KR20140058113A - Bezeless monolayer touch sensor panel - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a touch sensor panel comprising: a substrate; a plurality of sensor electrodes arranged on the substrate and extending in a first direction and repeatedly provided in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction; a first circuit unit disposed at one end of the sensor electrode; a second circuit unit disposed on another end of the sensor electrode; a first connection unit connecting the one end of the sensor electrode and the first circuit unit; and a second connection unit connecting the other end of the sensor electrode and the second circuit unit.

Description

[0001] DESCRIPTION [0002] BEZELESS MONOLAYER TOUCH SENSOR PANEL [

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a touch sensor panel, and more particularly, to a capacitive touch sensor panel.

Conventional capacitive touch sensor panels generally have a multilayer structure. For example, it may include a driver electrode arranged in the x-axis direction and a sensing electrode arranged in the y-axis direction orthogonal to the x-axis, and an insulating layer may be disposed between the driver electrode and the sensing electrode.

FIG. 1A is a view showing a general electrode structure of a conventional capacitive touch sensor panel, and FIG. 1B is a sectional view taken along line A-B of the touch sensor panel shown in FIG. 1A.

1A and 1B, a conventional touch sensor panel includes a driver electrode 22 arranged in an x-axis direction on a substrate 10, and an insulation layer 30 formed on the driver electrode 22 . A sensing electrode 21 is arranged in the y-axis direction on the insulating layer so that the driver electrode 22 and the sensing electrode 21 are arranged to have a lattice structure with each other. As described above, in the conventional sensor panel, the driver electrode 22 and the sensing electrode 21 are formed in a multi-layered structure in which the insulating layer 30 is divided.

When the touch sensor panel has a multi-layer structure, the thickness of the panel increases and the manufacturing process increases.

Also, the conventional touch sensor panel has a structure in which wiring is required at both ends of the x axis and both ends of the y axis. Therefore, a space for providing wirings at both ends of the x-axis and both ends of the y-axis must be provided. A corner where no screen exists at both ends of such a panel is referred to as a bezel, and for the wiring, the bezel must have a width at least as wide as the wires can accommodate.

However, it is necessary to minimize the area of the bezel in order to enlarge the screen while reducing the size of the apparatus in the electronic apparatus. Recently, in the field of electronic devices, research is being conducted to minimize the area of the bezel.

In the touch sensor panel of the present invention, a touch sensor panel that does not require an electrode wiring is provided at the rim portion, thereby minimizing the area of the bezel portion. In addition, according to the present invention, a manufacturing process can be simplified through a touch sensor panel having a single layer structure rather than a multilayer structure.

A plurality of sensor electrodes extending in a first direction on the substrate and repeatedly provided in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, a first circuit unit disposed at one end of the sensor electrode, A second connection part connecting the other end of the sensor electrode to the second circuit part, and a second connection part connecting the other end of the sensor electrode and the second circuit part, And a touch sensor panel.

The first connection unit may include a plurality of first switching elements for connecting the plurality of sensor electrodes to the first circuit unit.

The second connection unit may include a plurality of second switching elements that connect the plurality of sensor electrodes to the second circuit unit.

And a control unit for controlling operations of the first connection unit and the second connection unit.

The gap between the sensor electrodes may have a range of 0.1 mm or more to 0.5 mm or less.

The sensor electrode may have a strip shape extending in the first direction.

The width of the strip may have a value of 1 mm or more to 5 mm or less.

The sensor electrode may include a plurality of protrusions protruding from the strip portion in the second direction.

The protrusions may be arranged to be symmetrical to each other about the strip portion on both sides of the strip portion.

The protrusion of the sensor electrode may be formed to be separated from the protrusion of the neighboring sensor electrode.

The protrusion may have a shape of a rectangle or a triangle.

The substrate may be formed of a polymer film, plastic, or glass.

The sensor electrode may be formed of a material including a transparent conductive oxide (TCO).

The transparent conductive oxide may include any one of ITO, IZO, AZO, and ZnO.

The present invention provides a sensor panel in which electrodes are arranged in a single layer and does not require a bezel. As a result, the manufacturing process of the sensor panel can be simplified, the thickness of the sensor panel can be reduced, and the area of the bezel can be minimized, so that the display screen can be enlarged under the same conditions.

1A shows a general electrode structure of a conventional capacitive touch sensor panel.
FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the touch sensor panel shown in FIG. 1A taken along line AB.
2 is a view illustrating a touch sensor panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3A is a view illustrating a touch sensor panel according to another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3B is a view showing a part of the touch sensor panel shown in FIG. 3A.
4 is a view for explaining a driving principle of a touch sensor panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a graph for explaining a method of determining a touch position according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, a touch sensor panel according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it is to be understood that the scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments and drawings described below, and those skilled in the art can implement the present invention in various other forms without departing from the technical idea of the present invention. There will be.

In the present specification, specific structural and functional descriptions are merely illustrative for the purpose of illustrating embodiments of the present invention, and embodiments of the present invention may be embodied in various forms. It is to be understood that the invention includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

For reference, in order to facilitate understanding, each component and its shape are drawn in a simplified form or exaggerated. The same reference numerals denote the same elements in the drawings.

In this specification, where an element is described as being "connected" or "in contact" with another element, it may be directly connected or contacted with another element, but there is another element in between It should be understood.

Also, where an element is described as being "on top" or "underneath" another element, it may be on the "top" or "bottom" directly in contact with the other element, It should be understood that it may exist.

2 is a view illustrating a touch sensor panel according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2, the touch sensor panel of the present invention includes a substrate 100, a plurality of sensors (not shown) extending in a first direction on the substrate and repeatedly arranged in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, A first circuit unit 310 disposed at one end of the sensor electrode extending in the first direction, a second circuit unit 320 disposed at another end of the sensor electrode extending in the first direction, A first connection part 410 connecting one end of the sensor electrode and the first circuit part and a second connection part 420 connecting the other end of the sensor electrode and the second circuit part.

The touch sensor panel may further include a first signal detector 510 for detecting a first output signal output from the first circuit unit 310 and a second signal detector 510 for detecting a second output signal output from the second circuit unit 320, And a second signal detector 520 for detecting the second signal. The controller 600 may further include an operation unit 600 for determining a touch position using frequency information measured by the first signal detector 510 and the second signal detector 520.

2, the direction from the top to the bottom of the drawing is referred to as the first direction, and the direction from the left to the right in the drawing is referred to as the second direction. It should be understood that the first and second directions are defined only for convenience of description, and thus the scope of the invention is not limited thereto.

The substrate 100 may be an insulating substrate made of a transparent material. Examples of such an insulating substrate for a transparent material include a glass substrate, a quartz substrate, and a transparent plastic substrate. As the transparent plastic substrate, PC, PES, TAC, PMMA, PVA, PI, and COC may be used. The insulating substrate of the transparent material may be a flexible substrate having a bending property.

A plurality of sensor electrodes 200 may be provided on the substrate 100. 2, the sensor electrode 200 is in the form of a strip extending in the first direction and repeatedly arranged in the second direction orthogonal to the first direction. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, May be appropriately modified according to the resolution and use of the touch sensor panel.

The width of the strip of the sensor electrode 200 may have a value of 1 mm or more to 5 mm or less, and the gap between the plurality of sensor electrodes may have a value of 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm. Similarly, the width, spacing, and the number of the sensor electrodes may have appropriate values according to the resolution and usage of the touch sensor panel.

The sensor electrode 200 may include a transparent conductive oxide (TCO). The transparent conductive oxide (TCO) may be formed of any one of ITO, IZO, AZO, and ZnO.

The first circuit unit 310 may be disposed at one end of the sensor electrode 200 extending in the first direction and the second circuit unit 320 may be disposed at the other end of the sensor electrode 200 extending in the first direction. May be disposed. One end of the sensor electrode 200 and the first circuit unit 310 may be connected by a first connection unit 410. The other end of the sensor electrode 200 and the second circuit unit 320 may be connected to each other 2 connection unit 420. [0033] FIG.

The first connection unit 410 may include a plurality of first switching devices 700 for connecting one end of the plurality of sensor electrodes 200 to the first circuit unit 310, The second switching unit 420 may include a plurality of second switching devices 800 for connecting the other end of the plurality of sensor electrodes 200 to the second circuit unit 320.

The touch sensor panel may include a controller 430 for controlling and synchronizing operations of the plurality of first switching devices 700 and the plurality of second switching devices 800, respectively.

The control unit 430 may control a series of operations related to switching such as connection time, connection order, connection sequence, etc. of the first switching device 700 and the second switching device 800. In addition, the first switching device 700 and the second switching device 800 may function to synchronize mutual operation so that the first switching device 700 and the second switching device 800 can operate organically.

The first circuit unit 310 and the second circuit unit 320 may include at least one output circuit designed to output a constant voltage, current or frequency when the power is applied. The output circuit may be connected to each of the sensor electrodes, and may be connected to one or more sensor electrodes.

Hereinafter, it is assumed that the output circuit is an oscillation circuit that outputs an output signal having a constant frequency when power is applied.

The oscillation circuit used as the first circuit unit 310 and the second circuit unit 320 is a circuit designed to output a constant frequency when power is applied. In the oscillation circuit generally used in the art, Without limitation.

Hereinafter, the frequency of an output signal output from the oscillation circuit connected to the sensor electrode 200 is referred to as a reference frequency f ₀ .

The first circuit unit 310 and the second circuit unit 320 always output the reference frequency f ₀ before touching the sensor electrode 200. If the sensor electrode 200 is touched, A change occurs in the frequencies output from the first circuit unit 310 and the second circuit unit 320. [ In this case, when the frequency of the output signal changes as f _1, in the present invention by using the frequency f ₁ of the reference frequency (f ₀₎ with a touch event of a changed output signal will determine the touch location. The determination of the touch position will be described in more detail in the touch sensor panel driving principle, which will be described later.

The first signal output unit 510 detects the frequency f ₁ of the first output signal output from the first circuit unit 310 and the second signal output unit 520 detects the frequency f _{1 of} the second output unit 520, ) it is possible to detect the frequency (f ₂₎ of the second output signal output from. The operation unit 600 determines the touch position using the frequency f ₁ of the first output signal and the frequency f ₂ of the second output signal. Similarly, the touch position determination will be described in more detail in the touch sensor panel driving principle, which will be described later.

FIG. 3A is a view illustrating a touch sensor panel according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3B is a view illustrating a part of the touch sensor panel disclosed in FIG. 3A.

3A and 3B, the sensor electrode 200 includes a strip portion 230 extending in a first direction and a plurality of protrusions 230 protruding from the strip portion in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction 240).

The protrusions 240 may be arranged to be symmetrical with respect to the strip 230 at both sides of the strip 230. The protrusions 240 of the sensor electrodes may protrude from the protrusions 240 of adjacent sensor electrodes, And are spaced apart from each other in a sawtooth shape. 3, the protrusion 240 is formed in a rectangular shape, but is not limited thereto. The protrusion 240 may have a rectangular or triangular shape.

The width of the strip part 230 may have a value of 1 mm or more and 5 mm or less, and the distance between the plurality of sensor electrodes may have a value of 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm. Similarly, the width, spacing, and the number of the sensor electrodes may have appropriate values according to the resolution and usage of the touch sensor panel.

In addition, the strip portion 230 and the protrusion 240 may be formed of a material including a transparent conductive oxide (TCO). The transparent conductive oxide may include any one of ITO, IZO, AZO, and ZnO. The strip portion 230 and the protrusion portion 240 may be formed of the same material or different materials, but the strip portion 230 and the protrusion portion 240 may be formed of the same material in consideration of manufacturing convenience and the like .

The shape of the sensor electrode 200 is not limited to that shown in FIG. 2 or 3, and may be formed in various forms according to the use and resolution of the touch sensor panel.

4 is a view for explaining a driving principle of a touch sensor panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a principle of driving a touch sensor panel according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4, the touch panel includes a substrate 100, a plurality of sensor electrodes 200, a first connection unit 410, a second connection unit 420, 430 are schematically shown.

Hereinafter, the horizontal direction of the drawing is referred to as the x-axis direction and the vertical direction of the drawing is referred to as the y-axis direction. For convenience of explanation, a plurality of sensor electrodes 200 arranged in order in the x-axis direction are denoted by 201, 202, and 203, respectively. Likewise, the respective switching elements 700 constituting the first connection part 410, which are sequentially arranged in the x-axis direction, are denoted by 701 to 724, and the second connection part 420 is sequentially arranged in the x- Each of the switching elements 800 constituting is represented by 801 to 824.

4, in order to explain the principle of operation of the touch sensor panel according to the present invention, twenty-four sensor electrodes 201 to 224 are sequentially arranged in the x-axis direction, and thus twenty-four first switching elements 701 to 724 and 24 second switching elements 801 to 824 are arranged in this order.

In FIG. 4, coordinates (P1 to P32) in the y-axis direction on the left side of the substrate 100 mean y-axis coordinates of the touch sensor panel. Since the touch sensor panel of the present invention has sensor electrodes only in the x-axis direction unlike the general touch sensor panel, it is a virtual coordinate separately shown for explaining the driving principle. That is, the resolution of the touch sensor panel of the present invention can be expressed by the number of sensor electrodes arranged in the x-axis direction and the coordinates in the y-axis direction.

4, the number of sensor electrodes arranged in the x-axis direction and the coordinates shown in the y-axis direction are only illustrative examples for explaining the driving principle of the present invention, and the number of sensor electrodes and y The number in the axial direction may have an appropriate resolution value depending on the size of the substrate, the application and the type of the touch sensor panel.

The connection time, connection order, connection sequence, and the like of the first switching devices 701 to 724 and the second switching devices 801 to 824 can be controlled by the first control unit 430.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the first switching elements 701 to 724 and the second switching elements 801 to 824 may be alternately repeatedly connected.

Also, in another embodiment of the present invention, the first switching devices 701 to 724 may be sequentially connected, and the second switching devices 801 to 824 may be sequentially connected.

Also, in another embodiment of the present invention, the first switching devices 701 to 724 and the second switching devices 801 to 824 may be alternately and sequentially connected. That is, they may be connected in the order of 701, 801, 702, 802, 703, 803, and so on.

In addition, in another embodiment of the present invention, only one of the first switching devices 701 to 724 and the second switching devices 801 to 824 operates, and when a touch occurs, The first switching elements 701 to 724 and the second switching elements 801 to 824 can operate as in the above embodiment.

The switching timings of the first switching devices 701 to 724 and the second switching devices 801 to 824 may have a value of 10 ms or more to 50 ms or less. The switching timing is advantageous in terms of performance as the switching timing is faster, but it is sufficient to judge the touch position when the switching timing is less than 50 ms, so that the switching timing can be substantially 10 ms or more to 50 ms or less

Hereinafter, the first switching devices 701 to 724 and the second switching devices 801 to 824 have switching timings of 10 ms, and the switching timings of the switching devices 701 to 704, , A method of determining the touch position when the touch occurs simultaneously in T1, T2, and T3 as shown in Fig. 4 will be described.

5 is a graph for explaining a method of determining a touch position according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the following, the amount of change in the reference frequency (f ₀₎ over the first called the amount of change of the first frequency of the output signal (f ₁₎ P, and the reference frequency (f ₀₎ compared to the second frequency (f ₂₎ of the output signal Quot; Q ".

The graph of FIG. 5 is a graph showing the P value and the Q value, respectively, when the touch occurs at T1, T2, and T3 as shown in FIG.

The process of determining the touch position using the graph of FIG. 5 is as follows.

The touch position determination may be divided into a step of determining the position in the x-axis direction in which the touch occurs and a step of determining the position in the y-axis direction.

First, the touch position in the x-axis direction can be determined as a position at which the largest frequency change occurs relative to the reference frequency in the graph.

Referring to the graph of FIG. 5, the frequency change value gradually increases as the distance from the sensor electrode where the touch occurs is increased. Accordingly, it can be determined that the touch is made at the sensor electrode having the P value or the Q value of the peak value. In the graph of FIG. 5, it can be determined that touch occurs at the sensor electrodes 206, 213, and 220 having the peak value of the P value and the Q value. The touch position determination in the x-axis direction may be determined using only the P value or the Q value.

Next, a process for determining the touch position in the y-axis direction will be described.

The touch position determination in the y-axis direction is performed by calculating the P value and the Q value measured by the sensor electrodes 206, 213, and 220 at the sensor electrodes 206, 213, and 220, .

Hereinafter, a value obtained by dividing the P value or the Q value measured at each sensor electrode by the sum of the P value and the Q value is referred to as a ratio value. The ratio value may have a constant value depending on the touch position regardless of the human body capacitance which varies depending on the external environment or person.

That is, although the P value and the Q value itself may be different depending on the external environment or the person, the ratio value is constant irrespective of the external environment, and thus the position in the y axis direction can be determined using the ratio value.

The ratio values according to the coordinates shown in the y-axis direction in FIG. 4 are shown in Table 1.

Coordinate value Ratio value Coordinate value Ratio value Coordinate value Ratio value Coordinate value Ratio value P1 12.2 P9 31.7 P17 51.2 P25 70.7 P2 14.6 P10 34.1 P18 53.7 P26 73.2 P3 17.1 P11 36.6 P19 56.1 P27 75.6 P4 19.5 P12 39.0 P20 58.5 P28 78.0 P5 22.0 P13 41.5 P21 61.0 P29 80.5 P6 24.4 P14 43.9 P22 63.4 P30 82.9 P7 26.8 P15 46.3 P23 65.9 P31 85.4 P8 29.3 P16 48.8 P24 68.3 P32 87.8

For example, when the P value at one sensor electrode 206 is 90 and the Q value is 47, the ratio value P / (P + Q) is 90 / (90 + 47) Based on this, it can be determined that a touch has occurred in P23.

Through the above process, it can be determined that the T1 is generated at 206 sensor electrodes, P23 and T2 are generated at 213 sensor electrodes, and P23 and T3 are generated at 220 sensor electrodes and P27, respectively.

In the present invention, it is possible to provide a touch sensor panel capable of simplifying the manufacturing process and reducing the area of the bezel by implementing a multi-touch function touch sensor panel in a single layer structure through the shape of the sensor electrode as in the above embodiment .

100: substrate 200: sensor electrodes 201 to 224
310: first circuit part 320: second circuit part
410: first connection part 420: second connection part
430: control unit 510: first signal detection unit
520: second signal detecting unit 600:
700: first switching elements (701 to 724) 800: second switching elements (801 to 824)

Claims (14)

Board;
A plurality of sensor electrodes extending in a first direction on the substrate and repeatedly provided in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction;
A first circuit part disposed at one end of the sensor electrode;
A second circuit part disposed at the other end of the sensor electrode;
A first connection unit connecting one end of the sensor electrode and the first circuit unit; And
And a second connection part connecting the other end of the sensor electrode to the second circuit part. The touch sensor panel according to claim 1, wherein the first connection part includes a plurality of first switching elements connecting the plurality of sensor electrodes and the first circuit part. The touch sensor panel according to claim 1, wherein the second connection portion includes a plurality of second switching elements connecting the plurality of sensor electrodes to the second circuit portion. The touch sensor panel according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit for controlling operations of the first connection unit and the second connection unit. The touch sensor panel according to claim 1, wherein a distance between the sensor electrodes is 0.1 mm or more and 0.5 mm or less. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, wherein the sensor electrode is in the form of a strip extending in the first direction. The touch sensor panel according to claim 6, wherein a width of the strip is 1 mm or more to 5 mm or less. The touch sensor panel according to claim 6, wherein the sensor electrode includes a plurality of protrusions protruding from the strip in the second direction. The touch sensor panel according to claim 8, wherein the protrusions are arranged to be symmetrical with respect to each other about the strip portion on both sides of the strip portion. The touch sensor panel as claimed in claim 8, wherein the protrusion of the sensor electrode is spaced apart from the protrusion of the adjacent sensor electrode. The touch sensor panel as claimed in claim 8, wherein the protrusions are in the form of a rectangle or a triangle. The sensor panel according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is one of a polymer film, plastic, and glass. The sensor panel of claim 1, wherein the sensor electrode is formed of a material including a transparent conductive oxide (TCO). 14. The sensor panel according to claim 13, wherein the transparent conductive oxide comprises any one of ITO, IZO, AZO and ZnO.

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