CAPACITIVE TOUCH PANELS

• US 20120211264A1
• Filed: 10/23/2009
• Published: 08/23/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/23/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Winsky Industry Limited
• Original Assignee: M-Solv Ltd.
• Inventors: Milne, David Charles
• Granted Patent: US 9,040,829 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 174/250
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49155 Manufacturing circuit on or in base
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/5313 Means to assemble electrical device

Abstract

A novel method and apparatus for performing the method is disclosed the apparatus comprises a laser (17), at least one ink jet print head (14), means for holding a transparent substrate having a transparent conductive layer, means (22) for adjusting the relative positions of the laser and at least one ink jet print head to the transparent conducting layer (2) and a controller to control the laser and ink jet print head whereby in a first step to inkjet print one or more coarse metal borders (15) onto the deposited TCM layer and in a second step by means of a single laser ablation process, ablating tracks in both the metal border and underlying TCM layer to form a plurality of discrete electrical busbars (12) and optionally also to form electrodes in the remainder of the TCM layer.

Claims

1. A method for the manufacture of a PCT panel comprising:

onto a transparent substrate, uniformly depositing a layer of transparent conducting material (TCM);

onto the same transparent substrate printing a printable conductive ink (PCI) in selected areas to form one or more coarse conductive border regions;

by means of a single laser ablation process, ablating material in the PCI layer and the TCM layer to form a plurality of discrete electrical tracks (busbars) and ablating a pattern of electrodes into the remainder of the TCM layer.

2. The method as in claim 1 wherein the TCM layer is deposited on the substrate before the conducting border is deposited.

3. The method as in claim 1 wherein the TCM layer is deposited on the substrate after the conducting border is deposited.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the deposited TCM layer is a transparent conducting oxide.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the TCM layer is an organic conducting material.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the coarse conducting borders deposited in step 2 comprise a printable conducting ink (PCI) which is deposited by an ink jet print head.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the PCI contains silver particles.

8. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the TCM is deposited by a physical vapour deposition (PVD) method.

9. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the TCM is deposited by an ink jet printing method.

10. The apparatus for performing the method of claim 1, the apparatus comprising:

a laser, at least one ink jet print head, means for holding a transparent conducting layer deposited on a transparent substrate, means for adjusting the relative positions of the laser and at least one ink jet print head to the transparent conducting layer and a controller to control the laser and ink jet print head whereby in a first step to inkjet print one or more coarse metal borders onto the deposited TCM layer and in a second step by means of a single laser ablation process, ablating tracks in both the metal border and underlying TCM layer to form a plurality of discrete electrical busbars.

11. The apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the controller is further configured to control in the single laser ablation process the ablating of a pattern of electrodes into the remainder of the TCM layer.

12. The apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the apparatus comprises two ink jet print heads mounted together with one behind the other in the moving direction and having a displacement in the direction orthogonal to the moving direction equal to half the pitch of the print head nozzles.

13. The apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the ink jet print heads are configured to deposit a printable conducting ink (PCI) which contains silver particles.

14. The apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein the PCI is Cabot Conductive Ink 300.

15. The apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the ink jet head is a Konika Minolta KM1024 head.

16. The apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the laser is a UV laser configured to operate at 355 nm.

17. The apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the controller controls movement of a scanner over the substrate in two orthogonal directions.

18. A PCT panel comprising a layer of transparent conducting material (TCM) deposited onto a transparent substrate and divided into a plurality of electrodes, and a conducting border deposited onto the TCM layer by an inkjet printing method and having laser ablated tracks in both the border and TCM layer to form discrete electrical busbars and wherein the electrodes in the TCM layer are also defined by ablations in the layer.

19. The PCT panel as claimed in claim 18, wherein the TCM layer comprises a transparent conducting oxide.

20. The PCT panel as claimed in claim 18, wherein the TCM layer comprises an organic conducting material.