CURVED CAPACITIVE TOUCH PANEL AND MANUFACTURE METHOD THEREOF

• US 20100103138A1
• Filed: 07/24/2009
• Published: 04/29/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TPK Touch Solutions (Xiamen) Inc. (TPK Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: TPK Touch Solutions (Xiamen) Inc. (TPK Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: HUANG, JUN-YAO, HUNG, PO-PIN
• Granted Patent: US 9,426,893 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/174
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04103 Manufacturing, i.e. details related to manufacturing processes specially suited for touch sensitive devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/045 using resistive elements, e.g. a single continuous surface or two parallel surfaces put in contact
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/0129 Thermoplastic polymer, e.g. auto-adhesive layer; Shaping of thermoplastic polymer
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/09018 Rigid curved substrate
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2203/068 Features of the lamination press or of the lamination process, e.g. using special separator sheets
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2203/1105 Heating or thermal processing not related to soldering, firing, curing or laminating, e.g. for shaping the substrate or during finish plating
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2203/302 Bending a rigid substrate; Breaking rigid substrates by bending rigid circuit boards or rigid supports locally made bendable H05K1/0278
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/0014 Shaping of the substrate, e.g. by moulding
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/0058 Laminating printed circuit boards onto other substrates, e.g. metallic substrates H05K1/0281 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/0067 onto an inorganic, non-metallic substrate
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49124 On flat or curved insulated base, e.g., printed circuit, etc.

Abstract

A manufacture method and structure of a curved capacitive touch panel is disclosed. A flat flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) with capacitive touch sensing/detecting capability is provided, followed by subjecting the flat FPCB to compressing molding to form a curved FPCB. Subsequently, a curved substrate is provided, wherein an outer curved surface of the curved FPCB is bonded to an inner curved surface of the substrate, thereby forming the curved capacitive touch panel.

Claims

1. A method of forming a curved capacitive touch panel, comprising:

providing a flat flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) with capacitive touch sensing/detecting capability;

subjecting the flat FPCB to compressing molding to form a curved FPCB; and

providing a curved substrate, wherein an outer curved surface of the curved FPCB is bonded to an inner curved surface of the substrate, thereby forming the curved capacitive touch panel.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the compression molding is heated compression molding or vacuum-assisted cold pressing.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the flat FPCB is bent along an axial direction to form a two-dimensional curved FPCB.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein two sides of the two-dimensional curved FPCB respectively comprise curved sidewalls.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the flat FPCB is bent along two axial directions to form a three-dimensional curved FPCB.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein two sides of the three-dimensional curved FPCB respectively comprise curved sidewalls, and two ends of the three-dimensional curved FPCB respectively comprise curved endwalls.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising removing superfluous edges of the curved FPCB.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises transparent glass.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises opaque glass.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising printing patterns, characters or symbols on an inner curved surface of the substrate, for shielding corresponding portions of the curved FPCB.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising coating an adhesive layer on an inner curved surface of the substrate, for facilitating attaching an outer curved surface of the curved FPCB to the inner curved surface of the substrate.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the adhesive layer comprises pressure-sensitive adhesive, optical sensitive adhesive, or thermal-sensitive adhesive.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein an inner curved surface of the substrate is an inner concave surface, and an outer curved surface of the curved FPCB is an outer convex surface, wherein the inner concave surface of the substrate is bonded and attached to the outer convex surface of the curved FPCB.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein an inner curved surface of the substrate is an inner convex surface, and an outer curved surface of the curved FPCB is an outer concave surface, wherein the inner convex surface of the substrate is bonded and attached to the outer concave surface of the curved FPCB.

15. A curved capacitive touch panel, comprising:

a three-dimensional curved flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) with capacitive touch sensing/detecting capability, wherein a first curved sidewall and a first curved endwall are respectively formed by compression molding along at least two axial directions; and

a touchable three-dimensional curved substrate comprising a second curved sidewall bonded with the first curved sidewall, and a second curved endwall bonded with the first curved endwall.

16. The curved capacitive touch panel of claim 15, wherein the compression molding is heated compression molding or vacuum-assisted cold pressing.

17. The curved capacitive touch panel of claim 15, wherein the substrate comprises transparent glass.

18. The curved capacitive touch panel of claim 15, wherein the substrate comprises opaque glass.

19. The curved capacitive touch panel of claim 15, wherein the substrate comprises an inner curved surface, and the curved FPCB comprises an outer curved surface.

20. The curved capacitive touch panel of claim 19, further comprising patterns, characters or symbols printed on the inner curved surface of the substrate, for shielding corresponding portions of the curved FPCB.

21. The curved capacitive touch panel of claim 19, further comprising an adhesive layer coated between the inner curved surface of the substrate and the outer curved surface of the curved FPCB, for facilitating attaching the outer curved surface of the curved FPCB to the inner curved surface of the substrate.

22. The curved capacitive touch panel of claim 19, wherein the inner curved surface of the substrate is an inner concave surface, and the outer curved surface of the curved FPCB is an outer convex surface, wherein the inner concave surface of the substrate is bonded and attached to the outer convex surface of the curved FPCB.

23. The curved capacitive touch panel of claim 19, wherein the inner curved surface of the substrate is an inner convex surface, and the outer curved surface of the curved FPCB is an outer concave surface, wherein the inner convex surface of the substrate is bonded and attached to the outer concave surface of the curved FPCB.

24. The curved capacitive touch panel of claim 19, wherein at least one touch area used as a virtual key is formed on an outer curved surface of the substrate, the second curved sidewall or the second curved endwall.

25. The curved capacitive touch panel of claim 15, wherein at least one touch area used as a virtual key is formed on the second curved sidewall and the second curved endwall respectively.