KR101049327B1 - Wiring structure of touch panel - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a glass substrate comprising a transparent conductive layer on an upper surface thereof; A plurality of wires arranged along a boundary of the glass substrate; A plurality of conductive ends formed on an upper side of the glass substrate, each wiring having a plurality of conductive ends electrically connected to one of the conductive ends; And a flexible circuit board provided on the wirings, wherein the flexible circuit board includes a plurality of connection terminals electrically connected to one of the conductive ends, respectively. With the use of this wiring structure, a conventionally used conductor can be replaced with a flexible circuit board to reduce the wiring area, and the wiring area of the touch panel can be made narrower.

Touch panel, wiring

Description

Wiring structure of touch panel {WIRING OF TOUCH PANEL}

1 is a perspective view of a conductor and wiring formed on a conventional transparent conductive glass substrate.

2 is a perspective view of a conductor and wiring formed on a transparent conductive glass substrate according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 showing the connection between a conductor and a flexible circuit board.

4 is a perspective view of a conductor and wiring formed on a transparent conductive glass substrate according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a perspective view showing a conductor formed on the other surface of the glass substrate shown in Fig.

6 is a partial perspective view showing a conductor on the glass substrate of Fig.

Fig. 7 is a partial perspective view showing a conductor on the glass substrate of Fig. 5;

8 is a partial perspective view showing a conductive via of a wiring formed on a transparent conductive glass substrate according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a partial perspective view showing a conductive via hole of the conductor on the glass substrate shown in Fig.

The present invention relates to a touch panel, and more particularly to a touch panel which can be used to replace a conductor on a glass substrate by using a flexible circuit board to reduce the wiring area and to make the wiring area narrower than the touch panel manufactured using the prior art, It is related to the touch panel that moved the conductor.

In recent years, a typical input device (e.g., a keyboard and a mouse) has been replaced by a touch panel as a selection of human-machine interface devices. This human-machine interface device is widely used in various electronic devices (for example, Global Positioning Systems (GPS), personal digital assistants (PDAs), etc.). The touch panel provides a direct, better user interface while eliminating the need for a typical input device. The space saved by the elimination of typical input devices can use a larger panel providing a better graphical user interface.

Typically, a conventional resistive touch panel can be constructed and manufactured with four-wire, five-wire, or six-wire. 1 shows a touch panel having a structure. The touch panel includes two wirings formed along the X and Y axes, and a transparent conductive glass substrate (not shown) having wiring on a transparent conductive film (for example, ITO film, not shown) (1). There are five wires located between the edge portion of the touch panel and the transparent operating area (11). The control circuit applies 5 volts to both ends of the wiring 10 on the transparent conductive glass substrate. The wiring 16 is grounded when the user touches the touch panel (at the point P as shown in the figure) using a finger or a pen (the voltage between both ends becomes zero). As a result, the voltage at the point P drops due to the resistance change. The voltage Vpy is sampled in the Y-axis by the wiring on the transparent conductive film. The control circuit applies 5 volts to both ends of the wiring 14 on the transparent conductive film. The wiring 12 is grounded (the voltage between both ends becomes zero). The voltage Vpx is sampled in the X-axis by the wiring on the transparent conductive film. The position of the point P is determined by comparing the voltage of Vpy with the voltage of Vpx.

Further, the wiring lines 10, 12, 14, and 16 are electrically connected to one end connected to each of the conductors 20, 22, 24, and 26 and the side surface of the transparent conductive glass substrate 1 through the same side of the transparent conductive film And has the other end extended to the center. A flexible circuit board (not shown) has one end electrically connected to the other end of the conductors 20, 22, 24 and 26 and the other end extended beyond the transparent conductive glass substrate 1. [ The transparent conductive film has an electrical connection with the control circuit of the touch panel. The wiring regions of the conductors 20, 22, 24 and 26 and the wirings 10, 12, 14 and 16 are located at the boundary between the transparent operation region 11 and the edge of the touch panel.

New developments in liquid crystal display technology can allow a manufacturer to produce a display device with a narrower border area than conventional display devices. Therefore, when the touch panel is used in a liquid crystal display device, it is required to further reduce the border width of the touch panel. This new requirement does not allow room for wiring over the edge of the touch screen at the time of the new design of the touch screen. Some inventions have been proposed to solve this problem. U. S. Patent No. 6,549, 193 discloses a technique for designing a resistive touch panel having an improved linear response and a reduced boundary width. This invention still uses traces placed on a substrate for connection to a cable with an emphasis on pattern design. Thus, the border width on the side of the panel is wider than in the present invention. U.S. Patent No. 6,559,835 proposed a resistive panel electrode pattern and a conductive bus design. The resistive linearization pattern is formed in an inward parabolic shape and the conductive bus is superimposed thereon. This invention claims narrower and better linearity than the prior art. An insulating material must be placed between the conductive bus and the linearization pattern. This increases manufacturing time and complexity and, consequently, touchscreen costs. U.S. Patent No. 6,593,916 suggests how to design a linearization pattern to increase the linearity while reducing the width of the screen. However, this invention does not solve the problem of the conductive bus. The use of a conductive bus is required and thus the width of the screen is increased. U.S. Patent No. 6,673,390 is another invention that presents a new linearization pattern design. Like the prior art, this invention does not refer to a conductive bus that should be used to send current to the four corners of the screen. This bus increases the size of the screen. U.S. Patent No. 6,727,895 proposes to place conductive wiring on a substrate instead of regular wiring. This improves the reliability and quality of the screen. However, this invention does not refer to the width problem of the screen. U.S. Patent No. 6,781,579 proposes a touch panel linear pattern design to reduce the width of the screen while increasing linearity. The use of new design techniques for linearization patterns reduces the width of the screen. However, the conductive buses that carry current to the four corners of the touch panel are still placed on the screen and these buses increase the width of the screen. U.S. Patent No. 6,163,313 suggests methods for designing resistive patterns. This invention does not mention the width of the screen. Most of the techniques used in the prior art can be summarized as follows.

(1) One method of reducing the wiring area is to use a wiring having a narrower width than a general width. However, this technique increases the wiring resistance. As a result, the voltage drop across the wiring can be increased and the signal strength can be reduced. This interferes with signal transmission. This technique is also less economical and more difficult to produce touch panels with narrow interconnect lines as they tend to reduce yield.

(2) Wiring can be overlapped (wiring and conductor overlap) to reduce the wiring area. This technique was proposed in utility model 544,824 of Taiwan. However, this approach causes a short between the wire and the conductor, increasing the manufacturing difficulty and reducing the yield. As a result, manufacturing time and cost may increase.

(3) It is also possible to arrange some conductors on the transparent conductive film to reduce the wiring area. However, transparent conductive films are affected by environmental changes, especially thermal changes. In addition, the wirings formed on the transparent conductive film are less adhesive and robust as compared to the transparent conductive glass substrate. Moreover, this technology will increase the manufacturing process and increase the manufacturing time and manufacturing cost at the same time.

Therefore, it is required to overcome the problems of the prior art and to provide a touch panel having wiring and conductors arranged in a narrow boundary region.

After a long period of research and experimentation, a new method of wiring in a touch panel that overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art and can successfully place wiring and conductors of the touch panel in a narrow area is presented.

An object of the present invention is to provide a glass substrate, A plurality of conductive ends formed on one side of the glass substrate; A flexible circuit board having wires disposed thereon and each including a plurality of connection terminals electrically connected to one of the conductive ends; And a plurality of wirings provided along a boundary of the glass substrate and electrically connected to one of the conductive ends, respectively. The technique replaces a conventional conductor by a flexible circuit board.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a glass substrate comprising a transparent conductive layer on an upper surface thereof; A plurality of wires provided along a boundary of the glass substrate; A plurality of conductors disposed on a lower surface opposite to the transparent conductive layer of the glass substrate; And a plurality of conductive material layers provided between the wiring and the other end of one of the corresponding conductors at one corner of the glass substrate, respectively. By using this wiring structure, the problems associated with prior art conductors and wiring are solved and the wiring area on the same surface is reduced. As a result, it is possible to make narrower wiring of the touch panel.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description of the invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

2 and 3, a wiring structure of a touch panel according to a first embodiment of the present invention is shown. A transparent conductive layer (not shown) is located on the upper surface of the glass substrate 3. A plurality of wirings 30 are provided along the boundary between the transparent conductive layer 32 and the edge of the transparent conductive layer. A flexible circuit board (4) is located on one side of the transparent conductive layer and the wiring (30). The flexible circuit board 4 extends beyond the glass substrate 3 and is electrically connected to the control circuit. A conductive end portion 34 is formed in the transparent conductive layer between each wiring 30 and the flexible circuit board 4. [ By the use of this technique, a number of parallel conductors of the prior art are replaced by a flexible circuit board 4. This reduces the space requirement of the wiring area. As a result, it is possible to produce a touch panel having narrower boundaries than the touch panel using the wiring technology of the prior art.

In the present invention, the wiring 30 of the transparent conductive layer not adjacent to the flexible circuit board 4 has an extension conductor 36 extending to a position adjacent to the flexible circuit board 4. The elongated conductor 36 is electrically connected to the conductive end 34 of the wire 30. A plurality of connection terminals (not shown) are provided in the flexible circuit board 4 and each is electrically connected to the conductive end 34.

4 and 5, a wiring structure of a touch panel according to a second embodiment of the present invention is shown. The transparent conductive layer is located on the upper surface of the glass substrate 3. A plurality of wirings 30 are provided along the boundary between the transparent conductive layer 32 and the edge of the transparent conductive layer. A plurality of conductors 35 are provided on the lower surface opposite to the transparent conductive layer of the glass substrate 3. [ The end of each conductor 35 extends to a position close to one side of the glass substrate 3 and the other end extends to a position corresponding to one of the wirings 30. The conductive material layer 37 (see Figs. 6 and 7) is provided at one corner of the glass substrate 3 between the wiring 30 and the other end of the corresponding conductor 35. By such a constitution, the usable wiring region on the transparent conductive layer of the glass substrate 3 will not be consumed to place the conductor thereon. This technique makes it possible to produce a touch panel with narrower boundaries than the panels produced by using the prior art.

In the present invention, the conductive material layer 37 is a metal conductive layer or a flexible circuit board formed by a conductive ink printing or coating, physical or chemical vapor deposition method, disposed between the wiring and the other end of the corresponding conductor.

8 and 9, a wiring structure of a touch panel according to a third embodiment of the present invention is shown. The transparent conductive layer is located on the upper surface of the glass substrate 3. A plurality of wirings 30 are provided along the boundary between the transparent conductive layer 32 and the edge of the transparent conductive layer.

A plurality of conductors 35 are provided on the lower surface opposite to the transparent conductive layer of the glass substrate 3. [ One set of the ends of the conductor 35 is extended to a position close to one side of the glass substrate 3 and the other ends are extended to a corresponding position of one of the wirings 30. [ The conductive via hole 38 is provided between the other end of the conductor 35 at the one corner of the glass substrate 3 and the corresponding wiring 30. A conductive material layer is formed in the conductive via hole 38 and is electrically connected to the conductor 35 and the wiring 30. The wiring region on the same surface is further reduced to achieve the purpose of making the wiring of the touch panel narrower.

In the present invention, the conductive via hole 38 is formed on a glass substrate by laser drilling (e.g., CO ₂ , YAG, excimer, plasma, UV, etc.), hydraulic drill,

In the above embodiment, the wires 30, the conductors 35 and the extension conductors 36 may be formed by means of conductive ink printing or coating (e.g., silver paste, carbon, copper paste, etc.) .

While the invention has been shown and described with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

According to the present invention, the wiring area is reduced and the touch panel has a narrower boundary area than the touch panel using the conventional wiring structure.

Claims (9)

delete delete delete delete In the wiring structure of the touch panel, A glass substrate comprising a transparent conductive layer on an upper surface; A plurality of wires arranged along a boundary of the glass substrate; A plurality of conductors disposed on a lower surface of the glass substrate facing the transparent conductive layer, wherein one end of the conductor extends to a position close to one side of the glass substrate and the other end corresponds to one of the wires A conductor extended to a position; And And a plurality of conductive material layers each disposed between the wiring and a corresponding one of the conductors at one corner of the glass substrate. 6. The method of claim 5, Wherein the conductive material layer is a flexible circuit board. 6. The method of claim 5, Further comprising a transparent operation region on the glass substrate, the boundary of the glass substrate extending from the edge of the transparent conductive layer to the transparent operation region. In the wiring structure of the touch panel, A glass substrate comprising a transparent conductive layer on an upper surface; A plurality of wires disposed along a boundary of the glass substrate; A plurality of conductors disposed on a lower surface of the glass substrate facing the transparent conductive layer, wherein one end of the conductor extends to a position close to one side of the glass substrate and the other end corresponds to one of the wires A conductor extended to a position; And A plurality of conductive via holes each disposed between the other end of the conductor and a corresponding one of the wirings at one corner of the glass substrate and including a conductive material layer electrically connected to the conductor and the wiring in the conductive via hole A wiring structure of a touch panel including a conductive via hole is provided. 9. The method of claim 8, Further comprising a transparent operation region on the glass substrate, the boundary of the glass substrate extending from the edge of the transparent conductive layer to the transparent operation region.

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