TWI549026B - Cover plate and touch panel - Google Patents

Description

Protective cover and touch panel

The present invention relates to touch panel technology, and in particular to a protective cover having a curved surface and a touch panel having the protective cover.

A previous touch panel has been formed by directly forming a touch sensing layer on a protective cover without using a separate touch panel, which can reduce the thickness of the touch panel. The touch sensing layer generally includes a touch area for sensing a touch, and a trace area is disposed around the touch area, including a screen printing technique and for processing the touch area and the processing sensing signal. The wires that are electrically connected. In this way, the processor can receive the sensing signal to implement processing and response of the touch signal. Screen printing technology is generally limited to flat printing. In practical applications, the edge of the protective cover may be set to a curved surface. Therefore, it is necessary to avoid the curved surface to set the wiring area, resulting in low utilization of the surface of the protective cover, which is disadvantageous for miniaturization of the touch panel.

In view of this, it is necessary to provide a protective cover that is advantageous for miniaturization.

A protective cover for a touch panel includes: a substrate; the substrate includes a touch surface and an assembly surface opposite to the touch surface, the assembly surface includes a sensing area and a trace surrounding the sensing area Zone, the routing area is a curved surface; a sensing layer formed on the sensing region for sensing a touch action applied to the touch surface; and at least one wire formed in the wiring region and electrically connected to the sensing layer.

A touch panel includes: a display panel; and a protective cover covering the display panel; the protective cover includes: a substrate; the substrate includes a touch surface opposite to the display panel and a touch surface The assembly surface of the back includes a sensing area and a routing area surrounding the sensing area, the routing area is a curved surface; a sensing layer formed in the sensing area for sensing applied to a touch action on the touch surface; and at least one wire formed in the trace area and electrically connected to the sensing layer.

That is to say, the protective cover of the present invention directly sets the wiring area on the curved surface instead of avoiding the curved surface setting, thereby improving the surface utilization of the protective cover. In addition, in the case of the same size, the use of the curved surface can increase the surface area of the substrate, further improving the surface utilization of the protective cover.

10‧‧‧ touch panel

12‧‧‧ display panel

14‧‧‧ protective cover

142‧‧‧Substrate

1421‧‧‧Touch surface

1422‧‧‧ Assembly surface

1423‧‧‧Sensing area

1424‧‧‧Drop area

1425‧‧‧ bumps

1426‧‧‧ Groove

144‧‧‧Sensor layer

1441‧‧‧Barrier

1442‧‧‧First electrode layer

1443‧‧‧Insulation

1444‧‧‧Second electrode layer

1445‧‧‧passivation layer

1446‧‧‧First electrode line

1447‧‧‧Second electrode line

146‧‧‧ wire

148‧‧‧Connector

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a touch panel according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a cross-sectional view of the touch panel of FIG. 1 taken along II-II.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a touch panel 10 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a display panel 12 and a protective cover 14 covering the display panel 12 . The protective cover 14 includes a base The board 142, a sensing layer 144 and at least one wire 146. The substrate 142 includes a touch surface 1421 opposite to the display panel 12 and an assembly surface 1422 opposite to the touch surface. The assembly surface 1422 includes a sensing area 1423 and a routing area 1424 surrounding the sensing area. . The routing area 1424 is a curved surface. The sensing layer 144 is formed in the sensing region 1423 for sensing a touch action applied to the touch surface 1421. The at least one wire 146 is formed in the routing region 1424 and electrically connected to the sensing layer 144.

That is to say, the protective cover 14 of the present invention directly places the routing area 1424 on the curved surface instead of avoiding the curved surface arrangement, thereby improving the surface utilization of the protective cover 14. In addition, in the case of the same size, the curved surface can increase the surface area of the substrate 142, further improving the surface utilization of the protective cover 14.

The display panel 12 can be a liquid crystal display panel, an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display panel, or other suitable display panel. In the present embodiment, the display panel 12 is a liquid crystal display panel.

The substrate 142 is made of a transparent material such as glass, plastic or sapphire, and has good physical properties such as high hardness and abrasion resistance. In the present embodiment, the substrate 142 is made of glass.

The protective cover 14 seals the display panel 12 and functions as dustproof, waterproof, anti-drop, anti-wear and the like. In addition, since the sensing layer 144 and the at least wires 146 are directly disposed on the substrate 142, the protective cover 14 also functions as a conventional touch panel.

In order to achieve some of the intended purposes, for example, to enlarge the surface area of the substrate 142 without changing or even reducing the size, the substrate 142 includes a curved surface, for example, the routing region 1424 is a concave curved surface. In this embodiment, the entire assembly surface 1422 is a curved surface (for example, a concave curved surface), that is, the sensing region 1423 is also a curved surface (for example). Such as a concave curved surface, and the substrate 142 is equivalent to an optical lens.

Referring to FIG. 2, the sensing layer 144 is formed in the sensing region 1423 by a semiconductor process such as plating and yellow etching. The sensing layer 144 is sequentially stacked with a barrier layer 1441, a first electrode layer 1442, an insulating layer 1443, a second electrode layer 1444, and a passivation layer 1445. The barrier layer 1441 is configured to prevent oxidation of the first electrode layer 1442 and the second electrode layer 1444, and to dilute the image of the first electrode layer 1442 on the substrate 142. The first electrode layer 1442 is made of indium tin oxide (ITO) and includes a plurality of first electrode lines 1446 arranged in parallel along a first direction (for example, the length direction of the substrate 142). The insulating layer 1443 is configured to electrically separate the first electrode layer 1442 and the second electrode layer 1444, and may be made of an insulating colloid. The second electrode layer 1444 is made of metal and includes a plurality of second electrode lines 1447 arranged in parallel along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction (for example, the width direction of the substrate 142). The passivation layer 1445 is for preventing oxidation of the first electrode layer 1442 and the second electrode layer 1444.

As such, when the touch surface 1421 is touched, the capacitance of the corresponding touch point position between the first electrode layer 1442 and the second electrode layer 1444 changes, and is converted into a touch signal through the first electrode line 1446 and the second Electrode line 1447 is transmitted. That is to say, the sensing layer 144 is a capacitive touch sensing layer.

Certainly, the sensing layer 144 may adopt other capacitive touch sensing structures, and may also be a resistive touch sensing layer, and is not limited to the embodiment.

The at least one wire 146 is formed in the routing area 1424 by a three-dimensional circuit forming technique such as laser direct structuring (LDS), and is connected to the first electrode line 1446 and the second electrode line 1447 for The touch signal is transmitted out.

In this embodiment, the substrate 142 further includes a protrusion 1425 extending upward from the assembly surface 1422 in the routing area 1424. The protrusion 1425 is formed with a recess 1426. The protective cover 14 also includes a connector 148. The connector 148 is received in the recess 1426 , fixed to the assembly surface 1422 , and electrically connected to the at least one wire 146 . The connector 148 is for connecting to an external connector to transmit the touch signal.

10‧‧‧ touch panel

12‧‧‧ display panel

14‧‧‧ protective cover

142‧‧‧Substrate

1421‧‧‧Touch surface

1422‧‧‧ Assembly surface

1423‧‧‧Sensing area

1424‧‧‧Drop area

1425‧‧‧ bumps

1426‧‧‧ Groove

144‧‧‧Measurement

1446‧‧‧First electrode line

1447‧‧‧Second electrode line

146‧‧‧ wire

148‧‧‧Connector

Claims (10)

A protective cover for a touch panel includes: a substrate; the substrate includes a touch surface and an assembly surface opposite to the touch surface, the assembly surface includes a sensing area and a trace surrounding the sensing area a tracking area is a curved surface; a sensing layer formed in the sensing area for sensing a touch action applied to the touch surface; and at least one formed in the routing area and the sensing layer Electrically connected wires. The protective cover of claim 1, wherein the substrate is made of glass, plastic or sapphire. The protective cover of claim 1, wherein the sensing area is also a curved surface. The protective cover of claim 1, wherein the sensing layer is a capacitive touch sensing layer or a resistive touch sensing layer. The protective cover of claim 1, wherein the sensing layer is sequentially stacked with a barrier layer, a first electrode layer, an insulating layer, a second electrode layer and a passivation layer from the assembly surface, and the barrier layer is used for the barrier layer Preventing oxidation of the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer, and diluting the image of the substrate of the first electrode layer, the first electrode layer is made of indium oxide, and includes a plurality of rows arranged in parallel along a first direction. a first electrode line, the insulating layer is used for electrically separating the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer, and is made of an insulating colloid; the second electrode layer is made of metal, and includes a plurality of edges and a The first direction perpendicular to the second direction is parallel to the second electrode line arranged at equal intervals; the passivation layer is for preventing oxidation of the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer. The protective cover of claim 5, wherein the at least one wire is formed in the routing area by laser direct structuring, and is connected to the first electrode line and the second electrode line for transmitting the touch signal Go out. The protective cover of claim 1, wherein the substrate further comprises a component located in the routing area from the assembly a protrusion facing the protrusion; the protrusion is formed with a groove; the protection cover further includes a connector; the connector is received in the groove, fixed to the assembly surface and electrically connected to the at least one wire; The connector is used to connect with an external connector to transmit the touch signal. A touch panel comprising: a display panel; and a protective cover covering the display panel and according to any one of claims 1 to 7; the touch surface is opposite to the display panel. The touch panel of claim 8, wherein the display panel is a liquid crystal display panel or an organic light emitting diode display panel. The touch panel of claim 8, wherein the protective cover seals the display panel.