the cover plate 110, the decoration layer
120, the conductive ring 130, the insulating layer 140, the
conductive element 150, and the conductive housing 160 is
substantially the same as that in the design shown in FIG. 3. In
the design of this embodiment, the conductive housing 160 may be
combined with a plastic housing 180 through integral injection,
such that part of the conductive housing 160 is formed between the
cover plate 110 and the plastic housing 180, and the plastic
housing 180 has a side wall 182 surrounding the cover plate 110.
Nevertheless, the present invention does not limit the assembly
type of the electronic apparatus in the housing. As long as the
conductive ring 130 has the conductive housing 160 and is
electrically connected to the cover plate 110, the ESD protection
design may be realized, which facilitates the improvement of the
reliability and the service life of the whole device. Therefore,
the cross-sectional designs mentioned above are merely illustrated
as examples, but not intended to limit the present invention.
[0031] Additionally, FIG. 5A is a schematic exploded view of an
electronic apparatus according to another embodiment of the present
invention, and FIG. 5B shows a film layer stacking order of a
decoration plate in the electronic apparatus in FIG. 5A. Referring
to FIGS. 5A and 5B, an electronic apparatus 200 is substantially
similar to the electronic apparatus 100, so element labels of part
components in FIGS. 5A and 5B are the same as those in FIGS. 1A and
1B, and the same element labels represent the same components. In
this embodiment, in an insulating layer 240 of a decoration plate
20, an opening 242 forms, for example, an annular pattern, to
substantially expose the conductive ring 130 completely. Moreover,
in this embodiment, an annular conductive pattern serves a
conductive element 250, such that the conductive ring 130 is
electrically connected to the conductive housing 160 through the
conductive element 250 in the opening 242. In general, the present
invention does not limit the shape of the opening 242, and no
matter the opening 242 partially or completely exposes the
conductive ring 130, the conductive ring 130 can be electrically
connected to the conductive housing 160 through the conductive
element 250 in the opening 242, so as to achieve the ESD protection
effect.
[0032] Furthermore, other elements may further disposed on the
cover plate through other implementation manners. FIG. 6 is a top
schematic view of a decoration plate. Referring to FIG. 6, a
decoration plate 30 includes a cover plate 310 and the elements
disposed on the cover plate 310 including a decoration layer 320, a
conductive ring 330, and a touch element 340. Taking this
embodiment as an example, the touch element 340 includes a sensing
electrode 342 and at least one transmission wire 344 connected to
the sensing electrode 342, in which the sensing electrode 342 is
located inside a region surrounded by the conductive ring 330, and
the conductive ring 330 has a gap 332 such that the transmission
wire 344 is partially located in the gap 332.
[0033] The sensing electrode 342 includes a plurality of first
sensing series 342A and a plurality of second sensing series 342B.
Each first sensing series 342A extends in a first direction D1,
each second sensing series 342B extends in a second direction D2,
and the first direction D1 and the second direction D2 are
different from each other. Specifically, the first direction D1 and
the second direction D2 may be perpendicular to each other, or
intersect at an angle not equal to zero degree.
[0034] Each of the first sensing series 342A includes a plurality
of sensing pads P1 and a plurality of connecting lines C1 for
connecting the sensing pads P1 together in series in the first
direction D1. Similarly, each of the second sensing series 342B
includes a plurality of sensing pads P2 and a plurality of
connecting lines C2 for connecting the sensing pads P2 together in
series in the second direction D2. As for this embodiment,
capacitance changes sensed by the sensing pads P1 and the sensing
pads P2 may serve as a reference for determining the touch
position. Moreover, one end of the transmission wire 344 is
connected to the first sensing series 342A or the second sensing
series 342B, and the other end is extended to a periphery of the
cover plate 310, so as to transfer a signal of the first sensing
series 342A or the second sensing series 342B to an outer circuit.
In addition, the transmission wire 344 may also transfer a scanning
signal output from the outer circuit to the first sensing series
342A or the second sensing series 342B.
[0035] The touch element 340 is, for example, a projected
capacitive touch element.
[0036] However, the present invention does not limit that the
sensing electrode 342 should be formed by a plurality of sensing
series, and in other embodiments, the sensing electrode 342 may be
formed by a plurality of strip insulating patterns or a whole
conductive layer. In addition, one transmission wire 344 or a
plurality of transmission wires 344 may exist. It should be noted
that, the conductive ring 330 has the gap 332, to prevent the
operation of the touch element 340 from being negatively influenced
due to electrical connection of the transmission wire 344 and the
conductive ring 330.
[0037] Generally, with different process steps, many designs exist
in the cross-sectional structure of the touch element 340. For
example, FIGS. 7 to 10 are cross-sectional structural designs along
a line B-B' and a line C-C' in FIG. 6. First, referring to FIGS. 6
and 7 together, in addition to the decoration layer 320, the
conductive ring 330, and the touch element 340, an island
insulating pattern I1, an insulating layer 350, and a conductive
element 360 are further disposed on the decoration plate 30. The
island insulating pattern I1 is disposed between the connecting
lines C1 and the connecting lines C2. The insulating layer 350
covers the decoration layer 320, the conductive ring 330, and the
touch element 340, and has an opening 352 for exposing the
conductive ring 330. Moreover, the conductive element 360 is
disposed in the opening 352 to achieve the ESD protection. In other
words, the structure shown in FIG. 7 may be disposed on a
conductive housing of an electronic apparatus to provide the ESD
protection effect.
[0038] It can be know from the cross-sectional structure that, the
sensing pads P2 of the second sensing series 342B and, for example,
the connecting lines C1 of the first sensing series 342A are
coplanarly disposed on the cover plate 310. In addition, although
the sensing pads P1 of the first sensing series 342A are not shown
in FIG. 7, in this embodiment, the sensing pads P1 and the
connecting lines C1 may be coplanarly disposed on the cover plate
310. In other words, the connecting lines C1 and the sensing pads
P1 of the first sensing series 342A and the sensing pads P2 of the
second sensing series 342B may be formed by patterning the same
transparent conductive layer. The connecting lines C1 and the
connecting lines C2 are separated by the island insulating pattern
I1 to maintain electrically independent to each other.
[0039] Additionally, materials of the connecting lines C2, the
transmission wire 344, and the conductive ring 330 are all, for
example, metal materials. In this embodiment, the connecting lines
C2, the transmission wire 344, and the conductive ring 330 may be
formed by patterning the same metal layer. Thus, this embodiment
does not need an additional process to fabricate the conductive
ring 330. Furthermore, the present invention does not limit to the
implementation that the decoration layer 320 is fabricated between
the cover plate 310 and the transmission wire 344. In other
embodiments, the decoration layer 320 may be selectively fabricated
at a side of the cover plate 310 away from the transmission wire
344.
[0040] Next, referring to FIG. 8, the structural design of this
embodiment is substantially similar to that shown in FIG. 7, and
the main difference lies in that the design shown in FIG. 8
replaces the island insulating pattern I1 shown in FIG. 7 with an
insulating layer 12. At this time, the insulating layer 12
substantially covers the connecting lines C1 and the sensing pads
P2, and the insulating layer 12 has a contact opening IW to
partially expose the sensing pads P2. Thus, the connecting lines C2
are electrically connected to the sensing pads P2 through the
contact opening IW.
[0041] Furthermore, referring to FIGS. 6 and 9 together, according
to this embodiment, when fabricating the touch element, the
decoration layer 320 can be first formed. Next, the connecting
lines C2 and the sensing pads P2 of the second sensing series 342B
are sequentially fabricated on the cover plate 310. Then, an island
insulating pattern 13 is fabricated on the connecting lines C2.
Afterwards, the connecting lines C1 of the first sensing series
342A are fabricated on the island insulating pattern 13. Finally,
the insulating layer 350 and the opening 352 in the insulating
layer 350 are formed. When the sensing pads P2 are fabricated, the
sensing pads P1 of the first sensing series 342A may be
simultaneously fabricated on the cover plate 310 at the same time.
Thus, the sensing pads P1 and the sensing pads P2 may be designed
to be coplanar.
[0042] It should be noted that, in this embodiment, when the
connecting lines C2 are fabricated, the transmission wire 344 and
the conductive ring 330 may be fabricated at the same time.
Therefore, the connecting lines C2, the transmission wire 344, and
the conductive ring 330 may be made of the same material and may
also be the same film layer. Certainly, the conductive element 360
may be disposed in the opening 352 in the insulating layer 350,
such that the conductive ring 330 is electrically connected to an
external element (for example, the conductive housing of the
electronic apparatus). Furthermore, the present invention does not
limit the implementation that the decoration layer 320 is
fabricated between the cover plate 310 and the transmission wire
344. In other embodiments, the decoration layer 320 may be
selectively fabricated at a side of the cover plate 310 away from
the transmission wire 344.
[0043] Next, referring to FIG. 10, the structural design of this
embodiment is substantially similar to that shown in FIG. 7, and
the main difference lies in that the deign shown in FIG. 10
replaces the island insulating pattern 13 shown in FIG. 7 with an
insulating layer 14. At this time, the insulating layer 14 is
substantially disposed between the sensing pads P2 and the cover
plate 310, and the insulating layer 14 has a contact opening IW to
partially expose the connecting lines C2. Thus, the sensing pads P2
are electrically connected to the connecting lines C2 through the
contact opening IW. In other words, in this embodiment, after the
connecting lines C2, the transmission wire 344, and the conductive
ring 330 are fabricated, the insulating layer 14 is completely
formed on the cover plate 310. Next, the contact opening IW is
formed on the cover plate 310, and then the sensing pads P1 (not
shown in FIG. 10), the sensing pads P2, and the connecting lines C1
are fabricated. Finally, the insulating layer 350 and the opening
352 are formed to complete the fabrication of the touch element and
the conductive ring 330.
[0044] In view of the above, in the electronic apparatus of the
present invention, the conductive ring is disposed on the cover
plate, and the conductive ring is electrically connected to the
conductive housing. Once the electronic apparatus has undesired
electrostatic charge accumulation, the electrostatic charges may be
transferred to the conductive housing through the conductive ring
for release. Thus, the electronic apparatus has good ESD protection
capability, which facilitates the improvement of the service life
of the electronic apparatus.
[0045] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various
modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the
present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the
invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the
present invention cover modifications and variations of this
invention provided they fall within the scope of the following
claims and their equivalents.
* * * * *