TW201525789A - Touch panel - Google Patents

Abstract

A touch panel including at least one substrate, a mesh electrode and a conductive electrode is provided. The substrate has a display region and a periphery region, wherein the periphery region is adjacent to the display region. The mesh electrode is disposed at the display region and has first tips. The first tips extends from the display region to the periphery region. The conductive electrode is disposed at the periphery region. The conductive electrode includes a main portion and second tips. The main portion surrounds the mesh electrode. The second tips extends from the main portion to first tips such that the second tips and the corresponding first tips point to each other.

Description

Touch panel

The present invention relates to a touch panel, and more particularly to a touch panel for improving electrostatic protection.

For a touch panel having a grid electrode, since the grid electrode is usually composed of a conductor line having a thin line width, it is more likely to be broken due to electrostatic discharge damage, resulting in a decrease in sensitivity of the touch element.

The invention provides a touch panel which is provided with a plurality of tips as a path for electrostatic venting, thereby providing a good electrostatic protection function.

The touch panel of the present invention includes at least one substrate, a grid electrode, and a conductive electrode. The substrate has a display area and a peripheral area, and the peripheral area is adjacent to the display area. The grid electrode is disposed at least in the display area and includes a plurality of first tips, wherein the first tip extends from the display area to the peripheral area. The conductive electrode is disposed on the substrate and located in the peripheral region, and includes a main body portion and a plurality of second tips, wherein the main body portion surrounds the grid electrode, and the second tip is composed of the main The body extends toward the first tip such that the second tip and the corresponding first tip point toward each other.

Based on the above, the touch panel of the present invention respectively has corresponding discharge tips on the grid electrodes and the conductive electrodes. When static electricity accumulates on the grid electrodes, the static electricity can be vented to the conductive electrodes through the corresponding tips. Good electrostatic protection.

The above described features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.

100, 100a, 100b, 100c, 100d, 100e‧‧‧ touch panels

110‧‧‧Substrate

112‧‧‧ display area

114‧‧‧The surrounding area

120‧‧‧Touch components

122‧‧‧First electrode group

124‧‧‧Second electrode group

126‧‧‧Extension

130‧‧‧Conductive electrode

132‧‧‧ Main body

140‧‧‧ Signal Conduction Line

142‧‧‧Shielded wire

150‧‧‧ pads

160‧‧‧Connected

172‧‧‧First soft substrate

174‧‧‧Second flexible substrate

C1‧‧‧First Connection

C2‧‧‧Second connection

D1‧‧‧ first direction

D2‧‧‧ second direction

E1‧‧‧first electrode

E2‧‧‧second electrode

G‧‧‧ Grid Unit

I-I’‧‧‧ cut line

IN‧‧‧Insulation pattern

M‧‧‧ area

T1‧‧‧ first tip

T2‧‧‧ second tip

T3‧‧‧ third tip

T4‧‧‧ fourth tip

FIG. 1 is a schematic top view of a touch panel according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line I-I' of Fig. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged schematic view of a region M in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a schematic top view of a touch panel according to another embodiment of the present invention.

5A to 5C are partially enlarged schematic views of a touch panel according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective exploded view of a touch panel according to another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic top view of a touch panel according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line I-I' of Fig. 1. FIG. 3 is an enlarged schematic view of a region M in FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 1 , FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 , the touch panel 100 includes a substrate 110 , The touch element 120, the plurality of first tips T1, and the conductive electrodes 130. The substrate 110 has a display area 112 and a peripheral area 114 adjacent to at least one side of the display area 112, wherein the display area 112 displays an image of the lower display by the transparent substrate 110. The peripheral area 114 is a configuration area corresponding to the decorative layer, thereby shielding the metal circuit, wherein the decorative layer may be a single layer structure of a single material, a multi-layer stack structure or a multi-layer stack structure of a plurality of materials, and the material may include ceramic, diamond-like carbon. , ceramics, organic materials, mixtures of organic and inorganic materials, organic-inorganic hybrid compounds or composite laminates thereof. This embodiment is described by taking the peripheral area 114 around the four sides of the display area 112 as an example, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The peripheral region 114 may also be at least adjacent to both sides of the display region 112. The substrate 110 of the present invention should include a substrate independent of the display or an element substrate integrated in the display; the former is, for example, an additional cover lens, which is a hard substrate with high mechanical strength, for example, can be strengthened Glass, or a composite plastic substrate, such as a composite substrate of propylene carbonate (PC) and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), the latter being, for example, a color filter substrate of a liquid crystal display, an organic light emitting diode The package cover of the display, etc., but not limited to this.

The touch element 120 is disposed on the substrate 110 and at least in the display area 112. The touch element 120 includes a plurality of first electrode groups 122 and a plurality of second electrode groups 124, wherein the first electrode group 122 and the second electrode group 124 are electrically insulated from each other. Each of the first electrode groups 122 includes a plurality of first electrodes E1 and a plurality of first connecting portions C1, wherein each of the first connecting portions C1 connects the adjacent two first electrodes E1 to form a first electrode D1 extending in the first direction D1. The first electrode group 122. Each of the second electrode groups 124 includes The plurality of second electrodes E2 and the plurality of second connecting portions C2, wherein each of the second connecting portions C2 connects the adjacent two second electrodes E2 to form the second electrode group 124 extending in the second direction D2. The first direction D1 is interlaced with the second direction D2, for example, so that the first electrode groups 122 are alternately arranged with the second electrode groups 124, wherein the first connecting portion C1 and the second connecting portion C2 are interlaced with each other, and are staggered. An insulating pattern IN (shown in FIG. 2) may be disposed to electrically insulate the first electrode group 122 from the second electrode group 124 from each other.

In the present embodiment, the first electrode E1, the first connecting portion C1 and the second electrode E2 belong to the same film layer, and the second connecting portion C2 belongs to another film layer. In other words, the first electrode E1, the first connection portion C1, and the second electrode E2 can be simultaneously fabricated using the same material, and the second connection portion C2 is not fabricated simultaneously with the above members. The touch element 120 is composed of a transparent conductive material, a metal, a nanowire, a terpene, a graphene or a composite layer of the above materials, wherein the transparent conductive material comprises indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide. (indium zinc oxide, IZO), aluminum zinc oxide (AZO), and metals including silver (Ag), aluminum (Al), copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), titanium (Ti), molybdenum (Mo And at least one of, a composite layer of the above materials or an alloy of the above materials. In other embodiments, the touch element 120 can be a single-layer touch structure.

In this embodiment, the first electrode E1 and the second electrode E2 are grid electrodes, wherein the grid electrode has a line width of between 0.1 um and 20 um, and a preferred width is between 1 um and 10 um. The first electrode E1 and the second electrode E2 may each include a plurality of grid cells G. The grid unit G is substantially hexagonal, and the shape of each side It is a sine wave. However, it is only illustrative. The present invention does not limit the shape design of the mesh unit G. The first electrode E1 and the second electrode E2 of the present embodiment may be metal meshes based on conductivity considerations. The metal mesh is composed, for example, of a plurality of thin metal wires, and the metal wires have a line width of, for example, 1 to 30 μm. The first electrode E1 and the second electrode E2 of the present embodiment are, for example, metal grid electrodes having a line width of 4 μm. In addition, in the metal grid type electrode, the opening between the thin lines is much larger than the line width of the thin line, so that the transmittance of the metal grid electrode is more than 75%.

The conductive electrode 130 is disposed in the peripheral region 114 on the substrate 110 and electrically connected to the ground end. The conductive electrode 130 includes a body portion 132 and a plurality of second tips T2. Each of the second tips T2 extends from the body portion 132 toward the display area 112. The material of the conductive electrode 130 includes a conductive material whose material may be the same as or different from the first electrode E1 or the second electrode E2. When the material thereof is the same as the first electrode E1 or the second electrode E2, it may be selected to be formed simultaneously with the first electrode E1 or the second electrode E2 to simplify the process. When the body portion 132 surrounds the touch element 120, it is, for example, a frame-shaped pattern having an opening and substantially surrounding the touch element 120.

The touch panel 100 further includes a plurality of signal conducting lines 140. The signal conducting lines 140 are disposed in the peripheral region 114 and electrically connected to the touch element 120. The body portion 132 of the conductive electrode 130 is, for example, surrounding the signal conducting line 140. Specifically, each of the first electrode groups 122 is electrically connected to one of the signal conducting lines 140, and each of the second electrode groups 124 is electrically connected to one of the signal conducting lines 140. The signal conducting line 140 can be used to transmit signals to the touch component 120, and can also be used to transmit the signal of the touch component 120 to the back end processing circuit to calculate the location where the touch event occurs. this In addition, at least one shielding line 142 may be disposed between the signal conducting lines 140 adjacent to and connected to the first electrode group 122 and the second electrode group 124 respectively, for example, electrically connected to the ground end to reduce the connection to the first A phenomenon of electrical interference occurs between the electrode group 122 and the signal conducting line 140 of the second electrode group 124.

As shown in FIG. 1, the first tip T1 is disposed on the touch element 120. Specifically, when the first electrode group 122 or the second electrode group 124 is fabricated, the grid unit G may be extended in a portion of the peripheral region 114 and allowed to be located in the grid unit G in the peripheral region 114. One side constitutes the first tip T1. In this way, the first tip T1 can be made without an additional process. Each of the first tips T1 extends from the display area 112 to the peripheral area 114. The first tip T1 may be disposed on the first electrode E1 located near the boundary between the display area 112 and the peripheral area 114, or may be disposed on the second electrode E2 located near the boundary between the display area 112 and the peripheral area 114, or Set it on both at the same time. The first tip T1 may extend from the first electrode E1 and the second electrode E1 and belong to the same film layer. Alternatively, the first tip T1 may be separately fabricated to belong to a different film layer from the first electrode E1 and the second electrode E1. Further, the first tip T1 may be disposed only on the first electrode E1 or only on the second electrode E2, and the invention is not limited thereto.

Specifically, each of the second tips T2 extends from the main body portion 132 toward one of the first tips T1 such that the second tips T2 and the corresponding first tips T1 point toward each other. The first tip T1 and the second tip T2 are, for example, conductive patterns in which the line width is gradually reduced, or conductive patterns having a small line width, and thus have the effect of tip discharge. In this embodiment, since the conductive electrode 130 is electrically connected to the ground potential, and the second tip T2 is directed to the first tip T1. Therefore, the electrostatic charge on the touch element 120 can be transmitted to the ground through the body portion 132 by the tip discharge effect of the plurality of first tips T1 and the plurality of second tips T2, reducing contact The probability of electrostatic discharge damage occurring in the control element 120 can prevent the grid electrode from being broken by static electricity to improve the electrostatic protection capability of the touch panel 100.

In the present embodiment, the first tip T1 and the second tip T2 and the signal conducting line 140 are located on different sides of the display area 112. In the touch panel 100, the peripheral regions 114 on both sides (upper and lower sides or left and right sides) of the display region 112 are generally designed to be symmetrical and have substantially the same area. Therefore, the first tip T1 and the second tip T2 are disposed in the peripheral region 114 where the signal conducting line 140 is not disposed, and the layout of the substrate 110 can be improved without adding additional substrate 110 space. Although the conductive electrode 130 is illustrated in the annular configuration in this embodiment, in other embodiments, the conductive electrode 130 may be disposed in the peripheral region 114 where the signal conductive line 140 is not disposed, and is disposed in an L-shape.

The present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the same or similar reference numerals are used to refer to the same or similar components, and the description of the same technical content is omitted.

FIG. 4 is a schematic top view of a touch panel according to another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4 , the touch panel 100 a is similar to the touch panel 100 of FIG. 1 , and the differences are described below. The touch panel 100a further includes a plurality of pads 150. A pad 150 is disposed in the peripheral region 114. Each of the signal conducting lines 140 is electrically connected to one of the pads 150, and the shielding line 142 is also electrically connected to one of the pads 150. Pad 150, for example, provides an outer lead bonding to electrically connect the touch panel 100a to other circuits or components. The pad 150 has a plurality of third tips T3. The third tip T3 is located on a side of the pad 150 away from the signal conducting line 140.

In this embodiment, the main body portion 132 of the conductive electrode 130 is in a closed pattern to completely surround the signal conducting line 140 and the pad 150. The conductive electrode 130 further has a plurality of fourth tips T4, and each of the fourth tips T4 is composed of a main body portion. 132 extends to one of the third tips T3 such that the fourth tip T4 and the corresponding third tip T3 point toward each other. Since the fourth tip T4 is electrically connected to the ground potential, and the fourth tip T4 is directed to the third tip T3, the electrostatic charge on the touch element 120 can be caused by the plurality of third tips T3 and the plurality of fourth tips T4. The tip discharge effect transmits the electric charge to the ground end through the main body portion 132, thereby reducing the probability of electrostatic discharge damage occurring in the touch element 120, thereby preventing the grid electrode from being broken by electrostatic damage, thereby improving the static electricity of the touch panel 100a. Protection ability.

5A to 5C are partially enlarged schematic views of a touch panel according to another embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment of FIG. 5A, the touch panel 100b includes a connection port 160, and the connection port 160 is disposed in the peripheral area 114. The touch element 120 further includes a plurality of extensions 126. Each of the extensions 126 is formed, for example, by a portion of the grid unit G extending to the peripheral region 114, wherein the ports 160 are disposed on the extensions 126, and each of the first tips T1 is disposed on one of the ports 160. The extension portion 126 and the connection port 160 can be fabricated simultaneously in the same film layer or separately using different film layers. Specifically, when the first electrode group 122 or the second electrode group 124 is fabricated, the grid unit G may be extended in a portion of the peripheral region 114, And one of the sides of the grid unit G located in the peripheral area 114 constitutes an extension 126, and since the line width of the metal grid is small, the design of the connection 埠160 is provided to provide a line width larger than the extension 126. The first tip T1.

In the touch panel 100b of FIG. 5A, a first electrode E1 is connected to, for example, a connection port 160, and a second electrode E2 is connected to a connection port 160, for example, but the invention is not limited thereto. In the touch panel 100c of FIG. 5B, one first electrode E1 may be connected to a plurality of connection ports 160, and one second electrode E2 may be connected to a plurality of connection ports 160. Each of the extensions 126 is disposed, for example, corresponding to a first tip T1, wherein the two extensions 126 can be coupled to a port 160. However, the invention is not limited thereto. In the touch panel 100d of FIG. 5C, four extensions 126 may be connected to one connection port 160. In other words, the present invention does not limit the number of connections 埠160 corresponding to each of the first electrode E1 or the second electrode E2, nor the number of extensions 126 to which each connection port 160 is connected.

FIG. 6 is a perspective exploded view of a touch panel according to another embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 6 , the touch panel 100 e further includes a first flexible substrate 172 and a second flexible substrate 174 , wherein the first electrode group 122 is disposed on the second flexible substrate 174 , and the second electrode group 124 is disposed on the first flexible substrate 172. The first flexible substrate 172 is disposed on the substrate 110, and the second flexible substrate 174 is disposed on the first flexible substrate 172. In this embodiment, the first flexible substrate 172 and the second flexible substrate 174 may be a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film. The first electrode E1 and the second electrode E2 are electrodes including the grid unit G. In other embodiments, the touch panel may be formed by stacking a single flexible substrate and a substrate 110. The first electrode group 122 and the second electrode group 124 are disposed on both sides of a single flexible substrate or the first electrode group 122 is disposed on the substrate 110 and the second electrode group 124 is disposed on a single flexible substrate.

In the embodiment, the conductive electrode 130 is disposed on the first flexible substrate 172, and the first tip T1 is located on the second electrode E2. Similar to the previous embodiment, each of the second tips T2 extends from the body portion 132 toward one of the first tips T1 such that the second tips T2 and the corresponding first tips T1 point toward each other. Since the second tip T2 is electrically connected to the ground potential, and the second tip T2 is directed to the first tip T1, the electrostatic charge on the touch element 120 can be obtained by the plurality of first tips T1 and the plurality of second tips T2. The tip discharge effect transmits the electric charge to the ground end through the main body portion 132, thereby reducing the probability of occurrence of electrostatic discharge damage in the touch element 120, thereby preventing the grid electrode from being broken by electrostatic damage, thereby improving the static electricity of the touch panel 100e. Protection ability. In addition, the second flexible substrate 174 may be selectively provided with a conductive electrode 130, and the conductive electrode 130 may be selectively provided with a second tip T2, and the first electrode E1 may be selectively provided with a plurality of A tip T1 further enhances the electrostatic protection capability of the touch panel 100e.

In summary, the touch panel of the present invention respectively has corresponding discharge tips on the touch elements and the conductive electrodes. When static electricity is accumulated in the touch elements, the static electricity can be vented to the conductive electrodes through the corresponding tips. This achieves good electrostatic protection.

100‧‧‧ touch panel

110‧‧‧Substrate

112‧‧‧ display area

114‧‧‧The surrounding area

120‧‧‧Touch components

122‧‧‧First electrode group

124‧‧‧Second electrode group

130‧‧‧Conductive electrode

132‧‧‧ Main body

140‧‧‧ Signal Conduction Line

142‧‧‧Shielded wire

150‧‧‧ pads

C1‧‧‧First Connection

C2‧‧‧Second connection

D1‧‧‧ first direction

D2‧‧‧ second direction

E1‧‧‧first electrode

E2‧‧‧second electrode

M‧‧‧ area

IN‧‧‧Insulation pattern

T1‧‧‧ first tip

T2‧‧‧ second tip

Claims (9)

A touch panel includes: at least one substrate having a display area and a peripheral area adjacent to the display area; a grid electrode disposed at least in the display area and including a plurality of first tips, wherein the a first tip extending from the display area to the peripheral area; and a conductive electrode disposed on the substrate and located in the peripheral area adjacent to at least one side of the display area, and including a body portion and a plurality of second tips, wherein The body portion surrounds the grid electrode, and the second tips extend from the body portion toward the first tips such that the second tips and the corresponding first tips point toward each other. The touch panel of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of signal conducting lines electrically connected to the grid electrode, wherein the first tips and the signal conducting lines are located at the grid electrode Different sides. The touch panel of claim 2, further comprising a plurality of pads electrically connected to the signal conducting lines, wherein the main portion of the conductive electrode is in a closed pattern to surround the signal conducting lines and the The pads, wherein the pads have a plurality of third tips, the conductive electrodes further have a plurality of fourth tips, and the fourth tips extend from the body portion toward the third tips to make the fourth The tip and the corresponding third tips point to each other. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the grid electrode further comprises a plurality of connection ports, wherein the first tips are disposed on the connection ports. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the grid electrode The method includes a plurality of first electrode groups and a plurality of second electrode groups, the first electrode groups and the second electrode groups being electrically insulated from each other and staggered. The touch panel of claim 5, wherein the first electrode group and the second electrode groups are disposed on the substrate, and each of the first electrode groups includes a plurality of first electrodes and a connection phase Adjacent to the plurality of first connecting portions of the two first electrodes, and each of the second electrode groups includes a plurality of second electrodes and a plurality of second connecting portions connecting adjacent the two second electrodes. The touch panel of claim 6, wherein the substrate is a transparent cover plate. The touch panel of claim 5, wherein the at least one substrate comprises two flexible substrates, and the first electrode groups and the second electrode groups are respectively disposed on the two flexible substrates. The touch panel of claim 8, further comprising a transparent cover plate disposed on the two flexible substrates.