TRANSPARENT CONDUCTIVE STRUCTURE APPLIED TO A TOUCH PANEL AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME

• US 20120273257A1
• Filed: 04/29/2011
• Published: 11/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Innovation & Infinity Global Corp.
• Original Assignee: Innovation & Infinity Global Corp.
• Inventors: CHU, CHAO-CHIEH
• Application Number:
  US13/098,394
• Publication Number:
  US 20120273257A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 174/251
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04103 Manufacturing, i.e. details related to manufacturing processes specially suited for touch sensitive devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0443 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: H05K 2201/0108 Transparent
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/0145 Polyester, e.g. polyethylene terephthalate [PET], polyethylene naphthalate [PEN]
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/0158 Polyalkene or polyolefin, e.g. polyethylene [PE], polypropylene [PP]
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/0326 Inorganic, non-metallic conductor, e.g. indium-tin oxide [ITO]
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/28 Applying non-metallic protective coatings H05K3/0091 takes precedence; methods for intermediate insulating layers for build-up multilayer circuits H05K3/4673

Abstract

A transparent conductive structure applied to a touch panel includes a substrate unit, a first coating unit, a transparent conductive unit, and a second coating unit. The substrate unit includes a transparent substrate. The first coating unit includes a first coating layer formed on the top surface of the transparent substrate. The transparent conductive unit includes a transparent conductive layer formed on the top surface of the first coating layer. The transparent conductive layer includes a plurality of embedded conductive circuits embedded into the first coating layer and arranged to form a predetermined embedded circuit pattern. The second coating unit includes a second coating layer formed on the top surface of the transparent conductive layer. The second coating layer has a touching surface formed on the top side thereof, and the touching surface allows an external object (such as user'"'"'s finger, any type of touch pen, or etc.) to touch.

Claims

1. A transparent conductive structure applied to a touch panel, comprising:

a substrate unit including at least one transparent substrate;

a first coating unit including at least one first coating layer formed on the top surface of the transparent substrate;

a transparent conductive unit including at least one transparent conductive layer formed on the top surface of the first coating layer, wherein the transparent conductive layer includes a plurality of embedded conductive circuits embedded into the first coating layer, and the embedded conductive circuits are arranged to form a predetermined embedded circuit pattern; and

a second coating unit including at least one second coating layer formed on the top surface of the transparent conductive layer, wherein the second coating layer has a touching surface formed on the top side thereof for an external object to touch.

2. The transparent conductive structure of claim 1, wherein the transparent substrate is polyethylene terephthalate (PET), poly carbonate (PC), polyethylene (PE), poly vinyl chloride (PVC), poly propylene (PP), poly styrene (PS), or polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), and the thickness of the transparent substrate is between 50 μ

m and 125 μ

m.

3. The transparent conductive structure of claim 1, wherein the first coating layer is a hard coating layer, and the hard coating layer is an ultraviolet hardening layer.

4. The transparent conductive structure of claim 1, wherein each embedded conductive circuit is a silver circuit, an aluminum circuit, or a copper circuit, and the conductive range of the predetermined embedded circuit pattern is between 0.8 and 3 ohm/square.

5. The transparent conductive structure of claim 1, wherein the embedded conductive circuits are divided into a plurality of X-axis tracks extended along a transverse direction and a plurality of Y-axis tracks extended along a lengthwise direction and respectively insulated from and vertical to the X-axis tracks, the thickness of each embedded conductive circuit is between 3000 Å

and 5000 Å

, the width of each X-axis track is between 3000 Å and

5000 Å

, the distance between every two X-axis track is between 10 μ

m and 20 μ

m, the width of each Y-axis track is between 1000 Å and

2000 Å

, and the distance between every two Y-axis track is between 5 μ

m and 15 μ

m.

6. The transparent conductive structure of claim 1, wherein the second coating layer is a hard protection layer, the hard protection layer is an oxide layer having a thickness between 3 μ

m and 5 μ

m, and the oxide layer is a silicon oxide layer or an aluminum oxide layer.

7. A method of making a transparent conductive structure applied to a touch panel, comprising the steps of

providing a substrate unit including at least one transparent substrate;

forming at least one first coating layer on the top surface of the transparent substrate;

forming at least one transparent conductive layer on the top surface of the first coating layer, wherein the transparent conductive layer includes a plurality of embedded conductive circuits embedded into the first coating layer, and the embedded conductive circuits are arranged to form a predetermined embedded circuit pattern; and

forming at least one second coating layer on the top surface of the transparent conductive layer, wherein the second coating layer has a touching surface formed on the top side thereof for an external object to touch.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the transparent substrate is polyethylene terephthalate (PET), poly carbonate (PC), polyethylene (PE), poly vinyl chloride (PVC), poly propylene (PP), poly styrene (PS), or polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), and the thickness of the transparent substrate is between 50 μ

m and 125 μ

m.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the first coating layer is a hard coating layer made of hard material, and the hard coating layer is an ultraviolet hardening layer.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein each embedded conductive circuit is a silver circuit, an aluminum circuit, or a copper circuit, and the conductive range of the predetermined embedded circuit pattern is between 0.8 and 3 ohm/square.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the embedded conductive circuits are divided into a plurality of X-axis tracks extended along a transverse direction and a plurality of Y-axis tracks extended along a lengthwise direction and respectively insulated from and vertical to the X-axis tracks, the thickness of each embedded conductive circuit is between 3000 Å

and 5000 Å

, the width of each X-axis track is between 3000 Å and

5000 Å

, the distance between every two X-axis track is between 10 μ

m and 20 μ

m, the width of each Y-axis track is between 1000 Å and

2000 Å

, and the distance between every two Y-axis track is between 5 μ

m and 15 μ

m.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the second coating layer is a hard protection layer made of hard material, the hard protection layer is an oxide layer having a thickness between 3 μ

m and 5 μ

m, and the oxide layer is a silicon oxide layer made of silicon oxide material or an aluminum oxide layer made of alumina material.