Ultrathin touchpad with lightguide
A touchpad assembly for an information handling system allows a user to select and switch between using the touchpad assembly as a touchpad to drag, drop, scroll and select items on a display and using the touchpad assembly as a numerical keypad to enter data for processing by the information handling system.
1. A touchpad assembly, comprising:
a glass layer for contact by a user;
a lightguide layer configured to emit light, the lightguide layer coupled to the glass layer; and
a printed control board (PCB) coupled to the lightguide layer, the PCB comprising:
a switch in contact with the lightguide layer;
a PCB processor; and
a memory medium storing a set of instructions executable by the PCB processor to:
receive a first user input;
communicate with the lightguide layer to display, based on the first user input, a first graphic associated with the touchpad assembly when the touchpad is configured for use as a touchpad and a second graphic associated with the touchpad assembly when the touchpad is configured for use as a numerical keypad (numpad);
receive a second user input, wherein:
when the touchpad assembly is configured as the touchpad, i) the PCB processor is configured to process the second user input as a touchpad input, and ii) the lightguide layer is configured to not emit light such that the first graphic is visible; and
when the touchpad assembly is configured as the numpad, the PCB processor is configured to process the second user input as a numpad input, and ii) the lightguide layer is configured to emit light such that the second graphic is visible.
2. The touchpad assembly of claim 1 , wherein:
the PCB processor is further configured to:
receive the second user input; and
interpret the second user input as one of a left-click gesture, a right-click gesture, and a drag gesture.
3. The touchpad assembly of claim 1 , wherein:
when the touchpad assembly is configured as the numpad, the lightguide layer is configured to emit light to display the second graphic comprising a plurality of selectable items, each selectable item associated with a number or a mathematic operator; and
the PCB processor is further configured to:
receive the second user input; and
communicate the second user input to a processor for processing as a number or a mathematic operator.
4. The touchpad assembly of claim 1 , wherein the lightguide layer comprises a blocking frame.
5. The touchpad assembly of claim 4 , wherein the blocking frame comprises glass filled polycarbonate (PC) or polyphenylsulfide (PPS).
6. The touchpad assembly of claim 4 , wherein the blocking frame comprises at least one of a cutout and an internal tab.
7. The touchpad assembly of claim 1 , wherein the PCB comprises graphene material over a portion of the printed control board.
8. The touchpad assembly of claim 7 , wherein:
the touchpad assembly comprises a bracket coupled to the PCB; and
at least a portion of the bracket overlaps at least a portion of the graphene material.
9. The touchpad assembly of claim 8 , further comprising adhesive between one or more of the lightguide layer and the glass layer, the PCB and the lightguide layer, and the bracket and the PCB.
10. An information handling system, comprising:
a processor subsystem;
a screen display; and
a touchpad assembly comprising:
a glass layer configured for contact by a user;
a lightguide layer configured to emit light, the lightguide layer coupled to the glass layer; and
a printed control board (PCB) coupled to the lightguide layer, the PCB comprising:
a PCB processor; and
a memory medium storing a set of instructions executable by the PCB processor to:
receive a first user input;
communicate with the lightguide layer to display, based on the first user input, a first graphic associated with the touchpad assembly when the touchpad is configured for use as a touchpad and a second graphic associated with the touchpad assembly when the touchpad is configured for use as a numerical keypad (numpad);
receive a second user input, wherein:
when the touchpad assembly is configured as the touchpad, i) the PCB processor is configured to process the second user input as a touchpad input, and ii) the lightguide layer is configured to not emit light such that the first graphic is visible; and
when the touchpad assembly is configured as the numpad, the PCB processor is configured to process the second user input as a numpad input, and ii) the lightguide layer is configured to emit light such that the second graphic is visible.
11. The information handling system of claim 10 , wherein:
the PCB processor is further configured to:
receive the second user input; and
interpret the second user input as one of a left-click gesture, a right-click gesture, and a drag gesture.
12. The information handling system of claim 11 , wherein the lightguide layer comprises a blocking frame.
13. The information handling system of claim 12 , wherein the blocking frame comprises glass filled polycarbonate (PC) or polyphenylsulfide (PPS).
14. The information handling system of claim 12 , wherein the blocking frame comprises at least one of a cutout and an internal tab.
15. The information handling system of claim 10 , wherein:
when the touchpad assembly is configured as the numpad, the lightguide layer is configured to emit light to display the second graphic comprising a plurality of selectable items, each selectable item associated with a number or a mathematic operator; and
the PCB processor is further configured to:
receive the second user input; and
communicate the second user input to the processor subsystem for processing as a number or a mathematic operator.
16. The information handling system interface of claim 10 , wherein:
the PCB comprises a PCB tab fixed to a chassis of the information handling system; and
the PCB comprises graphene material over a portion of the printed control board.
17. The information handling system of claim 16 , wherein at least a portion of a bracket overlaps at least a portion of the graphene material.
18. The information handling system of claim 17 , further comprising adhesive between one or more of the lightguide layer and the glass layer, the PCB and the lightguide layer, and the bracket and the PCB.
19. The information handling system of claim 10 , wherein the touchpad assembly is positioned relative to a battery in a chassis of the information handling system.