CN201622557U - Improved touch panel - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a touch panel, and more particularly to a touch panel with a shielding layer and a sensing unit formed on the same substrate. The sensor comprises a transparent substrate, a plurality of sensing units, a shielding layer and at least one protective layer, wherein the sensing units are formed on the transparent substrate, the shielding layer surrounds the sensing units and is formed on the transparent substrate, and the protective layer covers the sensing units and the shielding layer. The sensing unit and the shielding layer are formed on the transparent substrate, so that a protective lens can be omitted, and the manufacturing cost and the assembly cost of the capacitive touch panel are saved.

Description

Touch Panel Improvements

technical field

The utility model relates to a touch panel, and in particular to an improvement of a touch panel in which a shielding layer and a sensing unit are formed on the same substrate.

Background technique

Touch panels are usually used in front of the display screens of electronic products such as mobile devices, cameras, and PDAs, in order to improve the convenience of machine control and signal input; among various types of touch panels, capacitive The touch panel has the advantages of stable performance and long service life, so it is gradually widely used in communication products, computer products and consumer electronic products.

As known, the capacitive sensing structure of the conventional capacitive touch panel, as shown in FIG. , which is composed of a transparent conductive film (ITO) 121, an insulating layer 122 and a metal wire 123; to detect the capacitance change and induced current of the sensing circuit layer 12 due to human body touch to further calculate the coordinates of its touch position, and A transparent protection layer 13 is formed under the sensing circuit layer 12 to protect the sensing circuit layer 12 from being scratched and damaged.

And the upper surface of the glass substrate 11 is the use surface, so generally more than the upper surface of the glass substrate 11 is provided with a protective lens (Cover Lens) 14, utilize the upper surface 141 of the protective lens 14 as a finger touch area, the lower surface of the protective lens 14 A shielding pattern 15 is formed around the surface 142 , and the shielding pattern 15 is closely combined with the glass substrate 11 of the capacitive touch panel through optical adhesive 16 .

However, the above-mentioned protective lens 14 and the glass substrate 11 of the capacitive touch panel are all made of the same glass material, which will consume more production materials repeatedly during manufacture, and the capacitive touch panel and the protective lens are traditionally They are all formed individually first, and then stacked and laminated into one body in sequence. In addition to the complicated assembly process and waste of man-hours, it will also increase the overall thickness, which does not meet the characteristics of today's thin and light electronic products. In addition, due to the unit price of optical adhesives High, low attachment yield. When the optical adhesive is not attached well, the optical adhesive, capacitive touch panel and protective lens used will have no chance of rework and must be scrapped, resulting in waste of materials.

Utility model content

The technical problem to be solved by the utility model is to provide a touch panel, the sensing unit and the shielding layer are formed on the transparent substrate, so the protective lens can be omitted, so as to save the manufacturing cost and assembly cost of the capacitive touch panel.

The technical solution of the present utility model is: an improved touch panel, comprising: a transparent substrate;

A plurality of sensing units are formed on the transparent substrate; a shielding layer is formed on the transparent substrate surrounding the sensing units; and at least one protective layer covers the sensing units and the shielding layer.

Wherein, the transparent substrate has a first surface, and the sensing units and the shielding layer are formed on the first surface.

It further includes: a third protection layer formed on the first surface, and the side of the third protection layer is connected to the side of the shielding layer; wherein, the shielding layer surrounds the third protection layer and the sensing units are formed on on the third protective layer.

It further includes: a plurality of signal lines electrically connected to the sensing units correspondingly and extending to the shielding layer.

The signal lines and the sensing units are integrally formed.

An upper surface of the third protection layer is flush with the upper surface of the shielding layer, and the sensing units are formed on the upper surface of the third protection layer.

The thickness of the third protection layer and the thickness of the shielding layer are substantially the same, wherein the thickness of the third protection layer and the thickness of the shielding layer are between about 1.5 microns and 2 microns.

The third protective layer protrudes from the upper surface of the shielding layer and covers the upper surface of the shielding layer.

The transparent substrate has a first surface and a second surface opposite, the sensing units are formed on the first surface, the shielding layer is formed on the second surface, the at least one protection layer includes: a first protection layer, covering the sensing units; and a second protection layer covering the shielding layer.

The sensing units are arranged in a matrix on the surface of the transparent substrate, and adjacent two of the sensing units are separated by grooves.

The beneficial effect of the utility model is: the touch panel disclosed in the above-mentioned embodiment of the utility model, the sensing unit and the shielding layer are formed on the transparent substrate, so the protective lens can be omitted, so as to save the manufacturing cost and cost of the capacitive touch panel. assembly cost. In addition, the upper surface of the third protection layer is substantially flush with the upper surface of the shielding layer, so that the signal line between the side of the third protection layer and the side of the shielding layer does not form an obvious step difference, and the signal line is prevented from being disconnected. and electrically separated from the sensing unit.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a conventional capacitive touch panel;

FIG. 2 shows a top view of the capacitive touch panel according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 3 depicts the sectional view of the direction 3-3' of Fig. 2;

4 shows a cross-sectional view of a capacitive touch panel according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

5 shows a cross-sectional view of a capacitive touch panel according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 shows an enlarged view of the structure according to the third embodiment of the present invention;

7 shows a cross-sectional view of a capacitive touch panel according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

8 shows a cross-sectional view of a capacitive touch panel according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a capacitive touch panel according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

【Description of figure number】

Capacitive touch panel 1 Glass substrate 11

Sensing circuit layer 12 Transparent conductive film 121

Insulation layer 122 Metal wire 123

Transparent protective layer 13 Protective lens 14

Upper surface 141 Lower surface 142

Masking Graphics 15 Optical Glue 16

Capacitive touch panel 2 Transparent substrate 21

First surface 211 Second surface 212

The first induction unit 22 The first connection structure 221

The second sensing unit 23 The second connection structure 231

Shading layer 24 side 24a

Upper surface 24b First protective layer 251

The second protective layer 252 The third protective layer 253

Side 253a Upper surface 253b

Signal line 26 The first insulating layer 271

The second insulating layer 272 The third sensing unit 28

Groove 29 Thickness t1, t2

Detailed ways

first embodiment

Please refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. FIG. 2 shows a top view of a capacitive touch panel according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view along the direction 3-3' of FIG. A capacitive touch panel will be used as an example for illustration, but the implementation scope of the present invention is not limited to the use of a capacitive touch panel, for example, a resistive touch panel or an electromagnetic touch panel is also applicable. The capacitive touch panel 2 includes a transparent substrate 21 , a plurality of first and second sensing units 22 , 23 , a shielding layer 24 , a first protective layer 251 (shown in FIG. 3 ) and a plurality of signal lines 26 .

Each of the first sensing units is formed on the substrate along a first direction, and a first connection structure 221 is provided between each of the first sensing units 22 to electrically connect adjacent two of the first sensing units 22, and Each second sensing unit 23 is formed on the transparent substrate 21 along a second direction, and a second connection structure 231 is provided between each second sensing unit 23 to electrically connect adjacent two of the second sensing units 23, Moreover, a first insulating layer 271 is provided between the first and second connection structures 221 and 231 , and each of the first and second sensing units 22 and 23 is used for sensing touch signals caused by fingers or stylus pens.

The transparent substrate 21 has a first surface 211 on which the sensing units 22 , 23 and the shielding layer 24 are formed. One end of each signal line 26 is electrically connected to the corresponding sensing unit 22, 23, and the other end of each signal line 26 extends to the shielding layer 24 and is electrically connected to an output cable (not shown). The wires are electrically connected to a circuit board (not shown), so as to transmit the above touch signal to the circuit board.

The shielding layer 24 is, for example, a black matrix, and its material may be ink. The shielding layer 24 is annular and surrounds the sensing units 22 and 23 (as shown in FIG. 2 ). That is, the shielding layer 24 is formed around the first surface 211 of the transparent substrate 21 . In addition, the shielding layer 24 can be formed on the first surface 211 by, for example, applying, and the color of the shielding layer 24 is dark, so as to prevent the portion of the signal line 26 overlapping with the shielding layer 24 from being damaged in appearance. clearly displayed on.

The signal lines 26 are integrally formed with the sensing units 22 , 23 and the first connection structure 221 , that is, the signal lines 26 and the sensing units 22 , 23 are made of the same material in the same process. The same process here is, for example, a sputtering (sputter) process, and the same material here is, for example, indium tin oxide (ITO).

The material of the first protection layer 251 can be a transparent photoresist, which covers the sensing units 22, 23 and the shielding layer 24 to protect the sensing units 22, 23 and the shielding layer 24, and avoid the sensing units 22, 23 and the shielding layer 24 is affected by the atmospheric environment.

Since the sensing units 22, 23 and the shielding layer 24 are all formed on the same substrate (i.e. the transparent substrate 21), the transparent cover plate of the traditional capacitive touch panel can be omitted to save the manufacturing cost and assembly cost of the capacitive touch panel. .

second embodiment

Please refer to FIG. 4 , which shows a cross-sectional view of a capacitive touch panel according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The sensing units 22 , 23 and the shielding layer 24 of the capacitive touch panel are formed on different surfaces of the transparent substrate 21 of the capacitive touch panel.

Wherein, the capacitive touch panel 2 is also provided with a transparent substrate 21, several first and second sensing units 22, 23, a shielding layer 24, a first protective layer 251, a second protective layer 252 and several signal lines 26 , the transparent substrate 21 has a first surface 211 and a second surface 212 opposite to each other. The sensing units 22, 23 and the signal lines 26 are all formed on the first surface 211, the shielding layer 24 is formed on the second surface 212, and the first protective layer 251 covers the sensing units 22, 23 and For the signal lines 26 , the second protection layer 252 covers the shielding layer 24 , wherein the materials of the first protection layer 251 and the second protection layer 252 are similar, and will not be repeated here.

Since the sensing units 22, 23 and the shielding layer 24 are formed on the same substrate (i.e., the transparent substrate 21), the transparent cover of the traditional capacitive touch panel can be omitted to save the manufacturing cost and assembly cost of the capacitive touch panel 2. .

third embodiment

Please refer to FIG. 5 , which shows a cross-sectional view of a capacitive touch panel according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The capacitive touch panel 2 includes a transparent substrate 21 , a shielding layer 24 , a first protection layer 251 , a third protection layer 253 , several sensing units 22 , 23 and several signal lines 26 .

The third protection layer 253 is, for example, a transparent photoresist, which can be formed on the first surface 211 through photolithography. The shielding layer 24 surrounds the third protection layer 253 and the sensing units 22 , 23 are formed on the third protection layer 253 . The photoresist mentioned above can be a positive photoresist or a negative photoresist.

In this embodiment, the side surface 253 a of the third protective layer 253 is connected to the side surface 24 a of the shielding layer 24 . Preferably but not limited, the thickness t1 of the third protection layer 253 and the thickness t2 of the shielding layer 24 are substantially the same, whereby the upper surface 253b of the third protection layer 253 is substantially flush with the upper surface 24b of the shielding layer 24 flat. The thicknesses t1 and t2 here are between about 1.5 micrometers (μm) to 2 micrometers (μm), and the signal line 26 is correspondingly electrically connected to the sensing units 22 , 23 and extends to the shielding layer 24 . Therefore, a part of the signal line 26 at the intersection of the side 253a of the third protective layer 253 and the side 24a of the shielding layer 24 will not form an obvious step difference, as shown in FIG. The portion forms a breakpoint of the signal line 26.

In detail, if there is no design of the third protective layer 253 and the thickness of the sensing units 22, 23 is very thinner than the thickness of the shielding layer 24 (for example, the thickness of the shielding layer 24 is about 10 times greater than the thickness of the sensing units 22, 23), then The height difference between the sensing units 22 , 23 and the shielding layer 24 may cause the signal line 26 to break at the junction of the sensing units 22 , 23 and the shielding layer 24 , resulting in the electrical separation of the signal line 24 and the sensing units 22 , 23 . In contrast to this embodiment, due to the design of the third protection layer 253, the above-mentioned disconnection problem is avoided.

Although the upper surface 253b of the third protective layer 253 is substantially flush with the upper surface 24b of the shielding layer 24, this is not intended to limit this embodiment. In other implementations, as long as the signal line 26 can be avoided , 23 and the shielding layer 24 are broken, and the upper surface 253b of the third protection layer 253 and the upper surface 24b of the shielding layer 24 can be separated by an appropriate distance. For example, the third protection layer 253 can protrude from the upper surface 24b of the shielding layer 24 , as shown in FIG. 7 , the third protection layer 253 can cover the upper surface 24b of the shielding layer 24 . Alternatively, the shielding layer 24 may protrude from the upper surface 253 b of the third protection layer 253 .

Since the sensing units 22, 23 and the shielding layer 24 are all formed on the same substrate (i.e. the transparent substrate 21), the transparent cover plate of the traditional capacitive touch panel can be omitted to save the manufacturing cost and assembly cost of the capacitive touch panel. .

Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiments, the first sensing unit 22, the first connection structure 221 and the shielding layer 24 are integrally formed, as shown in FIG. The second insulating layer 272, the first sensing unit 22, the first connection structure 221 and the shielding layer 24 are made of the same metal, so they can be completed in the same manufacturing process to save the cost and time of a manufacturing process.

In addition, the transparent substrate 21 of the touch panel is provided with a plurality of third sensing units 28 arranged in a matrix, as shown in FIG. , each third sensing unit 28 is used to sense the touch signal caused by a finger or a stylus, and one end of each signal line 26 is electrically connected to the corresponding third sensing unit 28, and the other end of each signal line 26 One end extends to the shielding layer 24 and is electrically connected to an output cable (not shown), and the output cable is electrically connected to a circuit board (not shown), so as to transmit the above-mentioned touch signal to the circuit board.

In the touch panel disclosed in the above embodiments of the present invention, the sensing unit and the shielding layer are formed on the transparent substrate, so the protective lens can be omitted to save the manufacturing cost and assembly cost of the capacitive touch panel. In addition, the upper surface of the third protection layer is substantially flush with the upper surface of the shielding layer, so that the signal line between the side of the third protection layer and the side of the shielding layer does not form an obvious step difference, and the signal line is prevented from being disconnected. and electrically separated from the sensing unit.

Claims (10)

1. An improved touch panel, characterized in that it comprises: a transparent substrate; A plurality of sensing units are formed on the transparent substrate; a shielding layer formed on the transparent substrate around the sensing units; and At least one protective layer covers the sensing units and the shielding layer. 2 . The improved touch panel according to claim 1 , wherein the transparent substrate has a first surface, and the sensing units and the shielding layer are formed on the first surface. 3. The improvement of the touch panel according to claim 2, further comprising: a third protective layer formed on the first surface, and the side of the third protective layer is connected to the side of the shielding layer; Wherein, the shielding layer surrounds the third protection layer and the sensing units are formed on the third protection layer. 4. The improvement of the touch panel according to claim 2 or 3, further comprising: A plurality of signal lines are electrically connected to the sensing units correspondingly and extend to the shielding layer. 5. The improved touch panel according to claim 4, wherein the signal lines and the sensing units are integrally formed. 6. The improved touch panel according to claim 3, wherein an upper surface of the third protective layer is flush with an upper surface of the shielding layer, and the sensing units are formed on the third protective layer on the upper surface. 7. The improved touch panel according to claim 3, wherein the thickness of the third protective layer is substantially the same as that of the shielding layer, wherein the thickness of the third protective layer and the thickness of the shielding layer are between Between about 1.5 microns and 2 microns. 8. The improved touch panel according to claim 3, wherein the third protection layer protrudes from the upper surface of the shielding layer and covers the upper surface of the shielding layer. 9. The improved touch panel according to claim 1, wherein the transparent substrate has a first surface and a second surface opposite to each other, the sensing units are formed on the first surface, and the shielding layer is formed on The second surface, the at least one protective layer comprises: a first protective layer covering the sensing units; and A second protection layer covers the shielding layer. 10 . The improved touch panel according to claim 1 , wherein the sensing units are arranged in a matrix on the surface of the transparent substrate, and adjacent two of the sensing units are separated by grooves. 11 .

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