TWI680390B - Touch module and manufacture method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A touch module includes: a substrate including a curved surface, the curved surface defines a plurality of bonding areas; a touch substrate includes a plurality of sub-touch substrates, and the sub-touch substrates are respectively At least some of the adjacent touch-sensitive substrates attached to the surface of the substrate are spaced from each other; and a touch electrode layer is provided on the surface of the touch-sensitive substrate. The invention also provides a method for manufacturing the touch module.

Description

Touch module and manufacturing method thereof

The invention relates to a touch module and a manufacturing method thereof, in particular to a curved touch module and a manufacturing method thereof.

In recent years, with the advancement of technology, the use of touch modules has become wider and wider, ranging from common cash dispensers, smart phones, tablet computers, to industrial touch computers, and so on. Of course, the mainstream touch modules on the market are mostly straight, and the surface of a few touch modules is a 2.5D structure with only a certain curvature at the edges, and has a large curvature surface (such as a spherical or ellipsoidal surface). Touch modules are relatively rare. In the conventional technology, there are few records of touch modules with large curvature surfaces, and the technology related to its specific structure and manufacturing method needs to be improved. Specifically, the lamination process of a touch module with a large curvature surface is different from the lamination process of a conventional candy bar type touch module, and the “folds” easily generated during the lamination process are not easy to be attached.

The present invention provides a touch module including: a substrate including an arc-shaped surface, the arc-shaped surface defining a plurality of bonding areas; a touch substrate, including a plurality of sub-touch substrates, the sub-touch The substrates are respectively attached to the bonding areas on the surface of the substrate, and the sub-touch substrates corresponding to at least some adjacent bonding areas are disposed at intervals; and a touch electrode layer is disposed on the touch substrate. s surface.

The invention also provides a method for manufacturing the touch module, which includes the following steps: providing a touch substrate, fabricating a conductive layer on one surface of the touch substrate; and etching the conductive layer to obtain a touch. An electrode control layer, the touch electrode layer includes a plurality of sub-touch electrodes arranged at intervals; the touch substrate is cut to obtain a plurality of sub-touch substrates, so that each sub-touch substrate carries one Secondary touch electrodes; providing a substrate with a curved surface, and attaching the plurality of secondary touch substrates to the curved surface respectively.

A method for manufacturing a touch module includes the following steps: providing a flat and continuous touch substrate, and fabricating a conductive layer on one surface of the touch substrate, the touch substrate including a plurality of touches A substrate, the sub-touch substrates are spherical or hemispherical when they are spliced to each other; the conductive layer is etched to obtain a touch electrode layer; a substrate is provided, and the touch substrate is attached to the substrate Substrate.

By changing the shape or attaching method of the touch substrate, it is helpful to eliminate the problem of “wrinkles” during the touch module bonding process.

1‧‧‧ touch module

10‧‧‧ substrate

101‧‧‧ curved surface

102‧‧‧ Fit area

11‧‧‧ touch substrate

111‧‧‧ touch substrate

112‧‧‧Sub-touch substrate

12‧‧‧ touch electrode layer

121‧‧‧ touch electrodes

122‧‧‧Sub-touch electrode

123‧‧‧Tap wiring

S11 ~ S15, S21 ~ S23‧‧‧ Production steps

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a touch module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of the touch module of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a bonding area according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a bonding area according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic partial plan view of a touch module according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic partial plan view of a touch module according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic partial plan view of a touch module according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a touch substrate spreading to a plane according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a manufacturing process of a touch module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a manufacturing process of a touch module according to another embodiment of the present invention.

In order to make the technical content disclosed in this application more detailed and complete, reference may be made to the drawings and the following specific embodiments of the present invention. The same reference numerals in the drawings represent the same or similar elements. However, those skilled in the art should understand that the embodiments provided below are not intended to limit the scope covered by the present invention. In addition, the drawings are only for illustrative purposes, and are not drawn to scale according to their actual dimensions.

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

As shown in FIG. 1, it is a schematic perspective view of a touch module 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The touch module 1 has a curved structure. In one embodiment, the touch module 1 is spherical. In other embodiments, the touch module 1 is ellipsoidal, hemispherical or spherical. The touch sensing module 1 includes a touch electrode layer 12 disposed on a surface thereof.

As shown in FIG. 2, it is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of the touch module 1 of FIG. 1. The touch module 1 further includes a substrate 10 and a touch substrate 11 disposed on one surface of the substrate 10. The touch electrode layer 12 is disposed on a surface of the touch substrate 11 away from the substrate 10. The substrate 10 has a certain radian, which is a curved structure. In one embodiment, it can be formed into a spherical, ellipsoidal, hemispherical or spherical crown shape, which can be applied to electronic devices with curved surfaces.

The substrate 10 is a transparent or translucent material. In one embodiment, the material of the substrate 10 may be an organic substance, such as polycarbonate (POLYCARBONATE, PC), polyimide (PI), and polyethylene naphthalate. Polyester (PETYETHYLENE NAPHTHALATE TWO FORMIC ACID GLYCOL ESTER, PEN) and cyclic olefin copolymer (CYCLO-OLEFIN POLYMER, COP); the material of the substrate 10 may also be Inorganic substances, such as silicon dioxide (SiO2). In one embodiment, the substrate 10 may be a strengthened glass substrate, a plastic substrate or a flexible film.

As shown in FIG. 3, it is a schematic diagram of a bonding area according to an embodiment of the present invention. The substrate 10 includes an arc-shaped surface 101. The arc-shaped surface 101 defines a plurality of bonding areas 102. The bonding area 102 can be divided into a plurality of regular rectangles.

As shown in FIG. 4, it is a schematic diagram of a bonding area according to another embodiment of the present invention. The substrate 10 includes a curved surface 101. The curved surface 101 defines a plurality of bonding areas 102. The bonding area 102 can be divided into a plurality of pentagons and hexagons, and a plurality of pentagons and hexagons are spliced to each other. To form a continuous surface on the curved surface 101.

As shown in FIG. 5, the touch substrate 11 is disposed on the curved surface 101 of the substrate 10. The touch substrate 11 includes a plurality of sub-touch substrates 111. As a result of the division, the secondary touch substrates 111 are respectively attached to the bonding areas 102 of the curved surface 101 of the substrate 10, and the secondary touch substrates 111 corresponding to at least some adjacent bonding areas 102 are arranged at intervals. In one embodiment, the touch substrate 11 is a flexible film, and the touch substrate 11 is a transparent or translucent material, such as polyethylene naphthalate (POLYETHYLENE NAPHTHALATE TWO FORMIC ACID GLYCOL ESTER, PEN). The touch substrate 11 can be directly attached to the curved surface 101, or can be adhered to the curved surface 101 by transparent glue such as optical glue or water glue.

As shown in FIG. 5, it is a schematic partial plan view of the touch module 1 of this embodiment. In this embodiment, the touch electrode layer 12 includes a plurality of sub-touch electrodes 121 disposed at intervals. The sub-touch electrodes 121 are conductive materials, and may specifically be indium tin oxide (ITO), conductive silver paste, and the like.

Different secondary touch electrodes 121 are disposed on the surfaces of different secondary touch substrates 111, and multiple secondary touch electrodes 121 are spaced from each other. Each of the sub-touch electrodes 121 includes a plurality of sub-touch electrodes 122, and the plurality of sub-touch electrodes of each of the sub-touch electrodes 121 are disposed on the same touch substrate 111.

As shown in FIG. 6, it is a schematic partial plan view of a touch module 1 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The difference between the second embodiment shown in FIG. 6 and the first embodiment shown in FIG. 5 is that in the second embodiment, The touch electrode 121 does not further include a sub-touch electrode 122, and the touch module 1 further includes an overlap line 123. The adjacent secondary touch electrodes 121 are electrically connected by the overlap line 123.

The touch electrode layer 12 includes a plurality of sub-touch electrodes 121 and an overlap line 123 disposed at intervals. The secondary touch electrode 121 and the bonding wire 123 are conductive materials, and the secondary touch electrode 121 may be an electrode formed by indium tin oxide (ITO).

The touch substrate 11 includes a plurality of sub-touch substrates 111, and the plurality of sub-touch substrates 111 can be divided from the touch substrate 11. Different secondary touch electrodes 121 are disposed on the surfaces of different secondary touch substrates 111, and multiple secondary touch electrodes 121 are spaced from each other. Electrical connections are made between adjacent secondary touch electrodes 121 by a bonding wire 123. The bonding wire 123 can be formed by a method such as coating, printing, spraying, or etching.

As shown in FIG. 7, it is a schematic partial plan view of a touch module 1 according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The difference between the third embodiment shown in FIG. 7 and the second embodiment shown in FIG. 6 is that in the second embodiment, the secondary touch electrode 121 is an electrode formed by indium tin oxide (ITO). In the third embodiment, the secondary touch electrode 121 is a metal mesh.

As shown in FIG. 8, it is a schematic structural diagram of a touch substrate 11 according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention spreading out in a plane.

In this embodiment, the touch substrate 11 is continuous when it is unfolded in a flat state, and the touch substrate 11 includes a plurality of sub-touch substrates 111. In one embodiment, the sub-touch bases 111 may be spherical or hemispherical after being spliced with each other. The touch substrate 11 can obtain the shape of the touch substrate 11 by simulating a planar shape obtained by cutting a ball or a hemisphere along a predetermined route, and cutting a planar substrate to obtain a touch according to the cut planar shape.控 材料 11。 Control substrate 11. The touch substrate 11 spread out into a planar structure may be formed by splicing a plurality of polygons.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, by simulating a planar shape obtained by cutting a football along its pentagon and hexagon sides according to a predetermined route, the touch substrate 11 may be formed by splicing the pentagon and the hexagon. , At least one side of each hexagon is in contact with a pentagon, and different pentagons are not in contact with each other. At least one side of any polygon in the control substrate 11 is in contact with the other polygon. When each side of each polygon in the touch substrate 11 is in contact with another polygon, any one of the plurality of polygons is not on the same plane as the other polygon, and each of the pentagons in the touch substrate One side is in contact with one side of a hexagon, so that the three sides of each hexagon are in contact with one pentagon, and the other three sides of the hexagon are in contact with the other hexagon, each Adjacent sides of a hexagon do not touch the same polygon.

A touch electrode layer 12 is disposed on one surface of the touch substrate 11, and the shape of the touch electrode layer 12 matches the shape of the touch substrate 11. The touch electrode layer 12 is a conductive material, and specifically may be indium tin oxide (ITO), conductive silver paste, metal mesh, or the like.

FIG. 9 shows a manufacturing method of the touch module 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Step S11: A touch substrate 11 is provided, and a conductive layer is formed on a surface of the touch substrate 11.

A touch substrate 11 is provided. The touch substrate 11 is a flexible material to make it suitable for curved structures. The conductive layer can be made on one surface of the touch substrate 11 by means of chemical vapor deposition (CVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD), or coating. Specifically, the manufacturing method can be vacuum evaporation, sputtering coating, or arc. Plasma plating, ion plating, molecular beam epitaxy, spin coating, dipping, etc.

Step S12: The conductive layer is etched to form a touch electrode layer 12, and the touch electrode layer 12 includes a plurality of sub-touch electrodes 121 disposed at intervals.

The conductive layer is etched by means of chemical etching, laser etching, etc. to obtain a touch electrode layer 12 having a predetermined pattern. The touch electrode layer 12 includes a plurality of sub-touch electrodes 121 disposed at intervals.

In other embodiments, the step of etching the conductive layer may further include a step of making each sub-touch electrode 121 include a plurality of sub-touch electrodes 122 spaced apart; specifically, by chemical etching, laser etching, etc. The conductive layer is etched in such a manner that each secondary touch electrode 121 includes a plurality of sub-touch electrodes 122 spaced apart. During the etching process, the distance between the secondary touch electrodes 121 is kept larger than between the secondary touch electrodes 122. The distance between the sub-touch electrodes 122 allows electrical connection channels to remain.

Step S13: cutting the touch substrate 11 to obtain a plurality of secondary touch substrates 111, so that each secondary touch substrate 111 carries at least one secondary touch electrode 121.

Use laser cutting, knife cutting, and other feasible methods to cut the touch substrate 11 to obtain a plurality of touch substrates 111. The area to be cut is located between the touch electrodes 121 each time. The control substrate 111 carries different secondary touch electrodes 121 respectively.

In other embodiments, the step of cutting the touch substrate 11 may further include the step of making each sub-touch substrate 111 include a plurality of sub-touch substrates 112; specifically, using laser cutting, cutter cutting, etc. In a feasible manner, the touch substrate 11 is cut such that each secondary touch substrate 111 is divided into a plurality of sub-touch substrates 112, so that each sub-touch substrate 112 carries a sub-touch electrode 122.

Step S14: Provide a substrate 10, and attach a plurality of sub-touch substrates 111 to the curved surface 101 of the substrate 10, respectively.

A substrate 10 is provided. In an embodiment, the substrate 10 is a curved structure, which may be at least part of a spherical shape. The cut sub-touch substrate 111 is selected, the sub-touch substrate 111 is adhered to the curved surface 101 with optical glue or water glue, and the sub-touch electrode 121 and the substrate 10 are located opposite the sub-touch substrate 111 On both sides. The secondary touch electrodes 121 are adhered to the arc-shaped surface 101 through the secondary touch substrate 111, and the secondary touch electrodes 121 are arranged at intervals.

In other embodiments, the step of attaching the touch substrate 11 may further include selecting the cut sub-touch substrate 112 and adhering the sub-touch substrate 112 to the curved surface by using optical glue and water glue. 101, and the sub-touch electrodes 122 and the substrate 10 are located on opposite sides of the sub-touch substrate 112. Each of the sub-touch electrodes 122 is adhered to the arc-shaped surface 101 by a sub-touch base material 112, so that the plurality of sub-touch electrodes 122 constitute secondary touch electrodes 121, and the secondary touch electrodes 121 are arranged at intervals.

Step S15: The touch electrodes 121 are electrically connected.

A plurality of overlapping lines 123 are provided between adjacent sub-touch electrodes 121 by coating, spraying, printing, etc., so that each adjacent sub-touch electrode 121 is electrically connected.

FIG. 10 shows a manufacturing method of a touch module 1 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Step S21: A flat and continuous touch substrate 11 is provided, and a conductive layer is formed on one surface of the touch substrate 11. The touch substrate 11 includes a plurality of secondary touch substrates 111, and the secondary touch substrate 111. When spliced with each other, it is spherical or hemispherical.

A flat and continuous touch substrate 11 is provided. The shape of the touch substrate 11 is obtained by simulating a planar shape obtained by cutting a ball or a hemisphere along a predetermined route, and a flat substrate is cut according to the obtained shape. The touch substrate 11 was cut. In one embodiment, a touch substrate 11 as shown in FIG. 8 is provided, and the touch is obtained by simulating a planar shape obtained by cutting a football along its pentagon and hexagon sides according to a predetermined route. The shape of the substrate 11 is obtained by cutting a flat substrate according to the obtained shape to obtain the touch substrate 11. The touch substrate is a flexible material to make it suitable for curved structures.

The conductive layer can be made on one surface of the touch substrate 11 by means of chemical vapor deposition (CVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD), or coating. Specifically, the manufacturing method can be vacuum evaporation, sputtering coating, or arc. Plasma plating, ion plating, molecular beam epitaxy, spin coating, dipping, etc.

Step S22: The conductive layer is etched to form a touch electrode layer 12.

The conductive layer is etched by means of chemical etching, laser etching, etc. to obtain the touch electrode layer 12. The touch electrode layer 12 has a predetermined pattern matching the touch substrate 11, and the predetermined pattern can be formed into a continuous curved surface after being adhered to a curved surface in a certain manner.

Step S23: Provide a substrate 10, and attach the touch substrate 11 to the substrate 10.

A substrate 10 is provided, and the touch substrate 11 is attached to the substrate 10, so that the touch substrate 11 having a flat shape obtained by cutting in accordance with a predetermined route is reversely spliced in the predetermined route to form a simulated ball or hemisphere shape .

Hereinabove, specific embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the drawings. However, one of ordinary skill in the art can understand that the present invention can be modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Various changes and substitutions are made to the specific embodiments of the invention. These changes and replacements all fall within the scope limited by the scope of patent application of the present invention.

Claims (11)

An improvement of a touch module includes: a substrate including an arc-shaped surface, the arc-shaped surface defining a plurality of bonding areas; a touch substrate, including a plurality of sub-touch substrates, the sub-touch The control substrates are respectively attached to the bonding areas on the surface of the substrate. At least some adjacent touch areas corresponding to the touched substrates are arranged at intervals. The touch electrode layer further includes a plurality of overlapping wires. Adjacent secondary touch electrodes are electrically connected by overlapping wires; and a touch electrode layer is disposed on the surface of the touch substrate. The touch module according to claim 1, wherein all of the sub-touch substrates corresponding to all adjacent bonding areas are spaced apart, and the touch electrode layer includes a plurality of sub-touches arranged at intervals. Electrodes, each secondary touch electrode is disposed on a secondary touch substrate. The touch module according to claim 2, wherein the secondary touch electrode includes a plurality of sub-touch electrodes, and each secondary touch substrate includes a plurality of spaced-apart sub-touch substrates, and each sub-touch The electrodes are on a sub-touch substrate. The touch module according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is spherical or hemispherical, and the touch substrate is continuous when it is unfolded in a flat state; the sub-touch substrates are spherical after being spliced to each other. Or hemispherical. The touch module according to claim 1, wherein the touch substrate is formed by splicing a plurality of hexagons and a plurality of pentagons, and each two pentagons are not in contact with each other. A method for manufacturing a touch module includes the following steps: providing a touch substrate, fabricating a conductive layer on one surface of the touch substrate; and etching the conductive layer to obtain a touch electrode layer. The touch electrode layer includes a plurality of sub-touch electrodes disposed at intervals; cutting the touch substrate to obtain a plurality of sub-touch substrates, so that each sub-touch substrate carries a sub-touch electrode; And providing a substrate having an arc-shaped surface, and attaching the plurality of sub-touch substrates to the arc-shaped surface, respectively. The method for manufacturing a touch module according to claim 6, wherein the step of etching the conductive layer further includes a step of making each secondary touch electrode include a plurality of sub-touch electrodes arranged at intervals; The step of cutting the touch substrate further includes the step of making each sub-touch substrate include a plurality of sub-touch substrates, so that each sub-touch substrate carries a sub-touch electrode. The method for manufacturing a touch module according to claim 6, further comprising: after the plurality of sub-touch substrates are respectively attached to the curved surface, the touch electrodes are electrically realized. Steps to connect. A method for manufacturing a touch module according to claim 4, comprising the steps of: providing a flat and continuous touch substrate, and fabricating a conductive layer on an arcuate surface of the touch substrate, and the touch The control substrate includes a plurality of sub-touch substrates, the sub-touch substrates are spherical or hemispherical when they are spliced to each other; the conductive layer is etched to obtain a touch electrode layer; and a substrate is provided to The touch substrate is attached to the curved surface of the substrate. The method for manufacturing a touch module according to claim 9, wherein the step of providing the touch substrate comprises: obtaining the touch by simulating a planar shape obtained by cutting a ball or a hemisphere along a predetermined route. The shape of the substrate is controlled, and a flat substrate is cut according to the shape obtained by cutting to obtain the touch substrate. The method for manufacturing a touch module according to claim 9, wherein the step of providing the touch substrate includes: simulating cutting a football along its pentagon and hexagon sides according to a predetermined route. To obtain the shape of the touch substrate, and cut a flat substrate according to the shape obtained by cutting to obtain the touch substrate.