CN106569640B

CN106569640B - Touch panel

Info

Publication number: CN106569640B
Application number: CN201610993682.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 廖致霖; 谢曜任
Original assignee: Interface Optoelectronics Shenzhen Co Ltd; Cheng Cheng Technology Chengdu Co Ltd; General Interface Solution Ltd
Current assignee: Interface Optoelectronics Shenzhen Co Ltd; Cheng Cheng Technology Chengdu Co Ltd; General Interface Solution Ltd
Priority date: 2016-11-10
Filing date: 2016-11-10
Publication date: 2019-12-10
Anticipated expiration: 2036-11-10
Also published as: TW201818213A; CN106569640A; TWI598791B

Abstract

One aspect of the present invention provides a touch panel. The touch panel comprises a metal frame, a first base film layer, a second base film layer, a first emitter and a first receiver. The metal frame has a bottom. The first base film layer is arranged in the metal frame, and a gap exists between the first base film layer and the bottom of the metal frame, so that the first base film layer and the metal frame are capacitively coupled to have a first capacitance value. The second base film layer is arranged in the metal frame and is positioned above the first base film layer. The first emitter is disposed on the second base film layer for emitting the first sensing signal. The first receiver is disposed on the first base film layer for receiving the first sensing signal. When an external force is applied to the touch panel, the first capacitance value generates a first capacitance change, and the first sensing signal received by the first receiver changes along with the first capacitance change. Through the disclosure of the present disclosure, the flatness of the metal frame of the touch panel can be monitored, so that the pressure sensing of each point on the touch panel is more accurate.

Description

Touch panel

Technical Field

the present disclosure relates to touch panels, and particularly to a capacitive pressure touch panel.

Background

Electronic products equipped with a touch panel have been widely spread, and panels carrying Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) have gradually become the mainstream of the market. The OLED panel using capacitive pressure sensing is one of various touch panel types. While OLED panels that carry capacitive pressure sensing technology typically have a metal frame, a base film (base film) layer, a pressure sensor, an organic light emitting diode, a glass cover, etc. as the bottommost layer. Although the touch technology is well developed, the performance of the pressure sensor may be affected by the unevenness of the metal frame or the assembly tolerance during the assembly process of the panel.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve the above problems, the present disclosure provides a touch panel. The touch panel comprises a metal frame, a first base film layer, a second base film layer, a first emitter and a first receiver. The metal frame has a bottom. The first base film layer is arranged in the metal frame, and a gap exists between the first base film layer and the bottom of the metal frame, so that the first base film layer and the metal frame are capacitively coupled to have a first capacitance value. The second base film layer is arranged in the metal frame and is positioned above the first base film layer. The first emitter is disposed on the second base film layer for emitting the first sensing signal. The first receiver is disposed on the first base film layer for receiving the first sensing signal. When an external force is applied to the touch panel, the first capacitance value generates a first capacitance change, and the first sensing signal received by the first receiver changes along with the first capacitance change.

Preferably, the first receiver has a slot, so that a power line of the sensing signal emitted by the first emitter passes through the slot and enters a gap between the first base film and the metal frame, so that the sensing signal changes with the change of the first capacitance.

Preferably, the first capacitance variation can be used to judge the flatness of the bottom of the metal frame.

Preferably, the first emitter and the first receiver are made of indium tin oxide or silver.

Preferably, the touch panel further includes a dynamic dielectric coefficient filler filled between the first base film layer and the second base film layer, and when an external force applied to the touch panel is greater than a predetermined threshold, another gap between the first base film layer and the second base film layer changes, so that a second capacitance value between the first base film layer and the second base film layer generates a second capacitance change.

preferably, the touch panel further comprises a second transmitter and a second receiver. The second emitter is arranged on the first base film layer and used for emitting a second sensing signal. The second receiver is disposed on the second base film layer for receiving the second sensing signal. When the external force is lower than the preset threshold value, the second sensing signal received by the second receiver is unchanged. When the external force is higher than the preset threshold value, the second sensing signal received by the second receiver changes along with the change of the second capacitance

Preferably, the first transmitter and the second receiver are disposed on different electrodes, and the electrodes are arranged in parallel with each other.

Preferably, the first transmitter and the second receiver share the same electrode, and in a first state, the first transmitter transmits the first sensing signal and the second receiver is inactive, and in a second state, the second receiver receives the second sensing signal and the first transmitter is inactive.

preferably, in the vertical projection direction, the first emitter and the first receiver have a first intersection area, and the second emitter and the second receiver have a second intersection area, and the first intersection area and the second intersection area are different in size.

preferably, the first transmitter and the first receiver are in a diamond or rod structure.

Through the disclosure of the present disclosure, the flatness of the metal frame of the touch panel can be monitored, so that the pressure sensing of each point on the touch panel is more accurate. The above description will be described in detail by embodiments, and further explanation will be provided for the technical solution of the present invention.

Drawings

In order to make the aforementioned and other objects, features, advantages and embodiments of the invention more comprehensible, the following description is given:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a touch panel according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a power line according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 3A-3B are top views of a transmitter and a receiver according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 4A-4B are top views of a transmitter and a receiver according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

Fig. 5 is a top view of a transmitter and a receiver according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Detailed Description

The following detailed description of the embodiments with reference to the drawings is provided for the purpose of limiting the scope of the invention, and the description of the structure and operation is not intended to limit the order of execution, and any structure which results from a combination of elements which results in a device with equivalent functionality is intended to be within the scope of the invention. In addition, the drawings are for illustrative purposes only and are not drawn to scale. For ease of understanding, the same components will be described with the same reference numerals in the following description.

Referring to fig. 1, fig. 1 is a side view of a touch panel 100 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The touch panel 100 includes, in order from bottom to top, a metal frame 110, a first base film layer 120, a pressure sensor, a second base film layer 130, an adhesive (adhesive glue) layer 170, a foam tape layer 172, an OLED layer 174, and a glass cover 176. The metal frame 110 is a substrate of the touch panel 100 and is used for mounting various components of the panel. The adhesive layer 170 and the foam layer 172 are used to bond the OLED layer 174 to the second base film layer 130, the OLED layer 174 is used to display an image, and the glass cover 176 is used to protect the underlying OLED layer 174.

The first base film layer 120 is disposed in the metal frame 110 but is not directly attached to the bottom of the metal frame 110, but has a gap with the bottom of the metal frame 110. Therefore, the first base film layer 120 and the metal frame 110 will be capacitively coupled to have the first capacitance value C1. The second base film layer 130 is also disposed in the metal frame and located above the first base film layer 130.

The pressure sensor is composed of a plurality of first emitters 140t and a plurality of second receivers 142r disposed on the second base film layer 130, and a plurality of second emitters 142t and a plurality of first receivers 140r disposed on the first base film layer 120. The first emitter 140t, the first receiver 140r, the second emitter 142t, and the second receiver 142r may be made of, for example, indium tin oxide, silver, metal mesh, etc.

Each first transmitter 140t corresponds to one of the first receivers 140r, and each second transmitter 142t corresponds to one of the second receivers 142 r. The first transmitter 140t is used for transmitting a first sensing signal, and the first receiver 140r is used for receiving the first sensing signal transmitted by the corresponding first transmitter 140 t. The second transmitter 142t is used for transmitting a second sensing signal, and the second receiver 142r is used for receiving the second sensing signal transmitted by the corresponding second transmitter 142 t.

the first and second base films 120 and 130 are respectively provided with a plurality of electrodes, and the first and second transmitters 140t and 142r share the same electrodes, i.e., each electrode disposed on the second base film 130 can be used as the first transmitter 140t for transmitting the first sensing signal and as the second receiver 142r for receiving the second sensing signal. The second transmitter 142t and the first receiver 140r are alternately disposed on different electrodes of the first base film layer 120. Wherein the electrodes on the second base film layer 130 are arranged in parallel with each other, and the electrodes on the first base film layer 120 are also arranged in parallel with each other, as shown in fig. 3A to 4B, which will be further described later.

Since the first transmitter 140t and the second receiver 142r share the same electrode, a system or a control chip (not shown) of the touch panel will control the first transmitter 140t and the second receiver 142r to act alternately with a clock signal. In short, the first transmitter 140t can transmit the first sensing signal in the first state, and the second receiver 142r is not active; the second receiver 142r can receive the second sensing signal in the second state, and the first transmitter 140t is inactive.

A plurality of supporters 150 and a plurality of dynamic permittivity filling materials 160 are further disposed between the first base film layer 120 and the second base film layer 130. The support 150 is disposed between the first receiver 140r and the second base film layer 130, for example. The dynamic permittivity filling material 160 is disposed between the second emitter 142t and the second base film layer 130, for example. Therefore, in this embodiment, the number of the supporting members 150 is the same as that of the first receivers 140r, and the number of the dynamic permittivity filling material 160 is the same as that of the second emitters 142 t.

The supporting member 150 is made of an elastic material, for example, and is used to support the first base film layer 120 and the second base film layer 130, and when the supporting member 150 is subjected to an external force greater than a predetermined threshold, the supporting member deforms, so that the distance between the second base film layer 130 and the first base film layer 120 is shortened. The predetermined threshold is determined according to the material characteristics of the supporting member 150, for example. The dynamic permittivity filling material 160 is a polymer material whose permittivity can be changed according to the applied pressure. The first base film layer 120 and the second base film layer 130 are capacitively coupled to have a second capacitance value C2, and the second capacitance value C2 is affected by the dynamic dielectric constant filler 160 filled between the first base film layer 120 and the second base film layer 130, which is a basic characteristic of the capacitor and will not be described in detail.

In addition, it should be noted that the numbers of the first emitter 140t, the first receiver 140r, the second emitter 142t, the second receiver 142r, the support 150 and the dynamic permittivity filler 160 shown in fig. 1 are only for convenience of description, and the actual number of each component may be adjusted according to the actual application, and the disclosure is not limited thereto.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, a slot is formed in the middle of the first receiver 140r, so that the first sensing signal emitted by the first emitter 140t passes through the corresponding slot of the first receiver 140r to enter the gap between the first base film 120 and the metal frame 110. Referring to fig. 2, fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a power line of a sensing signal according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a power line of a first sensing signal between a set of the first transmitter 140t and the first receiver 140r corresponding to each other.

As can be seen in FIG. 2, the power line of the first sensing signal can pass through the slot 210 of the first receiver 140 r. By the design of the slot 210, the first sensing signal emitted by the first emitter 140t actually passes through the gap between the first base film 120 and the metal frame 110 and the other gap between the first base film 120 and the second base film 130. Therefore, by continuously receiving the first sensing signal through the first receiver 140r, it can be detected whether the first capacitance C1 between the first base film 120 and the metal frame 110 changes.

When an external force (e.g., a force applied by a finger of a user) is applied to the glass cover 176 of the touch panel 100, the first base film layer 120 is first forced to be decreased to shorten a distance between the first base film layer 120 and the bottom of the metal frame 110, resulting in a first capacitance change of the first capacitance value C1. Then, when the applied external force is greater than the predetermined threshold, the dynamic permittivity filler material 160 will begin to deform, so that another gap distance between the first base film layer 120 and the second base film layer 130 is shortened, resulting in a second capacitance change of the second capacitance value C2.

When the first capacitance value C1 generates the first capacitance change, the first sensing signal received by the first receiver 140r will also change with the first capacitance change. If the applied external force does not exceed the predetermined threshold, the second capacitance C2 is not changed, and the second sensing signal received by the second receiver 142r is not changed. When the external force exceeds the predetermined threshold and causes the second capacitance of the second capacitance value C2 to change, the second sensing signal received by the second receiver 142r begins to change with the change of the second capacitance, in addition to the first sensing signal received by the first receiver 140r changing with the change of the first capacitance.

The first capacitance change and the second capacitance change of the corresponding local sensing regions are monitored by the pressure sensors, so that the flatness of each region at the bottom of the metal frame 110 of the touch panel 100 can be determined. For example, when the first capacitance variation and the second capacitance variation of each local sensing region are different from each other by less than a predetermined value, the bottom of the metal frame 110 may be determined to be flat, and otherwise, the first capacitance variation and the second capacitance variation of each local sensing region are determined to be uneven because they are different from each other by too much. The default setting can be adjusted according to the requirements of the actual application.

Fig. 3A-3B, 4A-4B, and 5 show top views of the transmitters 140t and 142t and receivers 140r and 142r, respectively, according to various embodiments of the disclosure. In fig. 3A, each electrode (horizontal electrode) on the second base film 130 has a first emitter 140t and a second receiver 142r, and the electrodes are arranged in parallel. Each of the electrodes (vertical electrodes) on the first base film layer 120 has one of a second transmitter 142t and a first receiver 140r, and the electrodes having the second transmitter 142t and the electrodes having the first receiver 140r are disposed in a staggered manner and arranged in parallel. In this example, each electrode is in the form of a diamond-shaped metal sheet. In order to allow the first sensing signal emitted from the first emitter 140t to enter the gap between the first base film and the metal frame, slots 210 are cut on the diamond electrodes of the first receiver 140r, as shown in fig. 3A.

As can be seen in fig. 3A, a first emitter 140t and a corresponding first receiver 140r have a diamond-like shaped intersection in the vertical projection direction, e.g. intersection 310, and a second emitter 142t and a corresponding second receiver 142r have a rectangular shaped intersection in the vertical projection direction, e.g. intersection 320. The intersection of the first transmitter 140t and the first receiver 140r has a first intersection area, the intersection of the second transmitter 142t and the second receiver 142r has a second intersection area, and the first intersection area and the second intersection area are different in size.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the first transmitter 140t and the second receiver 142r may be disposed on different electrodes, as shown in fig. 3B. In fig. 3B, each electrode (horizontal electrode) on the second base film layer 130 has one of a first emitter 140t and a second receiver 142r, and the electrodes having the first emitter 140t and the electrodes having the second receiver 142r are disposed alternately and in parallel. Each of the electrodes (vertical electrodes) on the first base film layer 120 has one of a second transmitter 142t and a first receiver 140r, and the electrodes having the second transmitter 142t and the electrodes having the first receiver 140r are disposed alternately and in parallel. Only the intersection of the first receiver 140r and the first transmitter 140t is required to be provided with the slot 210.

In addition, in another embodiment, the shape of the electrode may also be a bar/rectangular metal sheet, as shown in fig. 4A and 4B. Similar to the embodiment of fig. 3A, in the embodiment of fig. 4A, the first transmitter 140t and the second receiver 142r share the same electrode, and each electrode is arranged in parallel. The second transmitter 142t and the first receiver 140r are disposed on different electrodes, and the electrodes having the second transmitter 142t and the electrodes having the first receiver 140r are disposed in a staggered manner and arranged in parallel with each other. The embodiment of fig. 4B is similar to the embodiment of fig. 3B, the first transmitter 140t and the second receiver 142r are respectively disposed on different electrodes, and the second transmitter 142t and the first receiver 140r are also disposed on different electrodes.

in another embodiment of the disclosure, the first transmitter 140t, the first receiver 140r, the second transmitter 142t and the second receiver 142r can also receive the frequency signal from the system or control chip (not shown) of the touch panel 100 or transmit the received sensing signal to the system or control chip for further processing operation by using the signal lines and/or the signal lines mixed with the metal sheet electrodes. Referring to fig. 5, fig. 5 is a top view of a transmitter and a receiver according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

in fig. 5, the second transmitter 142t transmits the second sensing signal according to the frequency signal transmitted from the signal line 520 by the system or the control chip, and the second receiver 142r disposed on the metal sheet electrode receives the second sensing signal. The first transmitter 140t transmits a first sensing signal by receiving the frequency signal transmitted by the system or control chip through the metal sheet electrode, and the first receiver 140r transmits the received first sensing signal back to the system or control chip through the signal line 510. It should be understood that in practical applications, any receiver or transmitter may be connected by using a signal line and/or any receiver or transmitter may be disposed by using a metal sheet electrode, and the disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments.

although the present invention has been described with reference to the above embodiments, it should be understood that various changes and modifications can be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A touch panel, comprising:

A metal frame having a bottom;

A first base film layer disposed in the metal frame and having a gap with the bottom of the metal frame so that the first base film layer is capacitively coupled with the metal frame to have a first capacitance value, wherein the first capacitance value generates a first capacitance change when an external force is applied to the touch panel;

The second base film layer is arranged in the metal frame and positioned above the first base film layer;

A first emitter disposed on the second substrate layer for emitting a first sensing signal;

A first receiver disposed on the first base film layer for receiving the first sensing signal, wherein the first sensing signal received by the first receiver changes with the change of the first capacitance;

A second emitter disposed on the first base film layer for emitting a second sensing signal;

a second receiver disposed on the second base film layer for receiving the second sensing signal; and

A dynamic dielectric coefficient filler filled between the first and second base film layers, wherein when the external force applied to the touch panel is greater than a predetermined threshold, another gap between the first and second base film layers is changed to generate a second capacitance change in a second capacitance value between the first and second base film layers,

wherein the difference between the first and second variations is used to determine the flatness of the bottom of the metal frame.

2. the touch panel of claim 1, wherein the first receiver has a slot, such that a power line of the sensing signal from the first transmitter passes through the slot and enters the gap between the first base film and the metal frame, such that the sensing signal varies with the first capacitance.

3. The touch panel of claim 1, further comprising:

When the difference between the first capacitance variation and the second capacitance variation is less than a default value, determining that the bottom of the metal frame is flat;

when the difference between the first and second variations is greater than the predetermined value, determining that the bottom of the metal frame is uneven.

4. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the first transmitter and the first receiver are made of ITO or Ag.

5. The touch panel of claim 1, further comprising:

When the external force is lower than the preset threshold value, the second sensing signal received by the second receiver is unchanged;

when the external force is higher than the preset threshold value, the second sensing signal received by the second receiver changes along with the change of the second capacitance.

6. the touch panel of claim 5, wherein the first transmitter and the second receiver are disposed on different electrodes, and the electrodes are arranged in parallel.

7. the touch panel of claim 5, wherein the first transmitter and the second receiver share the same electrode, and in a first state the first transmitter transmits the first sensing signal and the second receiver is inactive, and in a second state the second receiver receives the second sensing signal and the first transmitter is inactive.

8. The touch panel of claim 5, wherein the first transmitter and the first receiver have a first intersection area, and the second transmitter and the second receiver have a second intersection area, in a vertical projection direction, the first intersection area and the second intersection area being different in size.

9. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the first transmitter and the first receiver are diamond or bar shaped.