KR20170015681A - Touch panel and electronic device comprisong the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a touch panel and an electronic device including the same, capable of increasing the sensing sensitivity of force touch. According to the present invention, the touch panel comprises an elastic dielectric member disposed between a first substrate having a first touch electrode and a second substrate having a second touch electrode, and a plurality of elastic dielectric layers stacked on two or more layers.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a touch panel and an electronic device including the touch panel.

The present invention relates to a touch panel capable of force touch sensing and touch position sensing, and an electronic apparatus including the touch panel.

The touch panel is installed in a video display device such as a liquid crystal display device, a field emission display device, a plasma display device, an electroluminescent display device, an electrophoretic display device, and an organic light emitting display device, It is a kind of input device that inputs information in direct contact with the screen.

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, a touch panel has been widely used as an electronic notebook, an electronic book, a portable multimedia player (PMP), a navigation device, an UMPC (Ultra Mobile PC), a mobile phone, a smart phone, a smart watch, , A watch phone, and a mobile communication terminal, but also as an input device for various products such as a television, a notebook, and a monitor.

In recent years, an electronic device capable of sensing force touch has been developed and studied as a user interface environment such as an application requiring touch information for force touch is constructed.

1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a conventional touch panel.

1, a conventional touch panel includes a first substrate 10, a first touch electrode 12 provided on a top surface of a first substrate 10, a first substrate 10 A second substrate 30 provided on the upper surface of the elastic dielectric member 20 and a second substrate 30 provided on the upper surface of the second substrate 30 so as to intersect with the first touch electrode 12, And a second touch electrode (32). The capacitance Cm formed between the first and second electrodes 12 and 32 is changed by the thickness change of the elastic dielectric member 20 according to the touch pressure when the user touches the touch panel. Accordingly, the touch driving circuit unit (not shown) connected to the touch panel senses the change of the capacitance Cm between the first and second electrodes 12 and 32 to sense the touch position, Sensing the change in capacitance Cm due to the decrease in distance between the electrodes 12 and 32 and sensing the force touch.

However, in the conventional touch panel, as shown in FIG. 2, the electrostatic capacitance Cm formed between the first and second electrodes 12 and 32 according to the touch pressure applied to the elastic dielectric member 30 As shown in FIG. 3, the capacitance Cm formed between the first and second electrodes 12 and 32 changes according to the thickness of the elastic dielectric member 30, It is difficult to accurately determine the force touch of the user and a complicated compensation algorithm is required to compensate for the force touch.

Accordingly, the conventional touch panel has a problem in that the sensing sensitivity to the force touch is low due to the nonlinearity of the capacitance Cm formed between the first and second electrodes 12 and 32 according to the touch pressure.

Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem [8] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a touch panel and an electronic apparatus including the touch panel.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a touch panel and an electronic apparatus including the touch panel, which can improve the sensing efficiency of the touch touch sensing and the touch position sensing, respectively.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a touch panel capable of implementing a haptic function using touch electrodes and an electronic apparatus including the touch panel.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a touch panel including a first substrate having a first touch electrode and a second substrate having a second touch electrode, the touch panel including a plurality of elastic dielectric layers stacked in two or more layers And may include elastic dielectric members.

Each of the plurality of elastic dielectric layers may have different elastic moduli.

In the haptic mode, an AC voltage may be supplied to the first touch electrode, and a reference voltage may be supplied to the second touch electrode.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a touch panel including an elastic dielectric member disposed between a first substrate having a first touch electrode and a second substrate having a second touch electrode, The change in the capacitance formed between the first and second touch electrodes has a linearity with respect to a change in the touch pressure applied to the elastic dielectric member.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic apparatus including a guide frame disposed in a housing space of a housing, a display panel supported by the guide frame, a touch panel disposed on the display panel, And a cover window supported on the side wall, wherein the touch panel includes a first substrate having a first touch electrode and a second substrate having a second touch electrode, the elastic dielectric layer having a plurality of elastic dielectric layers stacked in two or more layers Member.

According to the solution of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has the following effects.

First, the electrostatic capacitance formed in the elastic dielectric member of the multilayered structure is linearly changed with respect to the touch pressure, thereby increasing the sensitivity of the force touch.

Second, the area of the second touch electrode overlapped with the first touch electrode may vary according to the touch mode, thereby increasing the efficiency of the touch position sensing and the force touch sensing.

Third, the haptic function can be provided to the user through the touch electrodes and the elastic dielectric member without a separate haptic output element.

In addition to the effects of the present invention mentioned above, other features and advantages of the present invention will be described below, or may be apparent to those skilled in the art from the description and the description.

1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a conventional touch panel.
2 is a graph showing a simulation result of measuring a change in capacitance due to a touch pressure on a conventional touch panel.
3 is a graph showing a simulation result of measuring a change in capacitance according to a change in thickness of an elastic dielectric member with respect to a conventional touch panel.
4 is a view schematically showing a touch panel according to a first example of the present invention.
5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line I-I 'shown in FIG.
FIG. 6 is a graph showing a simulation result of measurement of change in capacitance according to the touch pressure with respect to the first and second elastic dielectric layers shown in FIG. 4. FIG.
7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a touch panel according to a second example of the present invention.
8A is a view for explaining a touch position sensing mode in a touch panel according to a second example of the present invention.
8B is a view for explaining the force touch sensing mode and the haptic mode in the touch panel according to the second example of the present invention.
9 is a view for explaining a modification of the touch panel according to the second example of the present invention.
10 is a view for explaining a touch panel according to a third example of the present invention.
11 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II 'shown in FIG.
FIG. 12 is a graph showing the simulation results of measuring the change in capacitance according to the thickness change of the elastic dielectric member, with respect to each of the touch panels according to the first and third examples of the present invention. FIG.
13 is a graph showing a simulation result of measurement of a change in capacitance due to a touch pressure for each of the conventional touch panel and the touch panel according to the third example of the present invention
14 is a perspective view showing an electronic apparatus according to an example of the present invention.
15 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III 'shown in FIG.

The meaning of the terms described herein should be understood as follows.

The word " first, "" second," and the like, used to distinguish one element from another, are to be understood to include plural representations unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The scope of the right should not be limited by these terms. It should be understood that the terms "comprises" or "having" does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof. It should be understood that the term "at least one" includes all possible combinations from one or more related items. For example, the meaning of "at least one of the first item, the second item and the third item" means not only the first item, the second item or the third item, but also the second item and the second item among the first item, Means any combination of items that can be presented from more than one. The term "on" means not only when a configuration is formed directly on top of another configuration, but also when a third configuration is interposed between these configurations.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a touch panel and an electronic apparatus including the touch panel according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numerals are used to denote like elements throughout the drawings, even if they are shown on different drawings. In the following description of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a touch panel according to a first example of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line I-I 'shown in FIG.

4 and 5, the touch panel 100 according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a first substrate 110 having a first touch electrode 112, a second touch electrode 122, A second substrate 120 disposed on the first substrate 110 and a plurality of elastic dielectric layers 131 and 133 stacked in two or more layers, And a dielectric member 130.

The first substrate 110 may be made of a transparent plastic material, for example, a PET (polyethyleneterephthalate) material.

The first touch electrode 112 is provided on the upper surface of the first substrate 110 and may be made of a transparent conductive material. The first touch electrode 112 is parallel to the first direction X of the first substrate 110 and is spaced apart from the first direction X by a predetermined distance along a second direction Y intersecting the first direction X. [ . ≪ / RTI > The first touch electrode 112 is connected to a touch driving circuit (not shown) through a driving wiring (not shown), and receives a touch driving pulse from the touch driving circuit in a touch sensing mode. In addition, the first touch electrode 112 may receive an AC voltage from the touch driving circuit portion in the haptic mode.

The second substrate 120 may be made of the same transparent plastic material as the first substrate 110, for example, a PET (polyethyleneterephthalate) material.

The second touch electrode 122 is formed on the upper surface of the second substrate 120 so as to cross the first touch electrode 112 and may be made of a transparent conductive material. The second touch electrodes 122 may be arranged in a bar shape so as to be spaced apart from each other along the first direction X while being parallel to the second direction Y of the second substrate 120. The second touch electrode 122 is connected to the touch driving circuit through a receiving wiring (not shown), and is used as a receiving electrode for touch sensing in the touch sensing mode. In addition, the second touch electrode 122 may receive a reference voltage from the touch driving circuit portion in the haptic mode, and the reference voltage may be a ground voltage (GND).

The elastic dielectric member 130 is provided between the first and second substrates 110 and 120. That is, the elastic dielectric member 130 is provided on the first substrate 110 to cover the first touch electrode 112 and elastically supports the second substrate 120. Accordingly, the first and second touch electrodes 112 and 122 cross each other with the elastic dielectric member 130 and the second substrate 120 interposed therebetween.

The elastic dielectric member 130 forms a capacitance Cm between the first and second touch electrodes 112 and 122 intersecting with each other. The capacitance Cm increases as the distance decrease between the first and second touch electrodes 112 and 122 decreases. At this time, the change in the capacitance Cm has a linearity with respect to the change in the touch pressure applied to the elastic dielectric member 130. [ To this end, the elastic dielectric member 130 includes a plurality of elastic dielectric layers stacked in two or more layers. The plurality of elastic dielectric layers may have different elastic moduli, and have a lower elastic modulus as they are closer to the second substrate 120 from the first substrate 110. In addition, the plurality of elastic dielectric layers may have the same thickness, or may have a thinner thickness as the first substrate 110 is closer to the second substrate 120.

The elastic dielectric member 130 according to an exemplary embodiment may include first and second elastic dielectric layers 131 and 133 stacked in two layers.

The first and second elastic dielectric layers 131 and 133 may have different elastic moduli and have a lower elastic modulus as they are closer to the second substrate 120 from the first substrate 110. The first and second elastic dielectric layers 131 and 133 may have the same thickness as each other or may be thinner in the proximity of the first substrate 110 to the second substrate 120 in order to improve sensing sensitivity to a weak force touch Thickness.

The first elastic dielectric layer 131 is provided on the upper surface of the first substrate 110 to cover the first touch electrode 112 and may have a first elastic modulus.

The second elastic dielectric layer 133 is provided on the upper surface of the first elastic dielectric layer 131 and may have a second elastic modulus lower than a first elastic modulus of the first elastic dielectric layer 131.

The first and second elastic dielectric layers 131 and 133 are made of the same optical adhesive member, but have different elastic moduli. That is, each of the first and second elastic dielectric layers 131 and 133 may have different strengths while having an elastic force.

Each of the first and second elastic dielectric layers 131 and 133 may be an optical clear adhesive (OCA) or an optical clear resin (OCR) according to an example. Each of the first and second elastic dielectric layers 131 and 133 may include a photo-curable polymer and a photo-curing agent. The first elastic dielectric layer 131 has a first elastic modulus according to a first weight ratio of the photocuring agent and the second elastic dielectric layer 1331 has a first elastic modulus according to a first weight ratio of the photocuring agent included in the first elastic dielectric layer 131, And can have a second modulus of elasticity at a low second weight ratio.

Since the first and second elastic dielectric layers 131 and 133 have different elastic moduli, they have different thickness variations with respect to the same load (or touch pressure) as shown in FIG. For example, when a touch pressure of 5 N is applied to each of the first and second elastic dielectric layers 131 and 133, the first elastic dielectric layer 131 has a thickness change of 0.04 mm, while the second elastic dielectric layer 133 ) Has a thickness variation of 0.08 mm. Accordingly, it is preferable that the second elastic dielectric layer 133 having a relatively low elastic modulus is disposed adjacent to the second substrate 120 in order to improve sensing sensitivity to a weak force touch.

In the elastic dielectric member 130 in which the first and second elastic dielectric layers 131 and 133 having different elastic moduli are stacked one above the other and the second elastic dielectric layer 133 disposed in the upper layer has a relatively low second elastic modulus The first elastic dielectric layer 131 disposed on the lower layer has a small thickness change with respect to the same touch pressure due to a relatively low second elastic modulus. Accordingly, the elastic dielectric member 130 according to the present invention has a laminated structure of first and second elastic dielectric layers 131 and 133 having different thickness variations with respect to the same touch pressure, The change in the capacitance Cm formed between the electrodes 112 and 122 may have a linearity with respect to the touch pressure.

In addition, the resilient dielectric member 130 acts as a haptic output device in the haptic mode by having an elastic force. That is, in the haptic mode, when the AC voltage is applied to the first touch electrode 112 and the reference voltage (or the ground voltage GND) is applied to the second touch electrode 122 in the elastic dielectric member 130, By repeating the expansion and contraction due to the piezoelectric effect, the vibration is caused by the frequency of the AC voltage, and the intensity of the vibration is varied according to the amplitude of the AC voltage. Accordingly, the present invention can provide a haptic effect without using a separate haptic output device by utilizing the elastic dielectric member 130 in the haptic mode as a haptic output device, that is, an actuator, thereby simplifying the structure and reducing the cost have.

In addition, each of the first and second touch electrodes 112 and 122 may be formed in a circular or rhombic shape, but each of the touch electrodes 112 and 122 may include a capacitance for touch position sensing, In order to sufficiently secure each of the electrostatic capacitances for the electrodes.

In the touch panel 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the electrostatic capacitance Cm formed on the elastic dielectric member 130 having a multilayer structure formed between the first and second touch electrodes 112 and 122 The sensing sensitivity of the force touch can be increased by linearly changing the touch pressure and the haptic function can be implemented without using a separate haptic output element by utilizing the elastic dielectric member 130 as a haptic output element.

7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a touch panel according to a second example of the present invention, which is a cross-sectional view taken along the line I-I 'shown in FIG.

7, a touch panel 100 according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a first substrate 110, a first touch electrode 112, a second substrate 120, a second touch electrode 122, And includes a first auxiliary electrode 122a, a second auxiliary electrode 122b, and an elastic dielectric member 130. In the touch panel 100 according to the second example of the present invention, the remaining components except for the first and second auxiliary electrodes 122a and 122b are the same as those in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, The redundant description will be omitted.

The first and second auxiliary electrodes 122a and 122b are provided on the upper surface of the second substrate 120 such that the first and second auxiliary electrodes 122a and 122b are parallel to each other with the second touch electrode 122 interposed therebetween. Each of the first and second auxiliary electrodes 122a and 122b is formed with the second touch electrode 122 and made of the same transparent conductive material as the second touch electrode 122. [

Each of the first and second auxiliary electrodes 122a and 122b is connected to the touch driving circuit through first and second dummy routing lines (not shown). At least one of the first and second auxiliary electrodes 122a and 122b may be floating by the touch driving circuit unit or may be electrically connected to the second touch electrode 122. [ That is, each of the first and second auxiliary electrodes 122a and 122b is electrically floating in the touch position sensing mode and is electrically connected to the second touch electrode 122 in the force touch sensing mode and the haptic mode. Accordingly, each of the first and second auxiliary electrodes 122a and 122b is used as a force touch sensing electrode for force touch sensing, and is used as a floating electrode for touch position sensing.

In the touch position sensing mode, when each of the first and second auxiliary electrodes 122a and 122b is electrically floated without being connected to the second touch electrode 122 as shown in FIG. 8A, Capacitance is not formed at the intersection between each of the first and second auxiliary electrodes 122a and 122b and the first touch electrode 112 and only capacitance at the intersection between the first and second touch electrodes 112 and 122 (Cm) is formed. The charge corresponding to the touch drive pulse Tx_PWM supplied to the first touch electrode 112 is charged in the capacitance Cm and the amount of charge charged in the capacitance Cm is changed in accordance with the user's touch, The touch driving circuit unit senses the change of the capacitance Cm through the reception routing wiring RL and senses the touch position of the user.

The first and second auxiliary electrodes 122a and 122b are connected to the second touch electrode 122 through the auxiliary routing lines RLa and RLb, respectively, as shown in FIG. 8B, When the first and second auxiliary electrodes 122a and 122b are electrically connected to the receiving routing wiring RL, each of the first and second auxiliary electrodes 122a and 122b functions as a force touch sensing electrode together with the second touch electrode 122, First to third capacitances Cm1, Cm2 and Cm3 for force touch sensing are respectively formed at the intersections of the electrodes 122a and 122b and the second touch electrode 122 and the first touch electrode 112 . Each of the first to third capacitances Cm1, Cm2 and Cm3 is charged with a charge corresponding to the touch driving pulse Tx_PWM supplied to the first touch electrode 112, and the first to third capacitances Cm1 , Cm2, and Cm3 is changed according to the thickness of the elastic dielectric member 130 according to the user's touch and the touch pressure of the user, and the touch driving circuit unit applies the first, Senses the entire change of the third capacitances Cm1, Cm2, Cm3, and senses the force touch of the user. Since the first to third capacitances Cm1, Cm2 and Cm3 are inversely proportional to the distance between the electrodes, the force touch sensing is performed by the force level which models the increase amount of the capacitances Cm1, Cm2 and Cm3 in accordance with the force touch Algorithm. ≪ / RTI >

In the haptic mode, each of the first and second auxiliary electrodes 122a and 122b is electrically connected to the receiving routing (not shown) of the second touch electrode 122 through each of the auxiliary routing wirings RLa and RLb, Is electrically connected to the wiring RL, and a reference voltage is simultaneously supplied from the touch driving circuit portion to the second touch electrode 122. At the same time, the first touch electrode 112 receives the AC voltage AC from the touch driving circuit. Accordingly, in the haptic mode, the elastic dielectric member 130 is expanded and contracted by the piezoelectric effect according to the AC voltage AC supplied to the first touch electrode 112 and the reference voltage supplied to the second touch electrode 122 The shrinkage is repeated to provide the user with a haptic effect such as vibration upon user touch.

4 and 6, each of the first and second auxiliary electrodes 122a and 122b is formed as one bar. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and in order to increase the transmittance of light emitted to the display panel The first and second auxiliary electrodes 122a and 122b include a plurality of auxiliary electrode line structures electrically connected to each other, a plurality of openings formed in a mesh structure or a ladder structure, or arranged in a slit or lattice pattern at regular intervals .

Each of the first and second touch electrodes 112 and 122 may be formed in a circular shape or a rhomboid shape and each of the first and second auxiliary electrodes 122a and 122b may include a second touch electrode 122 Each of the electrodes 112, 122, 122a and 122b may be formed so as to have a sufficient capacitance for touch position sensing and sufficient capacitance for force touch sensing, It is preferably formed in the form of a bar.

The touch panel 100 according to the second embodiment of the present invention has the same effects as those of the touch panel according to the first example of the present invention and has the first and second auxiliary electrodes 122a and 122b according to the touch mode, The area of the second touch electrode 122 overlapped with the first touch electrode 112 may be varied by being connected to or floating from the second touch electrode 112, thereby increasing the efficiency of the touch position sensing and the force touch sensing .

FIG. 9 is a view for explaining a modification of the touch panel according to the second example of the present invention, in which one side of each of the first and second auxiliary electrodes shown in FIG. 7 is electrically connected to each other. Accordingly, only the first and second auxiliary electrodes will be described in the following description.

One side of each of the first and second auxiliary electrodes 122a and 122b is electrically connected to each other by a bridge electrode 122c.

The bridge electrode 122c is electrically connected to one side of each of the first and second auxiliary electrodes 122a and 122b so as to be spaced apart from one side of the second touch electrode 122, Accordingly, the first auxiliary electrode (122a) and the bridge electrode (122c) and the second auxiliary electrode (122b) electrically connected to each other is "⊂" shaped or "⊃" from the top surface of the second substrate 120 characters .

One side of each of the first and second auxiliary electrodes 122a and 122b is electrically connected to each other by the bridge electrode 122c so that any one of the first and second auxiliary routing wirings RLa and RLb may be omitted It is possible. In this case, the present invention can reduce the width of the edge region of the touch panel 100 where the routing wiring is formed, thereby reducing the width of the bezel of the touch panel 100.

FIG. 10 is a view for explaining a touch panel according to a third example of the present invention, and FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II 'shown in FIG.

10 and 11, a touch panel 200 according to a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a first substrate 110, a first touch electrode 112, a second substrate 120, a second touch electrode 222, and an elastic dielectric member 130. In the touch panel 200 according to the third embodiment of the present invention, the remaining components except for the second touch electrode 122 are the same as in FIGS. 4 and 5, and therefore, the same reference numerals are given to the touch panel 200, .

The second touch electrode 222 may be formed on the lower surface of the second substrate 120 so as to intersect the first touch electrode 112 and may be formed of a transparent conductive material. That is, the second touch electrode 222 is disposed on the inner surface of the second substrate 120 directly facing the elastic dielectric member 130 at regular intervals along the first direction X, In the form of a bar. Accordingly, the first and second touch electrodes 112 and 222 intersect each other with only the elastic dielectric member 130 interposed therebetween. The second touch electrode 222 is connected to the touch driving circuit through a receiving wiring (not shown), and is used as a receiving electrode for touch sensing in the touch sensing mode. In addition, the second touch electrode 222 may receive a reference voltage from the touch driving circuit portion in the haptic mode, and the reference voltage may be a ground voltage (GND).

In the touch panel 200 according to the third embodiment of the present invention, the second touch electrode 222 is provided on the inner surface of the second substrate 120 directly facing the elastic dielectric member 130, The capacitance Cm formed between the first and second touch electrodes 112 and 222 is affected only by the dielectric constant of the elastic dielectric member 130 without being affected by the dielectric constant of the second substrate 120. [

FIG. 12 is a graph showing the simulation results of measuring the change in capacitance according to the thickness variation of the elastic dielectric member, with respect to each of the touch panels according to the first and third examples of the present invention. FIG.

In FIG. 12, the graph A shows a change in capacitance according to the thickness change of the elastic dielectric member with respect to the touch panel according to the first example of the present invention, and the graph B shows the change in elasticity with respect to the touch panel according to the third example of the present invention And shows the change of the capacitance with the change of the thickness of the dielectric member.

As can be seen from the graphs A and B, since the touch panel according to the third example of the present invention is not affected by the dielectric constant of the second substrate 120, the first example of the present invention The capacitance value of the touch panel is higher than that of the touch panel.

Accordingly, the touch panel 200 according to the third embodiment of the present invention has the same effect as the touch panel 100 according to the first example of the present invention, and is not affected by the dielectric constant of the second substrate 120, The sensibility of the capacitance Cm value according to the thickness change of the elastic dielectric member 130 can be improved at the time of touch sensing, thereby improving the sensing sensitivity of the force touch.

In addition, in the touch panel 200 according to the third example of the present invention, the two touch electrodes 222 adjacent to one side and the other side of the second touch electrode 222 are connected to the first and second auxiliary electrodes 222a and 222b In this case, each of the first and second auxiliary electrodes 222a and 222b may be electrically connected to the second touch electrode 222 or may be electrically floating according to a touch mode. That is, in the touch position sensing mode, each of the first and second auxiliary electrodes 222a and 222b can be electrically floated as shown in FIG. 8A. In the force-touch sensing mode and the haptic mode, each of the first and second auxiliary electrodes 222a and 222b may be electrically connected to the second touch electrode 222 as shown in FIG. 8B. Further, each of the first and second auxiliary electrodes 222a and 222b may be electrically connected through a bridge electrode, as shown in FIG.

FIG. 13 is a graph showing simulation results of measurement of change in capacitance according to a touch pressure for a conventional touch panel and a touch panel according to a third example of the present invention.

In FIG. 13, a graph C shows a change in capacitance according to a touch pressure of a conventional touch panel, and a graph D shows a change in capacitance according to a touch pressure of the touch panel of the present invention.

As can be seen from the graph C, the conventional touch panel has a nonlinear capacitance change according to the touch pressure.

In other words, it can be seen that the touch panel according to the present invention has a linear capacitance change according to the touch pressure. Accordingly, the present invention can be applied to a case where the electrostatic capacitance Cm formed in the elastic dielectric member 130 of the multi- The sensing sensitivity of the force touch can be increased by changing linearly with respect to the touch pressure.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing an electronic device according to an example of the present invention, and FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III 'shown in FIG.

14 and 15, an electronic apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a housing 510, a guide frame 520, a liquid crystal display panel 530, a panel driving circuit unit 540, a backlight unit 550, A touch panel 560, a touch driving circuit portion 570, and a cover window 580. [

The housing 510 has a storage space defined by a bottom surface 512 and a housing side wall 514. The housing 510 may have a box shape with an open upper surface. The housing 510 may be made of a metal material or a plastic material. The housing 510 may be made of a metal material, for example, an aluminum (Al) material, an invar material, or a magnesium (Mg) material to effectively dissipate heat generated in the backlight unit 550.

The storage space is provided on the bottom surface 512 of the housing 510 and accommodates the backlight unit 550.

At least one system receiving space may be provided on the rear surface of the housing 510. The system storage space may contain a system drive circuit unit 600 of an electronic device, a battery 700 that provides drive power, a communication module (not shown), a power supply circuit (not shown), a memory (not shown), and the like. The rear surface of the housing 510 is covered by the rear cover 800. The rear cover 800 may be openably and closably connected to the rear surface of the housing 510 for replacement of the battery 700. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. When the electronic device uses the built-in battery 700, The cover 800 may be coupled to the rear surface of the housing 510 to prevent opening and closing by the user.

The guide frame 520 is formed in a rectangular band shape having an inner hollow portion to support a rear edge portion of the liquid crystal display panel 530. Further, the guide frame 520 surrounds the side surface of the backlight unit 550, thereby minimizing the flow of the backlight unit 550.

The liquid crystal display panel 530 includes a lower substrate 531 and an upper substrate 533 which are adhered to each other with a liquid crystal layer interposed therebetween and displays a predetermined image using light emitted from the backlight unit 550 .

The lower substrate 531 is a thin film transistor array substrate and includes a plurality of pixels (not shown) formed in each pixel region that intersects with a plurality of gate lines (not shown) and a plurality of data lines (not shown). Each pixel may include a thin film transistor (not shown) connected to a gate line and a data line, a pixel electrode connected to the thin film transistor, and a common electrode formed adjacent to the pixel electrode and supplied with a common voltage.

A pad portion (not shown) connected to each signal line is provided on a lower edge portion of the lower substrate 531, and the pad portion is connected to the panel driving circuit portion 540. A gate driving circuit (not shown) for supplying a gate signal to the gate line is formed on the left side and / or the right side edge of the lower substrate 531. A gate driving circuit is formed together with the thin film transistor manufacturing process of each pixel so as to be connected to each gate line.

The upper substrate 533 includes a pixel defining pattern defining an opening area overlapping each pixel area formed on the lower substrate 531, and a color filter formed in the opening area. The upper substrate 533 is adhered to the lower substrate 531 with a liquid crystal layer interposed therebetween by a sealant and covers the entire lower substrate 531 except for the pad portion of the lower substrate 531.

At least one of the lower substrate 531 and the upper substrate 533 has an alignment layer (not shown) for setting a pretilt angle of the liquid crystal. The liquid crystal layer is interposed between the lower substrate 531 and the upper substrate 533. The liquid crystal molecules are aligned in the horizontal direction according to the data voltage applied to the pixel electrode and the horizontal electric field formed by the common voltage Liquid crystal.

A lower polarizing member 535 having a first polarizing axis is attached to the rear surface of the lower substrate 531 and an upper polarizing member 535 having a second polarizing axis crossing the first polarizing axis is attached to the front surface of the upper substrate 533. [ A member 537 is attached.

As such, the rear edge portion of the liquid crystal display panel 530 can be coupled to the guide frame 520 through the panel adhesive member 539. Here, the panel bonding member 539 may be a double-sided tape, a thermosetting resin, a photocurable resin, or a double-sided adhesive foam pad.

The panel driving circuit unit 540 is connected to a pad unit provided on the lower substrate 531 and drives each pixel of the liquid crystal display panel 530 under the control of the system driving circuit unit 600 to apply a driving voltage to the liquid crystal display panel 530 And displays a predetermined color image. The panel drive circuit portion 540 according to an example may be included as the flexible circuit film 541 and the display drive integrated circuit 543. [

The flexible circuit film 541 is connected to the pad portion provided on the lower substrate 531 and connected to the system driving circuit portion 600. This flexible circuit film 541 relays the interface between the display drive integrated circuit 543 and the system drive circuit portion 600 and transmits the signal output from the display drive integrated circuit 543 to the pad portion.

The display driving integrated circuit 543 receives the video data and the control signal supplied from the system driving circuit 600 and converts the video data into a data signal in accordance with the received control signal and supplies the data signal to each pixel, 530 to display an image corresponding to the image data.

The backlight unit 550 is housed in the hollow portion of the guide frame 520 and irradiates light to the rear surface of the liquid crystal display panel 530. The backlight unit 550 according to an example includes a light guide plate 551, a light source unit 553, a reflection sheet 555, and an optical sheet unit 557.

The light guide plate 551 has a rectangular plate shape so as to include a light-incident portion provided on at least one side surface thereof. The light guide plate 551 emits the light incident from the light-incident portion toward the top surface, that is, the liquid crystal display panel 530 side.

The light source part 553 is disposed on a side surface of the light guide plate 553 so as to face the light entrance part of the light guide plate 551 and emits light to the light entrance part of the light guide plate 551. The light source unit 551 according to an exemplary embodiment may include a printed circuit board disposed adjacent to the light incident portion of the light guide plate 551, and a plurality of light emitting diode packages mounted on the printed circuit board.

The reflective sheet 555 is disposed on the bottom surface 512 of the housing 510 and covers the rear surface of the light guide plate 551. The reflection sheet 555 reflects light incident through the lower surface of the light guide plate 551 toward the inside of the light guide plate 551, thereby minimizing the loss of light. The reflective sheet 555 also dissipates heat generated in the light guide plate 551 toward the housing by heat and light generated when the light source unit 553 is driven.

In addition, the reflective sheet 555 may support the guide frame 520. The reflective sheet 550 may further include an extended region extending from the sides of the guide frame 520 so as to overlap the lower surface of the guide frame 520. The extended region of the reflective sheet 555 is guided by the adhesive 521, And is coupled to the lower surface of the frame 520.

The optical sheet unit 557 is disposed on the light guide plate 551 to improve the brightness characteristics of light emitted from the light guide plate 551. For example, the optical sheets 557 may comprise a lower diffusion sheet, a prism sheet, and an upper diffusion sheet, but not limited thereto, a diffusion sheet, a prism sheet, a dual brightness en- hancement film, lenticular sheet, and lenticular sheet.

The touch panel 560 is disposed on the liquid crystal display panel 530. At this time, the touch panel 560 can be attached to the upper surface of the liquid crystal display panel 530 by the transparent adhesive member 561. The touch panel 560 is the same as the touch panels 100 and 200 according to the present invention shown in FIGS. 4 to 13, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The touch driving circuit unit 570 includes a signal transmitting member 571 connected to the touch panel 560 and a touch driving integrated circuit 573 mounted on the signal transmitting member 571.

The signal transmission member 571 is connected to a touch pad unit (not shown) provided on the first substrate of the touch panel 560. The signal transmission member 571 relays signal transmission between the touch panel 560 and the touch driving integrated circuit 573 and relays signal transmission between the touch driving integrated circuit 573 and the system driving circuit unit 600.

The touch-driving integrated circuit 573 drives the touch panel 560 independently of the control or set intervals of the system driving circuit unit 600 to generate a sensing signal corresponding to a change in capacitance formed between the first and second touch electrodes, And supplies the generated data to the system drive circuit unit 600. [

In the touch sensing mode, the touch driving integrated circuit 573 supplies a touch driving pulse to the first touch electrode provided on the touch panel 560, senses a change in capacitance through the second touch electrode, Touch position data and / or force touch data corresponding to the touch position and / or the force touch with respect to the touch panel. Accordingly, the system driving circuit unit 600 executes an application corresponding to the touch position data and / or force touch data provided from the touch driving integrated circuit 573. [

In addition, in the haptic mode based on the touch position sensed in the touch sensing mode, the touch driving integrated circuit 573 supplies the AC voltage to the first touch electrode provided on the touch panel 560, (Or the ground voltage GND) to the user's touch position to provide a haptic function to the user.

The cover window 580 is supported on the housing side wall 514 of the housing 510 while covering the entire front surface of the liquid crystal display panel 530. At this time, the cover window 580 is attached to the entire front surface of the liquid crystal display panel 530 by a transparent adhesive member 581, for example, an OCA (optical clear adhesive) or an OCR (optical clear resin) Thereby protecting the panel 530. The cover window 580 may be made of tempered glass, transparent plastic, or a transparent film. As an example, the cover window 580 may include at least one of a sapphire glass and a Gorilla glass. As another example, the cover window 580 may comprise any one material of PET (polyethyleneterephthalate), PC (polycarbonate), PES (polyethersulfone), PEN (polyethylenepthanate), and PNB (polynorborneen). The cover window 580 is preferably made of the tempered glass in consideration of scratches and transparency.

The electronic device according to the present invention may include a touch panel 560 according to the present invention so that it can have high sensing efficiency and sensing sensitivity for both the touch sensing and the touch position sensing, The haptic function can be provided to the user through the touch electrodes and the elastic dielectric member.

14 and 15 illustrate that the electronic device according to the present invention is a smart phone having a liquid crystal display panel, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The electronic device according to the present invention may be applied to a liquid crystal display panel or an organic light emitting display A mobile phone, a smart watch, a personal computer, a watch phone, and the like, and a portable electronic device, such as a portable electronic device, A mobile communication terminal, a television, a notebook, and a monitor.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. Will be clear to those who have knowledge of. Therefore, the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims, and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalents should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention.

100, 200: touch panel 110: first substrate
112: first touch electrode 120: second substrate
122, 222: second touch electrode 122a, 222a: first auxiliary electrode
122b, 222b: second auxiliary electrode 122c: bridge electrode
130: elastic dielectric member 131: first elastic dielectric layer
133: second elastic dielectric layer 222c: bridge electrode
510: housing 520: guide frame
530: Liquid crystal display panel 540: Panel driving circuit
550: backlight unit 560: touch panel
570: Touch driving circuit unit 580: Cover window

Claims (15)

A first substrate having a first touch electrode;
A second substrate having a second touch electrode and disposed on the first substrate; And
And an elastic dielectric member provided between the first and second substrates,
Wherein the elastic dielectric member has a plurality of elastic dielectric layers stacked in two or more layers. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein each of the plurality of elastic dielectric layers has a different modulus of elasticity. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein each of the plurality of elastic dielectric layers has a lower elastic modulus as the first substrate is closer to the second substrate. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein each of the plurality of elastic dielectric layers has a thinner thickness as the first substrate and the second substrate are adjacent to each other. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first and second touch electrodes cross each other with the elastic dielectric member and the second substrate interposed therebetween. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first and second touch electrodes cross each other with only the elastic dielectric member interposed therebetween. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising first and second auxiliary electrodes provided on the second substrate so as to be parallel to each other with the second touch electrode interposed therebetween. The method of claim 7, wherein
And a bridge electrode provided on the second substrate and connected to the first and second auxiliary electrodes. 8. The method of claim 7,
In the touch position sensing mode, the first and second auxiliary electrodes are electrically floated,
In the force touch sensing mode, the first and second auxiliary electrodes are electrically connected to the second touch electrode. 8. The method of claim 7,
In the haptic mode, an AC voltage is supplied to the first touch electrode, and a reference voltage is supplied to the second touch electrode. A first touch electrode;
A second touch electrode crossing the first touch electrode; And
And an elastic dielectric member that forms an electrostatic capacitance between the first and second touch electrodes,
Wherein the change in capacitance has a linearity with respect to a change in touch pressure applied to the elastic dielectric member. 12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the elastic dielectric member has a plurality of elastic dielectric layers stacked in two or more layers. 13. The method of claim 12,
Wherein each of the plurality of elastic dielectric layers has a different modulus of elasticity. A housing having a housing space defined by a bottom surface and side walls;
A guide frame disposed in the storage space;
A display panel supported by the guide frame;
A touch panel according to any one of claims 1 to 13 arranged on the display panel; And
And a cover window supported on the side wall of the housing while covering the touch panel. 15. The method of claim 14,
And a backlight unit housed in the storage space and disposed under the display panel.

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