Touch Screen Substrate and Method of Manufacturing a Touch Screen Substrate

• US 20140023778A1
• Filed: 09/25/2013
• Published: 01/23/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Sung, Woo-Yong, Cha, Tae-Woon, Kim, Tae-Gyun
• Granted Patent: US 9,034,420 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 427/110
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04103 Manufacturing, i.e. details related to manufacturing processes specially suited for touch sensitive devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/045 using resistive elements, e.g. a single continuous surface or two parallel surfaces put in contact

Abstract

A touch screen substrate includes an insulation ball formed on a substrate having a first diameter, a sensing electrode formed on the substrate, and a conductive ball formed on the sensing electrode having a second diameter shorter than the first diameter. A cell gap spacer for maintaining a cell gap of a touch screen panel and a spacer for electrically connecting a lower substrate with an upper substrate of the touch screen panel may be formed via a single spraying process.

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing a touch screen substrate, the method comprising:

forming a sensing electrode on a substrate;

spraying a first ink and a second ink on the substrate including the sensing electrode, the first ink including a first solvent and insulation balls having a first diameter, the second ink including a second solvent and conductive balls having a second diameter smaller than the first diameter; and

hardening the first and second inks on the substrate, to fix the insulation balls on the substrate and the conductive balls on the sensing electrode formed on the substrate.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second inks are sprayed from an assembly including a first print head filled with the first ink and a second print head filled with the second ink, and wherein the assembly moves over the substrate to spray the first and second inks.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein hardening the first and second inks sprayed on the substrate comprises:

partially hardening the first solvent of the first ink to form a first hardener around a first contact point between the insulation ball and the substrate; and

partially hardening the second solvent of the second ink to form a second hardener around a second contact point between the conductive ball and the sensing electrode.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the sensing electrode is formed in a light blocking region surrounding a light transmission region of the substrate, and further comprising forming a pixel electrode separated from the sensing electrode in the light transmission region.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the sensing electrode is formed in a light blocking region surrounding a light transmission of the substrate, and further comprising forming a common electrode connected to the sensing electrode in the light transmission region.