Touchscreen display assembly for harsh environment
AssigneeOlympus Scientific Solutions Americas Inc.
InventorsFrancois Houde, Sylvain Fillion
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Disclosed is a touchscreen display assembly for use in harsh environments. The touchscreen cable emerges from the touchscreen through a hole in a glass panel. The hole is inside the perimeter of a sealing strip which forms the seal for the touchscreen airgap. The touchscreen may be assembled and tested independently, and subsequently integrated with a display screen and protective front cover. The seal to the front cover is made without the need for a bezel overlapping the touchscreen top film, thereby avoiding possible damage to the touchscreen. Elimination of the bezel allows the touchscreen display assembly to have an attractive planar front surface, and also avoids accumulation of dirt between a bezel and the touchscreen top film.
Claims22
An instrument assembly comprising a touchscreen unit, a display unit and an instrument casing,
- the touchscreen unit further comprises:
- a glass panel with a glass top and a glass bottom to abut the display unit, the glass panel having a glass peripheral edge, a predetermined inner working area encircled by at least one peripheral area in a strip-like shape along the peripheral edge, the peripheral area having at least one cable hole holed through the glass panel, the hole leaving a predetermined seal strip area between the glass peripheral edge and the hole,
- a plurality of touch sensitive electrodes laid along the peripheral area, abutting the inner working area and the cable hole, each of the electrodes is connected to a cable, the cable threaded through the cable hole out of the glass bottom of the glass panel,
- a front sheet to be laid on top of the glass top thereby forming a touch screen gap between the front sheet and the glass top, with the electrodes being within the touch screen gap,
- a substantially continuous top seal strip laid along the seal strip area configured to bond together the front sheet and glass panel, wherein the top seal strip is within the touch screen gap, and,
- wherein the front sheet completely covers the glass panel, the electrodes, the cable and the top seal strip, and,
- the touchscreen unit is configured to be a sealed and integral piece prior to being assembled with the instrument casing and the display unit, and,
- wherein the touchscreen unit is subsequently sealed to the instrument casing by a substantially continuous bottom seal strip between the glass bottom and the instrument casing.
A touchscreen assembly comprises:
- a glass panel with a glass top and a glass bottom to abut a display unit, the glass panel having a glass peripheral edge, a predetermined inner working area encircled by at least one peripheral area in a strip-like shape along the peripheral edge, the peripheral area having at least one cable hole holed through the glass panel, the hole leaving a predetermined seal strip area between the glass peripheral edge and the hole,
- a plurality of touch sensitive electrodes attached to the glass top and laid along the peripheral area, abutting the inner working area and the cable hole, each of the electrodes is connected to a cable, the cable threaded through the cable hole out of the glass bottom of the glass panel,
- a layer of front sheet, the front sheet to be laid on top of the glass top, thereby forming a touch screen gap between the front sheet and the glass top, with the electrodes being within the touch screen gap,
- a substantially continuous top seal strip laid along the seal strip area configured to bond together the front sheet and glass panel, wherein the top seal strip is within the touch screen gap, and,
- wherein the front sheet completely covers the glass panel, the electrodes, the top seal strip and the cable, and
- the touchscreen assembly is configured to be a sealed and integral piece prior to being further assembled onto an instrument, and,
- wherein the touchscreen assembly is subsequently sealed to an instrument casing by a substantially continuous bottom seal strip between the glass bottom and the instrument casing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.