TW201917538A - Touch panel - Google Patents

Abstract

A touch panel includes a top glass substrate, a bottom glass substrate, a first sensing region and a second sensing region. The first sensing region is disposed between the top glass substrate and the bottom glass substrate. The second sensing region is disposed between the top glass substrate and the bottom glass substrate, wherein the first sensing region and the second sensing region are disposed on a first surface of the top glass substrate.

Description

touchpad

The invention relates to a touch panel, and in particular to a capacitive touch panel.

In recent years, related products of touch technology have become increasingly popular. Current touch technologies include resistive, ultrasonic, optical, capacitive, and the like. Among them, because capacitive touch technology has the advantages of wide use, high reliability and response speed, unique human-machine interaction interface, etc., the current application of electronic products is mainly based on capacitive technology. However, the current manufacturing process of capacitive touch panels still requires considerable time and cost. Therefore, how to simplify the manufacturing process of capacitive touch panels, maintain the quality of capacitive touch panels, and consider the cost factors are still urgent today. Needed topics.

The disclosure provides a touch panel, which includes an upper glass substrate and a lower glass substrate, and the first sensing block and the second sensing block are both located between the upper glass substrate and the lower glass substrate. As a result, the upper glass substrate and the lower glass substrate replace the traditional touch panel using a printed circuit board (PCB) as a carrier, and the two sensing blocks are directly integrated into the upper glass substrate and the lower glass substrate, without the need for additional production The additional protection layer protects the sensing block, which can simplify the process steps of the touch panel and reduce the cost of the process.

According to the disclosure, a touchpad is proposed. The touch panel includes an upper glass substrate, a lower glass substrate, a first sensing block and a second sensing block. The first sensing block is located between the upper glass substrate and the lower glass substrate. The second sensing block is located between the upper glass substrate and the lower glass substrate. The first sensing block and the second sensing block are disposed on a first surface of the upper glass substrate.

In order to have a better understanding of the above and other aspects of the present invention, the following specific examples are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings:

The disclosure provides a touch panel, which includes an upper glass substrate and a lower glass substrate, and the first sensing block and the second sensing block are both located between the upper glass substrate and the lower glass substrate. As a result, the upper glass substrate and the lower glass substrate replace the traditional touch panel using a printed circuit board (PCB) as a carrier, and the two sensing blocks are directly integrated into the upper glass substrate and the lower glass substrate, without the need for additional production. An additional protective layer protects the sensing block.

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a touch panel according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1, a touch panel 10 is provided. The touch panel 10 includes an upper glass substrate 100 and a lower glass substrate 200. The upper glass substrate 100 is superposed on the lower glass substrate 200. The upper glass substrate 100 is referred to as the first surface 100a on the lower surface (that is, the inner side) facing the lower glass substrate 200, and is called the second surface 100b on the upper surface (that is, the outer side) far from the lower glass substrate 200. . Similarly, the lower glass substrate 200 is called the first surface 200a on the upper surface (that is, the inner side) facing the upper glass substrate 100, and is called the first surface 200a on the lower surface (that is, the outer side) that is far from the upper glass substrate 100. Two surfaces 200b. The touchpad 10 further includes a first sensing block 120 and a second sensing block 140. The first sensing block 120 and the second sensing block 140 are both disposed between the upper glass substrate 100 and the lower glass substrate 200. The first sensing block 120 and the second sensing block 140 are formed on the same surface of the upper glass substrate 100, that is, both are formed on the first surface 100a. The first sensing block 120 and the second sensing block 140 may have a gap to expose the first surface 100 a of the upper glass substrate 100.

In this embodiment, the area of the first sensing block 120 is larger than the area of the second sensing block 140. The first sensing block 120 and the second sensing block 140 may be different sensors, respectively, and have different functions. The first sensing block 120 and the second sensing block 140 may include two or more different sensors, respectively. For example, the first sensing block 120 mainly performs a touch sensing function, and the second sensing block 140 mainly performs a fingerprint sensing function. The first sensing block 120 may include a touch sensor and a pressure sensor, and the second sensing block 140 may include a pressure sensor and a fingerprint sensor. Materials of the first sensor 120 and the second sensor 140 may include indium tin oxide (ITO) and metal. In other embodiments, the second sensing block 140 may include a pressure sensor.

In addition, the thickness of the upper glass substrate 100 and the thickness of the lower glass substrate 200 may be different from each other. In this embodiment, after the upper glass substrate 100 and the lower glass substrate 200 are aligned, a thinning process is performed on the upper glass substrate 100 so that the thickness of the upper glass substrate 100 is 0.1 mm to 0.4 mm, and the lower glass substrate 200 It is not necessary to go through a thinning process. In some embodiments, after the upper glass substrate 100 and the lower glass substrate 200 are aligned, a thinning process is performed on the lower glass substrate 200.

Since the touch panel 10 disclosed herein directly uses the upper glass substrate 100 and the lower glass substrate 200 as carriers, rather than a traditional printed circuit board (PCB), the price is more advantageous than in the past. Moreover, both the first sensing block 120 and the second sensing block 140 are disposed inside the upper glass substrate 100 (that is, the first surface 100a), and the thinned upper glass substrate can be directly used. 100 is used as a protective layer for the sensing block, and no additional protective layer is needed to cover the sensing block. For example, it is not necessary to plate a protective layer on the fingerprint sensor. This can also simplify the process steps and save time and cost. For example, when the user operates with the finger on the second surface 100b of the upper glass substrate 100, the first sensing block or the second sensing block located on the first surface 100a of the upper glass substrate 100 can It is protected by the upper glass substrate 100 from scratches and abrasions.

The touch panel 10 further includes a bottom electrode 210. In this embodiment, the bottom electrode 210 is located between the upper glass substrate 100 and the lower glass substrate 200, is formed on the first surface 200a of the lower glass substrate 200, and corresponds to the first sensing block 120 and the second sensing Block 140, that is, the bottom electrode 210 is located between the first sensing block 120, the second sensing block 140, and the lower glass substrate 200. In some embodiments, the bottom electrode 210 is a whole-surface conductive material, and the area may be larger than the total area of the first sensing block 120 and the second sensing block 140. In one embodiment, the bottom electrode 210 may cover the entire first surface 200a. In other embodiments, the bottom electrode 210 may be disposed below (ie, outside) the lower glass substrate 200 and located on the second surface 200 b of the lower glass substrate 200. Because the signal of the second sensing block (for example, a fingerprint recognition sensor) may be relatively weak (for example, 8fF ~ 15fF), even a small amount of noise may interfere with and affect the recognition of features. The entire bottom electrode 210 formed on the first surface 200 a or the second surface 200 b of the lower glass substrate 200 can block noise interference from outside the lower glass substrate 200. In addition, the bottom electrode 210 can perform the pressure sensing function together with the first sensing block 120 and the second sensing block 140, instead of a general physical button (such as a left button and a right button of a mouse).

The touch panel 10 further includes a chip 160, for example, using a chip-on-glass (COG) technology. The chip 160 is disposed on the first surface 100 a of the upper glass substrate 100, and is electrically connected to the first sensing block 120 and the second sensing block 140. That is, the wafer 160, the first sensing block 120, and the second sensing block 140 are all disposed on the same surface, and are all formed on the first surface 100a. In this embodiment, the wafer 160 is disposed on the first surface 100 a and does not correspond to a position of the bottom electrode 210 and the lower glass substrate 200. Furthermore, the area of the upper glass substrate 100 and the area of the lower glass substrate 200 are different from each other. The area of the upper glass substrate 100 is larger than the area of the lower glass substrate 200. Please refer to FIGS.

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of a touch panel connected along line A-A 'in FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 2A, a frame glue 220 may be provided between the upper glass substrate 100 and the lower glass substrate 200. After the upper glass substrate 100 is aligned with the lower glass substrate 200, the first surface 100a of the upper glass substrate 100 faces the first surface 200a of the lower glass substrate 200, so that the first sensing block 120 and the second sensing region The block 140 corresponds to the bottom electrode 210, and there is a gap between the first sensing block 120 and the bottom electrode 210, and a gap between the second sensing block 140 and the bottom electrode 210, such as an air gap. The first sensing block 120 and the second sensing block 140 may be separated from each other without being directly connected together. When the first sensing block 120 or the second sensing block 140 includes a pressure sensor, the applied pressure can change the distance between the first sensing block 120 and the bottom electrode 210 and the second sensing block. The distance between 140 and the bottom electrode 210, the first sensing block 120 or the second sensing block 140 can produce a change in the equivalent capacitance, and the pressure sensing circuit can further calculate the pressure based on the amount of change in this capacitance. size.

FIG. 2B illustrates a cross-sectional view of a touch panel connected along line B-B 'in FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 2B, the frame adhesive 220 is formed only on the edge regions of the first sensing block 120, the second sensing block 140, and the bottom electrode 210 to bond the upper glass substrate 100 and the lower glass substrate 200. The glass substrate 200 is formed without a frame adhesive. A part of the upper glass substrate 100 and the wafer 160 are exposed from the lower glass substrate 200, and the wafer 160 does not overlap the lower glass substrate 200. That is, the area of the upper glass substrate 100 is larger than the area of the lower glass substrate 200.

FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram illustrating a first surface of an upper glass substrate of a touch panel according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 3A, a first sensing block 120, a second sensing block 140, and a wafer 160 are formed on the first surface 100a of the upper glass substrate 100. In this embodiment, the first sensing block 120 includes a touch sensor 122 and a pressure sensor 124, and the second sensing block 140 includes a pressure sensor 144 and a fingerprint sensor 142. The first sensing block 120 and the second sensing block 140 may include sensors having different capacitive sensing methods. The first sensing block 120 may be a point self-capacitive sensor (refer to FIG. 4A), and the second sensing block 140 may be a point self-capacitive sensor (refer to FIG. 4A) or Line mutual capacitance sensor (refer to Figure 4B).

The first sensing block 120 is a touch sensor 122 formed on the entire surface. In addition to the touch sensor 122, a pressure sensor 124 is formed in the central area 120C of the first sensing block 120. That is, the central area 120C of the first sensing block 120 has both different functions of touch sensing and pressure sensing, while the peripheral area of the first sensing block 120 outside the central area 120C is It only has the touch sensor 122 and can only perform the function of touch sensing. The pressure sensor 124 may include a left pressure sensor 124L and a right pressure sensor 124R. The left pressure sensor 124L and the right pressure sensor 124R may be the same, similar to the left and right buttons of a mouse, respectively. Functions, which in turn replace physical keys.

There is a fingerprint sensor 142 in the middle of the second sensing block 140, and pressure sensors 144 on both sides of the fingerprint sensor 142, that is, a left pressure sensor 144L and a right pressure sensor 144R. The width of the fingerprint sensor 142 may be 50 μm to 100 μm.

FIG. 3B is a schematic diagram illustrating a first surface of a lower glass substrate of a touch panel according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 3B, a bottom electrode 210 may be formed on the first surface 200 a of the lower glass substrate 200. The bottom electrode 210 may cover the entire first surface 200a. A frame adhesive 220 may be formed on an edge region of the lower glass substrate 200 outside the bottom electrode 210 so that the upper glass substrate 100 and the lower glass substrate are adhered to each other. The lower glass substrate 200 faces the upper glass substrate 100 with the first surface 200a, the lower glass substrate 200 and the bottom electrode 210 overlap the first sensing block 120 and the second sensing block 140, and a part of the upper glass substrate 100 and The wafer 160 formed on the first surface 100 a protrudes from the lower glass substrate 200 and does not overlap the lower glass substrate 200.

FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram illustrating an electrode structure of a touch panel according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Please refer to FIG. 4A. The first sensing block 120 or the second sensing block 140 may include a plurality of sensing units 122u (ie, electrode units), and each sensing unit 122u is electrically Connected to the circuit IC, the capacitance change of each sensing unit 122u can be sensed separately. It can be called a point self-capacitive sensor, which can be applied to touch sensing or pressure sensing. Point self-contained sensors can perform true multi-finger detection. The shape of the sensing unit 122u is, for example, a square. The width of the sensing unit 122u may be 3.5 mm to 5 mm.

FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram of an electrode structure of a touch panel according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 4B, the second sensing block 140 may include X-direction electrodes X1, X2, X3, ..., Xm-1, Xm connected in series with a plurality of sensing units 142u, and Y connected in series with a plurality of sensing units 142u. The directional electrodes Y1, Y2, Y3, Y4 ... Yn-1, Yn. Each of the X-direction electrode and the Y-direction electrode is electrically connected to the circuit IC, respectively, and can sense the capacitance change of each line connected in series to the sensing unit 142u, which can be called a line mutual capacitance sensor, which can be applied For touch sensing. The shape of the sensing unit 142u is, for example, a rhombus. The width of the sensing unit 142u may be 3.5 mm to 5 mm.

The disclosure provides a touch panel, which includes an upper glass substrate and a lower glass substrate, and the first sensing block and the second sensing block are both located between the upper glass substrate and the lower glass substrate. In this way, the upper glass substrate and the lower glass substrate replace the traditional touch panel using a printed circuit board as a carrier, and the two sensing blocks are directly integrated into the upper glass substrate and the lower glass substrate without additional protection. The layer protects the sensing block, which can prevent the sensing block from being scratched or abraded. This can simplify the process steps of the touchpad and reduce the cost of the process. In addition, since the bottom electrode is formed on the first surface or the second surface of the lower glass substrate, on the one hand, it can perform the pressure sensing function with the first sensing block and the second sensing block, instead of a general physical button ( Such as the left and right buttons of a mouse), on the other hand, it can block noise interference from outside the lower glass substrate.

In summary, although the present invention has been disclosed as above with the embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Those with ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be determined by the scope of the attached patent application.

10‧‧‧Touchpad

100‧‧‧ on glass substrate

100a, 200a‧‧‧First surface

100b, 200b‧‧‧Second surface

120‧‧‧First sensing block

120C‧‧‧ Central area

122‧‧‧Touch Sensor

122u, 142u‧‧‧ sensing unit

124, 144‧‧‧ Pressure Sensor

124L, 144L‧‧‧Left pressure sensor

124R, 144R‧‧‧Right pressure sensor

140‧‧‧Second sensing block

142‧‧‧Fingerprint sensor

160‧‧‧Chip

200‧‧‧ lower glass substrate

210‧‧‧ bottom electrode

220‧‧‧Frame glue

A, A ’, B, B’‧‧‧ end points

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a touch panel according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of a touch panel connected along line A-A 'in FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2B illustrates a cross-sectional view of a touch panel connected along line B-B 'in FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram illustrating a first surface of an upper glass substrate of a touch panel according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 3B is a schematic diagram illustrating a first surface of a lower glass substrate of a touch panel according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram illustrating an electrode structure of a touch panel according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram of an electrode structure of a touch panel according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Claims (10)

A touchpad includes: an upper glass substrate; a lower glass substrate; a first sensing block located between the upper glass substrate and the lower glass substrate; and a second sensing block located on the upper glass Between the substrate and the lower glass substrate, the first sensing block and the second sensing block are disposed on a first surface of the upper glass substrate. The touchpad according to item 1 of the patent application scope further includes a bottom electrode, which is located between the first sensing block, the second sensing block, and the lower glass substrate, or is located between the A second surface of the lower glass substrate. The touch panel according to item 2 of the scope of the patent application, wherein the area of the bottom electrode is larger than the total area of the first sensing block and the second sensing block. The touchpad according to item 1 of the scope of patent application, further comprising a chip, the chip is disposed on the first surface of the upper glass substrate, and is electrically connected to the first sensing block and the second sensor. Test block. The touch panel according to item 1 of the application, wherein the area of the upper glass substrate and the area of the lower glass substrate are different from each other. The touch panel according to item 1 of the application, wherein the thickness of the upper glass substrate and the thickness of the lower glass substrate are different from each other. The touch panel according to item 1 of the scope of the patent application, wherein the area of the first sensing block is larger than that of the second sensing block. The touch panel according to item 1 of the scope of patent application, wherein the first sensing block has a central area, and the central area has two sensors with different functions. The touch panel according to item 1 of the scope of patent application, wherein the first sensing block includes a touch sensor and a pressure sensor, and the second sensing block includes a pressure sensor And a fingerprint sensor. The touch panel according to item 1 of the scope of the patent application, wherein the first sensing block includes a plurality of sensing units, and the sensing units are electrically connected to a circuit, respectively.