KR101009925B1 - One-layer touch panel sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

The touch panel sensor for sensing a contact position of a part of a body includes a substrate, a plurality of electrode sensors including a plurality of resistance electrodes arranged side by side in the x-axis direction on the substrate, and a controller electrically connected to the resistance electrode. At least one of the plurality of resistance electrodes may be provided to have a different length with respect to the y-axis direction, such that the controller may detect the x and y-axis positions of the portion in contact with the body part on the substrate from the resistance electrode in contact with the body.

Resistance electrode, electrode sensor, control unit and touch screen

Description

Single Layer Touch Panel Sensor {ONE-LAYER TOUCH PANEL SENSOR}

The present invention relates to a touch panel sensor, and more particularly, to a touch panel sensor capable of accurately detecting a touch position of a finger on a flat plate.

1 is a plan view illustrating an ITO thin film in a conventional capacitive touch screen, and FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating a conventional capacitive touch screen operating mechanism.

Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional touch screen electrically detects a contact of a finger. A finger is a kind of conductor through which electricity can collect, and when a finger comes close to an electrode, an electric charge can be collected between the electrode and the finger. As the charge is collected, it becomes possible to measure the capacitance or capacitance between the finger and the electrode, which can be used to indirectly detect the touch of the finger.

In addition, since the touch screen should not obstruct the rear liquid crystal monitor or other display, the electrode of the touch screen may be formed of a transparent transparent electrode material, for example, indium tin oxide (ITO) or the like while electricity flows.

1A illustrates a transparent electrode pattern oriented in the vertical direction (y-axis direction). The vertically oriented transparent electrode patterns are formed on the transparent film 11 provided by a material such as a transparent plastic sheet or glass, and the transparent electrode patterns are formed at uniform intervals of the first node pattern 12 and the first node pattern ( It is formed by the 1st connection pattern 13 which connects 12 vertically.

In addition, in FIG. 1B, a transparent electrode pattern oriented in the horizontal direction (x-axis direction) is illustrated, and a transparent electrode pattern oriented horizontally on the transparent film 14 is also formed, and the transparent electrode pattern is formed. Is formed of a second node pattern 15 and a second connection pattern 16 which horizontally connect the second node pattern 15 formed at even intervals.

In general, a conventional touch screen can be formed by adhering the ITO transparent sheet of (a) and the ITO transparent sheet of (b) up and down. The structure in which the two transparent sheets are bonded is shown in FIG.

As shown in the drawing, the second node pattern 15 in the horizontal direction and the first node pattern 12 in the vertical direction are staggered with each other, and the fine connection patterns connecting the respective electrodes have a structure 18 that vertically crosses each other. . These connection patterns are separated by a transparent sheet or the like.

According to the touch screen structure shown in FIG. 1C, signal strengths of the transparent electrode patterns oriented vertically and horizontally vary according to the touched position, and horizontal and vertical coordinates can be calculated according to the signal strengths. .

Hereinafter, a method of calculating the position where the finger touches the touch screen will be described.

As shown in FIG. 2, the position of the point 22 where the finger touches the touch screen 21 is determined by the signal intensity of each of the horizontal and vertically oriented transparent electrode patterns which are changed by the contact of the finger with the touch screen 21. 23 and 24 are measured to determine the horizontal and vertical coordinates, and then calculated as the intersections 25 in the horizontal and vertical coordinate directions.

However, the signals of the horizontally and vertically oriented transparent electrode patterns, which actually change in contact with the finger, are not represented by a single pulse, but a plurality of signals are generally used. It selects the horizontal and vertical coordinates as a pulse value to have, and determines the position of the point 22 where the finger is in contact based on this.

Meanwhile, in the method of calculating the position of the point 22 where the finger 22 is touched on the touch screen 21 in the manner as described above, the touch is performed using the signal values of the transparent electrode patterns oriented in the horizontal and vertical directions. Since the position of the point 22 where the finger is touched on the screen 21 is calculated, two transparent films 11 and 14 are required.

As a result, the raw material costs increase due to excessive use of the transparent films 11 and 14, and the transparent electrode patterns oriented in the horizontal and vertical directions are formed on the different transparent films 11 and 14, respectively, to form the transparent electrode patterns. The process time is long, and in the case of adding the transparent electrode pattern forming equipment to reduce such process time, enormous equipment construction cost may be additionally generated. In addition, in the process of attaching the two transparent films 11 and 14, the point 18 at which the first connection pattern 13 and the second connection pattern 16 formed on each of the transparent films 11 and 14 cross each other. In order to prevent shortening of the connection patterns 13 and 16 positioned at the separate portion, additional intervening a sheet manufactured using a material having both insulation, transparency and adhesion between the transparent films 11 and 14. Problems such as the addition of the process are pointed out.

According to the above-described conventional technology, the conventional full-capacitance touch screen has a structure using two sheets of film, so that the transparent film is excessively used, and may adversely affect the clarity of the liquid crystal display located behind. In addition, since the transparent electrode pattern must be formed on each of the two transparent films, the process takes an excessive amount of time, and considering the time required for positioning and assembling two or more films, the case of using a single transparent film is higher. It can be seen that it takes a lot of time.

In addition, a process of joining two transparent films to each other must be added, and a complicated process such as interposing a separate sheet for maintaining insulation between the transparent films can be added.

The present invention provides a touch panel sensor that can be implemented in one sheet by replacing the touch panel sensor that is conventionally used by bonding two sheets.

The present invention provides a touch panel sensor for a touch screen that can improve transparency and clarity and improve display brightness by using a single sheet in implementing a transparent touch screen.

The present invention provides a touch panel sensor that is simple to assemble and can eliminate unnecessary processes such as position adjustment.

According to one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a tomography type touch panel sensor for detecting a contact position of a part of a body includes a substrate, an electrode sensor, and a controller. A plurality of electrode sensors including a plurality of resistance electrodes arranged side by side in the x-axis direction is provided on the substrate, wherein at least one of the plurality of resistance electrodes has a different length with respect to the y-axis direction. The control unit connected to the resistance electrode detects which resistance electrode is in contact with a part of the body to detect the x-axis position and the y-axis position of the contact portion, forms a single layer electrode on the substrate, and forms two or more layers. Even if it is not formed, it is possible to accurately calculate the x and y coordinates of the part in contact with the body from the electrode of the monolayer.

In this case, the touch panel sensor may be used for a touch screen or a general touch pad, and when used as a touch screen, the substrate may be made of transparent polyethylene, polypropylene, acrylic, and polyethylene terephthalate. It may be formed using a material such as plastic and glass such as (PET). In addition, even if a transparent material is not used, an insulating substrate may be used in a pointing device using a touch pad or a stylus fan used in a notebook.

Like the substrate, the electrode sensor may be selected from the material considering the light transmittance depending on the use of the touch panel sensor. Specifically, when the light transmittance of the resistive electrode is not required, various metals or alloys such as gold, silver, aluminum, and the like having conductivity can be used as the material of the resistive electrode, and when the light transmittance of the resistive electrode is required, As the material of the resistive electrode, indium tin oxide (ITO) or indium zinc oxide (IZO) having both light transmittance and conductivity may be used.

Here, the lengths of the respective resistance electrodes are separated from each other with respect to the y-axis direction on the substrate, that is, the plurality of resistance electrodes forming one electrode sensor are formed to have different lengths, and may be in charge of different heights or positions. You can get exact y-axis coordinates.

Thus, since the lengths of the resistance electrodes are different from each other, the controller can find out the x-coordinate of the point where the finger touches the resistance electrode by the electrical characteristics sensed from each resistance electrode according to the length difference. Coordinates of the y-axis may be detected by identifying the number of electrodes or the electrodes that are in contact. In this case, an area or a dimension contacting the finger may not be calculated, and the x and y positions may be quickly and accurately detected by a simple process of counting the number of contacting electrodes or identifying the contacting electrodes.

Here, by varying the arrangement of the resistance electrodes having different lengths, it is possible to detect the x and y coordinates of the point where the finger touches the resistance electrode, for example, the resistance electrodes having a short length relative to the longest resistance electrode The electrodes may be arranged side by side in the x-axis direction in the same direction, and resistance electrodes having a gradually shorter length may be disposed while being sequentially crossed in the opposite x-axis directions with respect to the longest resistance electrode.

In addition, the electrode sensors including the resistance electrode having the above-described characteristics may include resistance electrodes extending from the bottom or the top of the substrate. In this case, the electrode sensor including the resistance electrode extending upward from the bottom of the substrate and the electrode sensor including the resistance electrode extending downward from the top of the substrate may be intersected. When the touch panel sensor having such a structure is required to transmit light of the resistive electrode, for example, in implementing a transparent touch screen through which the light from the lower part flows out through the touch panel sensor, the resistive electrode is evenly distributed on the substrate. This is advantageous to even the brightness gradient of the display device.

In addition, at least one of the resistance electrodes belonging to each electrode sensor may be arranged to extend from the bottom of the substrate and at least one of the remaining electrodes extends from the top.

In this case, similarly to the case where the electrode sensors including the resistance electrodes extending from the top or bottom of the substrate cross each other, the resistance electrodes are evenly distributed on the substrate, which is advantageous to even the brightness gradient of the display device. Even if a plurality of resistance electrodes are provided, since the width of the array length of the resistance electrodes arranged in the x-axis direction is reduced, the resistance electrodes can be arranged more closely. Accordingly, the touch panel sensor having the resistive electrode having the above-described structure may not only increase the resolution of the x-coordinate but also increase the resolution of the y-axis coordinate.

The controller may be electrically connected to the plurality of resistance electrodes to detect the x-axis and y-axis positions of the portion in contact with the body part from the resistance electrode in contact with the body part.

In particular, the plurality of resistance electrodes are formed to be independently connected to the control unit, and the control unit has a resistance electrode such as a capacitance or capacitance varying between a user's finger adjacent to or touching the touch screen and a corresponding resistance electrode as described above. By detecting and measuring the signal of the user can determine the x-axis position of the user's finger position in contact with the touch panel sensor, the y-axis position can be determined because the length of the resistance electrode is different. In more detail, the controller may determine the y-axis position by identifying the shortest resistance electrode among the resistance electrodes touched by a finger.

In addition, only the longest resistance electrode among the resistance electrodes included in each of the electrode sensors may be independently connected to the controller, and the remaining resistance electrodes may be electrically connected to each other by electrically connecting resistance electrodes having the same length to each other. In this way, the control unit detects and measures a signal generated from the longest resistance electrode by measuring the x-axis coordinates of the adjacent points of the finger, and recognizes the y-axis coordinates as an electrical signal generated from the shortest resistance electrode.

In particular, in a touch panel sensor having such a structure, when electrically connecting each resistive electrode and a capacitive sensor chip that can be used as a controller, a resistive electrode of the same length can be connected to one lead wire of the capacitive sensor chip. Therefore, even when more resistance electrodes are disposed on the substrate in order to increase the resolution of the touch panel sensor, the number of lead wires of the capacitive sensor chip may not be greatly limited. Therefore, due to a simple design change between the resistive electrode and the controller, the capacitive sensor chip can be used as it is, while the resolution of the touch panel sensor is greatly increased, which is generated by using a large capacitance sensor chip. Increasing costs can be avoided.

The single-layer touch panel sensor of the present invention can be implemented as a single sheet by replacing the touch panel sensor that is conventionally used by bonding two sheets.

In addition, the single-layer touch panel sensor of the present invention can improve transparency and clarity and improve display brightness by using a single sheet in implementing a transparent touch screen.

In addition, since the single-layer touch panel sensor of the present invention is easy to assemble and can eliminate unnecessary steps such as position adjustment, the yield of the product is improved and the competitiveness is improved.

In addition, the single-layer touch panel sensor of the present invention is formed of a sheet can reduce the cost of the transparent film used as a substrate.

In addition, the single-layer touch panel sensor of the present invention may be formed of one sheet so that a process of forming electrode patterns on two sheets of sheets may be performed at once.

In addition, the single-layer touch panel sensor of the present invention reduces the process time by eliminating both the process of bonding two sheets and the process of interposing a separate sheet for maintaining insulation between the films, thereby increasing productivity. .

In addition, the single-layer touch panel sensor of the present invention may use the same capacitive sensor chip even if a larger number of resistive electrodes are disposed on the substrate in order to increase the resolution.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited or limited by the embodiments. For reference, in the present description, the same numbers refer to substantially the same elements, and may be described by quoting contents described in other drawings under such a rule, and the contents repeated or deemed apparent to those skilled in the art may be omitted.

The present invention relates to a touch panel sensor for use in a touch screen for sensing the contact position of a part of the body.

Example 1

3 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a touch panel sensor according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, a tomography type touch panel sensor for detecting a contact position of a part of a body includes a transparent insulating substrate 110, an electrode sensor 120, and a controller 140.

Since the tomographic touch panel sensor is positioned on the outer surface of the device where the touch screen is used so that the user can detect the touch screen, the transparent insulation substrate 110 used for the tomography touch panel sensor has a rear liquid crystal monitor. Alternatively, a transparent material may be selected and manufactured so as not to cover other displays, and for example, may be manufactured using a material such as a transparent plastic sheet or glass. In this case, the transparent insulating substrate 110 may be selected as a light transmissive material, but may be selected as an insulating material so that no current flows with the electrode sensor 120 to be described later.

The electrode sensor 120 includes a plurality of resistance electrodes 122 arranged side by side in the x-axis direction on the transparent insulation substrate 110 described above, and the resistance electrode 122 is similar to the transparent insulation substrate 110 described above. It is made of a material that transmits the light emitted from the liquid crystal monitor or other display provided on the back and is electrically conductive. As such a material, indium tin oxide (ITO) or indium zinc oxide (IZO) may be used.

Here, the plurality of electrode sensors 120 are arranged side by side in the x-axis direction, the length of each of the resistance electrodes 122 included in each electrode sensor 120 is provided with a different length with respect to the y-axis direction. . Specifically, the resistance electrode 122 is arranged sequentially from the longest resistance electrode 122 along the x-axis direction, the resistance electrodes 122 having a gradually shorter length at a uniform interval, in this embodiment Each electrode sensor 120 includes six resistance electrodes 122, but the number can be changed as much as possible. In particular, a larger number of resistance electrodes 122 are arranged to increase the resolution of the touch screen. can do.

For reference, in this embodiment, the length difference between the mutually adjacent resistance electrodes 122 included in each electrode sensor 120 is constant, but in some cases, the difference may be manufactured differently. In addition, although the resistance electrode 122 is arranged on the same transparent insulating substrate 110 in the x-axis direction, that is, in the vertical direction, the resistance electrode 122 may also be arranged in the y-axis direction, that is, in the horizontal direction.

Each of the resistance electrodes 122 provided as described above is electrically connected to the controller 140, which may be provided as a capacitive sensor chip through a connection line 124 provided as a transparent and electrically conductive material. For reference, in the present exemplary embodiment, the connection line 124 may be formed using indium tin oxide (ITO) or indium zinc oxide (IZO), like the resistance electrodes 122, but is separated from the transparent insulating substrate 110. Since the light transmitting property is not required, the part may be formed using a metal and an alloy having conductivity in addition to expensive ITO or IZO.

In addition, each of the resistance electrodes 122 may be provided in a straight line, and the gradient of the resistance electrode 122 on the transparent insulating substrate 110 may be more sensitively sensed in the capacitance change occurring when the fingers are adjacent to each other. Can be made more dense. To this end, the resistance electrode 122 may be formed in a variety of non-linear shapes such as zigzag, curves, waves, or other curved shapes, and the enlarged portion “A” of the resistance electrode 122 shown in FIG. 3. Checking the part it can be seen that the resistance electrode 122 of the present embodiment is provided in a zigzag form.

In addition, although the arrangement patterns of the plurality of resistance electrodes 122 of each electrode sensor 120 in the present embodiment are the same, in some cases, the patterns may be provided in different patterns, and the second pattern to be described in detail below will be described. The electrode sensor 220 of the embodiment may be mixed with the electrode sensor 120 of the present embodiment.

By using the above-described electrode sensor 120 to measure the change in capacitance between the body part and the electrode by the contact of the body part, such as the user's finger, to detect the touch of the body part and to measure the position It demonstrates in detail.

The horizontal and vertical positions of the position where the user's finger is touched on the touch screen are measured by the controller 140 detecting the resistance electrode 122 having a change in capacitance.

The control unit 140 of the present exemplary embodiment may be provided as a capacitive sensor chip including a plurality of lead wires, and each of the resistance electrodes 122 may be electrically connected to the lead wire 142 of the control unit 140 in a one-to-one manner. Connected.

First, a method of determining the horizontal position among the positions where the finger touches the touch screen will be described.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the controller 140 detects a change in capacitance generated in the resistance electrode 122 by touching a finger in the horizontal position, that is, the coordinate in the x-axis direction, and among the resistance electrodes 122 having changed capacitance. The x-axis coordinate of the resistance electrode 122 positioned in the center may be determined as the x-coordinate with which the finger is touched.

However, as shown in FIG. 3, since each of the resistance electrodes 122 is arranged very closely along the x-axis direction, any one of the resistance electrodes 122 included in each electrode sensor 120 may be disposed. It may be set as a representative electrode for determining the x-axis coordinates, the control unit 140 may determine the x-axis coordinates by detecting the change in the capacitance of the representative resistance electrode.

In this case, it is preferable to set the longest of the resistance electrodes 122 as the representative electrode. Because the longer the length of the resistance electrode 122 is extended to the portion corresponding to the upper portion of the transparent insulating substrate 110, even if the user touches the upper portion of the touch screen, the resistance electrode 122 is not disposed so that the position of the finger may be adjusted. This can be prevented when it cannot be detected.

Next, a method of determining the vertical position among the positions where the finger touches the touch screen will be described.

In the present embodiment, the position of the y-axis coordinate where the finger is touched may be determined as the y-coordinate of the touched position as the y-axis coordinate of the resistance electrode 122 where the finger is adjacent and the capacitance is changed.

However, as described above, the resistive electrodes 122 are arranged at very close intervals on the transparent insulating substrate 110, and when a user brings his or her hand to the touch screen, touches one resistive electrode 122 as described above. The case where the plurality of resistance electrodes 122 are selected will occur more frequently than when the plurality of resistance electrodes 122 are selected.

Therefore, the y-axis coordinate of the touched point should be determined by using the plurality of resistance electrodes 122 having the change in capacitance, and in this case, the finger is adjacent to the resistance electrode 122 having the change in capacitance. The y-axis coordinate of the upper end of the short resistance electrode 122 may be determined as the y-coordinate of the touched position.

Example  2

4 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a touch panel sensor according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the touch panel sensor according to the second embodiment of the present invention is substantially the same as the touch panel sensor described in the first embodiment. Therefore, the description of the touch panel sensor in the second embodiment may refer to the description and the drawings of the touch panel sensor of the first embodiment, and the repeated content may be omitted.

However, the electrode sensor 220 of the second embodiment of the present invention has a different arrangement structure between the electrode sensor 120 and the resistance electrode 222 of the first embodiment.

Specifically, referring to FIG. 4, each electrode sensor 220 of the present exemplary embodiment has a length different from each other in the length of the resistance electrode 222 in the x-axis direction, and the resistance electrodes 222 may be in the y-axis direction. The resistance electrodes 222 gradually decreasing in length with respect to the longest resistance electrode 222 are disposed while being sequentially crossed in the x-axis directions facing each other.

Since the lengths of the resistance electrodes 222 are different from each other, the control unit 240 has a finger as a result of electrical characteristics such as a change in capacitance sensed from each resistance electrode 222 according to the length difference. We can measure the x-coordinate of the point that touches and detect the y-axis coordinate at the same time.

Example 3

5 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a touch panel sensor according to a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the touch panel sensor according to the third embodiment of the present invention is substantially the same as the touch panel sensor described in the first embodiment. Therefore, the description of the touch panel sensor in the third embodiment may refer to the description and the drawings of the touch panel sensor of the first embodiment, and the repeated content may be omitted.

However, the arrangement of the electrode sensors 320 and 330 of the third embodiment of the present invention is somewhat different from that of the electrode sensor 120 of the first embodiment.

Specifically, referring to FIG. 5, the first and second electrode sensors 320 and 330 according to the present exemplary embodiment may include a plurality of resistance electrodes 322 arranged side by side in the x-axis direction on the transparent insulating substrate 310. 332, wherein the first electrode sensor 320 includes a first resistance electrode 322 extending from the bottom 311 of the transparent insulating substrate 310, and the second electrode sensor 330 is a transparent insulating substrate. And a second resistance electrode 332 extending from the top 312 of 310. Of course, at least one of the first resistance electrodes 322 included in the first electrode sensor 320 is provided with a different length with respect to the y-axis direction, and the second resistance included in the second electrode sensor 330. At least one of the electrodes 332 is provided in a different length with respect to the y-axis direction.

The first and second resistance electrodes 322 and 332 included in the first and second electrode sensors 320 and 330, respectively, are independently connected to the lead wire 342 of the controller 340 through the connection line 324. The number of first and second resistance electrodes 322 and 332 can be changed as many as the resolution desired by the manufacturer. In addition, the method of measuring the x and y coordinates of the point where a part of the body is touched on the touch screen can refer to the description of the first embodiment described above.

In addition, the first and second electrode sensors 320 and 330 may be disposed on the transparent insulation substrate 310 in the x-axis direction, and intersect with each other. The touch panel sensor having such a structure implements a transparent touch screen in which light from the lower part is leaked to the outside through, for example, the touch panel sensor when light transmittance of the first and second resistance electrodes 320 and 330 is required. In this case, the first and second resistance electrodes 320 and 330 are evenly distributed on the transparent insulating substrate 310, which is advantageous to even the brightness gradient of the display device.

Example 4

6 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a touch panel sensor according to a fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, the touch panel sensor according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention is substantially the same as the touch panel sensor described in the first embodiment. Therefore, the description of the touch panel sensor in the fourth embodiment may refer to the description and the drawings of the touch panel sensor of the first embodiment, and repeated descriptions may be omitted.

However, the structure of the electrode sensor 420 of the fourth embodiment of the present invention is somewhat different from that of the electrode sensor 120 of the first embodiment.

Specifically, with reference to FIG. 6, at least one of the resistance electrodes 422 belonging to each electrode sensor 420 according to the present exemplary embodiment extends from the bottom 411 of the transparent insulating substrate 410 and at least one of the others. One extends from the top 412. In particular, the longest resistance electrode 422 among the resistance electrodes 422 belonging to each electrode sensor 420 extends from the lower end 411 to the upper end 412 of the transparent insulating substrate 410.

In this case, as in the case of the third embodiment in which the electrode sensors 320 and 330 including the resistance electrodes 322 and 332 extending from the lower end 311 or the upper end 312 of the transparent insulating substrate 310 are crossed. The resistance electrodes 422 are evenly distributed on the transparent insulating substrate 410, which is advantageous to even the brightness gradient of the display device, and the same number of resistance electrodes 422 may be shorter in comparison with the first embodiment. Arranged in the x-axis direction, the array width of the resistance electrode 422 is reduced. Therefore, the resistance electrodes 422 can be arranged more closely than the arrangement of the resistance electrodes 122 of the first embodiment. Accordingly, in the touch panel sensor of the present embodiment having the above-described resistive electrode 422, the resolution of the x coordinate is increased, and at the same time, the resolution of the y axis coordinate is also easily increased.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the determination of the x coordinate is determined from the longest resistance electrode 422 of each electrode sensor 420. The longest resistance electrode 422 of the present embodiment is formed at the bottom of the transparent insulating substrate 410 ( The control unit 440 is connected to the same lead wire 442 of the control unit 440 from each of the 411 and the upper end 412, and the control unit 440 may be disconnected even if the connection line 424 extended from the other side to be connected to the control unit 440 is disconnected. One side of the connection line 424 can detect the position of the x coordinate.

For reference, the resolution of the x coordinate will be determined by the number of resistance electrodes 422 arranged along the x axis direction and the spacing of the resistance electrodes 422, and the resolution of the y coordinate is provided in different lengths with respect to the y axis direction. It may be determined by the difference in length between the resistance electrodes 422.

Example 5

7 illustrates a structure of a touch panel sensor according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, the touch panel sensor according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention is substantially the same as the touch panel sensor described in the fourth embodiment. Therefore, the description of the touch panel sensor in the fifth embodiment may refer to the description and the drawings of the touch panel sensor of the fourth embodiment, and repeated descriptions may be omitted.

However, in the fifth embodiment of the present invention, the arrangement structure of the electrode sensor 420 of the fourth embodiment is somewhat different.

Specifically, in the arrangement of the resistance electrodes 422 of the respective electrode sensors 420 of the fourth embodiment, the resistance electrodes 422 gradually shorter from the longest resistance electrode 422 are disposed along the same x-axis direction, Referring to FIG. 7, the structure of the electrode sensor 520 of the present embodiment will be described in detail. Each electrode sensor 520 of the present embodiment has a length different from that of the resistance electrode 522 in the x-axis direction. The resistance electrodes 522 are arranged while the resistance electrodes 522 gradually decreasing in length relative to the longest resistance electrode 522 with respect to the y-axis direction are sequentially crossed in the opposite x-axis directions.

As the lengths of the resistance electrodes 522 are different from each other, the controller 540 has a finger on the resistance electrodes 522 due to electrical characteristics such as a change in capacitance sensed from each resistance electrode 522 according to the length difference. You can measure the x-coordinates of the tangent points and detect the y-axis coordinates at the same time.

Example 6

Components of the touch panel sensor according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention are substantially the same as the touch panel sensor described in the first embodiment. Therefore, the sixth embodiment will be described mainly with an electrode having a structure different from that of the first embodiment, and for description of other components of the touch panel sensor, refer to the description and the drawings of the touch panel sensor of the first embodiment. You can do this, and repetitive contents will be omitted.

8 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a touch panel sensor according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, the arrangement of the resistance electrodes 622 and the arrangement of the electrode sensors 620 of each electrode sensor 620 are substantially the same as those of the first embodiment, except that the resistance electrode 622 and the control unit ( The electrical connection between the 640 is somewhat different from the first embodiment, and the present embodiment will be mainly described.

Among the resistance electrodes 622 included in each of the electrode sensors 620, only the longest resistance electrode 622 is independently connected to the controller 640, and the remaining resistance electrodes 622 have the same length as the resistance electrode 622. ) Are electrically connected to each other to be connected to the control unit 640.

A touch panel sensor having a plurality of electrode sensors 620 having such a structure is a point where the controller 640 detects a change in capacitance of the resistance electrode 622 positioned at a point where a finger is adjacent to or touches a touch screen. Determine the x and y coordinates of.

In detail, the controller 640 may measure the x-axis coordinate by sensing a signal generated from the longest resistance electrode 622 of a point where the finger is adjacent, and the y-axis coordinate may be the shortest resistance electrode ( The signal generated from 622 may be detected and determined.

Here, in the touch panel sensor including the electrode sensor 620 having the same structure as the resistive electrode 622, the capacitive sensor chip that can be used as each of the resistive electrodes 622 and the controller 640 is electrically connected. When connecting to each other, the same length of the resistance electrode 622 is connected to one lead wire 642 of the capacitive sensor chip, so that the resistance electrode 622 on the transparent insulating substrate 610 in order to increase the resolution of the touch panel sensor. In the case where a larger number of wires is disposed, the number of leads 642 of the capacitive sensor chip may not be significantly limited. Accordingly, due to a simple design change between the resistance electrode 622 and the control unit 640, the capacitance of the touch panel sensor can be greatly increased while the capacitive sensor chip can be used as it is. The cost increase incurred by using can be avoided.

The touch panel sensor according to the present invention uses the two conventional substrates to determine the "x" coordinates and the "y" coordinates. Since the measurement can be performed, the number of transparent films used as the substrate can be reduced compared to the conventional capacitive touch screen using two films, and a step of forming electrode patterns on the transparent films, respectively. Since the process of bonding the transparent film and the process of interposing a separate sheet for maintaining insulation between the transparent films can be excluded, the process time can be shortened and the raw material cost can be reduced, thereby increasing productivity and In addition, by improving the yield of the product can improve the competitiveness of the product.

In particular, the single-layer touch panel sensor of the present embodiment may use the same capacitive sensor chip even when a larger number of resistive electrodes are disposed on the substrate in order to increase the resolution.

Example 7

9 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a touch panel sensor according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 9, the touch panel sensor according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention is substantially the same as the touch panel sensor described in the first embodiment. Therefore, the description of the touch panel sensor in the seventh embodiment may refer to the description and the drawings of the touch panel sensor of the first embodiment, and repeated descriptions may be omitted. However, the structure of the electrode sensor 720 of the seventh embodiment of the present invention is somewhat different from the structure of the electrode sensor 120 of the first embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 9, the resistance electrodes 722 belonging to each electrode sensor 720 according to the present exemplary embodiment are provided in a non-linear form except for one resistance electrode 722 positioned adjacent to a center thereof. In the y-axis direction, the predetermined length is provided while decreasing from the maximum length of the transparent insulating substrate 710, and the predetermined reference is based on the shortest resistance electrode 722 positioned adjacent to the center of each electrode sensor 720. The resistance electrodes 722 that are shortened in length units are disposed while crossing each other.

Each of the resistance electrodes 722 provided as described above is bent in the x-axis direction in the predetermined length unit, whereby the number of resistance electrodes 722 positioned for each of the predetermined length units on the transparent insulating substrate 710 is changed.

For reference, in the present exemplary embodiment, the bending direction is in the x-axis direction between the resistance electrodes 722 which are sequentially arranged in the x-axis direction based on the shortest resistance electrode 722 positioned adjacent to the center of the electrode sensor 720. Are opposed to each other.

Accordingly, the y-axis position is determined by the number of resistive electrodes 722 in which the finger changes the capacitance near the touch screen, and the x-axis position may be determined in units of the respective electrode sensors 720. . In detail, the controller 740 may determine that the resistance electrode 722 included in the same electrode sensor 720 is the same x-axis position.

Example 8

10 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a touch panel sensor according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 10, the touch panel sensor according to the eighth embodiment of the present invention is substantially the same as the touch panel sensor described in the first embodiment. Therefore, the description of the touch panel sensor in the eighth embodiment may refer to the description and the drawings of the touch panel sensor of the first embodiment, and repeated descriptions may be omitted.

However, the structure of the electrode sensor 820 of the eighth embodiment of the present invention is somewhat different from the structure of the electrode sensor 120 of the first embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 10, the resistance electrodes 822 belonging to each electrode sensor 820 according to the present exemplary embodiment are provided in a non-linear form except for the resistance electrode 822 positioned at the center thereof, and the y axis Direction is provided while decreasing by a predetermined length unit from the maximum length of the transparent insulating substrate 810, the resistance electrode is shortened by the predetermined length unit on the basis of the resistance electrode 822 located in the center of each electrode sensor 820 822 are arranged to intersect with each other.

Each of the resistance electrodes 822 provided as described above is bent in the x-axis direction in the predetermined length unit, whereby the number of resistance electrodes 822 positioned for each predetermined length unit on the transparent insulating substrate 810 is changed.

For reference, in the present exemplary embodiment, the bending directions may be opposite to each other in the x-axis direction between the resistance electrodes 822 sequentially arranged in the x-axis direction based on the resistance electrode 822 positioned at the center of the electrode sensor 820. Achieve.

Accordingly, the y-axis position is determined by the number of resistive electrodes 822 in which the finger changes the capacitance near the touch screen, and the x-axis position may be determined in units of the respective electrode sensors 820. . In detail, the controller 840 may determine that the resistance electrode 822 included in the same electrode sensor 820 is the same x-axis position.

Example 9

11 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a touch panel sensor according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 11, the touch panel sensor according to the ninth embodiment of the present invention is substantially the same as the touch panel sensor described in the first embodiment. Therefore, the description of the touch panel sensor in the ninth embodiment may refer to the description and the drawings of the touch panel sensor of the first embodiment, and repeated descriptions may be omitted.

However, the structure of the electrode sensor 920 of the ninth embodiment of the present invention is somewhat different from that of the electrode sensor 120 of the first embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 11, the resistance electrodes 922 belonging to each electrode sensor 920 according to the present exemplary embodiment are provided in a non-linear form except for the resistance electrode 922 positioned at the center thereof. A resistance is provided while decreasing in a unit of a predetermined length from the maximum length of the transparent insulating substrate 910 in the axial direction, the resistance is shortened by the predetermined length unit with respect to the resistance electrode 922 located in the center of each electrode sensor 920 The electrodes 922 are arranged to cross each other.

Each of the resistance electrodes 922 provided as described above is bent in the x-axis direction in the predetermined length unit, whereby the number of resistance electrodes 922 positioned for each of the predetermined length units on the transparent insulating substrate 910 varies.

For reference, in the present exemplary embodiment, the bending directions are opposite to each other in the x-axis direction between the resistance electrodes 922 which are sequentially arranged in the x-axis direction based on the resistance electrode 922 positioned at the center of the electrode sensor 920. Achieve.

Accordingly, the y-axis position is determined by the number of resistive electrodes 922 whose capacitance changes when the user touches the touch screen, where the x-axis position may be determined in units of the respective electrode sensors 920. . In detail, the controller 940 may determine that the resistance electrode 922 included in the same electrode sensor 920 is the same x-axis position.

In addition, a portion bent along the x-axis direction in each of the resistance electrodes 922 has a predetermined thickness, and the thickness corresponds to the y-axis direction in which the y-axis position where the finger is adjacent to the touch screen corresponds to the thickness. It may be determined in units of length. As described above, although described with reference to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, those skilled in the art various modifications and variations of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention described in the claims below I can understand that you can.

1 is a plan view illustrating an ITO thin film in a conventional capacitive touch screen.

2 is a plan view illustrating a conventional capacitive touch screen operating mechanism.

3 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a touch panel sensor according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a touch panel sensor according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a touch panel sensor according to a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a touch panel sensor according to a fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a touch panel sensor according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a touch panel sensor according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a touch panel sensor according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

10 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a touch panel sensor according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention.

11 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a touch panel sensor according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

110: transparent insulation substrate 111: bottom of the substrate

112: upper substrate 120: electrode sensor

122: resistance electrode 124: connecting line

140: control part 142: lead wire

320: first electrode sensor 330: second electrode sensor

Claims (13)

In the touch panel sensor for detecting the contact position of a part of the body, Board; A plurality of resistance electrodes arranged side by side in the x-axis direction on the substrate, wherein at least one of the plurality of resistance electrodes is provided with a different length with respect to the y-axis direction; And A control unit which is electrically connected to the plurality of resistance electrodes and senses the x-axis and y-axis positions of a portion in contact with the body part from the resistance electrode in contact with the body part; Touch panel sensor comprising a. The method of claim 1, And the plurality of resistance electrodes in the electrode sensor are provided at a uniform interval from the maximum length of the substrate in the y-axis direction. The method of claim 1, Each of the resistance electrodes is connected to the control unit independently, characterized in that the touch panel sensor. The method of claim 1, The longest resistance electrode of the electrode sensor is connected to the control unit independently, Except for the longest resistive electrode, the resistive electrodes having the same length are electrically connected to each other. The method of claim 4, wherein The x-axis position of the contact portion, The touch panel sensor, characterized in that detected from the longest resistance electrode of the contact resistance electrode. The method of claim 1, The y-axis position of the contact portion, The touch panel sensor, characterized in that detected from the shortest resistance electrode of the contact resistance electrode. The method of claim 1, Each of the resistive electrodes extends from the bottom or top of the substrate, And the electrode sensor including the resistance electrode extending from the lower end and the electrode sensor including the resistance electrode extending from the upper end intersect with each other. The method of claim 1, And at least one of the resistive electrodes belonging to each of the electrode sensors extends from the bottom of the substrate and at least one of the remaining extends from the top of the substrate. The method of claim 1, And wherein the array of the plurality of resistive electrodes in each of the electrode sensors is provided in the same or different pattern. The method of claim 1, The resistance electrode is a touch panel sensor, characterized in that provided in a straight or non-linear form. The method of claim 1, The substrate is made of a material having transparency and insulation, The resistance electrode is a touch panel sensor, characterized in that manufactured using a light transmitting material. The method of claim 1, The resolution in the y axis direction is Touch panel sensor, characterized in that determined by the difference in the length of the resistance electrode included in the electrode sensor. The method of claim 1, The y-axis position of the contact portion, And a touch panel sensor sensed from the number of contacting resistance electrodes.

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