KR20120062652A - Touch panel including a conduction layer having lines - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A touch panel having a conductive film is provided to reduce manufacturing processes of a touch panel by forming a conductive film on a substrate in a printing method. CONSTITUTION: A first conductive film(402) is arranged in one side of a substrate. An electrode pattern(406) is arranged on the first conductive film and includes electrodes for supplying power to the first conductive film. The first conductive film has a mesh structure, a arrangement structure, and a zigzag structure. The first conductive film is formed on the substrate in a printing process.

Description

TOUCH PANEL INCLUDING A CONDUCTION LAYER HAVING LINES}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a touch panel, and more particularly, to a touch panel including a conductive film made of abnormal defect lines while securing an aperture ratio.

As the touch panel, various methods such as a capacitance method, a resistive film method, an ultrasonic method, an infrared method, and a piezo effect method are used, and in particular, a capacitive method and a resistive film method are used.

The capacitive touch panel uses a method of detecting a touched position by detecting a change in capacitance according to a touch such as a finger, and generally has a structure shown in FIG. 1 below.

1 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a structure of a general capacitive touch panel.

Referring to FIG. 1, a capacitive touch panel includes a transparent substrate 100, a conductive film 102, and electrodes 104.

The conductive film 102 is formed with a predetermined pattern on the substrate 100 and is made of a transparent material such as indium tin oxide (ITO) or antimony tin oxide (ATO) for light transmission.

The electrodes 104 are electrically connected to the conductive film 102. In this case, the control circuit (not shown) provides a predetermined power supply to the conductive layer 102 through the electrodes 104, and when a specific object touches the panel, the touched position is sensed by sensing the voltage changed by the touch. Detect.

Hereinafter, a process of manufacturing the capacitive touch panel will be described.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a process of forming a conductive film during the touch panel manufacturing process of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a process of forming a conductive film during the process of manufacturing a touch panel of FIG. 1.

2 and 3, the conductive layer 300 made of a conductive material is deposited on the entire surface of the substrate 100 through a sputtering method (S200).

Subsequently, as illustrated in FIG. 3A, a photoresist 302, for example, a photoresist, is coated on the conductive layer 300 (S202). Here, the photoresist includes a positive photoresist that weakens the coupling of the light incident part and a negative photoresist that intensifies the coupling of the light incident part. Hereinafter, it is assumed that a positive photoresist is used for convenience of description.

Subsequently, as illustrated in FIG. 3A, the photosensitive material 302 is exposed using a photo mask, and then the photosensitive material 302 is developed using a developing solution (S204). As a result, as shown in Fig. 3B, the portion 302b on which light is incident is removed and only the portion 302a not exposed to the light remains.

Subsequently, a portion of the conductive layer 300 in which the photoresist 302a is not positioned is etched using a specific etching solution. As a result, a conductive film 102 having a predetermined pattern is formed on the substrate 100.

Although not described above, the electrodes 104 are also formed through a similar method.

That is, in order to form the conductive film 102 and the electrodes 104 in the capacitive touch panel, many process steps, such as a deposition process, an exposure process, a developing process, and an etching process, have been performed. It took a lot of time.

In addition, ITO and the like used as the conductive film 102 are expensive, and the unit price of the touch panel is inevitably increased.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a touch panel which maintains light transmittance while reducing manufacturing steps.

In order to achieve the above object, a capacitive touch panel according to an embodiment of the present invention is a substrate; A first conductive film arranged on one surface of the substrate; And an electrode pattern part arranged on the first conductive film and including electrodes for supplying power to the first conductive film. Here, the first conductive film is implemented by opaque lines and has a mesh structure, a structure in which the lines are arranged horizontally or vertically or a zigzag structure, and the line has a line width of 5 μm to 50 μm to secure an opening ratio, The first conductive layer and the electrode pattern portion are formed on the substrate through one printing process using a printing method.

In the touch panel (capacitive type touch panel, resistive thin film type touch panel) according to the present invention, since the conductive film is formed on the substrate through a printing method, the process step of manufacturing the touch panel can be reduced. In this case, since the conductive film is formed of lines having a predetermined line width, the conductive film can maintain excellent light transmittance. Here, the lines may have a mesh structure, a vertically or horizontally arranged structure or a zigzag structure.

In addition, since the conductive film may use a low-cost opaque material without using a transparent material such as expensive ITO, the manufacturing cost of the touch panel may be lowered.

1 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a structure of a general capacitive touch panel.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a process of forming a conductive film in the touch panel manufacturing process of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a process of forming a conductive film in the process of manufacturing a touch panel of FIG. 1.
4 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a capacitive touch panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically illustrating a structure of the touch panel of FIG. 4 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
6 is a schematic view of touch panels according to another embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a flowchart illustrating a touch panel manufacturing process according to an embodiment of the present invention.
8 is a perspective view schematically showing an analog resistive touch panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.
9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an operation process of the touch panel of FIG. 8.
10 is a diagram schematically illustrating a digital resistive touch panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As the invention allows for various changes and numerous embodiments, particular embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the written description. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments, but includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention. Like reference numerals are used for like elements in describing each drawing.

When a component is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another component, it may be directly connected to or connected to that other component, but it may be understood that other components may be present in between. Should be. On the other hand, when a component is said to be "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another component, it should be understood that there is no other component in between.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, the terms "comprise" or "have" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, and one or more other features. It is to be understood that the present invention does not exclude the possibility of the presence or the addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, components, or a combination thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries are to be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the contextual meaning of the related art and are to be interpreted as either ideal or overly formal in the sense of the present application Do not.

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

4 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a capacitive touch panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the capacitive touch panel of the present embodiment refers to a touch panel that detects a touched position by detecting a change in capacitance according to the touch when touched by a finger or the like, and the substrate 400. And a first conductive film 402, a second conductive film 404, an electrode pattern portion 406, and a protective film 408.

The substrate 400 is made of a transparent material, for example, glass, polyester (polyethylen terephthalate (PET), cyclic olefin polymer (Cyclic Olefin Polymer, COP), cyclic olefin copolymer (Cyclic Olefin Copolymer, COC) , Triacetyl cellulose (TAC), and the like.

The first conductive layer 402 is arranged on one surface of the substrate 400 and has a mesh structure. The first conductive layer 402 is made of a highly conductive transparent material such as indium tin oxide (ITO), al doped zinc oxide (AZO), antimony tin oxide (ATO), carbon nanotubes, or the like. It may be, or may be made of an opaque material such as silver. However, when the first conductive layer 402 is made of an opaque material, a sufficient aperture ratio must be secured through a mesh structure, a structure in which lines are arranged horizontally or vertically, or a zigzag structure so that sufficient light transmittance can be maintained.

The second conductive film 404 is arranged on the surface of the substrate 400 opposite to the surface on which the first conductive film 402 is formed, and may be made of a highly conductive material such as ITO, AZO, ATO, and carbon nanotubes. have. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the second conductive layer 404 may be formed of a mesh structure, a structure in which lines are arranged horizontally or vertically, or a zigzag structure, and may be made of an opaque material.

The electrode pattern part 406 includes electrodes for supplying power to the first conductive film 402, and the electrodes are electrically connected to the first conductive film 402. Here, the control circuit (not shown) supplies a predetermined power supply to the first conductive layer 402 through the electrodes to detect the position of the object or finger touched. In detail, when a finger or the like is touched while the control circuit supplies the power to the first conductive layer 402 through the electrodes, capacitance is induced between the first conductive layer 402 and the substrate 400. The control circuit detects a change in the induced capacitance and detects coordinates of the touched position.

The passivation layer 408 is formed on the first conductive layer 402, for example, by a method of spin coating the SiO ₂ based coating solution on the first conductive layer 402 to prevent the first conductive layer 402 from the external environment. ) To reduce noise and reduce noise.

In other words, at least one of the conductive films 402 and 404 has a mesh structure in the capacitive touch panel of the present embodiment. Preferably, the first conductive layer 402 may be formed of a mesh structure formed through a printing method, a structure in which lines are arranged horizontally or vertically, or a zigzag structure to reduce manufacturing process steps, as described below.

That is, the conductive film 402 or 404 may be made of an opaque material. In this case, the opening ratio may be secured through a mesh structure, a structure in which lines are arranged horizontally or vertically, or a zigzag structure.

Compared with the conventional touch panel and the touch panel of the present embodiment, the conventional touch panel uses an expensive transparent material, that is, ITO, etc., but the manufacturing cost has increased, but the touch panel of the present embodiment has a low cost and good opaque material. Can be used to reduce the manufacturing cost. Of course, even in this case, the light transmittance can be maintained similar to the conventional touch panel, which will be described later.

Hereinafter, the structure of the touch panel of the present embodiment will be described in detail.

FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically illustrating a structure of the touch panel of FIG. 4 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5, a first conductive layer 402 is formed on the substrate 400. Here, the first conductive layer 402 may be formed of, for example, triangular first sub conductive layers 402a and second sub conductive layers 402b.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, at least one of the sub conductive layers 402a and 402b may have a mesh structure as shown in FIG. 5A. Preferably, all the sub conductive films 402a and 402b have a mesh structure.

In addition, the mesh lines 412 having a mesh structure in the sub conductive layer 402a or 402b may have a rectangular shape and may be arranged regularly or irregularly. In this case, when the mesh structure is regularly formed, a moire phenomenon may occur between a predetermined pattern of a display panel, for example, a liquid crystal panel, and the sub conductive layer 402a or 402b, so that the sub conductive layer 402a or 402b) advantageously has an irregular mesh structure. However, some of the sub conductive layers 402a and 402b may have a regular mesh structure and others may have an irregular mesh structure. However, it is preferable that all of the sub conductive layers 402a and 402b have an irregular mesh structure. desirable.

In the above, although the sub conductive layers 402a and 402b each have a triangular shape, the sub conductive layers 402a and 402b may have various shapes such as a rectangular shape as long as the inside thereof has a mesh structure. In addition, although the sub conductive layers 402a and 402b are all disposed on the same plane, they may be disposed on different planes.

When the touch panel of the present embodiment is used for a television, a mobile phone, a notebook, a navigation, or the like, the mesh line 412 may have a line width of about 5 μm to about 50 μm so that the sub conductive film 402a or 402b has a sufficient opening ratio. have. Of course, the line width of the mesh line 412 is not limited, and may vary depending on the use and viewing distance. For example, when the viewing distance is far from a large area such as a television or the like, even if the mesh line 412 has a line width of 50 μm or more, it is difficult to recognize the line 412 with the naked eye, and thus may have a larger line width. However, the aperture ratio must be secured to a certain level or more. As a result, the majority of the light output from the display panel can pass through the first conductive film 402. Of course, the line width of the mesh line 412 may be appropriately changed according to the size of the touch panel.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the electrode pattern part 404 is composed of electrodes connected to the sub conductive layers 402a and 402b, and the electrodes are electrically connected to the control circuit 410. As a result, the control circuit 410 may provide predetermined power to the sub conductive layers 402a and 402b through the electrodes, and detect the touched position by detecting a change in capacitance according to the touch.

The protective film 408 is formed on the first conductive film 402 and the electrode pattern portion 406 as shown in FIG. 5B.

In other words, the first conductive film 402 of the touch panel of this embodiment includes sub conductive films 402a and 402b having a mesh structure. Here, at least one of the sub conductive layers 402a and 402b may be formed in a mesh structure.

Although only the first conductive film 402 has been described above, the second conductive film 404 may also have a mesh structure.

6 is a schematic view of touch panels according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6A, the conductive film 402 includes sub conductive films 602a and 602b having a specific pattern.

Unlike the touch panel of FIG. 5 having a mesh structure, the sub conductive layers 602a or 602b are horizontally arranged with lines having a predetermined line width. Here, the intervals of the tracks may be regular or irregular, and the tracks may be arranged in parallel or unbalanced. However, the line width and arrangement of the lines may be variously modified under a state in which the opening ratio of the touch panel is secured.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the lines of the sub conductive film 602a or 602b may be arranged in a vertical direction instead of a horizontal direction. Of course, in this case, the direction of the electrodes connected to the lines will also change.

Referring to FIG. 6B, the conductive layer 402 includes sub conductive layers 610a and 610b having a specific pattern.

Lines having a predetermined line width are arranged in a zigzag form in the sub conductive layer 610a or 610b. Here, the line widths of the lines may be constant or irregular. However, the line widths of the lines should be implemented to ensure the aperture ratio of the touch panel.

Referring to FIG. 6C, the conductive film 402 is present as one film without being divided into sub conductive films, and lines having a specific line width may be arranged in a horizontal, vertical or zigzag form.

In other words, the conductive film of the touch panel of the present embodiment may be formed of one or more lines having a specific line width as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Here, the lines may have a mesh structure, a structure in which the lines are arranged horizontally or vertically, a zigzag structure, and the like. In addition, at least one of the sub conductive layers may have another structure. For example, one of the sub conductive layers may have a mesh structure, the other may have a structure in which lines are arranged horizontally, and the other may have a zigzag structure. Of course, considering the printing method and the like, it will be preferable that all the sub conductive films have the same structure.

Hereinafter, a process of forming the conductive film will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, for convenience of description, it will be assumed that the touch panel is the touch panel of FIG. 5.

7 is a flowchart illustrating a touch panel manufacturing process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, a substrate 400 made of glass or PET is formed (S700).

Subsequently, electrodes of the first conductive film 402 and the electrode pattern portion 406 are formed on the substrate 400 through a printing method (eco-friendly) (S702). Preferably, the first conductive layer 402 and the electrodes are formed on the substrate 400 through one printing process.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a pad printing method using a pad as a printing medium may be used as the printing method. Of course, a silk screen printing method or the like may be used as the printing method.

Subsequently, a second conductive film 404 is formed on the other side of the substrate 400, and a protective film 408 is formed on the first conductive film 402.

In other words, the electrodes of the first conductive layer 402 and the electrode pattern portion 406 of the present embodiment may be formed on the substrate 400 through the printing process. In this case, although the first conductive layer 402 may be opaque due to the nature of the printing process, the opening is secured through a mesh structure, a structure in which lines are arranged horizontally or vertically, and a zigzag structure. Similarly, sufficient light transmittance can be maintained.

That is, since the touch panel manufacturing method of the present embodiment forms the electrodes of the first conductive film 402 and the electrode pattern portion 406 on the substrate 400 through one printing process, the conductive film may be formed through a deposition and etching process. And the manufacturing step can be significantly reduced than the process of manufacturing the conventional touch panel forming the electrodes.

8 is a perspective view schematically illustrating an analog resistive touch panel according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an operation process of the touch panel of FIG. 8.

The resistive touch panel of the present embodiment is an analog type, and both a 4-wire type and a 5-wire type can be used. However, for convenience of description, a 5-wire resistive touch panel will be used as an example.

Referring to FIG. 8, the touch panel according to the present exemplary embodiment includes an upper substrate 800, a lower substrate 802, a first conductive film 804, a second conductive film 806, first electrodes 808, and a second electrode. Electrodes 810 and dot spacers 812.

The first conductive layer 804 may be made of a transparent material such as ITO or an opaque material, and is formed on one side of the upper substrate 800. In particular, the first conductive layer 804 may be formed of a mesh structure, a structure in which lines are arranged horizontally or vertically, a zigzag structure, and the like. Only an area) may be formed of a mesh structure, a structure in which lines are arranged horizontally or vertically, a zigzag structure, and the like.

The second conductive layer 806 may be made of a transparent material such as ITO or an opaque material, and is formed on one side of the lower substrate 802. The second conductive film 806 may have a mesh structure, a structure in which lines are arranged vertically or horizontally, a zigzag structure, and the like, and are arranged to face the first conductive film 804.

That is, at least one of the conductive films 804 and 806 has a mesh structure, a structure in which lines are arranged vertically or horizontally, a zigzag structure, and the like. Of course, the conductive film 804 or 806 having such a structure is formed on the substrate 800 or 802 through one printing process, for example, a pad printing process.

The first electrodes 808 are arranged over the first conductive film 804. In this case, the control circuit (not shown) applies a predetermined power to the first conductive film 804 through the first electrodes 808.

The second electrodes 810 are arranged over the second conductive film 806. In this case, the control circuit applies a predetermined power on the second conductive film 806 through the second electrodes 810. In detail, the second electrodes 810 include electrodes in the X-axis direction and electrodes in the Y-axis direction. In this case, as shown in FIG. 9, the control circuit applies a voltage to the electrodes in the X-axis direction, sequentially applies voltages to the electrodes in the Y-axis direction, and applies the voltage changed according to the application of the first electrodes. A position detected by the finger or the like is detected through 808. Of course, in the fourth wire resistive touch panel, the position of the X-axis or the Y-axis is sensed by sensing the voltage changed by applying a predetermined power to the first electrodes on the first conductive film through the second electrodes on the second conductive film. And detect the position of the Y-axis or the X-axis by sensing the voltage changed by applying a predetermined power source to the second electrodes on the second conductive film through the first electrodes on the first conductive film.

The dot spacers 812 electrically separate the first conductive film 804 and the second conductive film 806.

In other words, similar to the capacitive touch panel, the analog resistive touch panel uses a conductive film 804 or 806 having a mesh structure, a structure in which lines are arranged horizontally or vertically, a zigzag structure, and the like. Here, the conductive film 804 or 806 is formed on the substrate 800 or 802 by a printing method. However, it is preferable that only the display region of the conductive film 804 or 806 has a mesh structure, a structure in which lines are arranged horizontally or vertically, and a zigzag structure.

10 is a diagram schematically illustrating a digital resistive touch panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 10, the touch panel according to the present exemplary embodiment may include a first conductive layer and a second sub conductive layers 1006 formed of an upper substrate 1000, a lower substrate 1002, and first sub conductive layers 1004. And a second conductive film, first electrodes 1008, and second electrodes 1010.

The first sub conductive layers 1004 are formed on the upper substrate 1000, and at least one of the first sub conductive layers 1004 has a mesh structure, a structure in which lines are horizontally or vertically arranged, a zigzag structure, and the like. All of the conductive films 1004 have the same structure. However, although only the mesh structure is illustrated in FIG. 10, the present invention is not limited thereto.

The second sub conductive layers 1006 are formed on the lower substrate 1002, and at least one of them has a mesh structure, a structure in which lines are arranged horizontally or vertically, or a zigzag structure. All of the conductive films 1006 have the same structure.

That is, at least one of the sub conductive layers 1004 and 1006 has a mesh structure, a structure in which lines are arranged horizontally or vertically, or a zigzag structure. However, the sub conductive layers 1004 and 1006 may have a regular structure or an irregular structure. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the sub conductive layers 1004 or 1006 are formed on the substrate 1000 or 1002 by a printing method.

Claims (1)

Board;
A first conductive film arranged on one surface of the substrate; And
An electrode pattern portion arranged on the first conductive film and including electrodes for supplying power to the first conductive film,
The first conductive layer is formed of opaque lines and has a mesh structure, a structure in which the lines are arranged horizontally or vertically, or a zigzag structure, and the line has a line width of 5 μm to 50 μm to secure an opening ratio.
The capacitive touch panel of claim 1, wherein the first conductive layer and the electrode pattern part are formed on the substrate through one printing process using a printing method.

Images