Touch panel and display device using the same

• US 20090167710A1
• Filed: 09/29/2008
• Published: 07/02/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd., Tsinghua University
• Original Assignee: Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd., Tsinghua University
• Inventors: Fan, Shou-Shan, Jiang, Kai-Li, Liu, Liang
• Granted Patent: US 8,125,878 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0443 using a single layer of sensing electrodes

Abstract

A touch panel includes a substrate, a transparent conductive layer, and a number of electrodes. The substrate includes a first surface. The transparent conductive layer is formed on the first surface. The transparent conductive layer includes a number of carbon nanotube wires. Opposite ends of each carbon nanotube wire are electrically connected to electrodes. Furthermore, a display device using the touch panel is also provided.

Claims

1. A touch panel comprising:

a substrate comprising a first surface;

a transparent conductive layer formed on the first surface, the transparent conductive layer comprising a plurality of carbon nanotube wires; and

a plurality of electrodes, opposite ends of each carbon nanotube wire are electrically connected to electrodes.

2. The touch panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the electrodes is connected to only one carbon nanotube wire.

3. The touch panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein a diameter of each carbon nanotube wire is approximately from 0.5 nanometers to 100 micrometers.

4. The touch panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the carbon nanotube wires are separated from each other, and distances between adjacent carbon nanotube wires are approximately from 5 nanometers to 1 millimeter.

5. The touch panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the carbon nanotube wires comprises a plurality of successive carbon nanotube segments joined end to end by van der Waals attractive force therebetween, and each of the carbon nanotube segments comprises a plurality of carbon nanotubes parallel to each other.

6. The touch panel as claimed in claim 5, wherein the carbon nanotubes are selected from the group consisting of single-walled carbon nanotubes, double-walled carbon nanotubes, and multi-walled carbon nanotubes.

7. The touch panel as claimed in claim 6, wherein a diameter of each single-walled carbon nanotube is in an approximate range from 0.5 nanometers to 50 nanometers, a diameter of each double-walled carbon nanotube is in an approximate range from 1 nanometer to 50 nanometers, and a diameter of each multi-walled carbon nanotube is in an approximate range from 1.5 nanometers to 50 nanometers.

8. The touch panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein there are at least four sets of electrodes, two of the sets of electrodes being at two opposite sides of the first surface of the substrate, the other two sets of electrodes being at another two opposite sides of the first surface of the substrate.

9. The touch panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the electrodes are metal electrodes adhered to a surface of the transparent conductive layer by a silver-based slurry.

10. The touch panel as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a transparent protective layer disposed on the electrodes and the surface of the transparent conductive layer.

11. The touch panel as claimed in claim 1, further comprising at least one optical compensation membrane disposed between two adjacent carbon nanotube wires.

12. The touch panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the material of the substrate is selected from the group consisting of glass, quartz, diamond, and plastic.

13. The touch panel as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a shielding layer, wherein the substrate further comprises a second surface, and the shielding layer is disposed on the second surface of the substrate.

14. The touch panel as claimed in claim 13, wherein the material of the shielding layer is selected from the group consisting of indium tin oxides, antimony tin oxides, and carbon nanotube films.

15. The touch panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the touch panel is planar or curved.

16. A display device comprising:

a touch panel comprising;

a substrate comprising a major surface;

a transparent conductive layer formed on the surface of the substrate, the transparent conductive layer comprising a plurality of carbon nanotube wires; and

a plurality of electrodes, and each carbon nanotube wire electrically connected to two opposite electrodes; and

a display element adjacent to the touch panel.

17. The display device as claimed in claim 16, further comprising a touch panel controller, a central processing unit, and a display element controller electrically connected to each other, with the touch panel controller connected to the touch panel and the display element controller connected to the display element.

18. The display device as claimed in claim 16, wherein the display element is selected from the group consisting of liquid crystal displays, field emission displays, plasma displays, electroluminescent displays, vacuum fluorescent displays, and cathode ray tubes.

19. The display device as claimed in claim 16, wherein the touch panel is one of installed directly on the display element.

20. The display device as claimed in claim 16, further comprising a passivation layer disposed on a surface of the touch panel, with the passivation layer and the transparent conductive layer being at opposite sides of the substrate, the passivation layer comprising one of silicon nitride and silicon dioxide.