JP3220138U - Capacitive touch sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

A capacitive touch sensor is provided. The capacitive touch sensor includes a substrate, a first sensing layer, and a second sensing layer. The first sensing layer of conductive material has a plurality of first sensing series that are not overlapped and arranged along the first axial direction, and adjacent first sensing series are insulated from each other by a first gap. Yes. The second sensing layer of conductive material has a plurality of non-overlapping stitches 41 formed of conductive material disposed along the second axial direction. Adjacent stitches are insulated from each other by a second gap 42, and the plurality of stitches together form a second sensing series 48. The second sensing series includes a sensing unit 48a and a non-sensing unit 48b. The sensing unit is electrically connected in series with one or more stitches by jumper 43, and the stitches of the non-sensing unit are connected to ground line 46. [Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a capacitive touch sensor, and more particularly to a transparent capacitive touch sensor structure that can improve optical characteristics and provide an electromagnetic shielding effect.

  A conventional capacitive touch sensor structure includes an X-axis sensing layer and a Y-axis sensing layer. The X and Y axis sensing layers are provided on two surfaces of the insulated substrate, and desired electrode patterns are disposed on the X and Y axis sensing layers. For example, a plurality of X-axis sensing series and Y-axis sensing series are each grounded and connected to the control circuit while maintaining a gap of an appropriate width from each other in order to ensure insulation. In operation, a capacitive effect is generated by the user's finger or conductor contact, and the position of the finger or conductor is determined by the change in capacitance value. In the touch sensor structure described above, the gap between adjacent sensing series is widened to ensure insulation between each sensing series. However, if the gap is widened, the capacitive touch sensor is more susceptible to external electromagnetic interference (EMI) or wire interference (RFI) during use and may cause false signals. When interference is severe, the entire touch sensor may not be used. Furthermore, the conductive material forming the sensing series has a light transmittance different from that of the hollow region of the gap. Therefore, if a capacitive touch sensor with a wide gap is arranged on the display frame surface, the conductive material on the display screen is caused by interference or diffraction. If the image is blurred or distorted and interference ripples are generated (moire), the display quality of the image will be seriously affected.

An object of the present invention is to provide a new capacitive touch sensor structure. The electromagnetic shielding layer is formed on the side facing the electromagnetic interference source in order to eliminate the interference of EMI and RFI without increasing the manufacturing process and without increasing the cost. In order to avoid interference of light, the uniformity of the refractive index of light can be improved. At the same time, the touch signal sensing rate of the sensing series can be adjusted to meet customized requirements without changing the electrode pattern design of the sensing layer. In order to achieve the above object, a capacitive touch sensor structure provided by the present invention includes a transparent substrate, a transparent first sensing layer, and a transparent second sensing layer.
The first sensing layer and the second sensing layer are respectively disposed on opposite surfaces of the two side surfaces of the substrate. According to this, the two sensing layers are insulated from each other and installed separately. The first sensing layer has a plurality of first sensing series arranged so as not to overlap along the first axial direction, and the adjacent first sensing series is formed by the first gap from which the conductive material is removed. Insulated from each other. The first overlap point is electrically connected to the first communication contact through the first signal transmission line, is formed of a conductive material that does not overlap the second sensing layer, and is disposed along the second axial direction. Have multiple stitches. Adjacent stitches are insulated from each other by a second gap from which the conductive material has been removed. Here, the plurality of stitches together form a second sensing series, the second sensing series including a sensing unit and a non-sensing unit. The sensing unit electrically connects one or more stitches by a jumper, and the jumper connects to the second communication contact via a second signal transmission line. The stitches of the non-sensing unit are connected to the ground line. The plurality of first sensing series and the plurality of second sensing series are insulated from each other and arranged orthogonal to the opposite side of the substrate. Thereby, a touch capacitance sensing structure is formed. The touch capacitance sensing signal acquired by the first sensing layer and the second sensing layer is transmitted to the next signal processing circuit through the first communication contact and the second communication contact. Since the width of the second gap is smaller than the width of the first gap and the second sensing layer has a small gap, EMI shielding performance can be provided and the refractive index uniformity of light can be improved. In addition, the second sensing layer of the present invention can adjust the touch signal sensing rate of the second sensing series by adjusting the number of stitches in the electrical connection of the jumper to meet customized needs. In addition, it is not necessary to change the electrode pattern design of the sensing layer. In one embodiment, the stitches on the second sensing layer form a second sensing series with one or more electrical connections in series with jumpers, but no further stitches are connected to the ground wire. . In one embodiment, the method includes providing a cover plate 30 on the first sensing layer and providing a coating layer on the second sensing layer, whereby circuitry on the touch sensor is damaged by external forces. Protected from. A color frame made of an insulating material is provided on the peripheral edge of the cover plate plate, and the frame-shaped shielding area is limited to the periphery of the cover plate plate and the visible area is limited to the center via the color frame. The first sensing series and the second sensing series are formed in the visible region, and the first overlap point, the first signal transmission line, the first communication contact, and the jumper, the second signal transmission line, and the second communication contact are All are arranged in the area of the shielding area. The two longitudinal edges of the second gap have a symmetric or asymmetric ridgeline type, the ridgeline type being selected from continuously extending straight lines, wavy curves, zigzag lines, normal lines or irregular lines. However, the embodiment is not limited to the above line pattern. Preferably, the width of the second gap is 100 μm or less, more preferably the width of the second gap is 25 μm or less. The first sensing layer and the second sensing layer are light-transmitting conductive thin layers, and the material thereof is selected from transparent materials such as metal oxide films and graphene films. Here, the material of the metal oxide film is selected from indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), zinc aluminum oxide (AZO), or antimony tin oxide (ATO). However, the scope of implementation is not limited to the above materials. Here, the substrate, the cover plate plate, and the coating layer are formed of an insulating material having a high light transmittance, and the materials are various glass, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polycarbonate (PC) polyester (PET), and cycloolefin. A polymer (COC), a cyclic olefin polymer (COP), etc. are mentioned. However, the scope of implementation is not limited to the above materials. Further, a functional thin layer is provided on the surface of the cover plate plate, and the functional thin layer is one or more of an anti-fingerprint thin film, an atomization thin film, a hard coating thin film, a polarizing thin film, or a retardation thin film. It is selected from a part or all of the group consisting of the layers. However, it is not limited to the functional thin layer. In the following, other functions and technical features of the present invention will be clarified and can be realized by those skilled in the art after reading the description of the present invention.

  The present invention can improve the visibility of the entire transparent touch sensor. It also greatly simplifies the process of product design changes, increases the flexibility of production and sales operations, saves manufacturing costs and increases competitiveness.

It is a schematic diagram of the touch sensor laminated structure of 1st Embodiment. It is a top view of the 1st sensing layer of a 1st embodiment. It is a top view of the 2nd sensing layer of a 1st embodiment. FIG. 3 is a plan view of each lamination combination of the first embodiment. It is a top view of the 2nd sensing layer of a 2nd embodiment, and the edge part line pattern of the 2nd gap is set up zigzag. It is a top view of the 2nd sensing layer of a 3rd embodiment, and explains as what sets the ridgeline shape of the 2nd gap to a wavy curve. FIG. 10 is a plan view of the second sensing layer of the fourth embodiment, illustrating another electrical series connection to the stitch trace of the second sensing string. It is a schematic diagram of the touch sensor laminated structure of 5th Embodiment. It is a top view of the cover plate plate of 5th Embodiment. It is a top view of the lamination | stacking combination of 5th Embodiment. It is a schematic diagram of the touch sensor laminated structure of 6th Embodiment.

  A capacitive touch sensor according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 and mainly includes a substrate 10, a first sensing layer 20, and a second sensing. Layer 40. Here, the substrate 10 is formed of an insulating material having a high light transmittance such as glass, and the substrate 10 has a first flat main surface 11 and a second main surface 12 which are wide and flat. Is disposed on the surface opposite to the first main surface 11 across the substrate 10.

  The first sensing layer 20 is made of a highly transmissive conductive material such as an ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) film. Referring to FIG. 2, in the present embodiment, the first sensing layer 20 is the substrate 10. X-axis sensing layer disposed on the first major surface 11 of the first sensing surface 21 includes a plurality of rows of first sensing series 21 that do not overlap along the X-axis (that is, the X-axis sensing series). Each first sensing series 21 is composed of a plurality of rhomboidal first capacitance sensing units 21a arranged in a line along the first direction (X-axis direction). The conductive material between the columns of each first sensing series 21 is removed to form a first gap 22, adjacent first sensing series 21 are insulated from each other by the first gap 22, and A first overlap point 21 b is provided at one end, and the first overlap point 21 b is electrically connected to the first communication contact 25 via the first signal transmission line 24.

  The second sensing layer 40 is made of a highly transmissive conductive material such as an ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) film. Referring to FIG. 3, in the present embodiment, the second sensing layer 40 is the substrate 10. The second sensing layer 40 is provided with a plurality of stitches 41 made of conductive materials that do not overlap with each other along the Y-axis direction. Adjacent stitches 41 are insulated from each other by a second gap 42 from which the conductive material has been removed. In this embodiment, the second sensing series 48 is formed by three stitches 41, and the second sensing series 48 includes a sensing unit 48a and a non-sensing unit 48b. In the present embodiment, the second sensing series 48 is formed by three stitches 41, and the second sensing series 48 includes a sensing unit 48a and a non-sensing unit 48b. The sensing unit 48a electrically connects two stitches 41 spaced apart by the jumper 43, and the jumper 43 is electrically connected to the second communication contact 45 via the second signal transmission line 44. The stitch 41 of the non-sensing unit 48b is electrically connected to the ground line 46.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the first sensing series 21 and the second sensing series 48 are insulated from each other, and are disposed orthogonal to the opposite surfaces on both sides of the substrate 10. Accordingly, a touch capacitance sensing structure can be formed at the intersection of the two sensing series 21 and 48. The sensing signal captured by the touch capacitive sensing structure between the first sensing layer 20 and the second sensing layer 40 is electrically connected to the second communication contact 45 via the first communication contact 25. .

  The width of the second gap 42 is preferably formed smaller than the width of the first gap 22, and the installation width of the second gap 42 is a condition that insulation between adjacent stitches 41 can be secured. Reduce the size as much as possible. For example, in order to provide an EMI shielding effect, the hollow area of the second sensing layer 40 is reduced so that the width is less than 100 μm. At the same time, by reducing the ratio of the hollow region, the uniformity of the refractive index of the second sensing layer 40 can be increased, and the visibility of the entire transparent touch sensor can be improved.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in the present embodiment, the ridge line types of the two vertical edges of the second gap 42 are symmetrical continuous extension straight lines. However, normally, the transparent touch sensor is disposed in front of the liquid crystal screen, and the interference light (moire) of the passing light may affect the display quality of the screen due to the linear ridge line of the second gap 42. Therefore, in order to avoid the optical interference phenomenon, it is also possible to arrange the ridge line of the edge of the second gap 42 in a zigzag ridge line (see the second embodiment, FIG. 5) or a wavy curve (see FIG. The third embodiment shown in FIG. 6) or other regular or irregular continuous extension lines, which can eliminate or reduce the problem of optical interference.

In addition, according to the structural feature of the second sensing layer of the present invention, the touch sensor designer can increase or decrease the number of stitches 41 electrically connected to the jumper 43 to increase the touch of the second sensing series 48. The signal detection rate can be adjusted. For example, in the present embodiment, the second sensing series 48 formed jointly by the three stitches 41 is electrically connected in series with the two stitches 41 (shown in FIG. 3) by the jumper 43. However, when the jumper 43 electrically connects the three stitches 41 in series (fourth embodiment as shown in FIG. 7), the touch signal sensing rate of the second sensing series 48 can be improved.
In the electrical series connection as described above, it can be seen that none of the three stitches is connected to the ground line 46. On the other hand, if the jumper 43 is electrically connected in series only to one stitch 41, the touch signal sensing rate of the second sensing series 48 can be reduced. Similarly, according to the electrical series connection described above, the remaining two stitches among the three stitches are electrically connected to the ground line 46. In contrast, in the present embodiment, the second sensing series 48 includes three stitches 41, but the present invention is not limited to this. The second sensing series 48 may be formed by more or fewer stitches 41. In addition, the width of the stitches 41 of the second sensing layer 40 can be smaller and thinner, and each second sensing series 48 can include more stitches 41, and the second sensing series 48 can be adjusted. It is more advantageous for. In short, the second sensing layer structure of the present invention can adjust the touch signal sensing rate of the second sensing series 48 by adjusting the number of stitches 41 electrically connected to the jumper 43. Therefore, there is no need to change the electrode pattern design of the sensing layer, it can meet the customization needs, greatly simplify the process of product design change, increase the flexibility of production and sales operations, and save the manufacturing cost To increase competitiveness.

  FIG. 8 illustrates a structure of a touch sensor according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention, and includes a substrate 10, a first sensing layer 20, a cover plate 30, a second sensing layer 40, and a coating layer 50. Including mainly.

  Here, the substrate 10 is formed of an insulating material having a high light transmittance such as glass, and the substrate 10 has a widened flat first main surface 11 and second main surface 12, and a second main surface. The surface 12 is disposed on the surface opposite to the first main surface 11 across the substrate 10.

  The first sensing layer 20 is made of a highly transmissive conductive material such as an ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) film. As shown in FIG. 2, the first sensing layer 20 in the present embodiment is a substrate 10. The X-axis sensing layer disposed on the first main surface 11 includes a plurality of first sensing series 21 (ie, X-axis sensing series) disposed along one axis without overlapping. The first sensing series 21 is composed of a plurality of rhombic first capacitance sensing units 21a arranged in a line along a first direction (X-axis direction). The conductive material between the columns of each first sensing series 21 is removed to form a first gap 22, and adjacent first sensing series 21 are insulated from each other by the first gap 22. A first overlap point 21 b is provided at one end of each row of the first sensing series 21, and the first overlap point 21 b is electrically connected to the first communication contact 25 via the first signal transmission line 24. .

  Referring to FIG. 9, the cover plate 30 is formed of an insulating material having high transmittance and excellent mechanical strength, such as glass assembled to the first sensing layer 20. A color frame 31 made of an insulating material is disposed on the peripheral edge of the surface of the cover plate 30. The cover plate 30 is formed of a frame-shaped shielding region 31a in the periphery and visible in the center of the cover plate 30 by the color frame 31. Region 31b is limited.

  The second sensing layer 40 is made of a highly transmissive conductive material such as an ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) film. As shown in FIG. 3, the second sensing layer 40 in the present embodiment is a Y-axis sensing layer disposed on the first major surface 12 of the substrate 10. The second sensing layer 40 is provided with a plurality of stitches 41 made of a conductive material that does not overlap along the Y-axis direction. Adjacent stitches 41 are insulated from each other by a second gap 42 from which the conductive material has been removed. In this embodiment, a second sensing series 48 is formed by three stitches 41. In the second sensing series 48, three adjacent stitches 41 are electrically connected in series by a jumper 43, and the jumper 43 is electrically connected to the second communication contact 45 through the second signal transmission line 44.

  The coating layer 50 is formed of an insulating material having a high light transmittance such as a polyester thin film, and is disposed in combination with the second sensing layer 40 in order to protect the circuit of the sensing layer.

  Further, the cover plate 30 and the coating layer 50 can be bonded to the sensing layers 20 and 40 by a solid optical adhesive thin film (OCA) or a liquid optical resin (OCR) having high light transmittance and insulation. Thereby, each component is integrated, each component is insulated simultaneously, and it installs separately. As shown in FIG. 10, after the combination, the first sensing series 21 and the second sensing series 48 are formed in the visible region 31b. In the area of the shielding area 31a, the first overlap point 21b, the first signal transmission line 24, the first communication contact 25, the jumper 43, the second signal transmission line 44, the second communication contact 45, Are all arranged. Therefore, the appearance of the entire transparent touch sensor is not affected.

The first sensing series 21 and the second sensing series 48 of the present embodiment are insulated from each other and arranged orthogonal to the opposing surfaces on both sides of the substrate 10 as in the first embodiment described above. The width of the second gap 42 is smaller than the width of the first gap 22, the width of the second gap 42 is 100 μm or less, and the second sensing layer 40 provides EMI shielding performance and improves the refractive index uniformity of light. Can be made. The two longitudinal edges of the second gap 42 have a symmetric or asymmetric ridge type, and in addition to a linear pattern extending continuously, a wavy curve, zigzag line, regular line or irregular It may be a line.
This is to reduce the problem of optical interference. The second sensing layer structure can adjust the touch signal sensing rate of the second sensing series 48 by adjusting the number of stitches 41 electrically connected to the jumper 43, greatly simplifying the product design change process. Can meet your customization needs quickly.

  Furthermore, the functional thin layer 36 may be disposed on the surface of the cover plate 30 (sixth embodiment shown in FIG. 11). The functional thin layer 36 is an anti-fingerprint thin film, an atomized thin film, or a hard coating thin film to prevent surface contamination, reduce the reflectance of the touch panel surface, or improve the hardness and scratch resistance of the panel surface. obtain. The functional thin film 30 may be a thin film having a dimming function. For example, as the light control thin film, one or a combination of two or more thin films such as a polarizing film, a retardation film, and an optically isotropic film is used. This is to improve the visibility of the transparent touch sensor.

10 substrate 11 first main surface 12 second main surface 20 first sensing layer 21 first sensing series 21a first capacitance sensing unit 21b first overlap point 22 first gap 24 first signal transmission line 25 first communication contact 30 Cover plate 31 Color frame 31a Shielding area 31b Visible area 36 Functional thin layer 40 Second sensing layer 41 Stitch 42 Second gap 43 Jumper 44 Second signal transmission line 45 Second communication contact 46 Ground line 48 Second sensing series 48a sensing Unit 48b non-sensing unit 50 coating layer

Claims (11)

A type of capacitive touch sensor, which includes a substrate, a first sensing layer, and a second sensing layer,
The substrate is formed of an insulating material having high light transmittance, and has a first main surface and a second main surface,
The first sensing layer is made of a highly transparent conductive material, and is disposed on the first main surface of the substrate. The plurality of first sensing layers are arranged along the first axial direction without overlapping the first sensing layer. The first sensing series adjacent to each other are insulated from each other by a first gap from which conductive material is removed, and a first overlap point is provided at one end of the first sensing series, The first overlap point is electrically connected to the first communication contact via the first signal transmission line,
The second sensing layer is made of a high light transmittance conductive material, and is disposed on the second main surface of the substrate. The second sensing layer is formed of a non-overlapping conductive material disposed along the second axis direction. A plurality of stitches formed, and adjacent stitches are insulated from each other by a second gap from which conductive material has been removed, and the plurality of stitches together form a second sensing series; The two-sensing series includes a sensing unit and a non-sensing unit, and the sensing unit is formed by electrically connecting one or more of the stitches by a jumper, and the jumper includes a second signal transmission line. And the stitches of the non-sensing unit are connected to a ground line, wherein a plurality of the first sensing series and a plurality of the second sensing series are connected. Are disposed so as to be orthogonal to each other on both surfaces of the substrate, and the width of the second gap is smaller than the width of the first gap.   The two longitudinal edges of the second gap have a symmetric or asymmetric ridge type, the ridge type being a continuously extending straight line, wavy curve, zigzag line, regular line or irregular line. The capacitive touch sensor according to claim 1, wherein the capacitive touch sensor is selected from the following.   The capacitive touch sensor as set forth in claim 1, wherein a width of the second gap is 100 μm or less. A type of capacitive touch sensor, which includes a substrate, a first sensing layer, a cover plate, a second sensing layer, and a coating layer,
The substrate is formed of an insulating material having high light transmittance, and has a first main surface and a second main surface,
The first sensing layer is made of a highly transparent conductive material, and is disposed on the first main surface of the substrate. The plurality of first sensing layers are arranged along the first axial direction without overlapping the first sensing layer. The first sensing series adjacent to each other are insulated from each other by a first gap from which conductive material is removed, and a first overlap point is provided at one end of the first sensing series, The first overlap point is electrically connected to the first communication contact via the first signal transmission line,
The cover plate is formed of an insulating material having a high transmittance and is assembled to the first sensing layer. A color frame made of an insulating material is disposed on a peripheral portion of the cover plate. The plate has a frame-shaped shielding area at the periphery and a visible area at the center.
The second sensing layer is made of a high light transmittance conductive material, and is disposed on the second main surface of the substrate. The second sensing layer is formed of a non-overlapping conductive material disposed along the second axis direction. A plurality of stitches formed, adjacent said stitches are insulated from each other by a second gap from which conductive material has been removed, and one or more said stitches are electrically connected in series by a jumper Forming a second sensing series, wherein the jumper is connected to the second communication contact via a second signal transmission line;
The coating layer is formed of an insulating material having a high light transmittance, and is disposed in combination with the second sensing layer. The plurality of first sensing series and the plurality of second sensing series are two sides of the substrate. The capacitive touch sensor is disposed perpendicular to each other, and the width of the second gap is smaller than the width of the first gap.   The two longitudinal edges of the second gap have a symmetric or asymmetric ridge type, the ridge type being a continuously extending straight line, wavy curve, zigzag line, regular line or irregular line. The capacitive touch sensor according to claim 4, wherein the capacitive touch sensor is selected from the following.   The capacitive touch sensor as set forth in claim 4, wherein a width of the second gap is 100 μm or less.   The first sensing series and the second sensing series are formed in the region of the visible region, the first overlap point, the first signal transmission line, the first communication contact, the jumper, 5. The capacitive touch sensor according to claim 4, wherein the second signal transmission line and the second communication contact are both arranged in the area of the shielding area. 6.   The capacitive touch sensor as set forth in claim 4, wherein the high-permeability conductive films of the first sensing layer and the second sensing layer are selected from a metal oxide film or a graphene film.   9. The capacitance type of claim 8, wherein the material of the metal oxide film is selected from any of indium tin oxide, indium zinc oxide, zinc aluminum oxide, and antimony tin oxide. Touch sensor.   The high light transmittance insulating material of the substrate, the cover plate, and the coating layer is selected from glass, polymethyl methacrylate, polycarbonate, polyester, cycloolefin copolymer, or cycloolefin polymer. The capacitive touch sensor according to claim 4.   A functional thin layer is provided on the surface of the cover plate, and the functional thin layer is composed of one or more layers of an anti-fingerprint thin film, an atomization thin film, a hard coating thin film, a polarizing thin film, or a retardation thin film. The capacitive touch sensor according to claim 4, comprising part or all of the functional thin layer.

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