KR20130090081A - Touch panel sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A touch panel sensor is provided to improve the conduction structure of a touch panel sensor by utilizing a window decoration region and to form an electrode pattern directly on the bottom surface of a tempered glass substrate or a transparent resin substrate. CONSTITUTION: Transmitter group electrodes (170) are formed with a transparent conductive material and include transmitter electrode patterns (172) where at least one of one end and the other end is connected together. Receiver group electrodes (160) are formed with a transparent conductive material and include receiver electrode patterns (162) where at least one of one end and the other end is connected together. The transmitter group electrodes and the receiver group electrodes are laminated to be separated and to cross each other. The transmitter electrode patterns and the receiver electrode patterns are arranged in parallel.

Description

Touch Panel Sensor {TOUCH PANEL SENSOR}

The present invention relates to a touch panel sensor for sensing a contact position of an object.

1 is a perspective view illustrating a conventional mutual touch panel sensor.

1, in a conventional touch panel sensor 1, a lower insulating sheet 10 and an upper insulating sheet 20 are bonded to each other with a predetermined gap therebetween. The lower ITO electrode 30 and the upper ITO electrode 40 are vertically arranged on the opposing surfaces of the lower insulating sheet 10 and the upper insulating sheet 20. Specifically, The upper ITO electrode 40 is oriented from the upper side to the lower side on the bottom surface of the upper insulating sheet 20.

The touch panel sensor 1 described above has a predetermined capacitance corresponding to the area of each intersection at each intersection of the lower ITO electrode 10 and the upper ITO electrode 20 arranged to cross each other If a part of the body is near, the area of the upper part of the upper ITO electrode 20 is added to the area of the body part, so that the capacitance value can be changed.

At this time, the lower ITO electrode 30 can be used as a transmitter line which is intermittently supplied with current, and the upper ITO electrode 40 can be used when the current is supplied to the lower ITO electrode 30, The receiver electrode can be used as a receiver electrode for measuring a difference between an output signal generated by a change in capacitance value of the lower ITO electrode 30 and the upper ITO electrode 40,

As described above, a method of sensing a contact position of a part of a body by detecting a change in an output signal that is changed in response to an input signal, such as an intermittently transmitted current, disposed on the display is called a mutual method Or a mutual capacitance touch sensing method.

1, it can be seen that the lower ITO electrode 30 and the upper ITO electrode 40 of the touch panel sensor 1 according to the conventional mutual method are provided as a straight line crossing vertically .

The present invention provides a touch panel sensor that can enable measuring the touch position with high accuracy with respect to contact of a body part.

The present invention provides a touch panel sensor capable of minimizing the limitation of the area of the touch panel sensor by increasing the resistance value according to the increase in the length of the electrode.

The present invention is not significantly affected by the signal loss generated by the resistance of the electrode itself for sensing the contact position of the body part, and specifically, the input signal and the output signal of the body part contacted and changed by the changed capacitance value. The touch point is recognized only by the change, thereby providing a touch panel sensor having excellent sensitivity.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a touch panel sensor that detects a contact position of an object and transmits it to an external device includes a plurality of transmitter group electrodes and a plurality of receiver group electrodes stacked to cross each other while being electrically separated from each other. Include. In the mutual touch panel sensor, the transmitter group electrode is formed of a transparent conductive material and includes a plurality of transmitter electrode patterns connected to at least one of one end and the other end. The receiver group electrode is also formed of the same or different transparent conductive material as the transmitter group electrode, and includes a plurality of receiver electrode patterns connected to at least one of one end and the other end.

The transmitter group electrode includes a plurality of transmitter electrode patterns arranged in parallel, and stable position measurement is possible by using signals flowing from the plurality of transmitter electrode patterns. In addition, the receiver group electrode also includes a plurality of receiver electrode patterns arranged in parallel, it is possible to measure a stable and uniform position mutually by using a change caused by the signal and the finger contact flowing from the plurality of transmitter electrode patterns.

In order to facilitate signal exchange between the transmitter electrode pattern and the receiver electrode pattern, the transmitter electrode pattern may include an extension part extending in at least one of the two directions along the longitudinal direction of the receiver electrode pattern between the receiver electrode pattern, The extension part may be provided in a rectangular shape in order to minimize the overlapping area as much as possible to correspond to the shape of the receiver electrode pattern and maximize the area for signal transmission.

The transmitter group electrode and the receiver group electrode may be provided in various arrangements. For example, they may be formed and laminated on different films or substrates at the bottom of the tempered glass substrate, or may be formed on one film or substrate at the bottom of the tempered glass substrate. When formed on one film or substrate at the bottom of the tempered glass substrate, the group electrodes may be stacked on the top surface of the film or substrate, and may be formed on the top and bottom surfaces thereof, respectively.

In some cases, the receiver group electrode may be directly formed on the bottom surface of the tempered glass substrate, and the transmitter group electrode may be formed on the film or substrate disposed below the receiver group electrode. Of course, the receiver group electrode and the transmitter group electrode may be stacked together on the bottom surface of the tempered glass substrate.

The transmitter electrode pattern and the receiver electrode pattern may be formed using the same or different transparent conductive materials. For example, indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), al-doped tin oxide (ATO), and AZO ( Al-doped Zinc Oxide), carbon nanotubes (CNT), may be provided using a nano silver wire. Of course, other electrodes of a material or structure that can provide conductivity without being visible can also be used as a transmitter or receiver electrode pattern.

The touch panel sensor of the present invention can improve the conductive structure of the touch panel sensor through the use of the window decoration area, and it is possible to form an electrode pattern directly on the bottom surface of the tempered glass substrate or the transparent resin substrate.

Although the window decoration and the electrode pattern are formed on the same surface, the electrical connection between the electrode pattern and the window decoration is simple and the connection structure can be made invisible externally.

In the center area where the display is located, transparent electrode patterns may be formed using materials such as ITO, AZO, IZO, and CNT, but electrode patterns may be formed using fine metal patterns having a thickness of 0 to 30 μm.

The touch panel sensor of the present invention can be expected to reduce the number of laminated layers of the touch panel sensor, such as optical characteristics, reduced defect rate, weight reduction, cost reduction.

The touch panel sensor of the present invention can provide an electrode pattern structure and a decoration structure having excellent electrical characteristics.

1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a conventional capacitive touch panel sensor.
2 is an exploded perspective view of a touch panel sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a plan view illustrating an arrangement structure of a receiver electrode pattern and a transmitter electrode pattern of FIG. 2.
4 is a cross-sectional view of the touch panel sensor in the AA direction shown in FIG. 3.
5 and 6 are plan views illustrating an arrangement structure of a receiver electrode pattern and a transmitter electrode pattern according to another embodiment of the present invention.
7 to 9 are exploded cross-sectional views for explaining the stacking relationship of the touch panel sensor of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout. For reference, the same numbers in this description refer to substantially the same elements and can be described with reference to the contents described in the other drawings under these rules, and the contents which are judged to be obvious to the person skilled in the art or repeated can be omitted.

2 is an exploded perspective view of a touch panel sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a plan view illustrating an arrangement structure of a receiver electrode pattern and a transmitter electrode pattern of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is shown in FIG. 3. A cross-sectional view of the touch panel sensor along the AA direction.

2 to 4, the touch panel sensor 100 includes a tempered glass substrate 110, an upper sheet 120, a lower sheet 130, and an optical adhesive layer 140.

The upper sheet 120 includes an upper insulating film 122 and a receiver group electrode 160 including a receiver electrode pattern 162 is formed on a bottom surface of the upper insulating film 122. In addition, the lower sheet 130 includes a lower insulating film 132, and a transmitter group electrode 170 including a transmitter electrode pattern 132 is formed on an upper surface of the lower insulating film 132.

The tempered glass substrate 110 may be manufactured by using tempered glass as a material having a high surface strength as a part of the user's touch directly placed on the top layer of the sensor, but a transparent synthetic resin substrate may be used instead of the tempered glass substrate.

The upper insulating film 122 and the lower insulating film 132 may be manufactured using a synthetic resin film such as polyethylene, polypropylene, acrylic, and polyethylene terephthalate, such as glass.

The receiver electrode pattern 162 and the transmitter electrode pattern 132 may both be made of a light transmissive material. In particular, the receiver electrode pattern 162 may be formed of ITO or IZO, ATO, AZO, carbon nanotube, Nanosilver wire and the like. Since the receiver electrode pattern 162 and the transmitter electrode pattern 132 are formed of a transparent conductive material, the receiver electrode pattern 162 and the transmitter electrode pattern 132 are not visible from the outside and are disposed below the touch panel sensor. An image of a display, such as a liquid crystal display device and a plasma display panel, may be exposed.

An optical adhesive layer for electrically separating the receiver electrode pattern 162 and the transmitter electrode pattern 132 between the upper sheet 120 and the lower sheet 130, and bonding the upper sheet 120 and the lower sheet 130 to each other. 140 may be provided. The optical adhesive layer 150 may use an optical adhesive film or an OCA film.

In addition, a window decoration 112 is provided on the bottom surface of the tempered glass substrate 110. The window decoration 112 corresponds to the periphery of the center touch area, and upper and lower wire patterns formed by using silver paste or metal wire patterns. And a function of visually blocking 126 and 136. 2, the receiver group electrode 160 may be electrically connected to the flexible circuit board 150 by the upper wire pattern 126, and the transmitter group electrode 170 may be connected to the flexible circuit board 150 by the lower wire pattern 136. It may be electrically connected to the substrate 150.

As shown in FIG. 3, the receiver group electrode 160 includes three receiver electrode patterns 162. The upper and lower ends of the receiver electrode pattern 162 are electrically connected, and the receiver electrode patterns 162 are arranged in parallel at equal intervals. The receiver electrode pattern 162 is generally arranged to be electrically separated from the transmitter electrode pattern 132 on the transmitter electrode pattern 132.

The transmitter group electrode 170 also includes three transmitter electrode patterns 172. The left and right ends of the transmitter electrode pattern 172 are electrically connected, and each transmitter electrode pattern 172 is arranged in parallel. For reference, the up, down, left and right directions in this specification are for ease of explanation, and do not limit the scope of the present invention.

Of course, although it may vary depending on the number of electrode patterns, nine intersection points are formed at the intersections of the receiver group electrode 160 and the transmitter group electrode 170, and the receiver of the other regions, that is, the transmitter electrode pattern 172, is formed. An area not covered by the electrode pattern 162 may be sensitive to a change in capacitance changed by contact of a finger or a body.

Of course, since the plurality of receiver electrode patterns 162 form one group, the signal stability and accuracy may be further improved than using only one conventional electrode. This is because the change in the capacitance value does not occur only at the overlapping portions of the two electrodes which are disposed up and down completely, but also occurs between the transmitter electrode pattern 132 and the receiver electrode pattern 162 adjacent to each other.

5 and 6 are plan views illustrating an arrangement structure of a receiver electrode pattern and a transmitter electrode pattern according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the touch panel sensor includes a plurality of receiver group electrodes 160 and a plurality of transmitter group electrodes 170 ′ stacked up and down, and includes a transmitter electrode pattern (eg, a plurality of transmitter group electrodes 170 ′). It further includes a ground electrode 180 formed between the 172. Here, the receiver electrode pattern and the transmitter electrode pattern 172 may all be made of a light-transmissive material, and they may be manufactured using ITO or IZO, ATO, AZO, carbon nanotubes, nano-silver wires, etc., which have both light transmittance and conductivity. Can be.

Although not specifically illustrated, the receiver group electrode may also include three receiver electrode patterns. The top and bottom of the receiver electrode pattern are electrically connected, and each receiver electrode pattern is arranged in parallel at equal intervals. The receiver electrode pattern is generally arranged to be electrically separated from the transmitter electrode pattern 172 on the transmitter electrode pattern 172.

The transmitter group electrode 170 ′ also includes three transmitter electrode patterns 172. The left or right end of the transmitter electrode pattern 172 is electrically connected, and each transmitter electrode pattern 172 is arranged in parallel. The ground electrode 180 may be formed in the shape of a comb through an area open to the opposite side of the transmitter electrode pattern 172 and may be formed between the transmitter electrode patterns 172. The ground electrodes 180 are electrically interconnected and may be used for signal stability and the like.

Referring to FIG. 6, the touch panel sensor includes a plurality of receiver group electrodes 260 and a plurality of transmitter group electrodes 270 stacked up and down, and the receiver group electrodes 260 include three receiver electrode patterns 262. It includes. The upper and lower ends of the receiver electrode pattern 262 are electrically connected to each other, and the receiver electrode patterns 262 are arranged in parallel at equal intervals.

The transmitter group electrode 270 also includes three transmitter electrode patterns 272, but the shape may be different from that of the previous embodiment. In detail, the transmitter electrode pattern 272 includes an extension part 274 extending up and down along the longitudinal direction of the receiver electrode pattern 262 between the receiver electrode pattern 262. The extension part 274 may be formed in various shapes, but may be formed in a rectangular shape to be in harmony with the receiver electrode pattern 262. In addition, the extending direction does not need to extend in both directions, and in some cases, the extending direction may extend only in one of the up and down directions.

Compared with the area where the two electrode patterns arranged up and down intersect with each other, the area affecting the capacitance due to physical contact can be greatly expanded to further increase the signal sensitivity. That is, if the object approaches the transmitter electrode pattern 272 and the receiver electrode pattern 262 which are basically disposed up and down, the capacitance change in the surrounding area is larger than the change in the intersection point. have.

Hereinafter, a case where the receiver electrode pattern and the transmitter electrode pattern are arranged in various ways will be described. For reference, the planar structure of the electrode arrangement may refer to the description and the drawings of the previous embodiments, and the structure in which the group electrode is formed by the electrode pattern may be equally applied.

7 to 9 are exploded cross-sectional views for explaining the stacking relationship of the touch panel sensor of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, the touch panel sensor 300 is provided by sequentially arranging a tempered glass substrate 310, an optical adhesive layer 340, and a lower sheet 330 from the top.

A receiver electrode pattern 362 is provided on a bottom of the tempered glass substrate 310, and a transmitter electrode pattern 372 is provided on an upper surface of the lower sheet 330. In addition, an optical bonding layer 340 such as an OCA may be provided to electrically separate both electrode patterns and bond the tempered glass substrate 310 and the lower sheet 330.

Referring to FIG. 8, the touch panel sensor 400 is also provided by sequentially arranging the tempered glass substrate 410, the optical adhesive layer 440, and the lower sheet 430. A transmitter electrode pattern 472 is provided on an upper surface of the lower sheet 430, an insulating layer is formed thereon, and a receiver electrode pattern 462 is provided on the insulating layer. The insulating layer on which the receiver electrode pattern 462 is formed may be adhered to the tempered glass substrate 410 through the optical adhesive layer 440.

The lower sheet 430 may be provided using a glass substrate, and another transparent insulating substrate may be provided instead of the tempered glass substrate 410.

Referring to FIG. 9, the touch panel sensor 500 is provided by sequentially arranging a tempered glass substrate 510, an optical adhesive layer 540, and a protective sheet 530 from the top. The receiver electrode pattern 562 may be provided on the bottom of the tempered glass substrate 510, and an insulation layer may be formed below the transmitter electrode pattern 472. A protective sheet 530 may be provided on the bottom surface of the transmitter electrode pattern 472 to protect the transmitter electrode pattern 472.

As described above, although described with reference to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, those skilled in the art various modifications and variations of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention described in the claims below I can understand that you can.

100: Touch panel sensor 110: Top sheet
130: bottom sheet 140: optical adhesive layer
160: transmitter group electrode 162: transmitter electrode pattern
170: receiver group electrode 172: receiver electrode pattern

Claims (10)

In the touch panel sensor for detecting the contact position of the object,
A plurality of transmitter group electrodes formed of a transparent conductive material and including a plurality of transmitter electrode patterns connected to at least one of one end and the other end; And
A plurality of receiver group electrodes formed of a transparent conductive material and including a plurality of receiver electrode patterns connected to at least one of one end and the other end,
And the transmitter group electrode and the receiver group electrode are stacked to cross each other while being electrically separated from each other. The method of claim 1,
And the transmitter electrode patterns are arranged in parallel, and the receiver electrode patterns are arranged in parallel. The method of claim 1,
The transmitter electrode pattern may include an extension part extending in at least one of two directions along a length direction of the receiver electrode pattern between the receiver electrode patterns. The method of claim 3,
The expansion unit is a touch panel sensor, characterized in that provided in a rectangular shape. The method of claim 1,
It includes a glass substrate and the upper insulating film and the lower insulating film sequentially disposed below the glass substrate,
The receiver group electrode is disposed between the glass substrate and the upper insulating film,
The transmitter group electrode is disposed between the upper insulating film and the lower insulating film. The method of claim 1,
A glass substrate, an insulating film disposed under the glass substrate, and an insulating layer disposed between the glass substrate and the insulating film,
The receiver group electrode is disposed between the glass substrate and the insulating layer,
The transmitter group electrode is disposed between the insulating layer and the insulating film. The method of claim 1,
It includes a glass substrate and an insulating film disposed under the glass substrate,
And the receiver group electrode and the transmitter group electrode are disposed on the top and bottom surfaces of the insulating film, respectively. The method of claim 1,
A glass substrate and an insulating layer formed on a bottom surface of the glass substrate,
And the transmitter group electrode is formed on a bottom surface of the insulating layer, and the receiver group electrode is formed between the glass substrate and the insulating layer. The method of claim 1,
An insulating film and a glass substrate positioned below the insulating film,
The transmitter group electrode and the receiver group electrode are formed on both surfaces or one surface of the glass substrate. The method of claim 1,
At least one of the transmitter electrode pattern and the receiver electrode pattern may include indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), al-doped tin oxide (ATO), al-doped zinc oxide (AZO), and carbon nanotubes (CNT). ), The touch panel sensor, characterized in that provided using at least one of the nano-silver wire.

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