KR102187648B1 - Touch panel - Google Patents

Abstract

A touch panel according to an embodiment includes: a cover window including an effective area and an inactive area; A printing layer disposed on the ineffective area; And a wiring electrode pattern and an insulating pattern on the printed layer, wherein the wiring electrode pattern and the insulating pattern are disposed at positions corresponding to each other.

Description

Touch panel {TOUCH PANEL}

The embodiment relates to a touch panel.

Recently, in various electronic products, a touch panel for inputting an image displayed on a display device by contacting an input device such as a finger or a stylus has been applied.

Such a touch panel can be largely divided into a resistive type touch panel and a capacitive type touch panel. In the resistive touch panel, the glass and the electrode are short-circuited by the pressure of the input device to detect the position. The capacitive touch panel detects a change in capacitance between electrodes when a finger touches it and detects a position.

Resistive touch panel performance may be degraded due to repeated use, and scratches may occur. Accordingly, interest in a capacitive touch panel having excellent durability and a long lifespan is increasing.

The touch panel may be provided in various types according to the placement position of the transparent electrode. For example, transparent electrodes are directly disposed on the cover window, or each transparent electrode is separately disposed on the cover window and the substrate. can do

In this case, a printed layer is disposed in the bezel area of the cover window where no touch is made, and a wiring electrode is disposed on the printed layer, and the wiring electrode may be covered by the printed layer so that it may not be visible from the outside.

At this time, the printing layer may have a step difference between printing layers or between the printing layer and the cover window as it is formed of at least two layers, and the transparent electrode and the wiring electrode are formed on the printing layer having such a step difference. Can be. Accordingly, there is a problem in that the reliability is deteriorated by cracking the electrodes due to the step difference.

Accordingly, there is a need for a touch panel having a new structure capable of solving this problem.

The embodiment is to provide a touch panel with improved reliability.

A touch panel according to an embodiment includes: a cover window including an effective area and an inactive area; A printing layer disposed on the ineffective area; And a wiring electrode pattern and an insulating pattern on the printed layer, wherein the wiring electrode pattern and the insulating pattern are disposed at positions corresponding to each other.

In the touch panel according to the embodiment, by disposing an insulating pattern at a portion where the sensing electrode in the effective region is connected to the wiring electrode in the ineffective region, damage to the sensing electrode and the wiring electrode due to a step in the printed layer can be prevented. .

That is, by disposing an insulating pattern on a printed layer disposed in each channel region to which the sensing electrode and the wiring electrode are connected, the step difference caused by the printed layer can be alleviated, and thus. It is possible to prevent a short circuit between the sensing electrode and the wiring electrode due to such a step difference.

In addition, since it is possible to partially alleviate the step difference of the printing layer by the insulating pattern, when a substrate or the like is adhered to the cover window, it is possible to prevent defects due to the occurrence of bubbles in the adhesive layer due to the step difference. I can.

Accordingly, the touch panel according to the embodiment may improve the efficiency and reliability of the touch panel by preventing short circuits of electrodes and poor adhesion.

1 is a diagram illustrating a perspective view of a touch panel according to a first embodiment.
2 is a plan view showing a cover window according to the first embodiment.
3 is a view showing a cross section taken along line A-A' of FIG. 2.
4 is a view showing another plan view of the cover window according to the first embodiment.
5 is a view showing another cross section taken along line B-B' of FIG. 4.
6 is a view showing a cross-section taken along C-C' of FIG. 1.
7 is a view showing a perspective view of a touch panel according to a second embodiment.
8 is a plan view showing a cover window according to the second embodiment.
9 is a diagram illustrating a cross-section taken along line D-D' of FIG. 5.
10 is a view showing another plan view of the cover window according to the second embodiment.
11 is a view showing another cross section taken along E-E' of FIG. 10.
12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display to which a touch panel according to an embodiment is applied.

In the description of the embodiments, each layer (film), region, pattern, or structure is “on” or “under/under” the substrate, each layer (film), region, pad or patterns. The description that "is formed in" includes both directly or through another layer. The criteria for the top/top or bottom/bottom of each layer will be described based on the drawings.

In the drawings, the thickness or size of each layer (film), region, pattern, or structure may be modified for clarity and convenience of description, so the actual size is not entirely reflected.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Hereinafter, a touch panel according to a first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.

1 to 6, the touch panel according to the embodiment may include a cover window 100.

The cover window 100 may include an effective area AA and an ineffective area UA. In detail, the effective area AA means an area in which a user's touch command input is possible, and the ineffective area UA is a concept opposite to the effective area AA, and is not activated even when a user's touch is made. It refers to an area where input of a touch command is not made.

The cover window 100 may include glass or plastic. For example, the cover window 100 may include tempered glass, semi-tempered glass, soda lime glass, tempered plastic or soft plastic.

A printed layer 200, an insulating layer 300, a sensing electrode 400, and a wiring electrode 500 may be included on the cover window 100.

The sensing electrode 400 may be disposed on the effective area AA of the cover window 100.

The sensing electrode 400 may include a conductive material. In detail, the sensing electrode 400 may include a transparent conductive material. For example, the sensing electrode 400 may include a transparent conductive material such as indium tin oxide (ITO).

The sensing electrode 400 may include a first sensing electrode 410, a second sensing electrode 420, and a bridge electrode 430. The first sensing electrode 410, the second sensing electrode 420, and the bridge electrode 430 may include the same material or different materials.

The bridge electrode 430 may be disposed in a bar shape, for example. In detail, the bridge electrode 430 may be arranged in a bar shape spaced apart at regular intervals on the effective area AA. The bridge electrode 430 may serve as a connection electrode connecting the first sensing electrode 410 to be described later.

An insulating layer 300 may be disposed on the bridge electrode 430. In detail, an insulating layer 340 is partially disposed on the bridge electrode 430, and a portion of the bridge electrode 430 may be covered by the insulating layer 340. For example, when the bridge electrode 430 is formed in a bar shape, the first insulating layer 310 may be disposed on one end and the other end of the bridge electrode 430, that is, a region excluding both ends.

The first sensing electrode 410 and the second sensing electrode 420 may be disposed on the effective area AA to serve as sensors for sensing a touch. in details. The first sensing electrode 410 may extend and be disposed on the effective area AA in one direction, and the second sensing electrode 420 may extend and be disposed in a direction different from the one direction.

Any one of the first sensing electrode 410 and the second sensing electrode 420 may be disposed on the insulating layer 340, and the other may be connected to both ends of the bridge electrode 430. have.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the first sensing electrode 410 is disposed on the insulating layer 340, and the first sensing electrode 410 is connected to a connection part 411 connecting them. Can be electrically connected by In addition, the second sensing electrodes 420 may be connected to both ends of the bridge electrode 430 to be electrically connected to each other. Accordingly, the first sensing electrode 410 and the second sensing electrode 420 may be electrically connected to each other without being short-circuited because they are shorted to each other by the bridge electrode and the insulating material.

In the foregoing description, a bridge electrode, an insulating material, and a sensing electrode are stacked in order, but embodiments are not limited thereto, and may be stacked in the order of a sensing electrode, an insulating material, and a bridge electrode.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a first sensing electrode 410 and a second sensing electrode 420 may be formed on the effective area AA. In this case, the first sensing electrode 410 may be connected by a connector, and the second sensing electrode 420 may be formed separately.

Subsequently, an insulating layer 340 surrounding the first sensing electrode 410 and the second sensing electrode 420 is disposed, and a through hole is formed on the insulating layer corresponding to the position of the second sensing electrode 420. After forming, a bridge electrode 430 may be disposed on the insulating layer 340 to connect the second sensing electrodes.

Accordingly, the first sensing electrode 410 and the second sensing electrode 420 may be electrically connected to each other without being short-circuited because they are shorted to each other by the bridge electrode and the insulating material.

In the following description, an example in which the first sensing electrode, the insulating layer, and the second sensing electrode are sequentially stacked will be described as an example, and a configuration applied to this exemplary embodiment may be equally applied to other embodiments. .

The printing layer 600 may be disposed on the non-effective area UA of the cover window 100. The printing layer 600 may be disposed extending along the edge of the cover window. The printing layer 600 may be formed by applying pigments of various colors according to a desired appearance. For example, the printing layer 600 may be formed of a black printing layer and a white printing layer by applying a black pigment or a white pigment.

The printing layer 600 may include a plurality of printing layers. In detail, the printing layer 600 may include a first printing layer 610 and a second printing layer 620.

The first printing layer 610 and the second printing layer 620 may have different widths, and thus may have a constant stepped portion.

In detail, the first printed layer 610 may be disposed on an upper surface of the cover window 100, and the second printed layer 510 may be disposed on an upper surface of the first printed layer 610. Accordingly, the printing layer 600 may include a step portion formed between the cover window 100 and the printing layer 510 and between the first printing layer 610 and the second printing layer.

An insulating material may be disposed on the printed layer 600. In detail, a plurality of insulating patterns 300 may be disposed on the printing layer 600,

The insulating patterns 300 may be disposed to be spaced apart from each other on the printing layer 600. In detail, the insulating patterns 300 may be disposed at a position corresponding to a portion where a wiring electrode pattern connected to the sensing electrodes is located.

That is, referring to FIG. 6, the sensing electrodes and the wiring electrodes are connected to each other in respective channels, and the insulating patterns 300 correspond to respective channels to which the sensing electrodes and the wiring electrodes are connected to each other. Can be placed in position. That is, the insulating patterns 300 include a first insulating pattern 310, a second insulating pattern 320, and a third insulating pattern 330 disposed at positions corresponding to a region where the sensing electrode and the wiring electrode are connected. The insulating pattern 300 may be disposed in contact with the printing layer 600. That is, the insulating pattern 300 may be disposed in direct contact with the printing layer 600.

In detail, the insulating pattern 300 directly contacts the side surface 611 and the upper surface 612 of the first printing layer 610, the side surface 621 and the upper surface 622 of the second printing layer 620, and It may be disposed, and may be disposed while filling the stepped portions of the printing layer 600.

Accordingly, the insulating patterns 300 may be disposed while filling the stepped portions and having an inclination. In detail, the insulating pattern 300 may have an inclination angle of the insulating pattern 300 with respect to the upper surface of the cover window 100 from about 30° to about 45°. When the inclination angle of the insulation pattern 300 exceeds about 45°, a crack may occur in the sensing electrode or the wiring electrode due to the inclination of the insulation pattern 300, and disconnection may occur, and the inclination angle is about 30 Anything below ° may be difficult to implement in the process.

In addition, the insulating pattern 300 may be disposed to have a thickness of about 2 μm to about 2.5 μm. When the thickness of the insulating pattern 300 is disposed to be less than about 2 μm, when the adhesion between the print layer and the cover window decreases during the process, the thickness of the insulating pattern is too thin to prevent film removal of the print layer. If the thickness exceeds about 2.5 μm, the thickness of the insulating pattern becomes too thick, and thus miniaturization of the touch panel cannot be implemented.

The wiring electrode 500 may be disposed on the printed layer 600. In detail, the wiring electrode 500 may be disposed on the insulating pattern 300 disposed on the printed layer 600.

The wiring electrode 500 may be disposed on the insulating pattern 300. That is, the wiring electrode 500 may be disposed in direct contact with the insulating pattern 300.

In detail, the wiring electrode 500 may include a plurality of wiring electrode patterns connected to the sensing electrodes 400. For example, referring to FIG. 6, the wiring electrode 500 may include a first wiring electrode pattern 511, a second wiring electrode pattern 512, and a third wiring electrode pattern 513.

The first wiring electrode pattern 511, the second wiring electrode pattern 512, and the third wiring electrode pattern 513 are respectively the first insulating pattern 310 and the second insulating pattern 320 And may be disposed on the third insulating pattern 330.

The wiring electrode 500 may include a first wiring electrode 510 and a second wiring electrode 520. In detail, the wiring electrode 500 includes the first wiring electrode 510 connected to the first sensing electrode 410 and the second wiring electrode 520 connected to the second sensing electrode 420 can do.

The first wiring electrode 510 and the second wiring electrode 520 may be connected to the printed circuit board 700. In detail, the first wiring electrode 510 and the second wiring electrode 520 receive a touch signal sensed from the first sensing electrode 410 and the second sensing electrode 420 by the driving chip 710. The touch operation may be performed by transferring it to the mounted printed circuit board 700.

The first wiring electrode 510 and the second wiring electrode 520 may include a conductive material. In detail, the first wiring electrode 510 and the second wiring electrode 520 may include a metal material such as silver (Ag) or copper (Cu).

Since the first wiring electrode and the second wiring electrode are disposed on the insulating pattern described above, cracks that may occur due to the stepped portions of the printed layer can be prevented, and thus, short circuits of the wiring electrodes can be prevented. Therefore, the reliability of the touch panel can be improved.

Hereinafter, a touch panel according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 11. In the description according to the second embodiment, descriptions of parts that are the same as those of the first embodiment described above are omitted, and the same reference numerals are assigned to the same configuration.

7 to 11, in the touch panel according to the second embodiment, a cover window 100, a substrate 800 disposed on the cover window, and the cover window 100 and the substrate 800 are bonded. It may include an adhesive layer 900.

The first sensing electrode 410 and the first wiring electrode 510 may be disposed on the cover window 100. In addition, the second sensing electrode 420 and the second wiring electrode 520 may be disposed on the substrate 800.

In addition, the adhesive layer 900 may include a transparent adhesive layer. The adhesive layer 900 may include an optical clear adhesive. The adhesive layer 900 may be disposed between the cover window 100 and the substrate 800 to adhere the cover window 100 and the substrate 800.

8 and 9, in the touch panel according to the second embodiment, like the touch panel according to the first embodiment described above, the insulating pattern 300 is disposed on the ineffective area UA, It may be disposed at a position corresponding to the wiring electrode pattern.

Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the insulating pattern may be disposed in the non-effective area UA and the effective area AA. That is, the insulating pattern 300 may be formed by extending from the non-effective area UA to the effective area AA.

Accordingly, as the insulating pattern is disposed while filling the step difference between the printed layers, when the sensing electrode and the wiring electrode extending from the effective area to the non-effective area are disposed on the printed layer, the step difference of the printed layer by the insulating pattern Since can be alleviated, cracks of the sensing electrode and the wiring electrode due to such a step can be prevented, thereby preventing an electrical short.

In addition, when the adhesive layer bonding the cover window and the substrate is disposed, the step difference in the printing layer can be reduced by the insulating layer, so that voids that may occur in the adhesive layer due to the step difference can be reduced, and accordingly, Inflow of impurities such as air that may penetrate into the pores can be prevented, thereby reducing the occurrence of bubbles or the like in the adhesive layer.

Accordingly, the touch panel according to the embodiment may have improved reliability as a whole by preventing short circuits of electrodes and reducing the generation of bubbles in the adhesive layer.

12 is a diagram illustrating a mobile terminal including the touch panel described above.

Referring to FIG. 12, the mobile terminal 1000 may include an effective area AA and an ineffective area UA. The effective area AA may sense a touch signal by a touch such as a finger, and a command icon pattern part and a logo may be formed in the ineffective area.

In FIG. 12, as an example, a mobile terminal is illustrated, but the electrode member and the touch panel described above may be used in various electronic products such as automobiles and home appliances to which a display is applied in addition to the mobile terminal. In particular, when using a nanowire as an electrode, it can be easily applied to a flexible display.

Features, structures, effects, and the like described in the above-described embodiments are included in at least one embodiment of the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to only one embodiment. Furthermore, the features, structures, effects, and the like illustrated in each embodiment may be combined or modified for other embodiments by a person having ordinary knowledge in the field to which the embodiments belong. Accordingly, contents related to such combinations and modifications should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention.

In addition, although the embodiments have been described above, these are only examples and do not limit the present invention, and those of ordinary skill in the field to which the present invention pertains are illustrated above within the scope not departing from the essential characteristics of the present embodiment. It will be seen that various modifications and applications that are not available are possible. For example, each component specifically shown in the embodiments can be modified and implemented. And differences related to these modifications and applications should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention defined in the appended claims.

Claims (10)

A cover window including an effective area and an invalid area;
A printing layer disposed on the ineffective area; And
Including a wiring electrode pattern and an insulating pattern on the printed layer,
The printing layer,
A first printing layer disposed on the cover window to have a first step portion from the cover window; And
And a second printing layer disposed on the first printing layer to have the first printing layer and a second step,
The insulating pattern is disposed while filling the first stepped portion and the second stepped portion,
The wiring electrode pattern includes a plurality of wiring electrode patterns connected to a plurality of sensing electrodes and spaced apart from each other,
The insulating pattern includes a plurality of insulating patterns disposed only at a position corresponding to a portion where each wiring electrode pattern is located,
On the effective area
Insulating layer;
A bridge electrode disposed on a lower surface of the insulating layer;
A first sensing electrode disposed on the insulating layer; And
A second sensing electrode connected to the bridge electrode is disposed,
The first sensing electrode and the second sensing electrode extend along the insulating pattern and are electrically connected to the wiring electrode pattern on the insulating layer. The method of claim 1,
The insulating pattern is disposed in direct contact with the printing layer,
The wiring electrode pattern is a touch panel disposed on the insulating pattern. delete The method of claim 1,
The insulating pattern extends from a side surface of the first printing layer to an upper surface of the second printing layer and is disposed. The method of claim 1,
The thickness of the insulating pattern is 2㎛ to 2.5㎛ touch panel. The method of claim 2,
The inclined angle of the insulating pattern with respect to the upper surface of the cover window is 30° to 45°. delete The method of claim 1,
The insulating layer and the insulating pattern include the same material. The method of claim 1,
Further comprising a substrate disposed on the cover window,
The cover window and the substrate are bonded to each other by an adhesive layer. delete

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