JP2017004462A - Touch sensor electrode, touch panel and display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a touch sensor electrode, a touch panel and a display device, capable of preventing moire from generating.SOLUTION: A touch sensor electrode includes a plurality of drive electrodes and a plurality of sensing electrodes, having hexagonal reference patterns composed of a mesh pattern arranged in a honeycomb, respectively. A hexagon in at least one of the plurality of drive electrodes and the plurality of sensing electrodes is formed with six sides having at least two different line widths. The arrangement of the two different line widths of the six sides forming the hexagon has no periodicity.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a touch sensor electrode including a plurality of electrode lines, a touch panel, and a display device.

  The touch sensor included in the display device includes a drive electrode and a sensing electrode, which are examples of touch sensor electrodes, and the capacitance between the drive electrode and the sensing electrode indicates that a finger or the like is in contact with the operation surface of the display device. Detect as change. Since the image formed by the display panel of the display device is output to the operation surface through the drive electrode and the sensing electrode, the drive electrode and the sensing electrode have, for example, a large number of linear shapes arranged at intervals from each other. It is constituted by a set of electrode wires. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1.)

JP 2012-79238 A

  By the way, the electrode wire of the drive electrode and the electrode wire of the sensing electrode usually form a rectangular lattice shape when viewed from the direction in which the drive electrode and the sensing electrode are stacked. On the other hand, the display panel has a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix along the direction in which the drive electrodes are arranged and the direction in which the sensing electrodes are arranged, and each of the plurality of pixels is partitioned by a black matrix having a rectangular lattice shape. Has been. Therefore, in the display device, moire according to the rectangular lattice shape formed by the touch sensor electrodes and the rectangular lattice shape of the black matrix is generated, and as a result, the display quality output to the operation surface is reduced. End up.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an electrode for a touch sensor, a touch panel, and a display device that can suppress the occurrence of moire.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 is a plurality of drive electrodes arranged along the first direction, wherein each of the plurality of drive electrodes is orthogonal to the first direction. A plurality of drive electrodes extending along a direction; and a plurality of sensing electrodes arranged along the second direction, each of the plurality of sensing electrodes extending along the first direction; A plurality of the drive electrodes and a transparent dielectric substrate sandwiched between the plurality of sensing electrodes, and each of the plurality of drive electrodes and the plurality of sensing electrodes has a hexagonal reference pattern in a honeycomb shape The hexagon in at least one of the plurality of drive electrodes and the plurality of sensing electrodes is composed of two or more different lines. It is formed by 6 sides consisting of those obtained by the use touch sensor electrodes, wherein.

  The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the arrangement of two or more types of line widths of the six sides forming the hexagon has no periodicity, and the electrode for a touch sensor according to claim 1, It is a thing.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, at least one of the plurality of drive electrodes arranged along the first direction and the plurality of sensing electrodes arranged along the second direction are adjacent electrodes, The touch sensor electrode according to claim 1, comprising electrodes having different internal areas of the hexagon.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the drive electrode includes the reference pattern, and includes a plurality of first detection units arranged along the second direction, and the reference pattern, and is mutually connected in the second direction. A first connection part that connects the two first detection parts adjacent to each other, wherein the sensing electrode includes the reference pattern and is arranged along the first direction; and A second connection part configured to connect two second detection parts that are adjacent to each other in the first direction, and the center of the first connection part is The first detection unit is located between the sensing electrodes adjacent to each other in the second direction, and coincides with the center of the second connection unit, and is adjacent to each other in the first direction. Located between two detectors Is obtained by the touch sensor electrode according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

  The invention according to claim 5 is a touch sensor electrode comprising a plurality of drive electrodes, a plurality of sensing electrodes, and a transparent dielectric substrate sandwiched between the plurality of drive electrodes and the plurality of sensing electrodes, 5. A cover layer that covers the touch sensor electrode, and a peripheral circuit that measures a capacitance between the drive electrode and the sensing electrode, wherein the touch sensor electrode is any one of claims 1 to 4. A touch panel characterized by being an electrode for a touch sensor according to one item.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a display panel having a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix along the first direction and the second direction and displaying information using the pixels, and a touch panel are driven. And a touch panel that transmits the information displayed on the display panel, wherein the touch panel is the touch panel according to claim 5.

  According to the present invention, (1) occurrence of moire can be suppressed.

  The present invention has the following effects (2) and (3) in addition to the main purpose of eliminating moire. (2) In principle, regular hexagons, and hexagons compressed (or expanded) vertically and horizontally as exemplified in FIG. 8 (described later) as another embodiment are adopted, so that plane filling is easy. Therefore, it has an advantage in handling the trimming of the plane to define the outer shape of the mesh electrode.

  (3) It has been empirically known that when an electrode pattern is manufactured by etching a metal layer, a pattern including an acute angle (90 ° or less) portion makes the behavior of the etchant complicated and difficult to process as designed. Yes. In the case of a polygon having a quadrangular shape or more, all angles defining the pattern are easily set to a right angle or more (120 ° in the case of a regular hexagon), and therefore, there is an advantage in stably performing the processing as designed.

It is a top view which shows the planar structure of the display apparatus which actualized this invention, Comprising: It is a figure cut out and shown in the order in which some mutually different components overlap. It is sectional drawing which shows the cross-section of the display apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the electrical structure of the touchscreen in embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows a part (A section of FIG. 1) of arrangement | positioning of the drive electrode in embodiment of this invention. FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged view showing a part of a drive electrode (part B in FIG. 4) in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view which shows a part (A part of FIG. 1) of arrangement | positioning of the drive electrode in another embodiment of this invention. It is the elements on larger scale which show some drive electrodes (B section of FIG. 4) in another embodiment of this invention. It is the elements on larger scale which show some drive electrodes (B section of FIG. 4) in another embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the relationship of arrangement | positioning of the drive electrode and sensing electrode in embodiment of this invention. It is an operation view for explaining an operation of the present invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the cross-section of the display apparatus in another modification. It is sectional drawing which shows the cross-section of the display apparatus in another modification.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention in which a touch sensor electrode, a touch panel, and a display device are embodied will be described with reference to the drawings. Below, the structure of a display apparatus, the structure of a drive electrode, the structure of the electrode for touch sensors, and the effect | action of the electrode for touch sensors are demonstrated in order.

[Display device]
The display device will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a color filter layer, a drive electrode formed on the drive surface, and a sensing electrode formed on the sensing surface of the display device. For convenience of explanation, the color filter layer, the drive electrode, and The sensing electrode is shown exaggerated. In FIG. 1, for convenience of illustration, dots are attached to the plurality of drive electrodes 31DP and the plurality of sensing electrodes 33SP.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the display device is a laminated body in which a display panel 10 that is a liquid crystal panel and a touch panel 20 are bonded together by a single transparent adhesive layer, and includes a drive circuit that drives the touch panel 20. . A display surface 10S formed in a rectangular shape is partitioned on the surface of the display panel 10, and information such as an image based on image data from the outside is displayed on the display surface 10S. Note that the transparent adhesive layer may be omitted as long as the relative position between the display panel 10 and the touch panel 20 is fixed by another configuration such as a housing.

  The display panel 10 includes a color filter layer 15. In the color filter layer 15, the black matrix 15a is orthogonal to the first direction D1 defined by the drive electrode 31DP and the first direction D1, and is defined by the sensing electrode 33SP. It has a lattice shape composed of a plurality of unit lattices arranged along the two directions D2. In the region defined by each unit cell constituting the black matrix 15a, a red coloring layer 15R for displaying red, a green coloring layer 15G for displaying green, and a blue coloring layer 15B for displaying blue. Either is located.

In the color filter layer 15, for example, the plurality of red coloring layers 15R, the plurality of green coloring layers 15G, and the plurality of blue coloring layers 15B are arranged along the second direction D2.
One red colored layer 15R, one green colored layer 15G, and one blue colored layer 15B constitute one pixel 15P, and the plurality of pixels 15P includes the red colored layer 15R, green colored in the first direction D1. The layers 15G and the blue colored layer 15B are arranged along the first direction D1 while maintaining the order in which the layers are arranged. The width along the first direction D1 in each pixel 15P is the first pixel width WP1, the width along the second direction D2 is the second pixel width WP2, and the width along the first direction D1 in each colored layer. Is the third pixel width WP3. Each of the first pixel width WP1, the second pixel width WP2, and the third pixel width WP3 is set to a value according to the resolution of the display device.

  The touch panel 20 is a capacitive touch panel, and is a laminate in which the touch sensor electrode 21 and the cover layer 22 are bonded together by the transparent adhesive layer 23 (see also FIG. 2), and information displayed on the display panel 10. Transparent. The cover layer 22 is formed of a glass substrate, a resin film, or the like, and the surface of the cover layer 22 opposite to the transparent adhesive layer 23 functions as the operation surface 20S of the touch panel 20. The transparent adhesive layer 23 has a light-transmitting property that transmits an image displayed on the display surface 10S. For the transparent adhesive layer 23, for example, a polyether adhesive or an acrylic adhesive is used.

  The transparent substrate 31 constituting the touch sensor electrode 21 is superimposed on the entire display surface 10S formed on the display panel 10, and transmits an image formed on the display surface 10S. The transparent substrate 31 may be composed of a base material such as a transparent glass substrate or a transparent resin film, for example, and may have a single-layer structure composed of one base material, or two or more base materials may be stacked. A multilayer structure may also be used.

  The material for forming each drive electrode 31DP includes metal films such as copper and aluminum, metal oxide films such as zinc oxide, and indium such as indium tin oxide and indium gallium zinc oxide, tin, gallium, and zinc. A composite oxide film containing a metal oxide is used. In addition, as a material for forming each drive electrode 31DP, a conductive film such as a silver nanowire, a conductive polymer film, and a graphene film is also used.

Each of the drive electrodes 31DP is individually connected to a selection circuit and selected by the selection circuit by receiving a drive signal supplied from the selection circuit (see also FIG. 3).
The drive surface 31S and the plurality of drive electrodes 31DP are bonded to the transparent dielectric substrate 33 by one transparent adhesive layer 32. The transparent adhesive layer 32 has a light-transmitting property that transmits an image displayed on the display surface 10 </ b> S, and bonds the drive surface 31 </ b> S, the plurality of drive electrodes 31 </ b> DP, and the transparent dielectric substrate 33. For the transparent adhesive layer 32, for example, a polyether adhesive or an acrylic adhesive is used. The transparent adhesive layer 32 and the transparent dielectric substrate 33 constitute a dielectric base material, and a plurality of drive electrodes 31DP are formed on the back surface of the dielectric base material.

  For example, the transparent dielectric substrate 33 may be formed of a base material such as a transparent resin film such as polyethylene terephthalate or a transparent glass substrate, and may have a single-layer structure including a single base material. A multilayer structure in which the above base materials are stacked may be used. The transparent dielectric substrate 33 has a light transmissive property for transmitting an image displayed on the display surface 10S and a relative dielectric constant suitable for detecting a capacitance between the electrodes.

  The forming material of each sensing electrode 33SP is a metal film such as copper and aluminum, a metal oxide film such as zinc oxide, and indium and tin such as indium tin oxide and indium gallium zinc oxide, as in the drive electrode 31DP described above. A composite oxide film containing a metal oxide such as gallium and zinc is used. In addition, as a forming material of each sensing electrode 33SP, a conductive film such as a silver nanowire, a conductive polymer film, and a graphene film is also used.

  Each of the sensing electrodes 33SP is individually connected to a detection circuit, and the voltage for each sensing electrode 33SP is detected by the detection circuit. The touch sensor electrode 21, the selection circuit, and the detection circuit are examples of the touch sensor.

The surface of the transparent dielectric substrate 33 opposite to the transparent adhesive layer 32 is set as a sensing surface 33S, and the sensing surface 33S and the plurality of sensing electrodes 33SP are attached to the cover layer 22 by the transparent adhesive layer 23 described above. Are combined.
That is, as shown in FIG. 2, in the touch panel 20, the transparent substrate 31, the drive electrode 31DP, the transparent adhesive layer 32, the transparent dielectric substrate 33, the sensing electrode 33SP, and the transparent adhesive layer are sequentially arranged from the components close to the display panel 10. 23, the cover layer 22 is located. Among these, the transparent dielectric substrate 33 is sandwiched between a plurality of drive electrodes 31DP and a plurality of sensing electrodes 33SP.

  The transparent adhesive layer 32 is located between the drive electrode 31DP and the transparent dielectric substrate 33 so as to cover the periphery of the electrode line constituting the drive electrode 31DP and to fill in between adjacent electrode lines. Further, the transparent adhesive layer 23 is located between the sensing electrode 33SP and the cover layer 22 while covering the electrode lines constituting the sensing electrode 33SP and filling between adjacent electrode lines. In these components, at least one of the transparent adhesive layer 23 and the transparent substrate 31 may be omitted.

  In the display panel 10, a plurality of components constituting the display panel 10 are arranged in the following order from the components far from the touch panel 20. That is, the lower polarizing plate 11, the thin film transistor (hereinafter, TFT) substrate 12, the TFT layer 13, the liquid crystal layer 14, the color filter layer 15, the color filter substrate 16, and the upper polarizing plate 17 are arranged in order from the components far from the touch panel 20. positioned. Among these, in the TFT layer 13, the pixel electrodes constituting the sub-pixels are located in a matrix. In the color filter layer 15, the black matrix 15a defines a plurality of regions having a rectangular shape facing each of the sub-pixels, and each region defined by the black matrix 15a emits white light in red, green, and The above-described colored layer that changes to light of any blue color is located.

Note that the display panel 10 does not have to be a liquid crystal panel, and may be, for example, an organic EL panel.
In the configuration where the transparent adhesive layer 23 is omitted, the surface of the cover layer 22 facing the transparent dielectric substrate 33 is set as the sensing surface 33S, and one thin film formed on the sensing surface 33S is formed. A plurality of sensing electrodes 33SP may be formed by patterning.

  In manufacturing the touch panel 20, a method in which the touch sensor electrode 21 and the cover layer 22 are bonded together by the transparent adhesive layer 23 may be employed. As another example different from such a manufacturing method, The manufacturing method may be adopted. That is, a thin film layer made of a conductive metal such as copper is formed directly or via a base layer on the cover layer 22 such as a resin film, and a resist having a sensing electrode pattern shape on the thin film layer Form a layer. Next, the thin film layer is processed into a plurality of sensing electrodes 33SP by a wet etching method using ferric chloride or the like to obtain a first film. Similarly to the sensing electrode 33SP, a thin film layer formed on another resin film is processed into a plurality of drive electrodes 31DP to obtain a second film. And a 1st film and a 2nd film are affixed with a transparent adhesive layer with respect to the transparent dielectric substrate 33 so that the transparent dielectric substrate 33 may be pinched | interposed.

[Electrical configuration of touch panel]
The electrical configuration of the touch panel 20 will be described with reference to FIG. Hereinafter, as an example of the capacitive touch panel 20, an electrical configuration of the mutual capacitive touch panel 20 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 3, the touch panel 20 includes a selection circuit 34, a detection circuit 35, and a control unit 36. The selection circuit 34 can be connected to the plurality of drive electrodes 31DP, the detection circuit 35 can be connected to the plurality of sensing electrodes 33SP, and the control unit 36 includes the selection circuit 34 and the detection circuit 35. And connected to.

  The control unit 36 generates and outputs a start timing signal for causing the selection circuit 34 to start generating a drive signal for each drive electrode 31DP. The control unit 36 generates and outputs a scan timing signal for causing the selection circuit 34 to sequentially scan the target to which the drive signal is supplied from the first drive electrode 31DP toward the nth drive electrode 31DP.

  On the other hand, the control unit 36 generates and outputs a start timing signal for causing the detection circuit 35 to start detecting the current flowing through each sensing electrode 33SP. The control unit 36 generates and outputs a scanning timing signal for causing the detection circuit 35 to sequentially scan the detection target from the first sensing electrode 33SP toward the nth sensing electrode 33SP.

  The selection circuit 34 starts generating a drive signal based on the start timing signal output from the control unit 36, and sets the output destination of the drive signal to the first drive electrode based on the scanning timing signal output from the control unit 36. Scanning from 31DP1 toward the nth drive electrode 31DPn.

  The detection circuit 35 includes a signal acquisition unit 35a and a signal processing unit 35b. Based on the start timing signal output from the control unit 36, the signal acquisition unit 35a starts acquiring a current signal that is an analog signal generated in each sensing electrode 33SP. Then, the signal acquisition unit 35a scans the current signal acquisition source from the first sensing electrode 33SP1 to the nth sensing electrode 33SPn based on the scanning timing signal output from the control unit 36.

  The signal processing unit 35 b processes each current signal acquired by the signal acquisition unit 35 a to generate a voltage signal that is a digital value, and outputs the generated voltage signal to the control unit 36. As described above, the selection circuit 34 and the detection circuit 35 generate the voltage signal from the current signal that changes in accordance with the change in the capacitance, thereby changing the capacitance between the drive electrode 31DP and the sensing electrode 33SP. Is measuring. The selection circuit 34 and the detection circuit 35 are examples of peripheral circuits.

The control unit 36 detects a position touched by a user's finger or the like on the touch panel 20 based on the voltage signal output from the signal processing unit 35b.
The touch panel 20 is not limited to the above-described mutual capacitive touch panel 20, and may be a self capacitive touch panel.

  As shown in FIG. 1, on the drive surface 31S of the transparent substrate 31, a plurality of drive electrodes 31DP are arranged along the first direction D1, and each of the plurality of drive electrodes 31DP is in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction D1. It extends along D2. Each drive electrode 31DP is composed of a reference pattern 31RP, which will be described later, and is composed of a plurality of drive detectors 31DPa arranged along the second direction D2 and a reference pattern 31RP, and is adjacent to each other in the second direction D2. A drive connection unit 31DPb for connecting the drive detection unit 31DPa. In each drive electrode 31DP, each drive detection unit 31DPa has, for example, a hexagonal shape (referred to as “hexagonal” to be distinguished from a hexagon of a mesh pattern described later) as shown in FIG. The connection unit 31DPb has, for example, a rectangular shape sharing one side with each of the drive detection units 31DPa adjacent to each other in the second direction D2.

In the plurality of drive electrodes 31DP, the plurality of drive detection units 31DPa are arranged along the first direction D1, and the plurality of drive connection units 31DPb are arranged along the first direction D1. The drive detectors 31DPa that are adjacent to each other in the first direction D1 have one hexagonal apex facing each other, and the drive detectors 31DPa that are adjacent to each other in the first direction D1 are electrically connected to each other. It is lined up in a state that is not. Therefore, a drive gap 31DPc having a hexagonal shape is defined between the two drive electrodes 31DP adjacent to each other in the first direction D1 by the four drive detection portions 31DPa and the two drive connection portions 31DPb. The plurality of drive gaps 31DPc are arranged along the first direction D1.

  On the sensing surface 33S of the transparent dielectric substrate 33, a plurality of sensing electrodes 33SP are arranged along the second direction D2, and each of the plurality of sensing electrodes 33SP is along a first direction D1 orthogonal to the second direction D2. It extends. Each sensing electrode 33SP is composed of a reference pattern 33RP, which will be described later, and a plurality of sensing detectors 33SPa arranged along the first direction D1 and a reference pattern 33RP, and two adjacent to each other in the first direction D1. A sensing connection unit 33SPb for connecting the sensing detection unit 33SPa.

  In each sensing electrode 33SP, the sensing detection unit 33SPa has, for example, a hexagonal shape, and the sensing connection unit 33SPb has, for example, a rectangular shape sharing one side with each of the sensing detection units 33SPa adjacent to each other in the first direction D1. It has a shape. Each sensing detector 33SPa has the same shape and size as one drive gap 31DPc, and each sensing connection portion 33SPb has the same shape and size as one drive connection 31DPb.

  In the plurality of sensing electrodes 33SP, the plurality of sensing detection units 33SPa are arranged along the second direction D2, and the plurality of sensing connection units 33SPb are arranged along the second direction D2. The sensing detectors 33SPa adjacent to each other in the second direction D2 have one hexagonal apex facing each other, and the sensing detectors 33SPa adjacent to each other in the second direction D2 are electrically connected to each other. It is lined up in a state that is not. Therefore, a sensing gap 33SPc having a hexagonal shape is defined between the two sensing electrodes 33SP adjacent to each other in the second direction D2 by the four sensing detectors 33SPa and the two sensing connectors 33SPb. The plurality of sensing gaps 33SPc are arranged along the second direction D2. Each sensing gap 33SPc has the same shape and the same size as one drive detector 31DPa.

  In a plan view facing the transparent dielectric substrate 33, one drive connection portion 31DPb partially overlaps with one sensing connection portion 33SPb. Further, in plan view opposite to the transparent dielectric substrate 33, one drive detection unit 31DPa is located between the sensing electrodes 33SP adjacent to each other in the second direction D2, and is mutually in the first direction D1. It is located between two adjacent sensing detectors 33SPa.

  On the other hand, in a plan view facing the transparent dielectric substrate 33, one sensing detector 33SPa is located between the drive electrodes 31DP adjacent to each other in the first direction D1, and is mutually in the second direction D2. Is located between two drive detectors 31DPa adjacent to each other. That is, one drive detection unit 31DPa is located in one sensing gap 33SPc, and one sensing detection unit 33SPa is located in one drive gap 31DPc.

[Drive electrode]
The drive electrode will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a planar structure of a part (inside the broken line A in FIG. 1) in the arrangement of the drive electrodes 31DP.
The sensing electrode 33SP is different from the drive electrode 31DP only in that the direction of the reference pattern constituting the sensing electrode 33SP is the second direction D2, and the structure of the electrode wire constituting the sensing electrode 33SP is as follows. This is the same as the structure of the electrode wire constituting the drive electrode 31DP. Therefore, in the following, the configuration of the drive electrode 31DP will be described in detail, and the description of the configuration of the sensing electrode 33SP will be omitted.
Note that these electrodes can be used with their roles as a drive electrode and a sensing electrode interchanged.

  As described above, the drive detection unit 31DPa has a hexagonal shape and is a portion having the maximum width of the drive detection unit 31DPa, and a straight line passing through a portion sandwiched between two vertices is used as a target axis. It is composed of two symmetrical trapezoidal parts. In each trapezoidal portion, the width along the first direction D1 gradually decreases from the drive electrode width WDP1 which is the maximum width toward the drive connection width WDP2.

  As shown in FIG. 4, in the present invention, the electrode lines of the drive detection portion 31DPa of the drive electrode 31DP and the drive connection portion 31DPb are each composed of a mesh pattern in which hexagonal reference patterns 31RP are arranged in a honeycomb shape. These are continuous at the boundary between the drive detector 31DPa and the drive connector 31DPb.

  The advantages of the hexagonal reference pattern are as follows. First, as compared with a quadrangular shape having periodicity in only two directions as in the black matrix, the interference with the black matrix is reduced. In addition, in the triangular shape with an acute angle (90 ° or less), the line width of the corner portion becomes thick after the electrode etching and is likely to vary, but the hexagonal shape has an obtuse angle (90 ° or more). Such a phenomenon is less likely to occur. Furthermore, in the case of a heptagon or more, the so-called plane filling with the same shape cannot be performed, and there is a disadvantage that a quadrangle or an acute angle must be included in order to fill the plane.

The hexagonal shape of the present invention is not necessarily a regular hexagon. A so-called unequal hexagon may be used, but in the case of an unequal hexagon, the plane cannot be filled infinitely with the same shape. In the case of the present invention, an unequal hexagon may be used as long as it is a hexagon that can be plane-filled in each electrically connected drive electrode region.
In the following description, a regular hexagon will be described as an example unless otherwise specified.

  FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B show examples of the region B surrounded by the dotted line in FIG. In the present invention, in at least one of the drive electrode 31DP and the sensing electrode 33SP, at least one hexagon of the reference patterns 31RP and 33RP is formed from six sides having at least two types of line widths. As a result, the interference with the black matrix pattern is alleviated and moire is reduced.

  FIG. 5 shows an example in which a hexagon is formed with six sides having three types of line widths (thin, medium, and thick), and FIG. 5A shows two opposite sides having the same line width. As a more preferable form, in FIG. 5B, the arrangement of the three line widths has no periodicity and is a random arrangement. This further reduces the coherence with the black matrix pattern and reduces moire.

  Further, as another embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 6, adjacent drive electrodes 31DP can have different internal areas (sizes) of hexagons as reference patterns. Also by this, the coherence with the black matrix pattern is dispersed and relaxed, and moire is reduced.

Furthermore, the following are mentioned as another embodiment of this invention.
FIG. 7A shows a case where hexagons are arranged so that two opposite sides of the hexagon are parallel to the D2 direction, which is one direction of the black matrix arrangement, used in the previous drawings. However, in FIG. 7B, they have an inclination angle θ of 45 ° with respect to the D2 (D1) direction. In FIG. 7B, θ = 45 °, but it is not necessarily 45 °. By tilting at an arbitrary angle with respect to the arrangement direction of the black matrix according to the characteristics and use conditions of the display device, Further mitigates interference with the black matrix pattern.

  FIGS. 8A and 8B show still another embodiment, in which the lengths of two opposite sides of the hexagon are longer than the remaining four sides. In FIG. 8A, the long sides are arranged in parallel with the D2 direction, and in FIG. 8B, the long sides are arranged in parallel with the D1 direction. Although FIG. 8 shows the case where the two opposing sides are longer than the remaining four sides, the same applies to the case where the two opposing sides are shorter than the remaining four sides (illustration is omitted).

  In the present invention, the hexagon that is the reference pattern can be used in combination with the above-described changes in line width, area (size), inclination, and side length. Thereby, depending on the characteristics and use conditions of the display device, the interference with the black matrix pattern can be relaxed in various ways with respect to the arrangement direction of the black matrix, and moire can be reduced.

[Touch sensor electrodes]
The touch sensor electrode 21 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a part of a planar structure viewed from the direction in which the drive electrode 31DP and the sensing electrode 33SP are stacked. The hexagonal mesh pattern constituting the drive electrode 31DP and the sensing electrode 33SP are configured. The arrangement of hexagonal mesh patterns is shown. Since the reference numerals in FIG. 9 are the reference numerals of the drive electrodes 31DP in FIG. 4, only the reference numerals of the sensing electrodes 33SP are shown.

  As can be seen from FIG. 9, the drive connection portion 31DPb of the drive electrode 31DP and the sensing connection portion 33SPb of the sensing electrode 33SP partially overlap in a plan view facing the transparent dielectric substrate 33.

On the other hand, the sensing detector 33SPa of the sensing electrode 33SP is located in the drive gap 31DPc in a plan view facing the transparent dielectric substrate 33. Therefore, the drive detection unit 31DPa of the drive electrode 31DP and the sensing detection unit 33SPa of the sensing electrode 33SP do not overlap each other in plan view facing the transparent dielectric substrate 33.
For convenience of illustration, the hexagonal mesh pattern constituting the drive electrode 31DP and the hexagonal mesh pattern constituting the sensing electrode 33SP appear to be continuous, but they are separated from each other. Needless to say.

[Operation of touch sensor electrode]
The operation of the touch sensor electrode will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 10, the illustration of the transparent substrate 31 on which the drive electrode 31DP is located is omitted for convenience of explanation.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the selection circuit 34 outputs a drive signal to the drive electrode 31DP. Then, for example, between the drive detection unit 31DPa and the sensing detection unit 33SPa adjacent to each other in the first direction D1 in a plan view facing the transparent dielectric substrate 33, the drive detection unit 31DPa is configured. An electric field EF is formed between one electrode line and one electrode line constituting the sensing detector 33SPa. At this time, since the drive detection unit 31DPa and the sensing detection unit 33SPa do not overlap each other in a plan view facing the transparent dielectric substrate 33, the electric field EF is generated from the electrode line of the drive detection unit 31DPa by the sensing detection unit 33SPa. It extends diagonally toward the electrode wire. Therefore, the distance of the electric field EF formed between the two electrode lines is increased.

When a person's finger F approaches the touch sensor electrode 21, the electric field EF touching the finger F is discharged through the human body, so that the capacitance formed between the drive electrode 31DP and the sensing electrode 33SP is large. Changes. As described above, the electric field EF is generated by the drive detector 31DP.
The electric field EF is easily affected by the human finger F because it extends obliquely from the electrode line a toward the electrode line of the sensing detector 33SPa. Therefore, the touch sensor electrode 21 is highly sensitive to contact with a human finger F. As a result, the position where the person's finger F is in contact can be detected with high sensitivity.

[Other variations]
As shown in FIG. 11, the transparent substrate 31 and the transparent adhesive layer 32 may be omitted from the touch sensor electrode 21 constituting the touch panel 20. In such a configuration, one surface facing the display panel 10 among the surfaces of the transparent dielectric substrate 33 is set as the drive surface 31S, and the drive electrode 31DP may be positioned on the drive surface 31S. And the sensing electrode 33SP should just be located in the surface which opposes the drive surface 31S in the transparent dielectric substrate 33. FIG.

In such a configuration, the drive electrode 31DP is formed by patterning one thin film formed on the drive surface 31S, for example.
As shown in FIG. 12, in the touch panel 20, the drive electrode 31DP, the transparent substrate 31, the transparent adhesive layer 32, the transparent dielectric substrate 33, the sensing electrode 33SP, the transparent adhesive layer 23, in order from the components close to the display panel 10, A cover layer 22 may be located.

  In such a configuration, for example, the drive electrode 31DP is formed on the drive surface 31S that is one surface of the transparent substrate 31, and the sensing electrode 33SP is formed on the sensing surface 33S that is one surface of the transparent dielectric substrate 33. Is done. Then, the surface of the transparent substrate 31 facing the drive surface 31S and the surface of the transparent dielectric substrate 33 corresponding to the sensing surface 33S are bonded by the transparent adhesive layer 32.

  The touch panel 20 and the display panel 10 may not be formed separately, and the touch panel 20 may be formed integrally with the display panel 10. In such a configuration, for example, among the touch sensor electrodes 21, a plurality of drive electrodes 31DP are positioned on the TFT layer 13, while a plurality of sensing electrodes 33SP are positioned between the color filter substrate 16 and the upper polarizing plate 17. It can be configured as a mold. Alternatively, an on-cell configuration in which the touch sensor electrode 21 is located between the color filter substrate 16 and the upper polarizing plate 17 may be employed.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Display panel, 10S ... Display surface, 11 ... Lower polarizing plate, 12 ... Thin-film transistor substrate, 13 ... TFT layer, 14 ... Liquid crystal layer, 15 ... Color filter layer, 15a ... Black matrix, 15B ... Blue coloring layer, 15G ... green colored layer, 15P ... pixel, 15R ... red colored layer, 16 ... color filter substrate, 17 ... upper polarizing plate, 20 ... touch panel, 20S ... operation surface, 21 ... touch sensor electrode, 22 ... cover layer, 23 ... Transparent adhesive layer, 31 transparent substrate, 31DP, 31DP1, 31DPn ... drive electrode, 31DPa ... drive detector, 31DPb ... drive connection, 31DPc ... drive gap, 31RP, 33RP ... reference pattern, 31S ... drive surface, 32 ... transparent adhesive Layer 33 ... Transparent dielectric substrate 33S ... Sensing surface 33SP, 33SP1, 33SPn ... Sing electrode, 33SPa ... sensing detector, 33SPb ... sensing connection portion, 33SPc ... sensing gap, 34 ... selection circuit, 35 ... detecting circuit, 35a ... signal acquisition unit, 35b ... signal processing unit, 36 ... control unit

Claims (6)

A plurality of drive electrodes arranged along a first direction, each of the plurality of drive electrodes extending along a second direction orthogonal to the first direction;
A plurality of sensing electrodes arranged along the second direction, each of the plurality of sensing electrodes extending along the first direction;
A plurality of the drive electrodes, and a transparent dielectric substrate sandwiched between the plurality of sensing electrodes,
Each of the plurality of drive electrodes and the plurality of sensing electrodes includes a mesh pattern in which hexagonal reference patterns are arranged in a honeycomb shape,
The hexagonal shape of at least one of the plurality of drive electrodes and the plurality of sensing electrodes is formed by six sides having two or more different line widths. The touch sensor electrode according to claim 1, wherein the arrangement of two or more line widths of the six sides forming the hexagon has no periodicity. At least one of the plurality of drive electrodes arranged along the first direction and the plurality of sensing electrodes arranged along the second direction is an electrode having adjacent hexagonal areas that are adjacent to each other. The touch sensor electrode according to claim 1, comprising: The drive electrode is
A plurality of first detectors including the reference pattern and arranged along the second direction;
A first connection part configured by the reference pattern and connecting the two first detection parts adjacent to each other in the second direction,
The sensing electrode is
A plurality of second detectors including the reference pattern and arranged along the first direction;
A second connection part configured by the reference pattern and connecting the two second detection parts adjacent to each other in the first direction,
In plan view, the center of the first connection portion coincides with the center of the second connection portion,
The first detection unit is positioned between the sensing electrodes adjacent to each other in the second direction, and is positioned between the two second detection units adjacent to each other in the first direction. The touch sensor electrode according to claim 1, wherein the touch sensor electrode is a touch sensor. A touch sensor electrode comprising: a plurality of drive electrodes; a plurality of sensing electrodes; and a transparent dielectric substrate sandwiched between the plurality of drive electrodes and the plurality of sensing electrodes;
A cover layer covering the touch sensor electrode;
5. A peripheral circuit that measures electrostatic capacitance between the drive electrode and the sensing electrode, and the touch sensor electrode is the touch sensor electrode according to claim 1. A touch panel characterized by that. A display panel having a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix along the first direction and the second direction, and displaying information using the pixels;
A drive circuit for driving the touch panel;
The touch panel that transmits the information displayed on the display panel, and
The display device according to claim 5, wherein the touch panel is a touch panel according to claim 5.

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