TWI541692B - Touch panel - Google Patents

Description

Touch panel

The present invention relates to a touch panel.

With the evolution of touch control, touch panels have been widely used in various consumer electronic devices, such as smart phones, tablet computers, cameras, e-books or MP3s. Portable electronic products such as players, or display screens for operating control devices and cash dispensers.

The touch panel generally includes a cover plate, a sensing plate, a liquid glue, and a pattern layer, wherein the liquid glue is located between the cover plate and the sensing plate for bonding the two, and the pattern layer is located on the side of the cover plate opposite to the liquid glue. The touch panel is displayed with a trademark or a specific function pattern such as an indicator light, a main menu or a return key icon. In this structure, the liquid glue inevitably comes into contact with the pattern layer, and the liquid glue is usually corrosive, which corrodes the pattern layer, causing the pattern layer to produce a different color, thereby affecting the appearance of the touch panel.

The touch panel provided by the present invention covers the pattern layer with a barrier layer, and the barrier bonding layer is in direct contact with the pattern layer to reduce the etching layer of the bonding layer and improve the appearance of the touch panel.

One embodiment of the present invention provides a touch panel including: a first substrate, a second substrate, a bonding layer, a pattern layer, and a barrier layer. The bonding layer is located between the first substrate and the second substrate; the pattern layer is located on a lower surface of the first substrate relative to the bonding layer; the barrier layer is located between the pattern layer and the bonding layer, and covers at least the pattern Floor.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the pattern layer is covered with a barrier layer to prevent the bonding layer from directly contacting the pattern layer, thereby preventing the bonding layer from infiltrating and etching the pattern layer, thereby making the pattern layer Produces a different color, which in turn affects the appearance of the touch panel.

In order to further understand the technology of the present invention, please refer to the following detailed description and drawings. The drawings and the annexed drawings are to be considered as illustrative and not limiting.

1‧‧‧ touch panel

VA‧‧ visible area

NA‧‧‧Invisible area

10‧‧‧First substrate

10a‧‧‧ upper surface

10b‧‧‧ lower surface

11‧‧‧Second substrate

11a‧‧‧ first surface

11b‧‧‧ second surface

12‧‧‧ joint layer

130‧‧‧Shielding layer

131‧‧‧pattern layer

14‧‧‧Barrier

200‧‧‧Sense electrode layer

200a‧‧‧first electrode

200b‧‧‧second electrode

201‧‧‧First connection

202‧‧‧Second connection

203‧‧‧Insulation

210‧‧‧Line layer

FIG. 1A shows a top view of a touch panel according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1B is a partial top plan view of a touch layer according to an embodiment of the invention.

1C is a cross-sectional view of the touch panel of FIG. 1A along line A-A.

2 is a cross-sectional view showing a touch panel according to another embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a cross-sectional view showing a touch panel according to another embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a cross-sectional view showing a touch panel according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

Please refer to FIGS. 1A to 1C. FIG. 1A shows a top view of a touch panel according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 1B is a partial top plan view showing a touch layer according to an embodiment of the invention. 1C is a cross-sectional view of the touch panel of FIG. 1A along line A-A. Referring first to FIG. 1C , the touch panel 1 includes a first substrate 10 , a second substrate 11 , a bonding layer 12 , a pattern layer 131 , and a barrier layer 14 . The bonding layer 12 is located between the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 11 for bonding the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 11. The pattern layer 131 is located on the lower surface 10b of the first substrate 10 with respect to the bonding layer 12. The barrier layer 14 is located between the pattern layer 131 and the bonding layer 12 and covers at least the pattern layer 131. It should be noted that the fact that the barrier layer 14 is located between the pattern layer 131 and the bonding layer 12 means that the barrier layer 14 can separate the pattern layer 131 and the bonding layer 12 in a spatial position to avoid direct contact between the two. Thereby, the barrier layer 14 can prevent the bonding layer 12 from directly contacting the pattern layer 131, thereby preventing the bonding layer 12 from infiltrating and etching the pattern layer 131, and causing the pattern layer 131 to generate a different color, thereby affecting the appearance of the touch panel.

The touch panel 1 further includes a shielding layer 130 on one surface of the first substrate 10 to define the non-visible area NA of the touch panel 1. Correspondingly, the touch surface The board 1 further has a non-visible area NA corresponding to the visible area VA, wherein the non-visible area NA is located on at least one side of the visible area VA. In the embodiment, the non-visible area NA surrounds the periphery of the visible area VA. For example, it is not limited to this. The shielding layer 130 may be located on the upper surface 10a of the first substrate 10 or the lower surface 10b of the first substrate 10 for shielding some opaque elements of the touch panel 1 located in the non-visible area NA, such as the circuit layer described later. The shielding layer 13 surrounds the visible area VA to form a frame-shaped area. Further, the shielding layer 130 has a hollowed out region, and the patterned layer 131 is formed in the hollowed out region. The material forming the masking layer 130 may be, for example, an opaque ink or a polyimide. The masking layer 130 may be formed by screen printing or printing, and then a mirror ink or an infrared ink is applied to the hollow portion to form the pattern layer 131.

The material of the pattern layer 131 includes an opaque ink, such as a mirror ink, to have a specific shape for presenting a trade name, a logo, or a button pattern. When the user is viewed from the upper surface 10a of the first substrate 10, the pattern displayed by the pattern layer 131 can be seen. In other embodiments, the material of the pattern layer 131 includes an infrared ink, and the infrared ink allows the infrared signal emitted by the electronic device to pass through, so that the electronic device can transmit and receive the infrared signal from the pattern layer 131. Further, the pattern layer 131 formed of the infrared ink can also block visible light and ultraviolet light, so the pattern layer 131 formed by the infrared ink can be opaque while ensuring the transmittance.

The bonding layer 12 is located between the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 11 in a portion of the visible region VA. In the non-visible region NA portion, the bonding layer 12 covers the shielding layer 130 and the barrier layer 14, that is, the bonding At least a portion of the layer 12 is between the shielding layer 130 and the second substrate 11. The bonding layer 12 may be a photocurable adhesive or a thermosetting adhesive, such as a liquid optical clear adhesive (LOCA), which is liquid before uncured, and has fluidity and is curable after being irradiated with ultraviolet light. The bonding layer 12 can be formed in a coating or printing manner.

The barrier layer 14 is generally solid and has a defined shape before being overlaid on the pattern layer 131. Therefore, when the barrier layer 14 is attached to the pattern layer 131, it is not necessary to undergo a curing process. The specific material of the barrier layer 14 includes a tape or a gasket, such as a high temperature glue. Belt, crepe tape, silicone pad or acrylic tape. In other embodiments, the barrier layer 14 is an optical clear adhesive (OCA) such as a light transmissive glue or an infrared light transmissive glue. For example, when the pattern layer 131 is an infrared ink layer, the barrier layer 14 is an infrared light transmitting glue. That is, the material forming the barrier layer 14 includes an infrared permeable adhesive material. When the pattern layer 131 is a mirror ink layer, the barrier layer 14 can be a light-transmissive glue or a tape or a gasket similar to the color of the mirror ink layer, which can prevent the color of the barrier layer 14 and the pattern layer 131 from being different, and affect the touch panel. The appearance of 1. The thickness of the barrier layer 14 is generally in the range of 75 μm to 300 μm.

It should be noted that the thickness of the shielding layer 130 is greater than or equal to the thickness of the pattern layer 131. When the bonding layer 12 bonds the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 11 to each other, since the shielding layer 130 is positioned on the lower surface 10b of the first substrate 10, the bonding layer 12 inevitably comes into contact with the shielding layer 130. When the bonding layer 12 is a commonly used adhesive material such as a liquid glue, the liquid glue is liquid when it is not cured and usually has a composition that corrodes the ink. Therefore, when the bonding layer 12 penetrates into the shielding layer 130, the bonding layer 12 and the shielding layer 130 will A chemical reaction occurs, causing the shielding layer 130 to be corroded. However, since the shielding layer 130 needs to have a better effect of shielding other components, the thickness is generally thicker and the color is darker. Therefore, even if the shielding layer 130 is partially corroded by the bonding layer 12, the color of the shielding layer 130 does not greatly change. Therefore, there is no influence on the appearance of the touch panel 1. However, the pattern layer 131 is thin and generally light in color. If the pattern layer 131 directly contacts the bonding layer 12, it is easily corroded by the bonding layer 12, and the portion of the pattern layer 131 which is corroded by the bonding layer 12, the color and the original color. It is different, which affects the appearance of the touch panel 1. In particular, when the pattern layer 131 is formed of an infrared ink layer material, in a subsequent heating and pressing process (for example, a defoaming process), the influence of the bonding layer 12 on the pattern layer 131 formed by etching the infrared ink is more obvious. For example, the pattern layer formed by the infrared ink is faded and can be penetrated by visible light. In the present embodiment, the pattern layer 131 is completely covered by the barrier layer 14 to prevent the bonding layer 12 from directly contacting the pattern layer 131, and the bonding layer 12 can be prevented from infiltrating and etching the pattern layer 131, thereby preventing the pattern layer 131 from being colored. Of course, in other embodiments, the barrier layer 14 is covered by the pattern layer. In addition to 131, the masking layer 130 may also be partially covered.

The first substrate 10 may be a transparent substrate, but is not limited to a rigid substrate or a flexible substrate. The hard substrate is, for example, a glass plate or a polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA, Acrylic) substrate. The flexible substrate is, for example, a polymer substrate made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or polyimide (PI). The first substrate 10 also has an upper surface 10a opposite to the lower surface 10b. In the present embodiment, the upper surface 10a can serve as a surface for accepting touch by the user, and the lower surface 10b can be used to form other components of the touch panel 1. The detailed description will be described in the following. In addition, in this embodiment, the upper surface 10a of the first substrate 10 may be subjected to surface treatment such as strengthening, scratch resistance, anti-glare, antibacterial, and/or anti-reflection, for example, so that the first substrate 10 is protected. Anti-glare, anti-reflection and other functions.

The second substrate 11 has a first surface 11a and a second surface 11b opposite to the first surface 11a. Here, the first surface 11a is a surface of the second substrate 11 relative to the lower surface 10b of the first substrate 10. The second surface 11b is referred to as the upper surface of the second substrate 11, and the second surface 11b may be referred to as the lower surface of the second substrate 11. Further, the material constituting the second substrate 11 may be selected from one of the aforementioned hard substrate or flexible substrate.

In one embodiment, the touch panel 1 further includes a touch layer disposed between the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 11 . The touch layer is formed on the first surface 11a of the second substrate 11, that is, the upper surface. Referring to FIGS. 1B and 1C , the touch layer includes a sensing electrode layer 200 and a circuit layer 210 , wherein the sensing electrode layer 200 is disposed in the visible area VA, and the circuit layer 210 is disposed in the non-visible area NA. That is, the circuit layer 210 is located around the sensing electrode layer 200 and electrically connected to the sensing electrode layer 200 for transmitting the sensing signal of the sensing electrode layer 200 to the controller (not shown) to determine the touch. Control position.

In detail, the sensing electrode layer 200 includes a plurality of first electrodes 200 a , a plurality of second electrodes 200 b , a plurality of first connecting portions 201 , and a plurality of second connecting portions 202 . These first electrodes 200a are arranged in a plurality of rows, and these second electrodes 200b are arranged in a plurality of columns. Located between two adjacent first electrodes 200a in the same row A connecting portion 201 is connected in the same column and the two adjacent second electrodes 200b are connected by a second connecting portion 202. In this embodiment, a plurality of insulating portions 203 may be disposed between the first connecting portion 201 and the second connecting portion 202 to electrically insulate the first connecting portion 201 and the second connecting portion 202.

In the foregoing embodiment, the material constituting the first electrode 200a and the second electrode 200b may be a transparent conductive material such as indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), or cadmium tin oxide (indium zinc oxide). Cadmium tin oxide, CTO), aluminum zinc oxide (AZO), indium tin zinc oxide (ITZO), zinc oxide, cadmium oxide, hafnium oxide , HfO), indium gallium zinc oxide (InGaZnO), indium gallium zinc magnesium oxide (InGaZnMgO), indium gallium magnesium oxide (InGaMgO) or indium gallium aluminum oxide (indium gallium) Indium gallium aluminum oxide, InGaAlO), and the like. The material constituting the circuit layer 210 may be selected from the same transparent conductive material as the first electrode 200a and the second electrode 200b, and may also be selected from gold, silver, copper, nickel, aluminum, chromium, or any combination thereof (such as a molybdenum-aluminum-molybdenum laminate). A structure in which an aluminum layer is located between two molybdenum layers). When the sensing electrode layer 200 and the wiring layer 210 are formed, the sensing electrode layer 200 and the wiring layer 210 can be fabricated by processes such as deposition, lithography, and etching.

Of course, the electrode layer of the touch panel is not limited to a single layer, and is not limited to being disposed only on the first surface of the second substrate 11 as shown in FIG. 1C. Referring to FIG. 2, a cross-sectional view of a touch panel according to another embodiment of the present invention is shown. The difference between this embodiment and the embodiment shown in FIG. 1C is that, in this embodiment, the sensing electrode layer includes the first electrode 200a on the first surface 11a of the second substrate 11, and the second substrate. 11 second electrode 200b on second surface 11b. Specifically, the circuit layer 210 and the first electrode 200a are disposed on the first surface 11a of the second substrate 11, wherein the circuit layer 210 is disposed in the non-visible area NA, and the first electrode 200a is substantially distributed in the visible area VA. And electrically connected to the circuit layer 210. The second electrode 200b is disposed on the second surface 11b of the second substrate 11 and electrically connected to the circuit layer 210. In other embodiments, the line The layer 210 may also be disposed on the second surface 11b of the second substrate 11. Other components of this embodiment are substantially the same as those of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1C, and therefore will not be described again.

Referring to FIG. 3, a cross-sectional view of a touch panel according to another embodiment of the present invention is shown. The difference between this embodiment and the embodiment shown in FIG. 1C is that in the embodiment, the sensing electrode layer 200 is formed on the lower surface 10b of the first substrate 10, and the circuit layer 210 is formed on the shielding layer 130. . Specifically, after the shielding layer 13 is formed on the lower surface 10b of the first substrate 10, the wiring layer 210 is formed on the surface of the shielding layer 13. In addition, the foregoing barrier layer 14 is formed on the wiring layer 210 and between the bonding layer 12 and the wiring layer 210. In detail, when the barrier layer 14 is formed on the wiring layer 210, the position of the barrier layer 14 overlaps with the position of the pattern layer 131.

The structure of the sensing electrode layer 200 and the wiring layer 210 is as shown in FIG. 1B. When the circuit layer 210 is formed on the shielding layer 130 and the pattern layer 131, since the circuit layer is composed of a plurality of wires spaced apart from each other, the wiring layer 210 does not completely cover the pattern layer 131. The barrier layer 14 still covers the pattern layer 131 through the circuit layer 210, so that when the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 11 are joined by the bonding layer 12, the bonding layer 12 penetrates into the pattern layer 131, and the appearance of the touch panel 1 is obtained. Causes adverse effects. Other components of this embodiment are substantially the same as those of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1C, and therefore will not be described again.

Referring to FIG. 4, a cross-sectional view of a touch panel according to still another embodiment of the present invention is shown. The difference between this embodiment and the embodiment shown in FIG. 1C is that in the present embodiment, the bonding layer 12 has an opening in which the barrier layer 14 is filled. Further, the upper surface of the barrier layer 14 covers the pattern layer 131, or may further cover the shielding layer 130, and the lower surface of the barrier layer 14 is located on the circuit layer 210. In other words, the barrier layer 14 is bonded through the opening. Layer 12 is divided into left and right parts. When the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 11 are to be joined by the bonding layer 12, the portion to which the barrier layer 14 has been attached is not coated with the bonding layer 12. Other components of this embodiment are substantially the same as those of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1C, and therefore will not be described again.

In summary, the embodiment of the present invention covers the patterned layer with a barrier layer, and blocks the contact layer from contacting the patterned layer through the barrier layer, thereby preventing the bonding layer from infiltrating and etching. The layer is layered and prevents the pattern layer from producing a different color. In addition, when the pattern layer is an infrared ink, the barrier layer can alleviate the fading of the pattern layer during the defoaming process.

Although the present invention has been disclosed above in the foregoing embodiments, it is not intended to limit the invention. It is still within the scope of patent protection of the present invention to make equivalent substitutions of the modifications and retouchings without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

1‧‧‧ touch panel

VA‧‧ visible area

NA‧‧‧Invisible area

10‧‧‧First substrate

10a‧‧‧ upper surface

10b‧‧‧ lower surface

11‧‧‧Second substrate

11a‧‧‧ first surface

11b‧‧‧ second surface

12‧‧‧ joint layer

130‧‧‧Shielding layer

131‧‧‧pattern layer

14‧‧‧Barrier

200‧‧‧Sense electrode layer

200a‧‧‧first electrode

201‧‧‧First connection

202‧‧‧Second connection

203‧‧‧Insulation

210‧‧‧Line layer

Claims (14)

A touch panel includes: a first substrate; a second substrate; a bonding layer between the first substrate and the second substrate; and a pattern layer on the first substrate opposite to the first substrate a lower surface of the bonding layer; a barrier layer between the pattern layer and the bonding layer and covering at least the pattern layer. The touch panel of claim 1 further comprising a shielding layer on one of the surfaces of the first substrate to define a non-visible area. The touch panel of claim 2, wherein the shielding layer is located on a lower surface of the first substrate and has a hollowed out region, the patterned layer being located in the hollowed out region. The touch panel of claim 2, wherein the material of the pattern layer comprises an opaque ink. The touch panel of claim 4, wherein the ink is an infrared ink, and the material of the barrier layer comprises an infrared permeable adhesive material. The touch panel of claim 4, wherein the ink is a mirror ink, and the barrier layer material is a light transmissive glue or an adhesive tape of the same color as the mirror ink. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the bonding layer is a photocurable adhesive or a heat curing adhesive. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the bonding layer has an opening, and the barrier layer is filled in the opening. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the barrier layer is a high temperature tape, a enamel tape or an acryl tape. The touch panel of claim 2, wherein the material of the shielding layer comprises an opaque ink. The touch panel of claim 2, wherein the shielding layer has a thickness greater than or equal to a thickness of the pattern layer. The touch panel of claim 2, further comprising a visible area located in the non-visible area At least one side, a sensing electrode layer, and a circuit layer electrically connected to the sensing electrode layer, wherein the sensing electrode layer is disposed in the visible area, and the circuit layer is disposed in the non-visible area And the sensing electrode layer and the circuit layer are located on a surface of the second substrate. The touch panel of claim 12, wherein the sensing electrode layer and the circuit layer are located on an upper surface of the second substrate. The touch panel of claim 2, further comprising a viewable area on at least one side of the non-visible area, a sensing electrode layer, and a circuit layer electrically connected to the sensing electrode layer, wherein the sensing layer The electrode layer is disposed in the visible area and is located on the lower surface of the first substrate. The circuit layer is disposed in the non-visible area and is located between the barrier layer and the shielding layer.