KR20160043264A - Touch panel - Google Patents

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a touch panel comprises: a substrate; an electrode unit placed on the substrate, and including a plurality of electrodes composed of conductive wires; an optical pattern unit comprising a plurality of optical patterns formed on the conductive wires; and an optical coating layer sealing the electrode unit and the optical pattern unit. The purpose of the present invention is to provide the touch panel to prevent a user from viewing the electrodes composed of the conductive wire.

Description

TOUCH PANEL {TOUCH PANEL}

The present invention relates to a touch panel.

The capacitance type touch screen includes a plurality of electrodes having a predetermined pattern, and a plurality of nodes, in which a capacitance change is generated by a touch input, are defined by the plurality of electrodes. A plurality of nodes distributed on a two-dimensional plane generate self-capacitance or mutual-capacitance changes by touch input, and a weighted average calculation method is applied to the capacitance change generated in a plurality of nodes. Etc. can be applied to calculate the coordinates of the touch input

In the touch panel, a sensing electrode for recognizing a touch is formed of ITO (Indium Tin Oxide). However, in the case of ITO, indium (indium) is expensive, and thus the price competitiveness is deteriorated. In addition, there is a problem in that supply and demand are unreliable because exhaustion is expected within 10 years.

For the above reasons, studies have been made to form an electrode using an opaque conductor line. The electrode formed of a conductor line has an advantage that the conductivity is much higher than that of the ITO or the conductive polymer and the supply and discharge is smooth.

However, when the conductor line is used as an electrode for a touch screen, light reflection occurs due to the color of the opaque metal, and the electrode is easily visible to the user.

Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2011-0089423

An object of the present invention is to provide a touch panel capable of preventing an electrode made of a conductor line from being visible to a user.

A touch panel according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a substrate, an electrode portion provided on the substrate and including a plurality of electrodes formed by conductor lines, and a plurality of optical patterns formed on at least one of the upper surface and the lower surface of the conductor line And the like.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the electrode made of the conductor line from being visible to the user, thereby increasing the transparency of the touch panel.

1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of an electronic device including a touch panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a front view illustrating a touch panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 3 and 4 are views showing the touch panel according to the embodiment of FIG. 2 in more detail.
4 is a cross-sectional view of a touch panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 to 7 are sectional views of a touch panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The following detailed description of the invention refers to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. It should be understood that the various embodiments of the present invention are different, but need not be mutually exclusive. For example, certain features, structures, and characteristics described herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention in connection with an embodiment. It is also to be understood that the position or arrangement of the individual components within each disclosed embodiment may be varied without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is to be limited only by the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled, if properly explained. In the drawings, like reference numerals refer to the same or similar functions throughout the several views.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily carry out the present invention.

1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of an electronic device including a touch panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1, an electronic device 100 according to the present embodiment includes a display device 110 for outputting a screen, an input unit 120, an audio unit 130 for outputting audio, And a touch screen device (not shown) formed integrally with the display device 110.

The touch screen device may include a substrate and a touch panel having a plurality of electrodes provided on the substrate. A capacitive sensing circuit for detecting a change in electrostatic capacitance generated by a plurality of electrodes; an analog-to-digital conversion circuit for converting the output signal of the electrostatic capacitance sensing circuit into a digital value; And a controller integrated circuit (contact sensing device) including an arithmetic circuit and the like for judging an input.

2 is a front view illustrating a touch panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2, the touch panel 200 according to the present exemplary embodiment may include a substrate 210 and an electrode unit 220 provided on the substrate 210. In addition, a plurality of electrode units 220 And a pad unit 230 and a bezel unit 240. The pad unit 230 includes a plurality of pads connected to the respective electrodes of the display unit 200. [

Although not shown in FIG. 2, the pad unit 230 connected to each of the electrode units 220 may be electrically connected to a circuit board attached to one end of the substrate 210 through wiring and bonding pads. A controller integrated circuit is mounted on the circuit board to detect a sensing signal generated in the electrode unit 220 and determine a touch input therefrom.

The pad portion 230, the wiring for electrically connecting the pad portion 230 and the circuit board, and the bonding pad are typically formed of an opaque metal material. In order to visually shield the pad portion 230, the pad portion 230, May be provided on the substrate 210. More specifically, the bezel 240 may correspond to a region of the substrate 210 except for a region where a user's touch input is applied and a screen output from a display device formed integrally with the touch panel is visible to the user .

The substrate 210 may be a transparent substrate on which the electrode unit 220 is formed. Thus, as described above, the substrate 210 may be a film such as PET (polyethylene terephthalate), PC (polycarbonate), PES (polyethersulfone), PI (polyimide), PMMA (polymethlymethacrylate), COP And may be formed of a material such as glass (Soda glass) or tempered glass.

The electrode unit 220 includes a plurality of first electrodes 223 extending in the X axis direction and spaced a predetermined distance in the Y axis direction, a plurality of first electrodes 223 extending in the Y axis direction, And a second electrode 226 of a second conductivity type. That is, the longitudinal direction of the first electrode 223 may be the X-axis direction, and the width direction may be the Y-axis direction. In addition, the longitudinal direction of the second electrode 226 may be the Y-axis direction, and the width direction may be the X-axis direction.

The first electrode 223 and the second electrode 226 may be formed on the same surface of the substrate 210 or may be provided on different surfaces or may be provided on different substrates 210 and intersect with each other. A predetermined insulating layer may be partially formed at the intersection of the first electrode 223 and the second electrode 226. In this case,

The first electrode 223 may be referred to as a driving electrode as an electrode for receiving a driving signal and the second electrode 226 may be referred to as a sensing electrode as an electrode for detecting a change in capacitance. The second electrode 226 may be referred to as an upper electrode, and the second electrode 226 may be referred to as an upper electrode. The second electrode 226 may be referred to as an upper electrode, One electrode 223 may be referred to as a lower electrode.

The touch sensing device, which is electrically connected to the electrode unit 220 and senses a touch input, detects a change in electrostatic capacitance generated in the electrode unit 220 by a touch input and senses a touch input therefrom. The first electrode 223 may be connected to a channel defined by D1 to D8 in the controller integrated circuit to receive a predetermined driving signal and the second electrode 226 may be connected to a channel defined by S1 to S8, The device can be used to detect the detection signal. At this time, the controller integrated circuit can detect a change in the mutual-capacitance generated between the first electrode 223 and the second electrode 226 to acquire a sensing signal. The first electrode 223 ), And the second electrode 226 simultaneously detects a change in the electrostatic capacitance.

When a driving signal is applied to the first electrode 223 through the channels D1 to D8, a coupling capacitance is generated between the first electrode 223 and the second electrode 226 to which the driving signal is applied. When the contact material contacts the touch panel, a capacitance change occurs at the coupling capacitance generated between the first electrode 223 and the second electrode 226 adjacent to the region where the contact object is in contact. The change in the capacitance may be proportional to the area of the overlapped region between the first electrode 223 and the second electrode 226 to which the contact object and the driving signal are applied.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are views showing the touch panel according to the embodiment of FIG. 2 in more detail.

Referring to FIG. 3, the electrode unit 220 may include a conductor line. The conductor line of the electrode unit 220 may be formed in a mesh or mesh shape. Since the conductive lines are formed in a mesh or mesh shape, it is possible to reduce the phenomenon in which the patterning marks are seen in the region where the ITO (Indium-Tin Oxide) electrode is present, and the permeability of the touch panel can be improved.

3, the conductor lines constituting the electrode unit 220 are formed in a rhombic or rectangular shape. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and a hexagonal shape, an octagonal shape, a diamond shape, and an amorphous shape, It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the extent to which it can be derived and may be formed in a linear shape as shown in FIG.

The conductor line constituting the electrode unit 220 is made of any one of silver (Ag), aluminum (Al), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), molybdenum (Mo) Since the electrode portion 220 is made of metal, the resistance value of the electrode can be reduced, thereby improving the conductivity and detection sensitivity.

The pad portion 230, the wiring for electrically connecting the pad portion 230 and the circuit board, and the bonding pad are typically formed of an opaque metal material. In order to visually shield the pad portion 230, the pad portion 230, May be provided on the substrate 210.

The bezel unit 240 is provided in an area of the substrate 210 except for an area-view area where a user's touch input is applied and a screen output from a display device formed integrally with the touch panel is visible to the user. The bezel part 240 is positioned on the edge side of the substrate 210. For convenience of explanation, the area where the bezel 240 is provided is referred to as a bezel area, and the other area is referred to as an effective area.

5 is a cross-sectional view of a touch panel according to an embodiment of the present invention. The touch panel according to one embodiment may include a substrate 210, an electrode part 220 formed of a conductor line, an optical pattern part 250, and an optical coating layer 260. Although the electrode unit 220 is illustrated as being formed on one side of the substrate 210 in FIG. 5, it may be formed on both sides of the substrate 210, or may be formed on different substrates.

The description of the substrate 210 and the electrode unit 220 is the same as that described above, so that the description of the optical pattern unit 250 and the optical coating layer 260 will be omitted in detail.

The optical pattern unit 250 may include a plurality of optical patterns formed on the conductor lines of the electrode unit 220. In one example, the plurality of optical patterns may have a triangular shape. In addition, it can be formed into various shapes such as trapezoid, square, and the like. The optical coating layer 260 may be formed on the front surface of the substrate 210 to seal the electrode portion 220 and the optical pattern portion 250.

The refractive index of the optical coating layer 260 may be higher than the refractive index of a plurality of optical patterns. When the refractive index of the optical coating layer 260 is set to be higher than the refractive index of a plurality of optical patterns, light incident from above the substrate 210 is totally reflected by a plurality of optical patterns by Snell's law, It can be prevented from being viewed by the user.

In one example, the refractive indices of the plurality of optical patterns may be greater than 0 and less than 1.6.

6 is a cross-sectional view of a touch panel according to an embodiment of the present invention. The touch panel according to one embodiment may include a substrate 210, an electrode unit 220 formed of a conductor line, and an optical pattern unit 250.

5, the optical pattern unit 250 may include a plurality of optical patterns. Unlike the embodiment of FIG. 5, a plurality of optical patterns may be formed on the lower surface of the conductive line of the electrode unit 220 .

More specifically, the substrate 210 may be provided with concavities and convexities on one surface thereof. For example, the concavo-convex shape may be a triangular shape, but may be formed in various shapes such as a trapezoid, a square, and the like.

A plurality of optical patterns of the optical pattern unit 250 may be formed to be filled in the recesses so that one surface of the substrate 210 is flat. The conductor lines of the electrode portion 220 may be formed on a plurality of optical patterns.

At this time, the refractive index of the substrate 210 may be higher than the refractive index of a plurality of optical patterns. When the refractive index of the substrate 210 is set to be higher than the refractive index of a plurality of optical patterns, light emitted from the lower side of the substrate 210, particularly, from the display device is totally reflected by a plurality of optical patterns by Snell's law , It is possible to prevent the conductor line from being viewed by the user.

In one example, the refractive indices of the plurality of optical patterns may be greater than 0 and less than 1.6.

7 is a cross-sectional view of a touch panel according to an embodiment of the present invention. The touch panel according to one embodiment may include a substrate 210, an electrode part 220 formed of a conductor line, an optical pattern part 250, and an optical coating layer 260. The touch panel according to the embodiment of FIG. 7 is merely a combination of the touch panels according to the embodiments of FIGS. 5 and 6, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

As described above, according to the touch panel according to the embodiment, the light incident on the upper and lower sides of the substrate can be totally reflected by using a plurality of optical patterns, thereby increasing the transparency of the touch panel.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but, on the contrary, Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

Therefore, the spirit of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the above-described embodiments, and all of the equivalents or equivalents of the claims, as well as the following claims, I will say.

210: substrate
220:
223: first electrode
226: Second electrode
230:
240: Bezel portion
250: Optical pattern part
260: Optical coating layer

Claims (8)

Board;
An electrode unit provided on the substrate and including a plurality of electrodes constituted by conductor lines;
An optical pattern portion including a plurality of optical patterns formed on the conductor lines; And
An optical coating layer sealing the electrode portion and the optical pattern portion; .
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the plurality of optical patterns have a triangular shape.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein a refractive index of the plurality of optical patterns is greater than 0 and less than 1.6.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein a refractive index of the optical coating layer is higher than a refractive index of the plurality of optical patterns.
A substrate having a recessed concave portion formed on one surface thereof;
An optical pattern portion including a plurality of optical patterns formed in the concave portion such that one surface of the substrate is flat; And
An electrode part including a plurality of electrodes constituted by conductor lines formed corresponding to the plurality of optical patterns; .
6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the plurality of optical patterns have a triangular shape.
6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein a refractive index of the plurality of optical patterns is greater than 0 and less than 1.6.
6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein a refractive index of the substrate is higher than a refractive index of the plurality of optical patterns.

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