Touch panel

• US 10,126,859 B2
• Filed: 02/19/2015
• Issued: 11/13/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/20/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Sugita, Yasuhiro, Tada, Kenshi, Ogawa, Hiroyuki, Yamagishi, Shinji, Mugiraneza, Jean, Miyachi, Koichi, Yoshida, Hidefumi, Murata, Mitsuhiro, Tanaka, Kohhei
• Primary Examiner(s): Kohlman, Christopher
• Application Number:
  US15/119,059
• Publication Number:
  US 20170045988A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,363 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13338 Input devices, e.g. touch panels
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04103 Manufacturing, i.e. details related to manufacturing processes specially suited for touch sensitive devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04107 Shielding in digitiser, i.e. guard or shielding arrangements, mostly for capacitive touchscreens, e.g. driven shields, driven grounds
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04112 Electrode mesh in capacitive digitiser: electrode for touch sensing is formed of a mesh of very fine, normally metallic, interconnected lines that are almost invisible to see. This provides a quite large but transparent electrode surface, without need for ITO or similar transparent conductive material
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04164 Connections between sensors and controllers, e.g. routing lines between electrodes and connection pads
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0443 using a single layer of sensing electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0446 using a grid-like structure of electrodes in at least two directions, e.g. using row and column electrodes

Abstract

A touch panel includes: a first substrate; a second substrate disposed on a viewer side of the first substrate; a liquid crystal layer provided between the first substrate and the second substrate; a plurality of pixel electrodes and a common electrode for applying a voltage to the liquid crystal layer; and a plurality of detection electrodes and a plurality of driving electrodes for a touch sensor. The first substrate includes: a first transparent substrate; and the plurality of pixel electrodes, which are formed on the liquid crystal layer side of the first transparent substrate. The second substrate includes: a second transparent substrate; and the plurality of driving electrodes and the plurality of detection electrodes formed on the liquid crystal layer side of the second transparent substrate. The touch panel does not include a conductive layer on the viewer side of the second transparent substrate.

Claims

1. A touch panel, comprising:

a first substrate;

a second substrate disposed on a viewer side of the first substrate; and

a liquid crystal layer provided between said first substrate and said second substrate,

wherein the touch panel further includes a plurality of pixel electrodes and a common electrode for applying a voltage to the liquid crystal layer, and a plurality of detection electrodes and a plurality of driving electrodes for a touch sensor,

wherein the first substrate includes a first transparent substrate and said plurality of pixel electrodes formed on the liquid crystal layer side of the first transparent substrate,

wherein the second substrate includes a second transparent substrate and said plurality of driving electrodes and said plurality of detection electrodes formed on the liquid crystal layer side of the second transparent substrate,

wherein the touch panel does not include a conductive layer on the viewer side of the second transparent substrate,

wherein the first substrate includes the common electrode,

wherein the common electrode is formed on the liquid crystal layer side of the first transparent substrate,

wherein the liquid crystal layer is a horizontal alignment-type liquid crystal layer that includes nematic liquid crystal material having a negative dielectric anisotropy,

wherein the common electrode has a plurality of common electrode sections that are parallel to the plurality of detection electrodes, and

wherein the plurality of common electrode sections are respectively electrically connected to one of the plurality of detection electrodes facing the common electrode sections through the liquid crystal layer.

2. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein the second substrate further includes a shield electrode layer formed closer to the liquid crystal layer than the plurality of driving electrodes.

3. The touch panel according to claim 2, wherein a potential of the shield electrode layer is fixed.

4. The touch panel according to claim 2,

wherein the shield electrode layer has a plurality of shield electrode sections, and

wherein the plurality of shield electrode sections function as the plurality of detection electrodes.

5. The touch panel according to claim 1,

wherein the second substrate further includes a black matrix formed on the liquid crystal layer side of the second transparent substrate,

wherein the plurality of driving electrodes respectively include a metal electrode, and

wherein the plurality of driving electrodes are disposed so as to overlap a light-shielding portion of the black matrix when viewed from a direction normal to the second substrate.

6. The touch panel according to claim 5,

wherein the plurality of detection electrodes extend in a first direction,

wherein the plurality of driving electrodes extend in a second direction that intersects said first direction,

wherein the light-shielding portion of the black matrix has a wide section that extends in the second direction, and

wherein the plurality of driving electrodes are disposed so as to overlap the wide section of the black matrix when viewed from the direction normal to the second substrate.

7. The touch panel according to claim 6,

wherein the touch panel further includes a plurality of lead-out wiring lines that are formed from a same conductive film as the plurality of detection electrodes and that extend in the first direction,

wherein the plurality of driving electrodes are respectively connected to at least one of the plurality of lead-out wiring lines, and

wherein terminals for the plurality of detection electrodes and terminals for the plurality of lead-out wiring lines are both provided near a same side of the second transparent substrate that extends substantially parallel to the second direction.

8. The touch panel according to claim 1,

wherein the plurality of driving electrodes and the plurality of detection electrodes are formed from a same conductive film, and

wherein, from among the plurality of driving electrodes, two driving electrodes that are adjacent to each other with one of the plurality of detection electrodes interposed therebetween are electrically connected to each other.

9. The touch panel according to claim 8,

wherein the touch panel further comprises a plurality of lead-out wiring lines formed from the same conductive film as the plurality of driving electrodes and the plurality of detection electrodes,

wherein the plurality of driving electrodes are respectively connected to at least one of the plurality of lead-out wiring lines, and

wherein terminals for the plurality of detection electrodes and terminals for the plurality of lead-out wiring lines are both provided near a same side of the second transparent substrate.

10. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of driving electrodes and the plurality of detection electrodes are formed of two different conductive films that are insulated from one another.

11. The touch panel according to claim 1,

wherein the second substrate further includes a shield electrode layer formed closer to the liquid crystal layer than the plurality of detection electrodes,

wherein the shield electrode layer has a plurality of shield electrode sections, and

wherein the plurality of shield electrode sections function as the plurality of driving electrodes.

12. The touch panel according to claim 1,

wherein the common electrode includes a plurality of common electrode sections, and

wherein the plurality of common electrode sections function as the plurality of driving electrodes.