SENSOR STRUCTURE OF TOUCH PANEL AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING TOUCH SIGNAL GENERATING BY SENSOR STRUCTURE OF TOUCH PANEL

• US 20100263944A1
• Filed: 09/25/2009
• Published: 10/21/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Chunghwa Picture Tubes Limited
• Original Assignee: Chunghwa Picture Tubes Limited
• Inventors: Liu, Chia-Lin, Chen, Chih-Chung, Hsieh, Ming-Ta, Yin, Hsueh-Fang, Lin, Chien-Ming
• Granted Patent: US 8,203,538 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 178/18.60
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0443 using a single layer of sensing electrodes

Abstract

A sensor structure of a touch panel and a method of determining a touch signal generated by the same are disclosed. The sensor structure includes a plurality of sensor lines disposed on a surface of a substrate, and a control circuit electrically connected to the sensor lines. Each of the sensor lines has a plurality of conductive pads and a conductive line electrically connected the conductive pads. The control circuit receives a touch signal from one of the sensor lines. The touch signal is resulting from a touch capacitance generated between a touch and one of the conductive pads of the sensor line. The control circuit calculates the position of the touch based on the touch capacitance. In addition, the touch capacitance generated by a conductive pad close to the control circuit is larger than the touch capacitance generated by another conductive pad further away from the control circuit.

Claims

1. a sensor structure of a touch panel, comprising:

a substrate;

a plurality of sensor lines disposed on a surface of the substrate, each of the sensor lines comprising a plurality of conductive pads arranged along a first direction and a conductive line connecting the conductive pads, wherein any one of the conductive pads of the respective sensor line and another conductive pad of the adjacent sensor line are staggered in a row, and the conductive pads of the aforementioned sensor lines are overlapped in the first direction; and

a control circuit electrically connected to the sensor lines, the control circuit receiving a touch signal generated by one of the conductive pad of the sensor lines, wherein the touch signal is resulting from a touch at one of the conductive pad of the respective sensor line to generate a touch capacitance, and the control circuit determines the position of the touch depending on the touch capacitance, in which the touch capacitance resulting from one of the conductive pad near by the control circuit is greater than the touch capacitance resulting from another conductive pad distant to the control circuit.

2. The sensor structure of claim 1, further comprising a passivation layer covering the sensor lines and the substrate.

3. The sensor structure of claim 1, wherein the conductive pads or the conductive line comprise a transparent conductive material.

4. The sensor structure of claim 3, wherein the transparent conductive material comprises ITO, IZO, or combinations thereof.

5. The sensor structure of claim 1, wherein each of the conductive pads is a square conductive pad.

6. The sensor structure of claim 1, wherein each of the conductive pads is a diamond conductive pad.

7. The sensor structure of claim 1, wherein a distance between the adjacent conductive pads is approximately between 0.2 millimeter (mm) and 0.5 mm.

8. A method of determining a touch signal generated by a sensor structure of a touch panel, comprising

providing the sensor structure of the touch panel, the sensor structure of the touch panel comprising a plurality of sensor lines disposed on a surface of the substrate, a control circuit electrically connected to the sensor lines, and a passivation layer covering the sensor lines, wherein each of the sensor lines comprising a plurality of conductive pads arranged along a first direction and a conductive line connecting to the conductive pads;

the control circuit receiving a touch signal generating from one of the sensor lines, the touch signal resulting from a touch contacting to one of the conductive pads of said sensor line to generate a touch capacitance and passing the touch signal from said sensor line to the control circuit;

determining the touch signal coming from which one of the sensor lines; and

determining the position of the touch depending on the touch capacitance of the touch signal.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the touch capacitance resulting from one of the conductive pad near by the control circuit is greater than the touch capacitance resulting from another conductive pad distant to the control circuit.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the conductive pads or the conductive line comprises a transparent conductive material.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the transparent conductive material comprises ITO, IZO, or combinations thereof.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein each of the conductive pads comprises a square conductive pad.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein each of the conductive pads comprises a diamond conductive pad.