KR20180056602A - Touch panel - Google Patents

Abstract

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a touch panel with improved electrical characteristics and reliability comprises: a substrate including a valid region and a dummy region surrounding the valid region; an outer dummy layer positioned in the dummy region; a flat layer positioned on the substrate; and a transparent electrode positioned on the substrate and detecting a position.

Description

TOUCH PANEL {TOUCH PANEL}

The present disclosure relates to a touch panel.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a touch panel has been applied to an image displayed on a display device in various electronic products by a method of touching an input device such as a finger or a stylus.

The touch panel can be largely divided into a resistance film type touch panel and a capacitive type touch panel. In the resistive touch panel, the glass and the electrode are short-circuited by the pressure of the input device and the position is detected. A capacitance type touch panel senses a change in electrostatic capacitance between electrodes when a finger touches them, thereby detecting the position.

In this dummy area of the touch panel, an outer dummy layer for forming a logo or the like is formed. The thickness of the outer dummy layer is thicker than the thickness of the transparent electrode for recognizing the touch, Cracks may occur in the transparent electrode. As a result, the electrical characteristics may deteriorate or the reliability may deteriorate due to defects.

Particularly, in recent years, transparent electrodes are formed using nanowires. In the case of such nanowires, there is a problem that electrical disconnection is likely to occur due to their small thickness.

The present embodiment is intended to provide a touch panel with improved electrical characteristics and reliability.

A touch panel according to an embodiment includes a substrate including a valid region and a dummy region surrounding the valid region; An outer dummy layer located in the dummy region; A flat layer positioned on the substrate; And a transparent electrode located on the substrate and detecting a position.

The touch panel according to the embodiment includes a flat layer. It is possible to effectively prevent cracking of the transparent electrode by forming a flat layer on the entire surface to planarize the substrate and forming transparent electrodes and wiring on the planarized surface.

According to this embodiment, the process for patterning the flat layer can be omitted, and the process can be simplified.

In addition, when the transparent electrode is formed of carbon nanotubes, silver nanowires, graphenes, nanomesh, or the like, it is possible to prevent the transparent electrode from cracking or disconnection through the flat layer. As a result, electrical stability and reliability can be improved.

1 is a schematic plan view of a touch panel according to the first embodiment.
2 is a plan view showing an enlarged view of a portion A in Fig.
3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II 'of FIG.
4 is a sectional view of the touch panel according to the second embodiment.

In the description of the embodiments, it is to be understood that each layer (film), area, pattern or structure may be referred to as being "on" or "under / under" Quot; includes all that is formed directly or through another layer. The criteria for top / bottom or bottom / bottom of each layer are described with reference to the drawings.

The thickness or the size of each layer (film), region, pattern or structure in the drawings may be modified for clarity and convenience of explanation, and thus does not entirely reflect the actual size.

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

First, the touch panel according to the first embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG.

1 is a schematic plan view of a touch panel according to the first embodiment. 2 is a plan view showing an enlarged view of a portion A in Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II 'of FIG.

1 and 2, the touch panel 100 according to the embodiment includes a valid area AA for sensing the position of the input device, a dummy area DA located outside the valid area AA, Is defined.

Here, the transparent electrode 40 may be formed in the effective area AA to sense the input device. The dummy area DA is provided with a transparent electrode 40 and a wiring 50 connected thereto and a printed circuit board (not shown hereafter) for connecting the wiring 50 to an external circuit Can be located. The outer dummy layer 20 may be formed in the dummy area DA and the logo 20a may be formed on the outer dummy layer 20. [ Then, the flat layer 60 may be formed while covering the outer dummy layer 20. The touch panel 100 will be described in more detail as follows.

Referring to FIG. 3, an outer dummy layer 20, a transparent electrode 40 and a flat layer 60 may be formed on a substrate 10. The wiring 50 is connected to the transparent electrode 40 and the flat layer 60, and the printed circuit board can be connected to the wiring 50. The light scattering prevention film 70 may be formed while covering the transparent electrode 40, the wiring 50, the flat layer 60, and the printed circuit board.

The substrate 10 may be formed of various materials capable of supporting the outer dummy layer 20, the transparent electrode 40, the wiring 50, and the like formed thereon. The substrate 10 may be a glass substrate or a plastic substrate, for example.

The outer dummy layer 20 is formed in the dummy area DA on one side of the substrate 10. [ The outer dummy layer 20 can be formed by applying a material having a predetermined color so that the wiring 50, the printed circuit board, and the like can not be seen from the outside. The outer dummy layer 20 may have a color suitable for a desired appearance, for example, black, including a black pigment. A desired logo (reference numeral 20a in FIG. 1) can be formed on the outer dummy layer 20 by various methods. The outer dummy layer 20 may be formed by vapor deposition, printing, wet coating, or the like.

A transparent electrode 40 is formed on one surface of the substrate 10. The transparent electrode 40 may be formed in various shapes to detect whether or not an input device such as a finger is contacted.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the transparent electrode 40 may include a first electrode 42 and a second electrode 44. The first and second electrodes 42 and 44 are provided with sensor portions 42a and 44a for sensing whether an input device such as a finger is contacted and connection portions 42b and 44b for connecting the sensor portions 42a and 44a . The connection portion 42b of the first electrode 42 connects the sensor portion 42a in the first direction (left and right direction in the drawing) and the connection portion 44b of the second electrode 44 connects the sensor portion 44a Connect in two directions (up and down direction in the figure).

The insulating layer 46 is located between the connecting portion 42b of the first electrode 42 and the connecting portion 44b of the second electrode 44 and the first electrode 42 and the second electrode 44, It is possible to prevent an electrical short circuit of the power supply 44. The insulating layer 46 may be formed of a transparent insulating material that can insulate the connecting portions 42b and 44b. For example, the insulating layer 46 may be made of a metal oxide such as silicon oxide, or a resin such as acrylic.

The sensor portions 42a and 44a of the first and second electrodes 42 and 44 may be formed on the same layer so that the sensor portions 42a and 44a may be formed as a single layer. Accordingly, the use of the transparent conductive material layer can be minimized, and the thickness of the touch panel 100 can be reduced.

When the input device such as a finger touches the touch panel 100, a difference in capacitance occurs at a portion where the input device is contacted, and a portion where the difference occurs can be detected as the contact position. In the embodiment, the transparent electrode 40 is applied to the capacitive touch panel. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. Accordingly, the transparent electrode 40 may be formed in a structure adapted to a resistance-type touch panel.

The transparent electrode 40 may include a transparent conductive material so that electricity can flow without disturbing the transmission of light. For this purpose, the transparent electrode 40 may include carbon nanotubes, silver nanowires, graphenes, or nanomesh. The transparent electrode 40 may include various materials such as indium tin oxide, indium zinc oxide, copper oxide, and carbon nano tube (CNT). .

Referring again to FIG. 2, the transparent electrode 40 may be formed on the outer dummy layer 20 so as to be electrically connected to the wiring 50 formed on the outer dummy layer 20 in this embodiment. A flat layer 60 may be formed to cover the boundary of the outer dummy layer 20. For example, the flat layer 60 may be positioned between the outer dummy layer 20 and the transparent electrode 40.

Specifically, the flat layer 60 may be formed to surround the outer dummy layer. Particularly, the flat layer 60 may have a pattern that continuously covers the top and side surfaces of the outer dummy layer 20 at the boundary portion of the outer dummy layer 20. The flat layer 60 is formed to cover the entire surface of the substrate 10 and the outer dummy layer 20 and the transparent electrodes 40 and the wirings 50 may be formed on the flat layer 60 have. That is, in this embodiment, the flat layer 60 is formed on the entire surface to planarize the surface of the substrate 10, and the transparent electrode 40 and the wiring 50 are formed on the planarized surface to form the transparent electrode 40 Cracks can be effectively prevented.

According to the present embodiment, the process for patterning the flat layer 60 and the like can be omitted, and the process can be simplified.

The flat layer 60 may include a light-transmitting material having an insulating property. Specifically, the flat layer 60 may include a material having a transmittance of 90% or more so as not to affect the transmittance of the touch panel.

In particular, the planarizing layer 60 may comprise a transparent polymeric material. For example, the planarizing layer 60 may be made of polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polycarbonate (PC) or polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) ), And the like. Further, it may include a thermosetting resin or an ultraviolet-setting resin.

The thickness of the flat layer 60 may be between 1 μm and 100 μm. If the thickness of the flat layer 60 is less than 1 탆, there is a possibility that the flat layer 60 itself is broken. In addition, when the thickness of the flat layer 60 exceeds 100 mu m, the thickness of the touch panel may increase.

The flat layer 60 may be formed by various deposition, printing, or coating methods. For example, the flat layer 60 may be formed by various methods such as spin coating, roll coating, slit die coating, screen coating, inkjet printing, screen printing, or aerosol jet printing.

When the transparent electrode 40 is formed of carbon nanotubes, silver nanowires, graphenes, nanomesh, or the like, it is possible to prevent the transparent electrode from cracking or breaking through the flat layer 60. As a result, electrical stability and reliability can be improved.

A wiring 50 connected to the transparent electrode 40 is formed in the dummy area DA of the substrate 10 and a printed circuit board connected to the wiring 50 is formed. Since the wiring 50 is located in the dummy area DA, it can be made of a metal having excellent electrical conductivity. As the printed circuit board, various types of printed circuit boards can be applied. For example, a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) or the like can be applied.

A scattering prevention film 70 may be formed while covering the transparent electrode 40, the wiring 50, and the printed circuit board. The anti-scattering film 70 is formed to prevent the fragments from scattering when the touch panel 100 is broken by an impact, and may be formed of various materials and structures. In the embodiment, it is exemplified that the scattering-prevention film 70 is located on the lower side of the substrate 10. However, the embodiment is not limited thereto, and the anti-scattering film 70 may be formed in various positions.

Hereinafter, the touch panel according to the second embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG. For the sake of clarity and simplicity, detailed descriptions of the same or extremely similar parts to those of the first embodiment will be omitted, and only different parts will be described in detail.

4 is a sectional view of the touch panel according to the second embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 4, the flat layer 62 included in the touch panel 200 according to the second embodiment includes an inclined surface 62a. Specifically, the flat layer 62 includes a sloped surface 62a whose side surface of the flat layer 62 facing the effective area AA of the substrate 10 is inclined with respect to the substrate 10.

The angle? Between the inclined surface 62a and the upper surface of the substrate 10 to the inside of the inclined surface 62a may be 1 to 90 degrees. Preferably, the angle &thetas; may be 30 DEG or less. When the angle θ is 30 ° or less, the possibility of disconnection of the transparent electrode 42 due to the step difference can be minimized when the transparent electrode 42 is formed on the flat layer 62.

In order to form the flat layer 62 including the inclined plane 62a, the flat layer 62 may be formed at a different coating, printing, or deposition rate.

The features, structures, effects and the like described in the foregoing embodiments are included in at least one embodiment of the present invention and are not necessarily limited to one embodiment. Further, the features, structures, effects, and the like illustrated in the embodiments may be combined or modified in other embodiments by those skilled in the art to which the embodiments belong. Therefore, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to these combinations and modifications.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is clearly understood that the same is by way of illustration and example only and is not to be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention. It can be seen that various modifications and applications are possible. For example, each component specifically shown in the embodiments may be modified and implemented. It is to be understood that the present invention may be embodied in many other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof.

Claims (12)

A substrate including a valid region and a dummy region surrounding the valid region;
An outer dummy layer located on the dummy area on one side of the substrate;
A planar layer covering an upper surface and a side surface of the outer dummy layer on one surface of the substrate and an effective area of the substrate;
An electrode located in an effective region on the flat layer and detecting a position;
A wiring located in a dummy region on the flat layer; And
And a scattering prevention film covering the electrode and the wiring,
Wherein the flat layer is disposed between the electrode of the dummy region and the outer dummy layer,
Wherein one side of the outer dummy layer is in direct contact with the substrate,
The other side of the outer dummy layer is in direct contact with the flat layer,
And one surface of the flat layer directly contacting the electrode and the wiring. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the thickness of the shrinkage preventing film is larger than the thickness of the electrode. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the sum of the thicknesses of the outer dummy layer and the flat layer in the dummy region is equal to or greater than the thickness of the flat layer in the effective region. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the flatness layer has a transmittance of 90% or more. The method according to claim 1,
And the electrode, the wiring, and the printed circuit board are disposed on one surface of the flat layer. The method according to claim 1,
And a side surface of the flat layer facing the effective region includes an inclined surface inclined with respect to the substrate. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the thickness of the flat layer is from 1 m to 100 m. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the thickness of the outer dummy layer is thicker than the thickness of the transparent electrode. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the flat layer comprises a polymeric material. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the electrode comprises a first electrode and a second electrode,
Wherein the first electrode and the second electrode have a mesh shape. The method according to claim 1,
And a printed circuit board connected to the wiring,
And the shatterproof film covers the printed circuit board. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the electrode is formed in a dummy area surrounding the effective area and the effective area.

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