Resistive type touch panel

• US 20050110772A1
• Filed: 09/29/2004
• Published: 05/26/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/24/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Display Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: LG Philips LCD Company Limited (LG Display Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Kong, Nam Yong, You, Tae Ho, Park, Hee Jeong
• Granted Patent: US 8,125,454 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/174
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/045 using resistive elements, e.g. a single continuous surface or two parallel surfaces put in contact

Abstract

A resistive type touch panel includes a first substrate aligned to be facing a second substrate. The first substrate includes a first conductive layer and the second substrate includes a second conductive layer. A plurality of spacers each having a polygonal column shape are disposed between the first and second substrates in predetermined positions. The geometry and center-to-center spacing of the spacers minimizes detection of a distributed activation force applied to one of the first and second substrate while still providing sensitivity to detect concentrated application of an activation force to one of the first and second substrates.

Claims

1. A resistive type touch panel comprising:

first and second substrates aligned to be facing each other and having transparent conductive layers on facing surfaces of the first and second substrates; and

a plurality of spacers, each of a polygonal column shape, disposed between the first and second substrates.

2. The resistive type touch panel of claim 1, wherein the spacers are formed by a printing or a photo process.

3. The resistive type touch panel of claim 1, wherein the spacers are formed at equal intervals over an area of at least one of the first or second substrates or combinations thereof.

4. The resistive type touch panel of claim 1, wherein a center-to-center distance between the spacers is between about 0.5 mm and 0.6 mm.

5. The resistive type touch panel of claim 1, wherein each of spacers has a substantially equal length and width that is between about 40 μ

m and 50 μ

m, and a height of between about 5 μ

m and 13 μ

g.

6. The resistive type touch panel of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of edge spacers disposed adjacent to a periphery of the transparent conductive layers, wherein the edge spacers are formed with a hemispherical surface configured to be in contact with one of the transparent conductive layers.

7. The resistive type touch panel of claim 1, wherein the spacers are positioned to be spaced away from one of the first substrate or the second substrate, and to be in contact with the other of the first substrate or the second substrate.

8. The resistive type touch panel of claim 1, wherein the spacers are formed in a hexahedral shape.

9. A resistive type touch panel comprising:

a first substrate and a second substrate that are aligned substantially in parallel, wherein each of the first and second substrates include a respective transparent conductive layer; and

a plurality of spacers, wherein each of the spacers are formed in a polygonal column shape and are disposed in a predetermined pattern between the respective transparent conductive layer of each of the first and second substrates so that the spacers are staggered with respect to each other.

10. The resistive type touch panel of claim 9, wherein the spacers are formed by a printing or a photo process.

11. The resistive type touch panel of claim 9, wherein a first center-to-center distance between spacers that are positioned to form a first line is between about 0.5 mm and 0.6 mm, and a second center-to-center spacing between spacers positioned to form a second line that is perpendicular to the first line is between about 1.0 mm and 1.2 mm.

12. The resistive type touch panel of claim 9, wherein each of the spacers has substantially equal length and width of between about 40 μ

m and 50 μ

m, and a height of between about 5 μ

m and 13 μ

m.

13. The resistive type touch panel of claim 9, further comprising a plurality of edge spacers adjacent to a periphery of the transparent conductive layer that are formed with a hemispherical surface configured to be in contact with one of the transparent conductive layers.

14. The resistive type touch panel of claim 9, wherein the spacers are positioned to be spaced away from one of the first substrate or the second substrate and contact the other of the first substrate or the second substrate.

15. The resistive type touch panel of claim 9, wherein the spacers are formed in a hexahedral shape.

16. The resistive type touch panel of claim 9, wherein, a first group of spacers are disposed at a pre-determined center-to-center distance to form a first line, and a second group of spacers are disposed at the pre-determined center-to-center distance to form a second line that is parallel with the first line, wherein the spacers in the second group of spacers are positioned to be staggered with respect to the spacers in the first group of spacers.

17. The resistive type touch panel of claim 16, wherein, the first line and second line each comprise a plurality of lines formed in parallel along a first axis and wherein spacers in the first and second lines also form respective third and fourth parallel lines along a second axis that is perpendicular with the first axis.

18. A resistive type touch panel comprising:

a first substrate having a first conductive layer;

a second substrate having a second conductive layer, wherein the first conductive layer is spaced away from second conductive layer and is deformable to selectively contact the second conductive layer; and

a plurality of spacers disposed between the first and second conductive layers, wherein the spacers include a first surface positioned proximate the first conductive layer, a second surface positioned to be contiguous with the second conductive layer and a third surface extending between and perpendicular to the first and second surfaces.

19. The resistive type touch panel of claim 18, wherein the first and second surfaces have an area that is substantially equal.

20. The resistive type touch panel of claim 18, wherein the first surface lies in a single plane that is substantially parallel with the first conductive layer and the second surface lies in a single plane that is substantially parallel with the second conductive layer.

21. The resistive type touch panel of claim 18, wherein the first surface lies in only one first plane and the second surface lies in only one second plane that is parallel with the first plane.

22. The resistive type touch panel of claim 18, wherein the first and second surfaces include a plurality of edges that meet at ninety degree angles.

23. The resistive type touch panel of claim 18, wherein the third surface is a plurality of surfaces each lying in a respective single plane.

24. The resistive type touch panel of claim 18, wherein the area of the first and second surfaces is between about 3.8 and 8 times greater than the area of the third surface.

25. The resistive type touch panel of claim 18, wherein a first length of the third surface is about similar to the distance that the first conductive layer is spaced away from the second conductive layer and a second length of the third surface is about similar to a length of both the first and second surfaces.

26. The resistive type touch panel of claim 18, further comprising a plurality of edge spacers disposed near a periphery of the first and second conductive layers, wherein each of the edge spacers include the first surface positioned contiguous with the first conductive layer, the third surface is perpendicular to the first surface and a fourth surface that is a hemispherical surface positioned proximate the second conductive layer.

27. The resistive type touch panel of claim 18, wherein the spacers are configured to resist deformation of the first substrate in response to a distributed activation force and configured to allow deformation of the first substrate in response to a concentrated activation force of the same magnitude.

28. The resistive type touch panel of claim 18, wherein each of the spacers are formed in the shape of a rectangular parallelpiped.