WO2012169864A2

WO2012169864A2 - Touch panel sensor

Info

Publication number: WO2012169864A2
Application number: PCT/KR2012/004604
Authority: WO
Inventors: 남동식; 박철
Original assignee: (주)삼원에스티
Priority date: 2011-06-10
Filing date: 2012-06-11
Publication date: 2012-12-13
Also published as: WO2012169864A3

Abstract

A touch panel sensor for sensing a contact point of an object, and transmitting the sensed contact position to an external device, comprises: an insulating substrate; electrode patterns formed on the lower surface of the insulating substrate; a window decoration which is formed so as to partially cover the ends of the electrode patterns at the lower surface of the insulating substrate and which contains conductive materials; and a wire member formed on the upper portion of the window decoration so as to electrically connect each electrode pattern to the external device. The wire member can exclusively transmit and receive signals to and from the ends of vertically corresponding electrode patterns using the fact that the resistance created by the ends of the vertically corresponding electrode patterns is smaller than the resistance created by the ends of other nearby electrode patterns.

Description

Touch panel sensor

The present invention relates to a touch panel sensor, and more particularly, to a touch panel sensor for detecting a contact position of an object.

1 is a perspective view illustrating a conventional capacitive touch panel sensor.

Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional touch panel sensor 1 is bonded to the lower insulating sheet 10 and the upper insulating sheet 20 at predetermined intervals. On the opposite surfaces of the lower insulating sheet 10 and the upper insulating sheet 20, the lower ITO electrode 30 and the upper ITO electrode 40 are arranged perpendicular to each other.

In order to electrically connect the upper ITO electrode 40 and the terminal 52 of the flexible circuit board 50, a metal wire 48 extends from the end of the upper ITO electrode 40 to the lower portion of the upper insulating sheet 20. The lower ITO electrode 20 is also electrically connected to the circuit board 50 by a separate metal wire 38.

However, the metal wires 38 and 48 are shiny with metallic luster and may not be visually seen from the upper part of the transparent upper insulating sheet 20 because light does not pass through. Accordingly, in order to prevent the metal wires 38 and 48 and the circuit board 50 from being visible, a non-transmissive window decoration 65 is formed on the bottom of the reinforcing substrate 60 using transparent glass or reinforced plastic, and the reinforcing substrate is formed. 60 is disposed on the upper insulating sheet 20.

However, the thickness of the touch panel sensor 1 is increased by the reinforcing substrate 60, which may reduce the transparency and clarity of the touch panel sensor 1, and reduce the sensitivity of the touch panel sensor.

In addition, since the optical clearness adhesive layer is interposed between the reinforcing substrate 60, the upper insulating sheet 20, and the lower insulating sheet 10, the thickness of the touch panel sensor 1 itself may be increased. In addition, the defect occurrence rate may increase during the adhesion process, and may reduce the light transmittance or clarity as a whole.

In order to solve this problem, a technique of forming an upper ITO electrode and a window decoration on the same surface, forming a through hole in the window decoration, and forming a colored conductive layer therein is disclosed in Korean Patent No. 10-1013037. However, since the colored conductive layer and the window decoration are separately formed, it is difficult to form the colors of both elements in the same manner, and if the color control is a little failed, the position of the colored conductive layer may be apparent.

The present invention provides a touch panel sensor that can facilitate the electrical connection structure between a transparent electrode pattern or an opaque electrode pattern and an external device.

The present invention provides a touch panel sensor for forming an electrode pattern and a window decoration on the same surface.

The present invention provides a touch panel sensor that can be expected to reduce the number of laminated layers of the touch panel sensor, such as the improvement of optical characteristics, reduced defect rate, weight reduction, cost reduction.

The present invention provides a touch panel sensor having an electrode pattern structure and a window decoration structure having excellent electrical characteristics.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the touch panel sensor for detecting the contact position of the object to be delivered to the external device, the electrode pattern formed on the bottom surface of the insulating substrate, the bottom surface of the insulating substrate of the electrode pattern A window decoration formed to partially cover the end portion and including a conductive material, and a wire member formed on an upper portion of the window decoration to electrically connect each electrode pattern and an external device, the wire member correspondingly up and down; By using an electrode formed at the end of the electrode pattern and having a resistance smaller than the resistance formed at the end of the other electrode pattern, the signal can be exclusively exchanged with the end of the corresponding electrode pattern.

In general, a transparent or opaque electrode pattern applied to an insulating substrate is used to detect a contact position of an object, which may be formed in a capacitive method or a resistive film method.

In general, since the ITO transparent electrode pattern is formed to a thickness of about 0.1㎛, while the window decoration is formed to a thickness of about 2 ~ 3㎛, it was difficult to form the ITO electrode pattern together on the substrate on which the window decoration is formed. An ITO transparent electrode pattern and window decoration are formed on a separate substrate or on a separate surface. For reference, when the ITO electrode pattern is formed on the same surface of the substrate on which the window decoration is formed, the ITO electrode pattern may be frequently broken or cut off at the boundary of the window decoration.

However, in the present invention, the electrode pattern is first formed on the bottom surface of the insulating substrate, and the window decoration is formed on the bottom surface of the same insulating substrate. Then, again, the wire member is provided on the window decoration.

Hereinafter, an electrical connection method between the wire member and the electrode pattern arranged with the window decoration interposed therebetween will be described.

According to the present invention, the wire member and the electrode pattern mutually exclusively send and receive signals, specifically looking at one method, first, by using a window decoration having a relatively high resistance but conductive, window decoration is all electrode patterns Since it has a relatively high resistance rather than electrically connecting the wires, it is possible to exclusively connect the terminals of the wire members and the electrode pattern ends corresponding or matched up and down. Here, since the distance between the electrode pattern and the wire member disposed up and down than the interval between the adjacent electrode pattern and the electrode pattern separated by the window decoration is shorter, the term relative is used based on the resistance value generated by the window decoration. This will be described later in more detail.

In addition, according to the present invention, another method for allowing the wire member and the electrode pattern to mutually exchange signals is provided. First, the window decoration is provided with a through area for partially exposing an end portion of the electrode pattern and filled in the through area. A colored conductive layer may be provided that is electrically connected to an end portion of the electrode pattern exposed to the through area while blocking light in the through area. In this case, the colored conductive layer may be formed using a conductive material having a relatively lower resistivity than window decoration.

In other words, the window decoration is made of a component similar to the colored conductive layer and has conductivity, but the window decoration has a higher resistance than the colored conductive layer, and thus does not affect exclusive communication between the wire member and the electrode pattern through the colored conductive layer. You can do that.

Here, the colored conductive layer is significantly different from the colored conductive layer disclosed in Patent No. 10-1013037. Specifically, since the colored conductive layer in the patent contains more conductive material than the non-conductive ink for matching the color to match the color of the window decoration, it is difficult to match the color, but in the present invention, the conductive material of the colored conductive layer It is possible to match colors more easily by lowering the specific gravity and increasing the specific gravity of the non-conductive ink. Instead, the colored conductive layer has a large resistance difference from the window decoration, so that electrical connection between the wire member and the electrode pattern is relatively possible.

Exclusive in this specification means that the corresponding terminals or electrodes exchange signals between each other, and even if there is some noise, it will be said to include transmitting and receiving (communicate) the signal so that the overall signal transmission.

On the other hand, since the window decoration is conductive in the above-described methods, it is preferable that a decor insulation layer is formed between the window decoration and the wire member for electrical separation from the wire member. The decor insulating layer may be formed of an insulating material made of non-conductive ink according to the color implemented in the window decoration, or may be provided by laminating a separate insulating or reflective film or applying an insulating paint.

For reference, the wire member may be a metal line pattern formed on the window decoration, and they may be manufactured by silk screen, gravure printing, or the like using an existing silver paste, or alternatively, a process through metal deposition and etching. It can be formed by various methods such as nano imprinting and inkjet printing.

In addition, the wire member may not be directly formed on the window decoration, and may be used to indirectly connect necessary electrical terminals by using a flexible circuit board.

The touch panel sensor of the present invention can improve the conductive structure of the touch panel sensor through the use of the window decoration area, and it is possible to form an electrode pattern directly on the bottom surface of the tempered glass substrate or the transparent resin substrate.

In addition, the window decoration and the electrode pattern may be formed on the same surface, and electrical connection between the electrode pattern and the window decoration may be realized.

The transparent electrode pattern may be formed using materials such as ITO, AZO, IZO, and CNT in the central area where the display is located, but the electrode pattern may be formed using a fine metal pattern having a width of 0 to 30 μm.

The touch panel sensor of the present invention can be expected to reduce the number of laminated layers of the touch panel sensor, such as optical characteristics, reduced defect rate, weight reduction, cost reduction.

The touch panel sensor of the present invention can provide an electrode pattern structure and a window decoration structure having excellent electrical characteristics.

1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a conventional capacitive touch panel sensor.

2 is an exploded perspective view of a touch panel sensor according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a partially exploded perspective view illustrating a connection relationship between an electrode pattern and a wire member in the touch panel sensor of FIG. 2.

4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the formation of the connection relationship of FIG. 3.

5 is a partially exploded perspective view illustrating a connection relationship between an electrode pattern and a wire member in a touch panel sensor according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

6 is an exploded cross-sectional view illustrating the formation of the connection relationship of FIG. 5.

7 is a bottom view illustrating a touch panel sensor according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a partially enlarged perspective view illustrating the transparent connection pattern of FIG. 7.

9 is an exploded perspective view for explaining a top sheet structure of a touch panel sensor according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a bottom perspective view illustrating a connection relationship between the electrode pattern and the wire member of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the formation of a connection relationship between the electrode pattern and the wire member of FIG. 9.

12 shows a through area having a U-shaped groove shape.

FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a top sheet structure of a touch panel sensor according to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

14 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the formation of a connection relationship between the electrode pattern and the wire member of FIG. 13.

15 is a bottom view illustrating a touch panel sensor according to another embodiment of the present invention.

16 is a partially enlarged perspective view illustrating the electrode connection structure of FIG. 15.

17 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the electrode connection structure of FIG. 15.

18 is a partially exploded perspective view of a touch panel sensor according to another embodiment of the present invention.

19 to 26 are views for explaining a manufacturing method of the upper sheet of the touch panel sensor according to another embodiment according to the present invention.

27 to 32 are views for explaining a manufacturing method of the upper sheet of the touch panel sensor according to another embodiment according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited or limited by the embodiments. For reference, in the present description, the same numbers refer to substantially the same elements, and may be described by referring to the contents described in the other drawings under these rules, and the contents determined to be obvious to those skilled in the art or repeated may be omitted.

2 is an exploded perspective view of a touch panel sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view for explaining the upper sheet structure of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a connection relationship between the electrode pattern and the wire member of FIG. 3. It is sectional drawing for demonstrating formation.

2 to 4, the touch panel sensor 100 includes an upper sheet 110, a lower sheet 130, and an optical adhesive layer 150.

The upper sheet 110 includes an upper insulating substrate 111 and an upper electrode pattern 112, and the lower sheet 130 includes a lower insulating substrate 131 and a lower transparent electrode pattern 132.

The upper insulating substrate 111 is a material having a high surface strength and may be manufactured using a glass material or other plastic material that transmits light such as glass material and has excellent surface strength, and likewise, the upper electrode in the lower sheet 130 The lower insulating substrate 131 on which the lower transparent electrode pattern 132 interacting with the pattern 112 is disposed may also be made of the same material as the upper insulating substrate 111.

Of course, when forming the upper sheet according to the resistive film method, the upper insulating substrate may be formed using a plastic film. In any case, when the plastic film is used as the insulating substrate, the insulating substrate may be provided as a plate-like film or a roll-type film, and the electrode pattern may be formed on the insulating substrate by a method such as gravure printing or film laminating. . For example, the upper insulating substrate 111 may be made of plastic such as polyethylene, polypropylene, acryl, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) through which light passes, such as glass or glass. It can be manufactured, and is not limited to the material of the insulating substrate.

The upper electrode pattern 112 is indium tin oxide (ITO) or indium zinc oxide (IZO), al-doped tin oxide (ATO), al-doped zinc oxide (AZO), and carbon nanotube (CNT) having both transparency and conductivity. ) And the like. Since the upper electrode pattern 112 is formed of a transparent conductive material from the outside, it is not visible from the outside, and the organic light emitting diode and liquid crystal display device disposed under the touch panel sensor. ) And an image of a display such as a plasma display panel can be exposed.

Of course, in some cases, the upper electrode pattern 112 may use an opaque conductive material. For example, various metals such as gold, silver, aluminum, alloys thereof, and the like having a resistance coefficient smaller than that of ITO and IZO can be used. However, when an opaque conductive material is used as the material of the electrode pattern, it should be provided thin enough to expose the image of the display. Specifically, when the width of the electrode pattern formed of a metal material is greater than 0 and 30 μm or less, it may not be visually confirmed. Recently, it is possible to thin the thickness of the pattern to several nm through nanoimprinting fixing or the like.

Referring to the drawings again, the upper sheet is provided with a central region C in which the upper electrode pattern 112 and the transparent window are formed, and the window decoration region D is formed in the peripheral region around the central region.

An upper electrode pattern 112 and a lower transparent electrode pattern 132 are formed on the bottom surface of the upper insulating substrate 111 and the upper surface of the lower insulating substrate 131 so as to interact with each other and sense the approach of the object. .

An optical adhesive layer may be provided between the upper sheet 110 and the lower sheet 130 to bond the two sheets to each other. The optical adhesive layer 150 may be provided in the form of an OCA film, and may be provided in a state covered with a protective film. As will be described later, if the position of the object can be detected only by the electrode pattern of the bottom of the upper sheet 110, it is possible to provide only the protective film or the protective layer on the bottom of the upper sheet without the adhesive bond layer or the lower sheet.

The optical adhesive layer 150 may be made of a non-conductive material, and the upper electrode pattern 112 and the lower transparent electrode pattern 132 may be physically bonded and electrically separated by the optical adhesive layer 150. The optical adhesive layer 150 is bonded to the upper sheet 110 and the lower sheet 130 by using an optical adhesive film or an optically clear adhesive (OCA) film, and the light is transmitted well, and is excellent optically.

An upper electrode pattern 112 may be formed on the insulating substrate 111, and a window decoration 120 may be provided thereon. The window decoration 120 may provide, for example, a mixture of carbon powder and non-conductive black ink at about 20:80 to express in black, and has a thickness of about 2 to 3 μm by various methods such as silk screen and gravure printing. It can be formed as. The above window decoration may be provided by mixing a conductive material such as carbon powder and a non-conductive ink such as black ink, and may adjust the overall resistance by using a composition between the conductive material and the non-conductive ink.

For reference, a decor insulating layer formed of 100% nonconductive black ink may be formed over the window decoration. In this case, the decor insulating layer may include a through hole formed corresponding to the end position of the electrode pattern, and the through hole may be formed at a position adjusted so that the end of the electrode pattern and the wire member end coincide with each other. The through hole may be provided in the form of a hole or a groove at the position. However, in the present embodiment, such a decoration insulating layer is omitted, and even in this case, the wire member and the upper electrode pattern 112 disposed with the window decoration therebetween correspond to the upper electrode pattern vertically corresponding to the conductive window decoration. You can send and receive signals exclusively with the end of the.

The window decoration 120 may mix carbon or the like to implement black, but in some cases, non-conductive inks of different colors may be mixed to implement other colors other than black. Various conductive materials such as ATO, ITO, PEDOT, metal powder, carbon fiber, nanosilver and the like may be used.

The window decoration 120 may be provided in various ways in addition to mixing the conductive material and the non-conductive ink. For example, it may be formed using a high resistance thin film formed of a material having a high resistance coefficient, and the material having a high resistance coefficient may be formed of an oxide such as black chromium oxide in a thin film form, and may be formed of a conductive polymer or conductive material such as polyaniline or phthalocyanine. Some organic substances may be formed in a thin film form.

As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the upper electrode pattern 112 may be connected to the flexible circuit board 160 through a wire pattern 170 formed on the bottom surface of the window decoration 120. The window decoration 120 corresponds to a peripheral area and functions to visually block the wire pattern 170 formed of silver paste or the like.

Here, by mixing the carbon powder to about 25%, preferably about 20% or less, the window decoration 120 has a relatively high resistance, and based on FIG. 4, the wire pattern 170 disposed at the center of the window decoration ( 120 is interposed therebetween and can be exclusively communicated between the electrode pattern 112b and the wire pattern 170 spaced apart by about 2 to 3 μm, but other electrode patterns (200 μm or more separated from the periphery) Normal communication with 112a, 112c is not possible. For reference, the ratio of the carbon powder or ink mentioned in the present embodiment may mean weight%.

For example, when a small amount of carbon powder and a relatively large amount of nonconductive black ink are mixed, the specific resistance of the conductive paint may be about 1 billion times higher than that of aluminum. If the high-resistance conductive ink is used in an area of about 1 mm x 1 mm and a thickness of about 4 μm, the resistance in the vertical direction is about 40 Ω, which is lower than that of the actual ITO transparent electrode.

However, if the same high-resistance conductive ink is arranged side by side rather than in an up-and-down structure, and it is assumed to be about 1 cm apart, it can be seen that the resistance is significantly increased. For example, if the window decoration is formed to a thickness of about 4㎛, and the area between the electrodes is about 1cm x 1cm apart, the resistance in the lateral direction is about 2.5MΩ, which is 60,000 times than the vertical resistance of about 40Ω The above resistance value comes out.

In fact, in the structure between the window decoration 120 and the wire pattern 170 and the electrode pattern 112b in which the carbon and the non-conductive black ink are mixed at 20:80 as described above, the wire patterns 170 and the electrode patterns vertically adjacent to each other are formed. While the resistance between the 112b is measured about 10 to 1000Ω, the resistance between the laterally adjacent wire pattern 170 and the

peripheral electrode patterns

112a and 112c may be measured between about 10MΩ to 100MΩ or more than 100MΩ. .

The wire pattern 170 and the upper electrode pattern 112 may be electrically connected to each other through the conductive window decoration 120.

In the present embodiment, the upper electrode pattern is formed in a single line shape, but in some cases, a plurality of straight lines, curved lines, and wave-shaped lines are formed in parallel to each other to form a group, and among the ends of the grouped parallel lines. One may be provided in electrical connection.

In the above embodiment, a case in which a separate insulating layer is not interposed between the window decoration 120 and the wire pattern 170 has been described. Hereinafter, another embodiment of the present invention will be described in the case where the insulating layer is interposed between the window decoration and the wire pattern, for example, in the following embodiment other components except the decor insulating layer is substantially the same as the components of the previous embodiment For a detailed description, reference may be made to the description of the foregoing embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a partially exploded perspective view illustrating a connection relationship between an electrode pattern and a wire member in a touch panel sensor according to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 6 is an exploded cross-sectional view illustrating the formation of the connection relationship of FIG. 5.

5 and 6, the upper sheet 210 of the touch panel sensor includes an upper insulating substrate 211 and an upper electrode pattern 212.

In the present exemplary embodiment, a deco insulating layer 225 formed of 100% non-conductive black ink is further formed on the window decoration 220, so that an electrical signal transmitted to the wire pattern 270 to the window decoration 220 which is provided as conductive is formed. Deco insulating layer 225 can prevent the transfer.

In this case, however, the decor insulating layer 225 may include a through hole 227 formed corresponding to the end position of the upper electrode pattern 212, and the through hole 227 may be an end portion of the upper electrode pattern 212. And the end portion of the wire pattern 270 may be formed at a position adjusted to coincide with each other up and down. The through hole 227 may be provided in the form of a hole or a groove at the position.

Of course, even in the case of omitting the decoration layer as in the previous embodiment, the wire pattern 170 and the upper electrode pattern 112 disposed with the window decoration 120 interposed between the window decoration 120 having conductivity You can send and receive signals exclusively.

However, in the present exemplary embodiment, a separate through hole 227 is provided in the deco insulation layer 225 disposed between the window decoration 220 and the wire pattern 270 so that the wire pattern 270 and the upper portion corresponding to each other up and down are provided. By preventing the electrode pattern 212 from being completely electrically separated by the decor insulating layer 225, the upper electrode pattern 212 and the wire pattern 270 disposed substantially up and down may only sandwich the window decoration 220. In this state, the upper electrode pattern 212 and the wire pattern 270 corresponding to each other up and down in this state are able to exchange signals exclusively with each other as in the previous embodiment.

7 is a bottom view illustrating a touch panel sensor according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a partially enlarged perspective view illustrating the transparent connection pattern of FIG. 7.

For reference, the optical adhesive layer is not shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, and as described above, the transparent coating layer may be formed using an optical adhesive layer, a UV transparent hardener, or the like.

7 and 8, the touch panel sensor according to the present embodiment includes an insulating substrate 310, a first transparent electrode pattern 320 and a second transparent electrode pattern 330 formed on the insulating substrate 310. The insulating pattern 340 is interposed between the first transparent electrode pattern 320 and the second transparent electrode pattern 330.

The insulating substrate 310 may be formed of a synthetic resin film such as transparent PET, PC, PE, or tempered glass substrate. The first transparent electrode pattern 320 and the second transparent electrode pattern 330 are formed on the bottom surface of the insulating substrate 310.

The first transparent electrode pattern 320 may be formed using a transparent conductive material, and is provided by a series of line patterns arranged side by side in a horizontal or vertical direction on the insulating substrate 310. In detail, the line pattern for the first transparent electrode pattern 320 includes an extension part 322 and a bridge part 324 provided in a line along one direction. The expansion part 322 and the bridge part 324 are formed alternately and arranged in a line, it may be formed by the same or different transparent conductive material.

The extension 322 is formed relatively or significantly wider than the bridge 324, and the bridge 324 is formed between the extensions 322 to electrically connect the series of extensions 322. There is a number.

The shape of the extension part 322 and the bridge part 324 may be formed as a continuous rectangle as a motif, as shown, the shape may be a variety of shapes, such as rhombus, circle or oval. In addition, the extension part 322 and the bridge part 324 may be formed on the same material and the same surface together with the transparent connection part 336 for the second transparent electrode pattern 330, and are spaced apart from each other with a minimum width. It can be chosen to be in harmony.

The second transparent electrode pattern 330 is formed to form a stacked structure with the first transparent electrode pattern 320. The second transparent electrode pattern 330 may be formed above or below the first transparent electrode pattern 320, and is formed to be electrically separated from the first transparent electrode pattern 320. To this end, an insulating pattern 340 may be formed between the first transparent electrode pattern 320 and the second transparent electrode pattern 330. The insulating pattern 340 may be generally formed using a material such as SiO ₂ , Si ₃ N _4, or TiO ₂ forming an insulating thin film.

The second transparent electrode pattern 330 includes a transparent connector 336. As illustrated in FIG. 8, the transparent connector 336 may be formed at the same time as the first transparent electrode pattern 320. The transparent connection part 336 may also be formed of a transparent conductive material having a width of about 0.1 mm to 0.2 mm, and the expansion part 322 and the bridge part after etching the ITO layer formed on the insulating substrate 310 through a photolithography process. 324 can be formed together.

The second transparent electrode pattern 330 may further include a low resistance line 334 in addition to the transparent connection portion 336. The low resistance line 334 may be formed on the insulating pattern 340, and is formed to electrically connect the entire series of transparent connectors 336 while passing through the surfaces of the plurality of transparent connectors 336. The low resistance line 334 is formed using a metal material such as gold, silver, aluminum, chromium, etc., and has a lower resistance than the transparent electrode pattern. In addition, the low resistance line may be formed simultaneously with the wire pattern 370 to be described later. These metal patterns may be formed by forming a metal thin film layer in a single layer or a multilayer on the insulating substrate 310 on which the

electrode patterns

320 and 330 are formed, and by etching according to a predetermined low resistance line 334 and a wire pattern 370. There is a number. In this case, after deposition or sputtering, it may be formed through a patterning process such as nanoimprinting, or may be simply formed through a process such as inkjet printing. For reference, in the present embodiment, the low resistance line is provided as an upper surface of the second transparent electrode pattern, but in some cases, may be provided on at least one side of the upper surface or the bottom surface of the electrode pattern.

The low resistance line 334 is not transparent and may optically block the display, but may be formed to have a width of about 30 μm or less, preferably 3 μm or less, and the fine pattern of the width may not be visible to the naked eye. .

As the metal, various materials such as aluminum, copper, gold, silver, nickel, and chromium may be used. For example, significantly lower for aluminum resistivity (ρ) is approximately 2.82 * 10- ⁶ Ωcm. If it is assumed that such an aluminum low resistance line 334 is formed with a width of about 1 μm, a height of 0.1 μm, and a length of about 10 cm, then the resistance can be calculated as follows.

If the ITO electrode pattern is 100 µm and 10 cm in length under similar conditions, the resistance of the ITO electrode pattern can be calculated. Since the sheet resistance of ITO is basically 2 to 300 Ω / square and is currently technically 150 Ω / square, the resistance of the ITO electrode pattern can be calculated as follows.

That is, when formed with the same length of 10cm, and formed to be invisible, it can be seen that the line of aluminum has a significantly lower resistance than the ITO pattern of the same length. Similar example, since the case of chromium (Cr), the specific resistance is approximately 1.27 * 10- ⁵ Ωcm, from about 12.7kΩ under conditions, such as aluminum, it can be seen that significantly less than the ITO electrode patterns.

On the other hand, both ends of the first transparent electrode pattern 320 may be formed to partially overlap the window decoration 350, the wire pattern 370 through the through hole 357 of the decor insulating layer 355 in the overlapped portion ) Is electrically connected. For reference, the low resistance line 334 formed on the second transparent electrode pattern 330 may be directly connected to the wire pattern 370 without distinction, and the connection between the low resistance line 334 and the wire pattern 370 may be smoothly performed. The transparent connection pattern 380 may be formed using conductive or nonconductive transparent ink.

In the present embodiment, the wire pattern 370 constituting the wire member is formed on the decor insulation layer 355, but in some cases it is not directly formed on the decor insulation layer 355, but indirectly through a flexible circuit board. Can be formed.

An end portion of the wire pattern 370 may be provided with a connection portion 374 having a relatively large area, and through the connection portion 374, the wire pattern 370 may be connected to another flexible circuit board or other electrical circuit for connection with an external device. It can be connected to the connection terminal.

Two electrode patterns may be formed on the bottom surface of one tempered glass substrate using the first and second

transparent electrode patterns

320 and 330, and there is no need to overlap separate electrode sheets. Of course, all of the electrode patterns may be formed on one surface, and a blocking layer coated with a grounded sheet or a conductive material may be further formed on the bottom surface.

According to the present invention, an insulating layer 355 having a through hole 357 formed on the window decoration 350 is provided, and the electrode pattern 320 and the wire pattern 370 are vertically aligned at the position of the through hole 357. You can do it. Although the electrode pattern 320 and the wire pattern 370 are not directly in contact with each other, only the terminals that are vertically connected to each other through the conductive window decoration 350 may be connected exclusively. In addition, the through hole 357 may be provided in the form of a closed hole or a groove having one side open at the position.

For reference, although the decoration layer 355 is further provided on the window decoration 350 in the present embodiment, it is also possible to omit the decoration layer as in the previous embodiment.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a top sheet structure of a touch panel sensor according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a bottom perspective view illustrating a connection relationship between an electrode pattern and a wire member of FIG. 9. 11 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the formation of a connection relationship between the electrode pattern and the wire member of FIG. 9.

9 to 11, the touch panel sensor of the present embodiment may include an upper sheet 410, a lower sheet, and an optical adhesive layer. In this embodiment, the upper sheet 410 is different from the previous embodiment. It will be described with reference to, the description of the other components can refer to the previous embodiment.

The upper sheet 410 includes an upper insulating substrate 411 and an upper electrode pattern 412. 9, an upper electrode pattern 412 is formed on an insulating substrate 411, and a window decoration 420 may be provided on the upper substrate. The window decoration 420 may be provided by various methods described above. For example, the window decoration 420 may be provided as a first conductive paint in which carbon powder and non-conductive black ink are mixed at about 8:92 to express black. It may be formed to a thickness of 2 ~ 3㎛.

The window decoration and the colored conductive layer may be mixed with carbon to realize black, but in some cases, non-conductive inks of different colors may be mixed for implementing other colors than black, and carbon may be used as the conductive material. , ATO. Various conductive materials such as ITO, PEDOT, metal powder, carbon fiber, nanosilver and the like may be used.

A through area 422 may be formed in the window decoration 420 corresponding to the end of the electrode pattern 412. The through area 422 may be formed through an etching process after forming the window decoration 420, but may be formed at a time in a printing process such as gravure printing, silk screen, inkjet, or pad printing.

An end portion of the upper electrode pattern 412 and an end portion of the wire member may be formed to be adjusted up and down through the through region 422, and the colored conductive layer 440 may be formed to correspond to the position of the through region 422. Can be formed. The colored conductive layer 440 may use a second conductive paint obtained by mixing carbon powder such as window decoration and non-conductive black ink at about 20:80.

For reference, the through region 422 of the present embodiment may be provided in one open groove, for example, a U-shaped groove shape instead of a hole shape, and the through region 422 'having a U-shaped groove shape is shown in FIG. See 12.

Since both the first and second conductive paints have a higher ratio of the nonconductive black ink than the carbon powder, they can be recognized as the same color in appearance. However, since the resistance coefficient of the second conductive paint is relatively small, only the terminals disposed above and below the wire pattern 470 and the upper electrode pattern 412 can normally communicate with each other.

That is, the first conductive paint for the window decoration 420 and the second conductive paint for the colored conductive layer 440 are provided by mixing the conductive material and the non-conductive ink, but the composition ratio of the conductive material mixed with the first conductive paint When the ratio is smaller than the composition ratio of the conductive material mixed in the second conductive paint, exclusive signal transmission may be performed between the wire pattern 470 and the upper electrode pattern 412 corresponding to each other up and down.

The upper electrode pattern 412 may be connected to the flexible circuit board through the wire pattern 470 formed on the bottom surface of the window decoration 420. The window decoration 420 corresponds to a peripheral area and functions to visually block the wire pattern 470 on which silver paste or the like is formed.

The conductive material composition ratio of the second conductive paint is preferably larger than the conductive material composition ratio of the first conductive paint, and is preferably maintained at about 25% or less while keeping the ratio of the conductive material smaller than that of the non-conductive ink. The composition ratio of the conductive material in the first conductive paint is preferably mixed at about 10% or less while being smaller than the composition ratio of the conductive material of the second conductive paint.

In practice, in the structure between the colored conductive layer in which the carbon and the non-conductive black ink as described above are mixed at 20:80, the wire pattern of the ITO material, and the electrode pattern of the metal material, the resistance between the wire pattern and the electrode pattern is about 10 to 1000 Ω. Assuming that the colored conductive layer and the window decoration are the same material, the resistance between the laterally adjacent electrodes can be measured between 10 MΩ and 100 MΩ or more than 100 MΩ. In addition, if the composition of the conductive material is about 10% or less in the window decoration around the colored conductive layer, the lateral resistance due to the window decoration is almost 100,000 to 1 million times compared to the vertical resistance of the colored conductive layer. The difference can be more than this.

Although the window decoration 420 is conductive, including a conductive material, the composition of the carbon powder is significantly smaller than that of the non-conductive black ink, which substantially affects the communication between the wire pattern 470 and the electrode pattern 412. can not do it. In particular, if the window decoration 420 is formed to a thickness of about 2 to 3㎛, and the colored conductive layer 440 is also formed to a thickness of several micrometers, exclusive communication through the colored conductive layer 440 is possible. At this time, it can be said that other electrode patterns are separated by 200 μm or more through the window decoration 420.

FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a top sheet structure of a touch panel sensor according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a connection relationship between the electrode pattern and the wire member of FIG. 13.

Referring to FIGS. 13 and 14, the touch panel sensor of the present embodiment may include an upper sheet 510, a lower sheet, and an optical adhesive layer. In this embodiment, the upper sheet 510 is different from the previous embodiment. Among them, the decor insulation layer 525 will be described in detail, and other components can be referred to the foregoing embodiment.

The upper sheet 510 includes an upper insulating substrate 511 and an upper electrode pattern 512, and the upper electrode pattern 512 has indium tin oxide (ITO) or indium zinc oxide (IZO), which are both light-transmitting and conductive, It may be prepared using ATO (Al-doped Tin Oxide), AZO (Al-doped Zinc Oxide), carbon nanotubes (CNT) and the like. In some cases, the upper electrode pattern 512 may use an opaque conductive material.

An upper electrode pattern 512 is formed on the insulating substrate 511, and a window decoration 520 and a decor insulating layer 525 may be sequentially provided on the insulating substrate 511. For example, the window decoration 520 may be provided as a first conductive paint in which carbon powder and non-conductive black ink are mixed at about 8:92 in order to be expressed in black. The window decoration 520 may be provided in various ways such as silk screen and gravure printing. It may be formed to a thickness of ~ 3㎛. In addition, a decoration layer 525 formed of 100% non-conductive black ink may be formed on the window decoration 520.

A first through region 522 may be formed in the window decoration 520 corresponding to an end of the upper electrode pattern 512, and a second through region 527 may be formed in the decor insulating layer 525 thereon. Can be. The first and second through

regions

522 and 527 may be formed at one time through an etching process after forming the window decoration 520 and the insulating layer 525, but may include gravure printing, silk screen, ink jet, pad printing, or the like. It may be formed at one time in the printing process.

The first and second through

regions

522 and 527 may be formed at positions adjusted so that the end of the upper electrode pattern 512 and the end of the wire member are vertically aligned with each other. The colored conductive layer 540 may be formed through 527. The colored conductive layer 540 may use a second conductive paint in which carbon powder such as window decoration and non-conductive black ink are mixed at about 20:80.

That is, the colored conductive layer 540 of the present embodiment is significantly different from the colored conductive layer disclosed in Korean Patent No. 10-1013037. Specifically, since the colored conductive layer in the patent contains more conductive material than the non-conductive ink for matching the color to match the color of the window decoration, it is difficult to match the color, but in the present invention, the conductive material of the colored conductive layer By lowering the specific gravity and increasing the specific gravity of the non-conductive ink, it is easier to match colors. Instead, the colored conductive layer 540 has a large resistance difference from the window decoration 520, so that the electrical connection between the wire member and the electrode pattern is relatively possible.

In other words, since the ratio of the non-conductive black ink is higher than that of the carbon powder, both the first and second conductive paints can be recognized as the same color in appearance. However, since the resistance coefficient of the second conductive paint is relatively small, only the terminals disposed above and below the wire pattern 570 and the electrode pattern 512 may normally communicate normally.

As illustrated in FIG. 13, the upper electrode pattern 512 may be connected to the flexible circuit board through a wire pattern 570 formed on the bottom surface of the window decoration 520. The window decoration 520 corresponds to a peripheral area and functions to visually block the wire pattern 570 on which silver paste or the like is formed.

In practice, in the structure between the colored conductive layer, the wire pattern, and the electrode pattern in which the carbon and the non-conductive black ink are mixed at 20:80 as described above, the resistance between the wire pattern and the electrode pattern is measured about 10 to 1000 Ω, and the colored conductive layer Assuming that the material and window decoration are the same material, the resistance between the laterally adjacent electrodes can be measured between 10MΩ and 100MΩ or more than 100MΩ. In addition, if the composition of the conductive material is about 10% or less in the window decoration around the colored conductive layer, the lateral resistance due to the window decoration is almost 100,000 to 1 million times compared to the vertical resistance of the colored conductive layer. The difference can be more than this.

Although the window decoration 520 is conductive, including a conductive material, the composition of the carbon powder is significantly smaller than that of the non-conductive black ink, which substantially affects the communication between the wire pattern 570 and the electrode pattern 512. can not do it. In particular, if the window decoration 520 is formed to a thickness of about 2 to 3㎛, and the colored conductive layer 540 is also formed to a thickness of several micrometers, exclusive communication through the colored conductive layer 540 is possible. At this time, it can be said that other electrode patterns are separated by 200 μm or more through the window decoration 520.

The wire pattern 570 and the electrode pattern 512 may be electrically connected through the colored conductive layer 540. On the other hand, the decor insulating layer 525 is formed on the upper surface of the window decoration 520, it is possible to prevent the signal of the electrode pattern is energized with each other outside the designated position by the wire pattern 570.

FIG. 15 is a bottom view illustrating a touch panel sensor according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 16 is a partially enlarged perspective view illustrating the electrode connection structure of FIG. 15, and FIG. 17 is an electrode connection structure of FIG. 15. It is sectional drawing for demonstrating.

For reference, in FIG. 15, the optical adhesive layer, the protective layer, and the film are not shown. As described above, the transparent coating layer may be formed using an optical adhesive layer, a UV transparent hardener, or the like.

15 to 17, the touch panel sensor according to the present embodiment may include an insulating substrate 810, a first transparent electrode pattern 820 and a second transparent electrode pattern 830 formed on the insulating substrate 810. The insulating pattern 835 is interposed between the first transparent electrode pattern 820 and the second transparent electrode pattern 830.

The insulating substrate 810 may be formed of a synthetic resin film such as transparent PET, PC, PE, or tempered glass substrate. The first transparent electrode pattern 820 and the second transparent electrode pattern 830 are formed on the bottom surface of the insulating substrate 810.

The first transparent electrode pattern 820 may be formed using a transparent conductive material, and is provided by a series of line patterns arranged side by side in the horizontal or vertical direction on the insulating substrate 810. In detail, the line pattern for the first transparent electrode pattern 820 includes an extension part 822 and a bridge part 824 provided in a line along one direction. The extension part 822 and the bridge part 824 are alternately formed and arranged in a row, and may be formed of the same or different transparent conductive materials.

The extension 822 is formed relatively or significantly wider than the bridge portion 824, and the bridge portion 824 is formed between the extension portions 822 to electrically connect the series of extension portions 822. There is a number.

The shape of the extension part 822 and the bridge part 824 may be formed as a continuous rectangle as a motif, as shown, the shape may be a variety of shapes, such as rhombus, circle or oval. In addition, the extension part 822 and the bridge part 824 may be formed on the same material and the same surface together with the transparent connection part 836 for the second transparent electrode pattern 830, and may be spaced apart from each other with a minimum width. It can be chosen to be in harmony.

The second transparent electrode pattern 830 is formed to form a stacked structure with the first transparent electrode pattern 820. The second transparent electrode pattern 830 may be formed above or below the first transparent electrode pattern 820 and is electrically separated from the first transparent electrode pattern 820. To this end, an insulating pattern 835 may be formed between the first transparent electrode pattern 820 and the second transparent electrode pattern 830. The insulating pattern 835 may be generally formed using a material such as SiO 2, Si 3 N 4, or TiO 2 forming an insulating thin film.

The second transparent electrode pattern 830 includes a transparent connector 836. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the transparent connector 836 may be formed at the same time as the first transparent electrode pattern 820. The transparent connection part 836 may also be formed of a transparent conductive material having a width of about 0.1 mm to 0.2 mm. After the ITO layer formed on the insulating substrate 810 is etched through a photolithography process, the expansion part 822 and the bridge part 824 can be formed together.

The second transparent electrode pattern 830 may further include a low resistance line 834 in addition to the transparent connector 836. The low resistance line 834 may be formed on the insulating pattern 835, and may be formed to electrically connect the entire series of transparent connectors 836 while passing through the surfaces of the plurality of transparent connectors 836. The low resistance line 834 may be formed using a metal material such as gold, silver, aluminum, or chromium, and may be simultaneously formed with the wire pattern 870 to be described later. These metal patterns may be formed by forming a metal thin film layer in a single layer or a multi-layer on the insulating substrate 810 on which the

electrode patterns

820 and 830 are formed, and by etching according to a predetermined low resistance line 834 and wire pattern 870. There is a number. In this case, after deposition or sputtering, it may be formed through a patterning process such as nanoimprinting, or may be simply formed through a process such as inkjet printing.

The low resistance line 834 may not be transparent and may optically block the display, but may be formed to a width of about 30 μm or less, preferably 3 μm or less, and the fine pattern of the width may be invisible to the naked eye. .

As the metal, various materials such as aluminum, copper, gold, silver, nickel, and chromium may be used. For example, significantly lower for aluminum resistivity (ρ) is approximately 2.82 * 10- ⁶ Ωcm. If it is assumed that such an aluminum low resistance line 834 is formed with a width of about 1 μm, a height of 0.1 μm, and a length of about 10 cm, then the resistance can be calculated as follows.

Meanwhile, both ends of the first transparent electrode pattern 820 may be formed to partially overlap the window decoration 850, and the second through region 882 and the first through portion of the decor insulation layer 880 may overlap at the overlapped portion. The regions are formed to coincide with each other up and down. However, the second through region is formed in a circular shape, and the first through region corresponding to the colored conductive layer 840 is formed in a quadrangle larger than the second through region 882.

A decoration layer 880 is formed in the first through area of the window decoration 850 and includes a second through area 882 over the window decoration 850 and the coloring conductive layer 840. This can be formed.

The window decoration 850 may be provided as a first conductive paint in which carbon powder and non-conductive black ink are mixed at about 10:90 to express in black, and may be about 2 to 3 μm by various methods such as silk screen and gravure printing. It may be formed to a thickness of. A deco insulating layer 880 formed of 100% nonconductive black ink may be formed on the window decoration 850. On the other hand, the colored conductive layer 840 may use a second conductive paint in which carbon powder such as window decoration and non-conductive black ink are mixed at about 20:80, but the same conductive material and the same ink are not necessarily used.

The wire pattern 870 and the first transparent electrode pattern 820 are electrically connected through the colored conductive layer 840. For reference, the low resistance line 834 formed on the second transparent electrode pattern 830 may be directly connected to the wire pattern 870 without distinction, and the connection between the low resistance line 834 and the wire pattern 870 may be smoothly performed. The transparent connection pattern 890 may be formed using conductive or nonconductive transparent ink. Of course, like the first transparent electrode pattern 820, after forming the first through region in the window decoration 850 and the second through region in the decor insulating layer 880 without the transparent connection pattern, the colored conductive layer 840 is formed. The second transparent connection pattern 830 and an external device can be connected to each other.

In this embodiment, the wire pattern 870 constituting the wire member is formed on the window decoration 850, but in some cases it is not formed directly on the window decoration 850, but indirectly formed through a flexible circuit board, etc. Can be.

An end portion of the wire pattern 870 may be provided with a connection 874 having a relatively large area, and through the connection 874, the wire pattern 870 may be connected to another flexible circuit board or other electrical circuit for connection with an external device. It can be connected to the connection terminal.

Two electrode patterns may be formed on the bottom of one tempered glass substrate using the first and second

transparent electrode patterns

820 and 830, and there is no need to overlap separate electrode sheets. Of course, all of the electrode patterns may be formed on one surface, and a blocking layer coated with a grounded sheet or a conductive material may be further formed on the bottom surface.

According to the present invention, an insulating layer 880 having a second through region 882 is formed on the window decoration 850, and the colored conductive layer 840 is disposed at positions of the first through region and the second through region 882. The

electrode patterns

820 and 830 and the wire pattern 870 may be matched with each other. Although the electrode pattern 820 and the wire pattern 870 are not directly in contact with each other, only the terminals that are vertically connected to each other through the colored conductive layer 840 may be connected exclusively.

For reference, FIG. 19 is a partially exploded perspective view of a touch panel sensor according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and the electrode patterns of the foregoing embodiments are provided in a single line shape, but in this embodiment, they may be provided in a grouped parallel line shape. Can be. Description of other components of the touch panel sensor according to the present embodiment may refer to the foregoing embodiment, and in this embodiment, the electrode pattern part provided in a grouped parallel line shape that is different from the previous embodiment will be focused. Explain.

Referring to FIG. 19, the upper sheet 910 of the touch panel sensor includes an upper insulating substrate 911 and a plurality of upper transparent electrode patterns 912 disposed at uniform intervals.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the upper and lower ends of the plurality of (eg, three) upper transparent electrode patterns 912 are connected to form one electrode group 924. In some cases, it may be electrically connected to at least one point either at the top or the bottom, or in the middle. The upper transparent electrode patterns 912 adjacent to each other may be grouped to induce a change in capacitance that is further activated.

Each electrode group 924 is partially exposed through the through area 922 of the window decoration 920, and the colored conductive layer 940 is disposed in the through area 922.

The colored conductive layer 940 exposed through the through region 922 may be electrically connected to a terminal of an external flexible circuit board through a wire member that may be disposed along the bottom of the window decoration.

Hereinafter, a method of manufacturing the upper sheet of the touch panel sensor according to another embodiment according to the present invention.

First, referring to FIG. 19, the electrode layer 612 for the upper electrode pattern is transparent to the entire upper surface of the upper insulating substrate 610 by using a transparent material such as ITO or IZO. Form over.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 20, through the photolithography process, the electrode layer 612 is patterned to form an upper electrode pattern having a desired pattern. The upper electrode pattern includes a first transparent electrode pattern 620 and a second transparent electrode pattern 630.

The first transparent electrode pattern 620 may be provided by a series of line patterns arranged side by side in the horizontal or vertical direction on the upper insulating substrate 610. Specifically, in the present embodiment, the first transparent electrode pattern 620 The line pattern for) includes an extension 622 and a bridge 624 provided in a line along the transverse direction. The extension part 622 and the bridge part 624 may be alternately formed and arranged in a line.

The extension 622 is formed relatively or significantly wider than the bridge portion 624, and the bridge portion 624 is formed between the extension portions 622 to electrically connect the series of extension portions 622. There is a number.

As shown in FIG. 20, the extension part 622 may be formed of a continuous diamond as a motif, but the shape of the extension part 622 may be various shapes such as a rhombus, a circle, or an oval.

The second transparent electrode pattern 630 is formed on the upper insulating substrate 610 like the first transparent electrode pattern 620 and is electrically separated from the first transparent electrode pattern 620. The second transparent electrode pattern 630 includes a transparent connection part 636 disposed between the extension parts 622 of the first transparent electrode pattern 620.

The first transparent electrode pattern 620 and the second transparent electrode pattern 630 may be formed together with the electrode layer 612 formed on the insulating substrate 610 through a photolithography process.

Thereafter, as illustrated in FIG. 21, an insulating layer 614 is formed on the entire bottom surface of the upper insulating substrate 610 on which the first transparent electrode pattern 620 and the second transparent electrode pattern 630 are formed. The insulating layer 614 may be formed using a material such as SiO ₂ , Si ₃ N _4, or TiO ₂ .

Meanwhile, as described above, the extension parts 622 of the first transparent electrode pattern 620 are electrically connected to each other by the bridge part 624, but the transparent connection part 636 of the second transparent electrode pattern 630 is provided. Are electrically isolated from each other. Therefore, the transparent connecting portions 636 disposed vertically between the extension portions 622 should be electrically connected to each other. Thus, as shown in FIG. 22, a first exposure hole 615 may be formed through the photolithography process in which each of the transparent connectors 636 may be partially exposed. On the other hand, the second exposure in order to electrically connect with the wire pattern 670 that is later placed on the window decoration 650 corresponding to the portion of the first and second

transparent electrode patterns

620 and 630 disposed on the edge of the insulating substrate. The ball 616 may be formed. For reference, in the drawing, the wire pattern 670 is processed in white, but this is to distinguish it from window decoration, but does not mean an empty space.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 23, the metal layer 617 is formed on the insulating layer 614 as a whole, and the metal layer 617 is patterned as shown in FIG. 24 through a photolithography process to connect the connection lines. 634 is formed. On the other hand, since the connection line may be visible from the outside, it is preferable that the width thereof is 30 μm or less so as not to be visible, and in fact, it is formed to about 3 μm so as not to be visible at all. In the present embodiment, in the process of forming the connection line 634, a separate connection terminal may be formed together at the second exposed hole position, but it is preferable that the connection line 634 may be exposed from the outside. Therefore, the colored conductive layer is directly laid on the second exposed hole.

The connection line 634 may electrically connect the transparent connecting portions 636 adjacent to each other exposed by the first exposure hole 616 of the insulating layer 614.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 25, after the window decoration 650 is formed as a whole in a frame shape at the edge of the insulating substrate, a through area 652 is formed corresponding to the position of the second exposed hole 616. The end of the electrode pattern is exposed to the through area. Thereafter, the colored conductive layer 640 described above may be formed in the through region 652.

Thereafter, a wire pattern 670 is formed over the colored conductive layer 640, as shown in FIG. For reference, although the colors of the colored conductive layer 640 and the window decoration 650 are slightly different from each other in the drawing, this is a selection for distinguishing the colored conductive layer and the window decoration from the drawing. It is provided in a similar color.

For reference, in the present exemplary embodiment, the through areas 652 are formed in the window decoration 650 and the colored conductive layer 640 is filled in such a manner that the ends of the first and second

transparent electrode patterns

620 and 630 are colored. Although electrically connected to the wire pattern 670 via the conductive layer 640, in some cases, even if the through area is not formed in the window decoration, as in the touch panel sensor illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 4, The window decoration may have a relatively high resistance to enable exclusive communication between the wire pattern 670 and the ends of the first and second transparent electrode patterns disposed vertically with the window decoration 620 interposed therebetween. have.

In addition, although it is not necessary to provide the insulating film shown in FIG. 21, as described above, since the window decoration is conductive, it is not necessary to form an insulating layer between the window decoration and the wire member for electrical separation from the wire member. desirable.

First, as described above with reference to FIGS. 19 and 20, the bottom surface of the upper insulating substrate 710 using a transparent material such as ITO or IZO as the electrode layer for the upper electrode pattern on the upper insulating substrate 710. It is formed throughout, and the electrode layer is patterned, and the upper electrode pattern which has a desired pattern is formed. Referring to FIG. 27, the upper electrode pattern includes a first transparent electrode pattern 720 and a second transparent electrode pattern 730.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the line pattern for the first transparent electrode pattern 720 includes an extension part 722 and a bridge part 724 provided in a line along the horizontal direction. The extension part 722 and the bridge part 724 may be alternately formed and arranged in a row.

The bridge portion 724 may be formed between the extension portions 722 to electrically connect the series of extension portions 722.

The second transparent electrode pattern 730 is formed on the upper insulating substrate 710 similarly to the first transparent electrode pattern 720, and is electrically separated from the first transparent electrode pattern 720. The second transparent electrode pattern 730 includes a transparent connection part 736 disposed between the extension parts 722 of the first transparent electrode pattern 720.

Thereafter, as illustrated in FIG. 27, an insulating layer 714 is formed on the entire bottom surface of the upper insulating substrate 710 on which the first transparent electrode pattern 720 and the second transparent electrode pattern 730 are formed. The insulating layer 714 may be formed using a material such as SiO ₂ , Si ₃ N _4, or TiO ₂ .

Meanwhile, as described above, the extension parts 722 of the first transparent electrode pattern 720 are electrically connected to each other by the bridge part 724, but the transparent connection part 736 of the second transparent electrode pattern 730 is provided. Are electrically isolated from each other. Accordingly, the vertically spaced transparent connectors 736 are to be electrically connected to each other. Thus, as shown in FIG. 28, a first exposure hole 715 may be formed through the photolithography process in which each of the transparent connectors 736 may be partially exposed. On the other hand, the second exposure in order to electrically connect with the wire pattern 770 which is later placed on the window decoration 750 corresponding to the portion of the first and second

transparent electrode patterns

720 and 730 disposed on the edge of the insulating substrate. The ball 716 can be formed.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 29, the low resistance transparent electrode layer 717 is entirely formed on the insulating layer 314, and the low resistance transparent electrode layer 717 is formed through a photolithography process, as shown in FIG. 30. Likewise, patterning forms connection line 734. Here, the low resistance transparent electrode layer 717 may have a sheet resistance smaller than that of the first and second transparent electrode patterns by using transparent ITO or IZO having a relatively lower resistance coefficient than the first and second transparent electrode patterns. In this connection, the connection line 734 formed by patterning the low resistance transparent electrode layer 717 may easily connect the adjacent transparent connection portions 736 to each other. For example, if the sheet resistance of the first and second transparent electrode patterns is about 150 ohms, the sheet resistance of the low resistance transparent electrode layer may be approximately 10 ohms.

For reference, since the low-resistance transparent electrode layer is made of a transparent material, unlike the connection line 634 using the metal, the low resistance transparent electrode layer is not visible from the outside.

In addition, in the process of forming the connection line 734, a separate connection terminal may be formed together at the position of the second exposed hole 716, but is not formed in this embodiment. Thus, the colored conductive layer is placed directly on the second exposed hole.

The connection line 734 may electrically connect adjacent transparent connectors 736 exposed to the first exposure hole 716 of the insulating layer 714 to each other.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 31, after the window decoration 750 is formed in the frame shape on the edge of the insulating substrate as a whole, the through area 752 is formed corresponding to the position of the second exposure hole 716. The end of the electrode pattern is exposed to the through area. Thereafter, the colored conductive layer 740 described above can be formed in the through region 752.

Thereafter, a wire pattern 770 is formed over the colored conductive layer 740, as shown in FIG.

For reference, in the present exemplary embodiment, the through areas 752 are formed in the window decoration 750, and the colored conductive layer 740 is filled with the edges of the first and second

transparent electrode patterns

720 and 730. Although electrically connected to the wire pattern 770 via the conductive layer 740, in some cases, even if the through area is not formed in the window decoration, as in the touch panel sensor shown in FIGS. The decoration may have a relatively high resistance to enable exclusive communication between the wire patterns 770 and the ends of the first and second transparent electrode patterns disposed vertically with the window decoration 720 interposed therebetween. .

In addition, in this embodiment, it is not necessary to provide an insulating film, but as described above, since the window decoration is conductive, an insulating layer may be formed between the window decoration and the wire member for electrical separation from the wire member. .

As described above, although described with reference to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, those skilled in the art various modifications and variations of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention described in the claims below I can understand that you can.

The touch panel sensor according to the present invention can be widely applied to a display for the purpose of detecting a contact position of an object.

Claims

In the touch panel sensor for detecting the contact position of the object to be delivered to the external device,

Insulating substrate;

An electrode pattern formed on a bottom surface of the insulating substrate;

A window decoration formed on the bottom surface of the insulating substrate to partially cover an end portion of the electrode pattern and including a conductive material; And

A wire member formed on the window decoration to electrically connect each of the electrode patterns and an external device;

Wherein the wire member is exclusively signaled with an end portion of the electrode pattern corresponding to the up and down using a resistance formed with the electrode pattern end corresponding up and down is less than a resistance formed with the other electrode pattern end around the edge. Touch panel sensor characterized in that the communication (communicate).
The method of claim 1,

The wire member is a touch panel sensor, characterized in that the signal exchanges exclusively with the end of the electrode pattern corresponding to the upper and lower sides through the window decoration having conductivity.
The method of claim 1,

And a decor insulating layer formed on a bottom surface of the window decoration and having a through hole for partially exposing the window decoration in correspondence with an end of the electrode pattern.
The method of claim 3,

The wire member includes a flexible circuit board laminated on the window decoration,

And a terminal of the flexible circuit board is electrically connected to a bottom surface of the window decoration exposed by the through hole.
The method of claim 1,

The window decoration is provided by mixing the conductive material and the non-conductive ink, the touch panel sensor, characterized in that to adjust the overall resistance by using a composition between the conductive material and the non-conductive ink.
The method of claim 5,

The conductive material includes carbon, and the carbon is mixed with 25% or less of the non-conductive ink.
The method of claim 1,

The window decoration is a touch panel sensor, characterized in that formed using a high resistance thin film containing an oxide or a conductive polymer.
The method of claim 7, wherein

The high resistance thin film may include an oxide thin film including black chromium oxide or a conductive polymer thin film including at least one of polyaniline and phthalocyanine.
The method of claim 1,

The window decoration includes a through region and a colored conductive layer filled in the through region,

The colored conductive layer is formed by using a conductive material having a lower resistivity than the window decoration and electrically connected to an end of the electrode pattern.

The wire member may exclusively transmit and receive a signal to an end of the corresponding electrode pattern vertically by using the resistance of the colored conductive layer correspondingly up and down substantially less than the resistance of the window decoration around the wire member. Panel sensor.
The method of claim 9,

The conductive paint for the window decoration and the conductive paint for the colored conductive layer are provided by mixing a conductive material and a non-conductive ink.

The composition ratio of the conductive material mixed in the conductive paint for the window decoration is smaller than the composition ratio of the conductive material mixed in the conductive paint for the colored conductive layer.
The method of claim 1,

And a low resistance line formed of a metal material on at least one of an upper surface and a lower surface of the electrode pattern.
The method of claim 1,

The wire member includes a metal wire pattern formed on the window decoration,

A low resistance line made of a metal material is formed on an upper surface of the electrode pattern, and the metal wire pattern and the low resistance line are formed of the same material together.
The method of claim 1,

The insulating substrate is a touch panel sensor, characterized in that formed using glass or transparent synthetic resin.
The method of claim 1,

The electrode pattern is a touch panel sensor, characterized in that provided using a transparent or opaque conductive material.
The method of claim 1,

The electrode pattern is a touch panel sensor, characterized in that provided in the form of a single line or grouped parallel lines.
The method of claim 1,

The electrode pattern is

A first electrode pattern including a plurality of extension parts provided in a line along one direction and a plurality of bridge parts connecting the plurality of extension parts;

A plurality of electrodes formed on the insulating substrate to be parallel to the first electrode pattern on the same surface as the first electrode pattern, electrically separated from the first electrode pattern, and formed in an area other than the extension part and the bridge part; A second electrode pattern including a transparent connection part and a low resistance line connecting the transparent connection part over the bridge part; And

An insulating pattern interposed between the bridge portion of the first electrode pattern and the low resistance line;

Touch panel sensor comprising a.