KR101293165B1 - Panel for sensing touch input - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a touch sensing panel having two or more electrodes disposed on the same axis to form an overlap sensing region, thereby improving spatial resolution. Precise contact position can be determined, improving linearity. The user interface is improved by the response according to the user's input and the accurate position determination. In addition, the panel according to the present invention, the driving signal can be transmitted far away from the sensing electrode, it is possible to reduce the error due to noise.

Description

Touch Sensing Panel {PANEL FOR SENSING TOUCH INPUT}

The present invention relates to a touch sensing panel having an improved touch sensitivity, and more particularly, it is possible to more precisely determine a contact position with electrodes of the same area, to reduce the number of required channels, and to reduce the influence of noise. To a touch sensing panel.

As mobile phones equipped with touch screens are widely used and various types of smart phones are popularized, research on touch sensing technology is being actively conducted.

The touch screen, a typical touch sensing device, can be classified into resistive film, capacitive, ultrasonic, infrared, etc. according to its operation method. Among them, the capacitive touch screen is durable and has long life and supports multi-touch function. In recent years, the field of application is expanding.

The capacitive touch screen detects the contact position based on the change in capacitance caused by the user's touch applied to the front of the display window, and has the advantage of being durable and supporting the multi-touch function.

Since the capacitive touch screen is based on the capacitance change caused by the user's touch, the touch screen may not be recognized when the stylus pen or the like is recognized as the capacitance change.

The capacitive touch screen is important in the structure of the touch sensing panel in order to better detect the change in capacitance, and the structure of the panel for detecting the touch of a portion having a small change in capacitance, such as a user's fingernail, is required.

In addition, since the touch detection signal is not distorted during contact, a touch sensing panel capable of accurately determining a user's intended contact position is required.

Accordingly, one of the objects of the present invention is to provide a touch sensing panel capable of increasing a touch recognition rate even with a low capacitance change caused by a user's touch.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a touch sensing panel that can increase the substantial sensing area relative to the number of electrode channels arranged.

Another object of the present invention is to increase linearity without distorting the signal of the touch sensing panel.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a touch sensing panel which can accurately perform a plurality of touch inputs and resists noise.

The touch sensing panel according to the present invention includes a touch detection region formed on one surface of a substrate and forming a plurality of detection regions for detecting a change in capacitance, and an external wiring disposed on one surface of the substrate and provided outside the touch detection region. A touch sensing panel comprising an area, wherein the touch detecting area forms a part of the sensing area and forms a plurality of columns of conductive material, a part of the sensing area, arranged in a horizontal axis direction, and At least a portion of a plurality of patches of conductive material, arranged on a plurality of horizontal axes adjacent to a plurality of columns, and patches disposed on the same layer as the plurality of patches, arranged on a particular horizontal axis of the plurality of patches A plurality of internal wires electrically connected through the external wiring area, wherein the plurality of patches are electrically separated among the plurality of patches So that the two patches are orthogonal projection overlap each other at least a portion forming with respect to one column of said plurality of columns, wherein the at least two patch arrangement.

Another touch sensing panel according to the present invention is a touch sensing panel including a plurality of vertical electrodes arranged on one surface of a substrate and a plurality of horizontal electrodes arranged to be adjacent to the plurality of vertical electrodes on one surface of the substrate. The horizontal electrode includes a plurality of electrode patches and a plurality of internal wires electrically connecting the plurality of electrode patches, wherein at least two orthogonal projections of at least two horizontal electrodes with respect to any one of the plurality of vertical electrodes overlap at least partially. The plurality of horizontal electrodes are disposed, and each of the plurality of vertical electrodes and each of the plurality of electrode patches forms a part of the sensing area.

Another touch sensing panel according to the present invention is a touch detection region formed in a single layer on a substrate, first electrodes for detecting the position of a first axis according to a contact on the contact detection region, and a contact on the contact detection region. Second electrodes for sensing a position of a second axis intersecting the first axis, and a position of the second axis according to a contact on the contact detection area, passing through each of the second electrodes and passing through the first electrode. And third electrodes disposed on parallel lines parallel to one axis.

Another touch sensing panel according to the present invention is a touch sensing panel in which a plurality of sensing regions are formed on the same layer on a substrate, wherein a first sensing region of the plurality of sensing regions senses a position of a first axis, and And a second electrode adjacent to a first electrode and sensing a position of a second axis, wherein a second sensing area of the plurality of sensing areas is adjacent to the first electrode and the second electrode and changes the position of the second axis. It is formed of a third electrode for sensing.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a touch sensing panel, the method including: forming a touch detection region including a plurality of sensing regions for sensing a change in capacitance on one surface of a substrate, and an outer portion of the touch detection region disposed on one surface of the substrate; A method of manufacturing a touch sensing panel, the method comprising: forming an external wiring region provided in the touch sensing panel, wherein the touch detection region comprises a plurality of columns of conductive materials, which form part of the sensing region and are arranged in a horizontal axis direction; A plurality of patches of conductive material, forming a portion of the sensing area and arranged on a plurality of transverse axes adjacent to the plurality of columns; And a plurality of internal wires disposed on the same layer as the plurality of patches, and electrically connecting at least some of the patches arranged on a specific horizontal axis among the plurality of patches through the external wiring area. The at least two patches are disposed so that at least a portion of orthogonal projections formed on at least two of the plurality of electrically separated patches overlap each other.

In one aspect of the method for manufacturing a touch sensing panel according to the present invention, the forming of the touch detection region may include integrally forming the plurality of columns, the plurality of patches, and the plurality of internal wirings on one surface of the substrate. It may include.

In another aspect of the method of manufacturing a touch sensing panel according to the present invention, the forming of the touch detection region may include forming the plurality of columns, the plurality of patches, and the plurality of internal wirings on a transparent film; And attaching the transparent film to the substrate.

As another aspect of the method of manufacturing a touch sensing panel according to the present invention, the forming of the touch detection region may include: integrally forming the plurality of columns on one surface of the substrate; Forming an insulating layer on one surface of the substrate in which the plurality of columns are integrally formed; And forming the plurality of patches and the plurality of internal wires on the insulating layer.

As another aspect of the method for manufacturing a touch sensing panel according to the present invention, the step of forming a touch detection region may include: forming the plurality of patches and the plurality of internal wirings on a transparent film; Integrally forming the plurality of columns on one surface of the substrate; And attaching the transparent film on one surface of the substrate in which the plurality of columns are integrally formed.

According to the present invention, the touch sensing panel has a precise sensing resolution compared to the number of disposed electrode channels, and is resistant to noise. In addition, the contact position can be accurately determined, thereby improving linearity.

1 is a structural diagram showing a part of a touch sensing panel according to an embodiment of the present invention;
2 is a structural diagram showing various embodiments of the arrangement of the split electrodes according to the present invention;
3 is a structural diagram showing another embodiment of the arrangement of the vertical electrode according to the present invention;
4 is an enlarged partial view of a region in which a plurality of sensing regions of FIG. 1 are formed;
5 is a plot of mutual capacitance as seen in the cross section of some regions of FIG.
6 is an enlarged partial view of a portion of FIG. 1;
7 is a structural diagram showing a part of a touch sensing panel according to another embodiment of the present invention;
8 is a structural diagram illustrating a plurality of sensing regions formed in a partial region of FIG. 7;
FIG. 9 is a top view for identifying a position of a contact object in an enlarged view of the partial region 280 of FIG. 7;
10 is a structural diagram showing a part of a touch sensing panel according to another embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 11 is an enlarged partial view of a partial region of the panel according to FIG. 10;
12 is a structural diagram showing a part of a touch sensing panel according to another embodiment of the present invention;
13 is a structural diagram showing a part of a touch sensing panel according to another embodiment of the present invention; and
14 is a top view of the panel showing the degree of linearity.

The touch sensing panel described herein is not only used as a mutual capacitive multi-touch sensing panel, but also applied to a magnetic capacitive sensing panel or a single-touch sensing panel. Although also described with respect to an orthogonal array of transverse and longitudinal electrodes capable of sensing transverse and longitudinal contact locations, the electrodes may be arranged to include diagonal, sector, concentric, three-dimensional and arbitrary orientations.

As used in this specification (including claims), "adjacent" is used when there are no other components (except boundary regions) between adjacent components. "Neighboring" means that the same component may not be placed between neighboring components, but other components may be disposed. For example, in the case of " neighboring vertical electrodes, " it means that no other vertical electrode can be disposed between neighboring vertical electrodes, and the horizontal electrode can be disposed. "Partly facing" means that both components that are facing each other are next to or adjacent to each other but are not exactly aligned on the virtual axis. For example (hereinafter, arbitrary electrode patches A and B are assumed), when patches A and B face each other, the orthogonal projections of patches A and B overlap on an axis perpendicular to the axis penetrating the patches A and B. It may mean a case. The patch A may partially face the patch B when the orthogonal projections of the patches A and B overlap each other.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

1 is a structural diagram showing a part of a touch sensing panel according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 illustrates various embodiments of the arrangement of the split electrodes according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial view of a partial region of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 illustrates another embodiment of the vertical electrode according to the present invention. An enlarged partial view of a portion of FIG. 1. 4 is an enlarged partial view of a region in which a plurality of sensing regions of FIG. 1 are formed. FIG. 5 is a plot of mutual capacitance as seen in the cross section of some regions of FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is an enlarged partial view of a partial region of FIG. 1.

In the present specification, an exaggerated enlarged part exists to clarify the boundary areas.

Referring to FIG. 1, the touch sensing panel 100 includes a touch detection region 120 in which a plurality of overlapping sensing regions are arranged on a substrate 110, a wiring region 130 provided outside the touch detection region 120, Sensing electrodes (a plurality of vertical electrodes c11, c12, c13,...) And a plurality of horizontal electrodes 11a, 12a, 13a,. 12b, 13b ...)).

As used throughout this specification, a "sense area" does not need to be physically and electrically separated and means an area where capacitance can be changed by a user's touch input. Therefore, the sensing area may be defined in various forms.

The touch detection area 120 is an area where sensing electrodes for sensing a contact location on the substrate 100 are disposed. The wiring area 130 is an area provided in an area other than the contact detection area 120 on the substrate 100. A plurality of wirings (bus lines) 135 may be disposed on the wiring region 130. The plurality of wires 135 connects the electrodes of the touch detection region 120 with the touch sensing circuit unit (not shown). The touch sensing circuit unit may detect and determine a contact position in the contact area through a change in capacitance according to a user's touch. The sensing electrodes can have extension lines for electrical connection. These extension lines may be arranged up to the wiring area 130. 1, the wirings C1 to C8 connected to the respective vertical electrodes and the wirings 11A to 15A and 11B to 15B connected to the respective horizontal electrodes are illustrated. The plurality of wires may act as the channel 135. Each of the plurality of wirings may be formed in the same layer. In addition, the plurality of wires may be disposed on a different layer from the horizontal electrodes or the vertical electrodes, and may be connected to each of the electrodes through a via. In addition, the plurality of wirings may be disposed on the same layer as the horizontal electrodes or the vertical electrodes. In this case, an insulating material or the like may be applied between the wiring and the horizontal electrode or the wiring and the vertical electrode to insulate the electrode from the wiring. Can be.

In FIG. 1, the plurality of vertical electrodes c11, c12, c13,... C10 are arranged at the plurality of horizontal positions X1 to X8 on the contact detection region 120 to form a sensing region. In addition, the vertical electrode may form the sensing region together with the other electrode. The touch sensing circuit unit may detect the position of the x-axis according to the contact using the vertical electrodes. Each vertical electrode may further include extension lines 141 extending to the wiring region 130. 1 is shown so that all the extension lines of the vertical electrodes extend to the wiring area located on the lower side of the panel, some extension lines may extend to the wiring area located on the upper side of the panel to secure space. As shown in FIG. 1, each vertical electrode is connected to different wirings c11 and C1, c12 and C2, ... through each extension line. In another embodiment of the present invention, the vertical electrodes of a specific position may be electrically connected to each other (see FIG. 3).

Although the plurality of vertical electrodes of FIG. 1 are illustrated in a bar shape extending in the vertical direction, the plurality of vertical electrodes may be formed to repeat a predetermined pattern.

The transverse electrodes 11a, 12a, 13a,..., 11b, 12b, 13b,... Of the plurality of vertical positions Y1, Y2, Y3, Y4,. ..) to form a sensing area. In addition, the horizontal electrode may form the sensing region together with the other electrode. The touch sensing circuit unit may sense the position of the y-axis according to the contact using the horizontal electrodes. The horizontal electrodes are preferably disposed adjacent to the vertical electrodes on the same layer as the vertical electrodes c11, c12, c13,... Each of the horizontal electrodes may include split electrodes at specific positions electrically connected to each other, and extension lines 143 and 145 for electrically connecting the split electrodes in the wiring region 130. The split electrodes may be formed at the same time as the extension lines, and may be formed simultaneously with a part of each of the extension lines.

The plurality of vertical electrodes and the plurality of horizontal electrodes of FIG. 1 are formed of a substantially conductive transparent material such as indium tin oxide (ITO), ZnO, IZO, CNT, and the like, and each electrode is preferably formed of the same material. Some of the extension lines of the transverse electrodes may be formed of metallic material to increase electrical conductivity or to increase thermal resistance when connecting to external wiring through vias. For example, the extension line disposed in the contact detection region 120 may be formed of a conductive transparent material, and the extension line disposed outside the contact detection region 120 may be formed of silver, copper, or the like.

The substrate 110 according to FIG. 1 may be a transparent window. Transparent windows include rigid PET (polyethylene terephthalate), PC (polycarbonate), polyether sulfone (PES), polyimide (PI), and PolyMethly MethaAcrylate (PMMA). It can be formed of a material. The transparent window serves to maintain the appearance of the input unit of the touch sensing panel, and at least a part of the area is exposed to the outside to receive contact of a user's body or a conductive object such as a stylus pen. At this time, it is possible to selectively add a protective layer (not shown) in order to prevent damage or destruction of the transparent window due to the contact. For reference, the term 'contact' as used throughout this specification is broadly interpreted to mean that a conductive object is approached by a considerable distance from the contact receiving surface in addition to the direct contact with the contact receiving surface. That is, the touch sensing panel and the touch input sensing apparatus equipped with the same according to the present invention should be interpreted as a panel or a device having a function of recognizing a contact of a conductive object or recognizing a proximity within a considerable distance.

In this embodiment, the sensing electrodes (the plurality of horizontal and vertical electrodes) may be formed on separate substrates, and may be formed through a process of attaching the sensing electrode and the transparent window using an adhesive material such as an optical clear adhesive (OCA). have. That is, the sensing electrode is patterned by forming an ITO-forming surface of an ITO film material having ITO formed on one or both surfaces of polyethylene terephtalete (PET) or thin glass, and attaching the patterned ITO film to a transparent window. Can form them. In an embodiment of patterning both surfaces of an ITO film, the vertical electrode may be patterned on one surface of the film, and the horizontal electrode may be patterned on the other surface of the film. In this case, it is preferable to attach the ITO film to the transparent window so that the vertical electrode is disposed between the transparent window and the film.

In addition, the sensing electrodes (a plurality of horizontal and vertical electrodes) may be directly patterned on one surface of the transparent window so that the horizontal and vertical electrodes may be integrally formed with the transparent window. Accordingly, in the manufacturing process of the touch sensing panel, it is possible to simplify the manufacturing process and increase the yield by omitting the process of attaching the sensing electrodes (horizontal and vertical electrodes) and the window having a high defective rate. By simplifying the process, the production cost of the touch sensing panel can be lowered. Such integration may reduce the thickness of electronic devices to which the touch sensing panel is applied.

Throughout this specification, the expression integrally or integrally has a meaning in which the sensing electrode 120 is directly formed on one surface of the transparent window 110 without a separate adhesive layer such as OCA. Instead of forming a sensing electrode on a separate member in the form of an ITO film and then attaching the sensing electrode to a transparent window, the sensing electrode is formed directly on the transparent window by a method such as sputtering or ion plating and etching. to be. That is, it means any method which does not include the attachment process to a transparent window in a formation process. Therefore, in addition to directly patterning the sensing electrode on an exposed surface of the transparent window, the sensing electrode may be formed on the surface of the transparent window coated with a separate layer such as a shatterproof film or a transparent resin by the above method. It is a concept to include.

In one embodiment, instead of integrally forming all of the sensing electrodes on the substrate (transparent window) at once, they may be integrally formed in a separate process. For example, vertical electrodes may be formed on one surface of the transparent window, an insulating layer may be coated thereon, and horizontal electrodes may be formed thereon. In another embodiment, only some of the sensing electrodes may be integrally formed. For example, only the vertical electrode may be integrally formed in the transparent window, the horizontal electrode may be formed in a separate member in the form of an ITO film, and then the ITO film may be attached to the transparent window.

In the present invention, at least two vertical electrodes may be arranged in a group so as to be adjacent to each other in turn. When the panel according to the present invention operates as a mutual capacitive panel, it is possible to determine the precise position by overlapping or combining signals sensed by the vertical electrodes belonging to the same group, so that the vertical electrodes are advantageously disposed adjacent to each other. In particular, as shown in Figure 1, it is preferable that the two vertical electrodes are adjacent to each other. This will be described later. Although in FIG. 1 two vertical electrodes are shown to be adjacent to each other, for the purpose of dense horizontal position sensing, each vertical electrode may be arranged to be spaced at a constant distance.

When the vertical electrodes according to the present invention are arranged adjacent to each other by pairing, as shown in FIG. 1, each vertical electrode and each of the wirings C1 to C8 may be connected, but as shown in FIG. 3 to reduce the number of channels. Adjacent longitudinal electrodes on which the split electrodes are arranged may be electrically connected to each other. That is, the vertical electrodes C12 and C13, C14 and C15, and C16 and C17 may be electrically connected. The number of channels C101 to C105 (five) when the adjacent vertical electrodes are coupled in this way is smaller than the number of channels C1 to C8 (eight) when not coupled. Since the divided electrodes disposed between the adjacent coupled vertical electrodes face each other, the divided electrodes are separate horizontal electrodes, and thus, it is possible to accurately determine the contact position. In addition, the overlap sensing region (described later) is adjacent to one division electrode 14a, a part of the vertical electrode C15 adjacent thereto, and one sensing region with one division electrode 14a and the C15 vertical electrode interposed therebetween. Since the other sensing region is formed together with the vertical electrode C16, the position determination according to the overlapping sensing region is also not a problem.

At least two horizontal electrodes of the horizontal electrodes according to the present invention may be arranged to pass through the horizontal axis at any position. Referring to the partial region 50 of the contact detection region 120 of FIGS. 1 and 2, the split electrodes 51 disposed at the Y1 position and the odd-numbered X-axis positions X1, X3, X5, and X7 of the Y-axis. Horizontal electrodes 11a including 53, 55, 57, and split electrodes 52, 54, 56, 58 disposed at Y1 and even X-axis positions X2, X4, X6, X8. The horizontal electrodes 11b share the Y1 axis. In this embodiment, the center alignment axes (the lines bisecting the divided electrodes) of the 11a horizontal electrode and the 11b horizontal electrode are arranged to coincide. That is, the orthogonal projection of the 11a transverse electrode and the orthogonal projection of the 11b transverse electrode substantially overlap with respect to the Y axis.

Referring to FIG. 2A in which the partial region 50 of FIG. 1 is enlarged, the horizontal electrodes are horizontal electrodes 11a, 12a, 13a,... Of the first group 10A adjacent to the left side of the vertical electrodes. And horizontal electrodes 11b, 12b, 13b, ... of the second group 10B adjacent to the right side of the vertical electrodes. Although the horizontal electrodes are illustrated in FIG. 1 as being arranged at regular intervals, as shown in FIG. 2B, two divided electrodes among the divided electrodes belonging to the same horizontal electrode may be arranged to be adjacent to each other. The layouts may all appear in one panel.

When the panel 100 according to the present invention operates as a mutual capacitance panel, a driving signal is applied to one or more of the vertical electrodes c11 to c18 and the first and second horizontal electrode groups 10A and 10B. Can be. In this case, peripheral electric field lines (leakage flux) may be formed between adjacent row zones or column zones, and the like. Accordingly, the division electrode and some sector pairs of the vertical electrode adjacent to or close to the division electrode may form a sensing region in which charge can couple from the driving region to the sensing region. When a finger touches over one of the sensing areas, some of the surrounding electric field lines outside the cover of the panel are blocked by the finger, and the amount of charge that couples in the sensing area is reduced. This reduction in combined charge amount can be part of determining the image upon contact. In the case of mutual capacitive panels, a separate reference ground may be unnecessary.

If the panel according to the invention is a mutual capacitive panel (hereinafter assumed to be a mutual capacitive panel, unless specifically referred to as a "self-capacitive panel"), the first and second horizontal electrode groups 10A, 10B ) May be a driving electrode to which a driving signal is applied, and the plurality of vertical electrodes c11 to c18 may be assumed to be sensing electrodes for sensing a sensing signal.

4 is an enlarged partial view of a region 151 in which a plurality of sensing regions of FIG. 1 are formed when the panel according to the present invention is a mutual capacitance panel.

When the panel according to the present invention is a mutual capacitance panel, a predetermined sector of one split electrode or vertical electrode may be part of two or more kinds of sensing regions. The touch sensing circuit unit (not shown) according to the present invention may accurately determine the contact position by extracting and combining each horizontal position component and vertical position component from overlapping sensing regions sharing a partial region. Referring to FIG. 4, the first sensing region 171 of the plurality of sensing regions may be formed on the first divided electrode 161 included in the corresponding region 171 of the 14a horizontal electrode, and the corresponding region 171 of the c15 vertical electrode. The first sensing sector 166 is included. The second sensing region 172 of the sensing region includes a first split electrode 161 and a second sensing sector 167 included in the corresponding region 172 of the c16 vertical electrode. The third sensing region 173 of the sensing region includes a second split electrode 162 and a second sensing sector 167 corresponding to the region 173 of the 14b horizontal electrode. The fourth sensing region 174 of the sensing region includes the second split electrode 162 and the first sensing sector 166. Based on the first sensing sector, the first and fourth sensing regions 171 and 174 share the first sensing sector. Respective first and second split electrodes 161 and 162 and first and second sensing sectors 166 and 167 are used to extract the horizontal position component and the vertical position component of the contact position. Each sensing region may include an overlapping region, and the touch sensing circuit unit may more accurately determine the position of the contact object by using a combination of mutual capacitance changes sensed in each sensing sector (c15 and c16 vertical electrodes).

In FIG. 4, a plurality of sensing regions including an overlapping region are exemplarily limited to divided electrodes and sensing sectors which are sequentially disposed in the horizontal direction and are arranged up and down. The sensing regions may also be regions adjacent to each other, regions in diagonal directions, and regions disposed between the split electrodes in the same row.

FIG. 5 is a plot of mutual capacitance as seen in cross section TT ′ of a partial region 151 of the contact detection region 120 of FIG. 1. 5 shows a first divided electrode 161 of a 13a horizontal electrode, a first sensing sector 166 of a c15 vertical electrode, a second sensing sector 167 of a c16 vertical electrode, disposed in an overlapping sensing region 151, And a cross-section of the second divided electrode 162 of the 13b horizontal electrode in sequence, and illustrates the amount of change in mutual capacitance sensed in each sensing sector according to the position of the finger. On each electrode, a cover glass 112, which is a kind of substrate, is disposed. It is assumed that the first and second split electrodes 161 and 162 are driving electrodes, and the first and second sensing sectors 166 and 167 are sensing electrodes.

5A and 5B illustrate a case where a contact object makes contact between the first driving electrode 161 and the first sensing electrode 166. Referring to FIG. 5A, when a driving signal is applied to the first driving electrode 161, the change amount of mutual capacitance of '100' is observed at the adjacent first sensing electrode 166, and the neighboring first The amount of mutual capacitance change of '20' is sensed by the two sensing electrodes 167.

Referring to FIG. 5B, the second driving electrode 162 is different at a time different from the time when the driving signal is applied to the first driving electrode 161 (the time difference is very small and the fingers are assumed to be at substantially the same position). When the driving signal is applied, the amount of mutual capacitance change of '5' is observed at the first sensing electrode 166 near the finger, and the amount of mutual capacitance change is not present at the second sensing electrode 167 far from the finger. You can check it.

FIG. 5C illustrates a case in which a finger is located closer to the first sensing electrode 166 than the second sensing electrode 167, and a driving signal is applied to the first and second driving electrodes with a parallax so that each sensing is performed. The amounts observed at the electrodes are superimposed. Referring to FIG. 5C, the mutual capacitance change amount of '60' is observed in the first sensing electrode 166, and the mutual capacitance change amount of '30' is observed in the second sensing electrode 167. The more the contact object is positioned toward one of the driving electrodes, the greater the amount of mutual capacitance change detected by the sensing electrode on the biased side.

FIG. 5D illustrates a case where a finger is positioned between the second sensing electrode 167 and the second driving electrode 162 and superimposes the amount of mutual capacitance change observed on the first and second sensing electrodes. Referring to FIG. 5D, the amount of change in mutual capacitance of '105' is observed in the second sensing electrode 167 near the finger, and the value of '20' in the first sensing electrode 166 far from the finger is observed. The amount of change in capacitance is observed.

As shown in the example of FIG. 5, due to the overlapped sensing regions, the touch sensing resolution is improved, thereby improving linearity.

The degree of linearity may be checked to accurately determine the touch position recognition rate of the user. 13 is a diagram representing linearity. The linearity indicates how smoothly the diagonal position pair is judged when the diagonal touch is made to slide diagonally as shown in FIG. The closer the contact location is determined to be diagonal, the better the linearity. 14 (b) and 14 (c) show the contact position determination results of FIG. 14 (a), and FIG. 14 (c) has better linearity.

In this embodiment, in order to increase the touch sensing resolution, a driving signal may be randomly applied to each horizontal electrode as necessary. For example, after the driving signal is sequentially applied to the horizontal electrodes of the first group, the driving signals are sequentially applied to the horizontal electrodes of the second group (11a electrode, 12a electrode, 13a electrode, ..., 11b Electrodes, 12b electrodes, ...), driving signals are sequentially applied to horizontal electrodes belonging to the same row (11a electrode, 11b electrode, 12a electrode, 12b electrode, ...), or driving electrodes arranged in a diagonal direction The driving signals may be sequentially applied to the fields 11a, 12b, 13a, 14b, ..., and other various embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 4, in order for the mutual capacitive panel according to the present embodiment to obtain an optimum touch sensitivity, an area of the first division electrode 161 and an area of the first sensing sector 166 of the first sensing area 171 are obtained. It may be desirable for the same to be substantially the same. The mutually corresponding areas may not be substantially the same, but the error may be offset by increasing the adjacent boundary region so that the leakage electric field is increased. To this end, it is possible to reduce the width of the area bordered by each electrode, to form a periodic geometric pattern on the vertical electrode, and to form the horizontal electrode to fill the area formed by the vertical electrode. The geometric pattern of the vertical electrode may have a triangular or square shape.

Since the vertical electrode is electrically connected on the contact detection region 120, it may be desirable to operate as the sensing electrode. Sensing electrodes should be minimally affected by noise or other signals. As a representative noise in the touch sensing panel, when the touch sensing panel is disposed above the display, there is noise emitted from the display, and a driving signal applied to the driving electrode may act as noise on the vertical electrode. Noise emitted from the display can be reduced through a noise cover sheet disposed between the display and the touch sensing panel. The driving signal noise acting on the vertical electrode can be reduced by placing each electrode so that the driving signal is transmitted as far as possible from the sensing electrode to the driving electrode. For example, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 6, the extension lines 902a, 903a, 904a, 905a, etc. of the first horizontal electrode group 10A adjacent to the left side of the vertical electrode may include the first horizontal electrode group 10A. Place it on the left side. Extension lines 902b, 903b, 904b, and 905b of the second horizontal electrode group 10B adjacent to the right side of the vertical electrode are disposed to the right of the second horizontal electrode group 10B. In this case, the first and second horizontal electrode groups 10A and 10B serve as noise covers for the drive signal.

Since the driving electrode may serve as a cover of external noise, it may be preferable that the driving electrodes are disposed at the outermost portion of the substrate. Referring to FIG. 1, the leftmost side of the substrate is disposed with some electrodes of the first horizontal electrode group, and the rightmost axis of the substrate is disposed with some electrodes of the second horizontal electrode group.

The touch sensing panel 100 can also operate as a magnetic capacitive panel. In this embodiment, the reference ground plane is the back side of the substrate, the same side as each electrode, but separated from the vertical electrodes c10 and the first and second horizontal electrode groups 10A, 10B by a dielectric, or separate It can be formed on a substrate. In the magnetic capacitive panel, each sensing area has a magnetic capacitance with respect to the reference ground which can be changed due to the presence of the contact object. In FIG. 1, the electrodes of each of the vertical electrodes and the first and second horizontal electrode groups may independently sense magnetic capacitance.

7 is a structural diagram illustrating a part of the touch sensing panel 200 according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 illustrates a case in which at least two horizontal electrodes of the horizontal electrodes of FIG. 1 are arranged such that the horizontal axes of arbitrary positions pass, and the center alignment axes of each of the two horizontal electrodes are different. Descriptions of the components of FIG. 7 corresponding to those of FIG. 1 will be omitted.

The touch sensing panel 200 according to FIG. 7 includes a touch detection region 220 in which a plurality of overlapping sensing regions are arranged on a substrate, a wiring region provided outside the touch detection region 220, and a touch detection region 220. A plurality of vertical electrodes (c21, c22, c23, ...) (C20), and a plurality of horizontal electrodes (21a, 22a, 23a, ..., 21b, 22b, 23b ...) disposed in the Include.

The touch detection area 220 is where sensing electrodes for sensing a contact position on the touch sensing panel are disposed. The wiring area is an area provided outside the contact detection area 220. A plurality of wirings (bus lines) 235 connecting the electrodes of the touch detection region 220 and the touch sensing circuit unit (not shown) may be formed on the wiring region. The touch sensing circuit unit may detect and determine a touch position in the touch area through the change in capacitance according to the touch of the user. An extension line of the sensing electrodes of the contact detection area 220 may be disposed on the wiring area. In FIG. 7, the wirings CC1, CC3, CC5, and CC7 connected to the vertical electrodes and the wirings 21A to 24A and 21B to 24B connected to the respective horizontal electrodes are illustrated. The plurality of wires may act as the channel 235. Each wire may be formed of a metal material. Each of the plurality of wirings may be formed on the same layer. In addition, the plurality of wires may be disposed on a different layer from the horizontal electrodes or the vertical electrodes, and may be connected to each of the electrodes through a via. In addition, the plurality of wires may be disposed on the same layer as the horizontal electrodes or the vertical electrodes. In this case, an insulating material or the like may be applied to the intersections to prevent unnecessary electrical connections.

In FIG. 7, the plurality of vertical electrodes c21, c22, c23,..., Are arranged to be arranged at a plurality of horizontal positions X1 to X8 on the contact detection region 120 to form a sensing region. In addition, one vertical electrode may form a sensing region mutually with the other electrode. The touch sensing circuit unit may detect the position of the x-axis according to the contact using the vertical electrodes. Each vertical electrode may further include extension lines 241 extending into the wiring area. FIG. 7 is shown so that the extension lines of the odd-numbered vertical electrodes c21, c23, c25, c27 extend into the wiring area located on the lower side of the panel. Extension lines of even-numbered vertical electrodes c22, c24, c26, c28 extend to the top side of the panel (not shown). As shown in FIG. 7, each vertical electrode is connected to different wirings c21 and CC1, c23 and CC3,... Through each extension line.

Although the plurality of vertical electrodes of FIG. 7 are illustrated in a bar shape extending in the vertical direction, the plurality of vertical electrodes may be formed to repeat a predetermined pattern.

The horizontal electrodes 21a, 22a, 23a, ..., 21b, 22b, 23b, ... in FIG. 7 are arranged in the plurality of vertical positions Y1, Y2, Y3, Y4, ... on the contact detection area 220. ) May be arranged to form a sensing area. In addition, one horizontal electrode may form a sensing area together with the other electrode. The touch sensing circuit unit may sense the position of the y-axis according to the contact using the horizontal electrodes. The horizontal electrodes are preferably disposed adjacent to the vertical electrodes on the same layer as the vertical electrodes c21, c22, c23,... Each of the horizontal electrodes may include split electrodes at a specific position electrically connected and extension lines 243 and 245 electrically connecting the split electrodes in a wiring area. The split electrodes and extension lines are preferably formed at the same time.

At least two horizontal electrodes of the horizontal electrodes of the panel 200 illustrated in FIG. 7 may pass through horizontal axes at arbitrary positions, and the center alignment axes of the two horizontal electrodes may be different from each other. Referring to FIG. 7, a horizontal electrode 22a including split electrodes 251, 253, 255, and 257 disposed at a Y4 position and an odd-numbered X-axis position X1, X3, X5, and X7 of the Y axis, The horizontal electrode 11b including the split electrodes 252, 254, 256, and 258 disposed at the Y3 position and the even-numbered X-axis positions X2, X4, X6, and X8 share an arbitrary y axis 290. do. In the present embodiment, the horizontal electrodes can be arranged such that the center alignment axis Y4 of the 22a horizontal electrode (the line dividing the divided electrodes) Y4 and the center alignment axis Y3 of the 22b horizontal electrode are different. In FIG. 7, the horizontal electrodes are formed of the horizontal electrodes 21a, 22a, 23a,... Of the first group 20A adjacent to the left side of the vertical electrodes, and of the second group 20B adjacent to the right side of the vertical electrodes. The horizontal electrodes 21b, 22b, 23b, ... may be classified.

8 is a structural diagram illustrating a plurality of sensing regions formed in the partial region 280 of FIG. 7.

In FIG. 8, it is assumed that the panel 200 according to the present invention operates as a mutual capacitive touch sensing panel. When a driving signal is applied to the 23a horizontal electrode of FIG. 8, a part of the divided electrodes of the 23a horizontal electrode are formed with a portion of the c25 sensing electrode and the first sensing region 281, and a portion of the c26 sensing electrode and the second sensing region. 282 is formed. When a driving signal is applied to the 24b horizontal electrode, a part of the 24b horizontal electrode forms a part of the c25 sensing electrode and the third sensing region 283, and forms a part of the c26 sensing electrode and the fourth sensing region 284. do. When a driving signal is applied to the 23b horizontal electrode, a part of the divided electrodes of the 23b horizontal electrode form a part of the c26 sensing electrode and the fifth sensing region 285, and a part of the c25 sensing electrode and the sixth sensing region 286. To form. Based on the sensing sector 270 which is a partial region of the c25 sensing electrode, the first, fourth, and sixth sensing regions 281, 284, and 286 include some or all of the sensing sector 270. With this overlapping sensing region, sensing resolution can be increased and linearity can be improved.

FIG. 9 is a top view illustrating the position of a contact object in an enlarged view of the partial region 280 of FIG. 7.

In FIG. 9, it is assumed that the panel 200 according to the present invention operates as a mutual capacitive touch sensing panel. A position or B position in FIG. 9 indicates an area where a finger or the like contacts. When a driving signal is applied to the 23a horizontal electrode, both the A and B positions sense the same mutual capacitance decrease in the c25 or c26 vertical electrode. However, when the driving signal is applied to the 23b horizontal electrode, the large mutual capacitance decrease is detected at the c25 or c26 vertical electrode only when the contact object is positioned at the A position. That is, by sensing the mutual capacitance decrease by applying driving signals to the 23a, 23b, and 24b horizontal electrodes, respectively, it is possible to know whether the contact object touches the A position or the B position. Of course, it is also possible to know whether a finger or the like touches both A and B by the combination of the detection values. Although only A and B have been described in the drawings, a more accurate position can be determined by a combination of detection values according to each driving signal.

As described above, the panel according to FIG. 9 may obtain a large number of Y coordinates of the contact position even with a small number of driving electrodes. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the number of channels while maintaining a precise resolution.

10 is a structural diagram illustrating a portion of a touch sensing panel according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 particularly shows the case where the vertical electrode of FIG. 7 is a triangular pattern. FIG. 11 is an enlarged partial view of a partial region of the panel according to FIG. 10.

The panel according to FIG. 10 includes a plurality of vertical electrodes c31, c32,..., First groups of horizontal electrodes 31a, 32a, ..., and a second group of horizontal electrodes 31b, 32b. , ...).

The c31 vertical electrode of FIG. 10 extends in the vertical direction and is formed in a triangular pattern on the left side. The c32 vertical electrode is disposed adjacent to the right side of the c31 vertical electrode, extends in the vertical direction, a triangular pattern is formed on the right side, and is arranged to be staggered with the pattern of the c31 vertical electrode. The remaining vertical electrodes c33 and c35 and c34 and c36 are arranged to correspond to the c31 or c32 vertical electrodes.

Referring to FIG. 10, the horizontal electrodes of the first and second groups are arranged to be arranged in the vertical direction. The horizontal electrodes of the first group are disposed to be adjacent to the left side in which the triangular pattern of odd-numbered vertical electrodes are formed at a predetermined distance, and the horizontal electrodes of the second group are adjacent to the right side where the triangular pattern of even-numbered vertical electrodes are formed at a certain distance from each other. Is arranged to. Each of the transverse electrodes may include extension lines 340 to be electrically connected outside of the contact detection region.

FIG. 11 illustrates a plurality of overlapping sensing regions that may be formed in some regions 320 of the panel according to FIG. 10. Referring to FIG. 11, first to fourth sensing regions 331 to 334 may be formed in a sensing region to which one sensing sector 340 of the vertical electrode belongs. When the sensing sector 340 operates as a sensing electrode, a plurality of mutual capacitance change signals according to a predetermined driving signal may be sensed. The touch sensing circuit unit (not shown) may overlap or combine the plurality of signals to make more precise contact position determination.

In the case of the electrode pattern illustrated in FIG. 10, the length of the separation line 315 formed in the boundary region in the sensing region 310 is long, thereby increasing the leakage electric field. Accordingly, the mutual capacitance change detection signal may be stronger than without the pattern, and as a result, the accuracy of the contact input determination may be increased.

According to FIG. 10, it is preferable that the width d1 of the separation line formed in the boundary region of each electrode and the width d2 of the extension line of each horizontal electrode do not exceed the setting value, and the smaller the setting value is, the more preferable. The smaller the setting value is, the less the area of the corresponding driving electrode and the sensing electrode becomes substantially the same in each sensing area. Accordingly, the touch sensing circuit unit (not shown) may make the touch input sensing determination more linearly.

12 is a structural diagram illustrating a part of a touch sensing panel according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 illustrates a touch sensing panel in which a pattern of the vertical electrode of FIG. 7 is a rectangular protrusion. 12, unlike in FIG. 10, the vertical electrode has a rectangular protrusion pattern.

12, the center alignment axis of the first group of horizontal electrodes (eg, the center alignment axis 410 of the 42a horizontal electrode) and the center alignment axis of the second group (eg, the center of the 42b horizontal electrode) The transverse electrodes are arranged to be different from the alignment axis 420.

Two or more split electrodes disposed adjacent to each other in accordance with each of the horizontal electrodes according to FIG. 12 may be electrically connected to each other. According to this embodiment, it is possible to precisely determine the contact position while reducing the number of channels. Referring to FIG. 12, an electrode belonging to one column of the 42a horizontal electrodes is composed of four patches 431 to 434. The determination of whether a contact is near each patch may be determined by a combination of driving signals near the contact object to which a predetermined driving signal is applied and a sensing signal at a sensing electrode corresponding to the contact object. For example, when a finger touches an area 441 of FIG. 12, a combination of a detection signal according to a 43a horizontal electrode and a 42b horizontal electrode. The combination of the detection signals according to the 42b horizontal electrode and the 41b horizontal electrode when the finger touches the area 442. The combination of the detection signals according to the 41b horizontal electrode and the 41a horizontal electrode when the finger touches the area 443. The contact can be determined. Since the detection signal according to the position 442 is larger than the mutual capacitance change when the driving signal is applied to the horizontally adjacent 42b horizontal electrodes, and the variation of the mutual capacitance when the driving signal is applied to the diagonally adjacent 41b horizontal electrodes, 443 can be distinguished from the combination of the drive signal according to the position.

13 is a structural diagram showing a part of a touch sensing panel according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 illustrates a touch sensing panel in which the pattern of the vertical electrode of FIG. 7 is a trapezoidal protrusion.

Referring to FIG. 13, the horizontal electrodes may be classified into two groups 51a to 53a and 51b to 53b, and have two trapezoidal protrusions connected thereto. Vertical electrodes C51 to C58 are formed to surround the divided electrodes of each horizontal electrode.

In addition, although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described above, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, but the technical field to which the invention belongs without departing from the spirit of the invention claimed in the claims. Of course, various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art, and these modifications should not be individually understood from the technical spirit or the prospect of the present invention.

100: touch sensing panel 110: substrate
C11: vertical electrodes 11a and 11b: horizontal electrodes

Claims (20)

A contact detection area formed on one surface of the substrate and forming a plurality of detection areas for detecting a change in capacitance; And
In the touch sensing panel including an external wiring area disposed on one surface of the substrate and provided outside the contact detection area,
The contact detection area,
A plurality of columns of conductive material, forming a portion of the sensing area, arranged in a horizontal axis direction;
A plurality of patches of conductive material, forming a portion of the sensing area and arranged on a plurality of transverse axes adjacent to the plurality of columns; And
A plurality of internal wires disposed on the same layer as the plurality of patches and electrically connecting at least some of the patches arranged on a specific horizontal axis among the plurality of patches through the external wiring area;
And the at least two patches are disposed such that orthogonal projections formed on at least two electrically separated patches of the plurality of patches at least partially overlap one another. The method of claim 1,
And at least one pair of columns adjacent to each other with at least two rows of patches of the plurality of columns interposed therebetween. 3. The method of claim 2,
The structure in which the electrically connected pair of columns surround the at least two rows of patches is repeated in a two-dimensional contact detection region,
At least one of the pair of electrically connected columns is disposed to be adjacent to one of the plurality of columns that is electrically separated. The method of claim 3, wherein
A first patch of the plurality of patches is disposed to be adjacent to a first column of the pair of electrically connected columns,
A second patch electrically separated from the first patch of the plurality of patches is disposed to be adjacent to a second column of the pair of electrically connected columns,
And a first wire electrically connected to the first patch and a second wire electrically connected to the second patch of the plurality of internal wires are respectively disposed in an area between the first and second patches. The method of claim 4, wherein
Patches electrically connected to the first patch are arranged on a first horizontal axis,
And the patches electrically connected with the second patch are arranged on a second horizontal axis at a position different from the first horizontal axis. The method of claim 4, wherein
And a driving circuit unit configured to apply a driving signal to each of the patch groups electrically connected through the external wiring region at predetermined time intervals. The method according to claim 6,
The driving circuit unit applies a driving signal to the first patch group including the first patch, and then applies a second patch group including the second patch and a third patch electrically separated from the first and second patches. And applying a driving signal to any one of the third patch groups. The method according to claim 6,
A third column electrically separated from the second column of the plurality of columns is disposed adjacent to the second column,
The second patch forms a first sensing region with a portion of the second column, and forms a second sensing region with a portion of the third column,
And a controller configured to determine a contact location by combining detection signals detected in the first and second detection areas. The method of claim 1,
Any one of the patches and the one of the patches and the boundary line by the column adjacent to any one of the patches so as to have at least one refracting portion and the width of the boundary line, so that any one of the patch and the one And the column adjacent to the patch of the touch sensing panel. The method of claim 9,
Wherein any one patch comprises one or more polygonal shaped protrusions. 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the protrusion is one of a polygonal shape including a triangle, a rhombus, and a rectangle, a shape in which one or more triangles are connected, and a shape in which one or more lozenges are connected. The method of claim 9,
The first internal wires connected to any one of the plurality of internal wires may be configured such that the width of the first internal wires is constant and the width of the first internal wires is the minimum width of any one of the plurality of patches or And the first internal wiring is formed to be smaller than a minimum width of any one of the plurality of columns. 13. The method of claim 12,
And wherein said patch and said column adjacent said one patch are disposed such that the width of said boundary line is constant. The method of claim 1,
Some of the plurality of patches are disposed at an end of the contact detection area. The method of claim 1,
The substrate is a transparent window,
Wherein the transparent window is any one of tempered glass, high hardness plastic, and a combination of tempered glass and high hardness plastic. The method of claim 1,
Further comprising a transparent film attached to one side of the substrate,
The substrate is a transparent window,
The plurality of patches and the plurality of internal wirings are formed on one surface of the transparent film,
And the plurality of columns are formed on the other side of the transparent film. The method of claim 1,
The substrate is a transparent window,
And at least one of the plurality of columns, the plurality of patches, and the plurality of internal wires are integrally formed with the transparent window. The method of claim 17,
Further comprising a transparent film attached to one side of the substrate,
The plurality of columns are integrally formed with the transparent window by vapor deposition,
And the plurality of patches and the plurality of internal wires are formed on the transparent film. The method of claim 17,
The plurality of columns are integrally formed with the transparent window by vapor deposition,
And an insulating layer formed on a surface on which the plurality of columns of the transparent window are formed.
And the plurality of patches and the plurality of internal wires are formed on the insulating layer. The method of claim 1,
The external wiring area includes a plurality of external wires electrically connected to the plurality of internal wires, respectively.
And at least one insulating layer electrically separating an intersection portion of any one of the plurality of internal wires and any one of the plurality of external wires.

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