TW201339915A - Sensing electrode, touch display having the same and electronic device having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A sensing electrode for a touch panel comprises a first pattern area and a second pattern area. The first pattern area has a plurality of conductive wires. A distance between two neighboring conductive wires is larger than a width of each conductive wires. The first pattern area is disposed opposite to the second pattern area. The second pattern area has another plurality of conductive wires. A distance between two neighboring conductive wires of the another plurality of conductive wires is larger than another width of each conductive wires of the another plurality of conductive wires. At least one of the first pattern area and the second pattern area is applied to a voltage.

Description

Sensing electrode, touch display and electronic device therewith

The present invention relates to a sensing electrode of a touch panel and a touch display and an electronic device therewith, and more particularly to a sensing electrode for performing touch detection using an edge capacitor, and having the touch type thereof Display and electronic devices.

In recent years, touch panels have been widely used in various electronic products such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), game consoles, and computer touch screens. Since the user can directly input the information by touching the touch display device by hand or other objects without using an external input device, the operation is convenient and simple. The device with the touch panel of humanized operation function has gradually become one of the mainstream development trends of the market products.

However, devices that need to directly touch the touch screen to achieve the touch function still have application bottlenecks. The user must keep a certain distance from the touch screen and ensure that objects such as a finger or a stylus are close to the touch panel to operate the touch device. In addition, unintentional contact with the touch screen can easily lead to false touches. For example, a touch-sensitive mobile phone is also prone to false touches when placed in a user's pocket or purse. Therefore, the touch function of the current touch device still needs more room for improvement.

The invention relates to a sensing electrode of a touch panel and a touch display and an electronic device therewith. The touch display and the electronic device only need to use a small area of the sensing electrode, that is, sufficient edge capacitance can be generated for touch detection.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a sensing electrode of a touch panel includes a first pattern area and a second pattern area. The first pattern region has a plurality of staggered wires. Each of the wires has a line width, and the adjacent two wires have a pitch, and the pitch is greater than the line width. The second pattern area is opposite to the first pattern area, the second pattern area has a plurality of other wires staggered, each of the other wires has a different line width, and the adjacent two other wires have a further spacing The other spacing is greater than the other line width. At least one of the first pattern region and the second pattern region is applied with a voltage.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a touch display is provided. The touch display includes a housing and a touch panel. The touch panel is disposed in the housing. The touch panel includes a panel body and a sensing electrode. The sensing electrode includes a first pattern area and a second pattern area. The first pattern area has a plurality of staggered wires, each of the wires has a line width, and the adjacent two wires have a pitch, and the pitch is greater than the line width. The second pattern area is opposite to the first pattern area, and has a plurality of other wires staggered, each of the other wires has a different line width, and the adjacent two other wires have another spacing and another spacing The system is larger than the other line width. At least one of the first pattern region and the second pattern region is applied with a voltage.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, an electronic device is provided, including a touch display and an input unit. The touch display includes a touch display as described above. The input unit is coupled to the touch display to provide a control signal to the touch display.

In order to better understand the above and other aspects of the present invention, the preferred embodiments are described below, and in conjunction with the drawings, the detailed description is as follows:

Please refer to FIGS. 1A and 1B , which illustrate a schematic diagram of a proximity sensing technique known to the inventors for use in a touch module. Compared with the touch device which has traditionally been in direct contact with the touch screen to achieve the touch function, the touch module of FIGS. 1A and 1B can detect objects that are not completely in contact with the touch screen but are close enough to each other. .

Referring to FIG. 1A , the touch module 10 has a sensing chip 100 and a micro control wafer 102 . The touch module 10 transmits the sensing chip 100 and the micro control chip 102 through the electrical connection, and detects the proximity of the object to be tested in a near-infrared sensing manner to perform a short-distance sensing function. However, the touch module 10 needs to be externally sensed by the sensing chip 100 and the micro control 102 for sensing, and the cost and complexity of the product are high.

As shown in FIG. 1B, the touch module 15 has a large electrode 150. The electrode 150 is disposed in an area of the non-active area NA outside the active area AA to increase the detection area to enhance Sensitivity of proximity sensing. The touch module 15 mainly uses the calculation of the amount of change in capacitance of the electrode 150 to the ground as a basis for short-distance sensing. However, the proximity sensing of the touch module 15 is limited by the size of the electrode 150. Taking the sensitivity of the capacitance variation of 1 picofarad pF (pico-farad) as an example, an electrode 150 having a side length of 3 cm and a side width of 0.5 cm is required for sensing. Since the electrode 200 is disposed in an area other than the visible area AA, an extra space is required to accommodate a wide range of electrodes 150, which is disadvantageous for miniaturization of the touch module.

In view of the above, the following provides a sensing electrode that can improve the problem, a touch display using the same, and an electronic product using the sensing electrode.

Please refer to FIG. 2A, which is a top plan view of the sensing electrode 220 according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the sensing electrode 220 includes a grid-shaped first pattern region 221 and a second pattern region 223. The materials of the first pattern region 221 and the second pattern region 223 may be selected from the group consisting of molybdenum, aluminum, copper, silver, and combinations thereof, or other wire materials, and are not limited. In this embodiment, the first pattern area 221 and the second pattern area 223 are arranged in a matrix form of a uniform grid of three rows by three columns. Of course, the rows and columns of the grids of the first pattern area 221 and the second pattern area 223 can be increased or decreased as needed, and are not limited.

In FIG. 2A, the first pattern region 221 and the second pattern region 223 are mirror images and symmetrically disposed. However, the first pattern area 221 and the second pattern area 223 may also be asymmetrically disposed as needed. Further, the first pattern region 221 and the second pattern region 223 are disposed at a distance G, and the interval G is substantially 5 micrometers (μm) to 20 μm. In view of the effects of process tolerances, the range of intervals G covers a range of errors that can be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art.

In an embodiment, the degree of density of the meshes of the first pattern region 221 and the second pattern region 223 may be unevenly distributed. For example, the first pattern region 221 has a first side S1 and a second side S2 opposite to the first side S1, and the second pattern region 223 is adjacent to the first side S1. The grid of the first pattern area 221 may be arranged by wires of different widths, the line width of the wire is tapered from the first side S1 to the second side S2, and the interval G is from the first side S1 to the second side S2 Gradually.

Please refer to FIG. 2B , which illustrates a schematic diagram of electric field intensity distribution of the sensing electrode 220 according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 2B, the sensing electrode 220 is made of, for example, a molybdenum-aluminum-molybdenum alloy, and the sensing electrode 220 includes a first pattern region 221 and a second pattern region 223, all of which are arranged in a uniform grid-like wire L. The wire L has a line width w1, and the adjacent two wires L have a pitch w2, and the pitch w2 is larger than the line width w1. In one embodiment, the line width w1 is 5 μm to 20 μm, and the pitch w2 is 100 μm. In addition, the first pattern region 221 and the second pattern region 223 have a gap G therebetween, and the interval G is substantially 5 μm. As shown in FIG. 2B, after applying a voltage to the side of one of the first pattern region 221 and the second pattern region 223, the present example applies a voltage to the first pattern region 221, and the first pattern region 221 and the second pattern region 223 generates a sensing capacitance, the electric field strength is not completely concentrated on the two sides of the interval G of the sensing electrode 220, and the region away from the gap G also has a charge distribution to cause an edge capacitance, and a region away from the interval G It is also possible to have a fringe electric field.

Please refer to FIG. 3, which is a schematic diagram showing the electric field distribution of the sensing electrode 220 in the cross section of the tangent line 2-2 as shown in FIG. 2A. As shown in FIG. 3, the first pattern region 221 of the sensing electrode 220 includes a wire cross section 2210, a wire cross section 2212, and a wire cross section 2214. The second pattern region 223 of the sensing electrode 220 includes a wire cross section 2230, a wire cross section 2232, and a wire cross section 2234. The first pattern area 221 and the second pattern area 223 are induced to generate a sensing capacitance. The electric field of the induced capacitance includes an induced electric field E1 and a fringe electric field E2. The induced electric field E1 is mainly distributed in a region corresponding to the interval G between the wire cross section 2214 and the wire cross section 2234. The fringe electric field E2 is mainly distributed on the wire cross section 2210 and the wire. A section 2212, a wire section 2214, a wire section 2230, a wire section 2232, and a region around the wire section 2234.

Please refer to FIG. 4 , which illustrates a schematic diagram of a sensing electrode applied to the touch display 20 according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 4 , the touch display 20 includes a body (not shown), a display panel 205 , and a touch panel 200 . The display panel 205 and the touch panel 200 are disposed adjacent to each other in the housing. The touch panel 200 includes an insulating layer 210 , a sensing electrode 220 , a light shielding layer 250 , and a panel body 280 . The sensing electrode 220 includes a first pattern region 221 and a second pattern region 223. The first pattern region 221 and the second pattern region 223 generate a sensing capacitance.

The thickness of the first pattern region 221 and the second pattern region 223 of this embodiment are each about 100 nanometers (nm) to 200 nm. The first pattern area 221 and the second pattern area 223 may be square, rectangular, diamond, circular or polygonal, and are not limited. In an experiment, the first pattern region 221 and the second pattern region 223 are squares having a length of about 2 millimeters (mm), and the first pattern region 221 and the second pattern region 223 have a thickness of about 100 nm, and the panel body 280 is used. A glass substrate having an electric coefficient (ε) of 6 and a thickness of about 0.5 μm, omitting the structure of the insulating layer 210 and the light shielding layer 250, and placing a finger having a diameter of about 6 mm or an object to be tested on the panel main body 280, a finger or an object to be tested and a panel The main body 280 has a distance d, and the value of the sensing capacitance corresponding to the distance d is measured. The experimental results of the sensing capacitance corresponding to the measuring distance d are listed in Table 1.

Table I

Figure 5 is a line graph showing the experimental results of Table 1. Please also refer to Figure 5 and Table 1. When the distance d is 30mm and 10mm, the amount of change in the sensing capacitance is about 1 picofarad (pF), which is more than 50% of the capacitance change. It is the current integrated circuit (IC). ) The amount of change that can be detected. In other words, only the first pattern area 221 and the second pattern area 223 having a length and a width of about 2 millimeters (mm) are required, that is, a distance difference of 20 mm can be detected.

Please refer to FIGS. 6A-6C , which are schematic diagrams showing the application of the sensing electrodes to different aspects of the touch panel according to an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 6A , the touch panel 200 includes a sensing electrode 220 , a trace 270 , a panel body 280 , and a controller 290 , all of which can be disposed outside the visible area AA. The controller 290 is electrically connected to the trace 270 . And the sensing electrode 220, the trace 270 can be a metal wire or an electrostatic protection element. The sensing electrode 220 includes a first pattern region 221 and a second pattern region 223 disposed on an upper region of the touch panel 220 . The length and width of the first pattern region 221 are substantially 2 mm, and the thickness is substantially 100 nm to 200 nm. The second pattern region 223 has the same length, width, and thickness range as the first pattern region 221.

Referring to FIG. 6B , the touch panel 204 includes a sensing electrode 240 , a trace 270 , a panel body 280 , and a controller 290 . The touch panel 204 is similar to the touch panel 200 (shown in FIG. 6A ) except that the sensing electrode 240 includes a third pattern region 245 in addition to the first pattern region 241 and the second pattern region 243 . The lengths and widths of the first pattern region 241, the second pattern region 243, and the third pattern region 245 are substantially 2 mm, and the thickness is substantially 100 nm to 200 nm. It is to be noted that, in view of the effects of process tolerances, the ranges of length, width and thickness are intended to cover a range of tolerances as would be understood by those skilled in the art.

Referring to FIG. 6C , the touch panel 206 includes a sensing electrode 260 , a trace 270 , a panel body 280 , and a controller 290 . The touch panel 206 is similar to the touch panel 200 (shown in FIG. 2A), and the similarities are not described again. In this embodiment, the sensing electrode 260 is disposed in a lower area of the touch panel 206 .

It should be noted that, in FIGS. 6A-6C, the positions at which the sensing electrodes 220, the sensing electrodes 240, and the sensing electrodes 260 are disposed are not limited. The sensing electrode 220, the sensing electrode 240, and the sensing electrode 260 may also be disposed in corner regions of the touch panel 200, the touch panel 204, and the touch panel 206, respectively. In addition, the sensing electrode 220, the sensing electrode 240, and the sensing electrode 260 include at least two pattern regions to generate a sensing capacitor. However, the number of pattern regions may be increased according to user requirements and conditions on the process, and is not limited. .

In summary, the touch panel and the touch display of the above-mentioned embodiments of the present invention only need to provide a sensing electrode having at least two pattern regions having a side length of about 2 mm, and the edge capacitance of the pattern region can be used to detect The effect of the test. Therefore, the small-sized sensing electrodes can be placed in the open area around the visible area of the touch panel, which is advantageous for miniaturization of the touch display. Since the size of the sensing electrode is small, a plurality of sets of sensing electrodes can be arranged around the touch panel to achieve the left and right identification function.

In conclusion, the present invention has been disclosed in the above preferred embodiments, and is not intended to limit the present invention. A person skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

10, 15. . . Touch module

100. . . Sense wafer

102. . . Micro control chip

20. . . Touch display device

200, 204, 206. . . Touch panel

205. . . Display panel

210. . . Insulation

220, 240, 260. . . Sense electrode

221, 223, 241, 243, 245, 261, 263. . . Pattern area

2210, 2212, 2214, 2230, 2232, 2234. . . Wire cross section

250. . . Shading layer

280. . . Panel body

300. . . Ontology

2-2. . . Tangent

AA. . . Visual area

d. . . distance

G. . . interval

L. . . wire

S1, S2. . . side

NA. . . Invisible area

W1. . . width

W2. . . spacing

FIGS. 1A-1B are schematic diagrams showing the application of the near sensing technology known to the inventors to the touch module.

2A is a top plan view of a sensing electrode in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram showing the electric field intensity distribution of the sensing electrodes according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 3 is a schematic view showing the electric field distribution of the section of the sensing electrode at the tangent 2-2 as shown in Fig. 2A.

4 is a schematic diagram of a sensing electrode applied to a touch display according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a line diagram showing the relationship between the capacitance of the sensing electrode and the distance of the object to be tested according to an embodiment of the invention.

6A-6C are schematic diagrams showing the application of the sensing electrodes to different aspects of the touch panel according to an embodiment of the invention.

220. . . Sense electrode

221, 223. . . Pattern area

2-2. . . Tangent

G. . . interval

S1, S2. . . side

Claims (20)

a sensing electrode for a touch panel, the sensing electrode comprising: a first pattern region having a plurality of staggered first conductors, each of the first conductors having a first line width, phase Two adjacent first wires have a first pitch, the first pitch is greater than the first line width; and a second pattern region is adjacent to the first pattern region, the second pattern region has a plurality of Aligning one of the second wires, each of the second wires has a second line width, and the two adjacent second wires have a second pitch, the second pitch being greater than the second line width, the first A voltage is applied to at least one of a pattern region and the second pattern region. The sensing electrode according to claim 1, wherein the first pattern region and the second pattern region are disposed at intervals of 5 micrometers (μm) to 20 μm. The sensing electrode of claim 1, wherein the first pattern region and the second pattern region are mirrored and symmetrically disposed, the first pattern region having a length, a width, and a thickness, and The length is less than or equal to 2 millimeters (mm) and the thickness is from 100 nanometers (nm) to 200 nm. The sensing electrode of claim 3, wherein the width of the first pattern region is less than or equal to 2 mm. The sensing electrode of claim 1, wherein the materials of the first pattern region and the second pattern region are selected from the group consisting of molybdenum, aluminum, copper, silver, and combinations thereof. The sensing electrode according to claim 1, wherein the first line width is 5 μm to 20 μm, and the first pitch is less than or equal to 100 μm. The sensing electrode of claim 1, wherein the first pattern area has a first side and a second side opposite to the first side, the second pattern area is adjacent to the first In one side, the first line width is tapered from the first side to the second side, and the first spacing is gradually densified from the first side to the second side. The sensing electrode of claim 1, wherein the staggered first wires and the staggered second wires are arranged in a square or rectangular grid pattern. A touch-sensitive display includes: a body; and a touch panel disposed in the body, the touch panel includes a panel body and at least one sensing electrode, the sensing electrode includes: a first pattern area, And a plurality of wires arranged in a staggered manner, each of the wires having a line width, the adjacent two wires having a pitch, the pitch being greater than the line width; and a second pattern region disposed opposite the first pattern region, The second pattern region has a plurality of other wires staggered, each of the other wires having a further line width, and the adjacent two other wires having a further spacing, the other spacing being greater than the other line width, the A voltage is applied to at least one of the first pattern region and the second pattern region. The touch display panel of claim 9, wherein the touch panel further comprises: an insulating layer; a metal layer comprising a trace and the sensing electrode, wherein the metal layer is disposed on the insulating layer a light shielding layer is disposed on the metal layer, wherein the panel main system is disposed on the light shielding layer; a controller electrically connected to the trace and the sensing electrode; and a display panel disposed on the The housing is disposed adjacent to the touch panel. The touch display device of claim 9, wherein the touch panel has an active area and a non-active area, and the sensing electrode is disposed in the invisible area. The touch display of claim 9, wherein the first pattern region and the second pattern region are disposed at intervals of 5 μm to 20 μm. The touch display of claim 9, wherein the first pattern area and the second pattern area are mirrored and symmetrically disposed, the first pattern area having a length, a width and a thickness. The length is less than or equal to 2 millimeters (mm), and the width is less than or equal to 2 mm, and the thickness is from 100 nanometers (nm) to 200 nm. The touch display of claim 9, wherein the material of the trace, the first pattern area and the second pattern area are selected from the group consisting of molybdenum, aluminum, copper, silver and combinations thereof. Group. The touch display of claim 9, wherein the line width is 5 μm to 20 μm, and the pitch is less than or equal to 100 μm. The touch display of claim 9, wherein the first pattern area has a first side and a second side opposite to the first side, the second pattern area is adjacent to the In the first side, the line width is tapered from the first side to the second side, and the spacing is gradually densified from the first side to the second side. The touch display of claim 9, wherein the staggered wires and the other staggered wires are arranged in a square or rectangular grid pattern. The touch display device of claim 9, wherein the touch panel further comprises a third pattern area, the third pattern area and the second pattern area sensing a further edge capacitance. An electronic device comprising: a touch display comprising: the touch panel of claim 9; and an input unit coupled to the touch display to provide a control signal to the touch Display. The electronic device of claim 19, wherein the electronic device is a tablet computer, an electronic book, a notebook computer, a mobile phone, a digital camera, a number of assistants, a desktop computer, a television Machine, a car monitor or a portable digital video disc (DVD) player.