TOUCH PANEL WITH FLEXIBLE TOUCH SENSOR AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME

• US 20160048229A1
• Filed: 08/12/2015
• Published: 02/18/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/16/2014
• 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: Chi, Ho-Hsun, Jiang, Yau-Chen, Lai, Bin, Xie, Yanjun
• Granted Patent: US 9,626,057 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04102 Flexible digitiser, i.e. constructional details for allowing the whole digitising part of a device to be flexed or rolled like a sheet of paper
• 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

Abstract

A touch panel comprises a flexible touch sensor and a cover plate. The cover plate and the flexible touch sensor are attached to each other by an adhesive layer. The flexible touch sensor at least comprises a sensing electrode structure disposed on a flexible substrate. The sensing electrode structure comprises a first insulating layer and a first patterned conductive layer formed on the first insulating layer. The first insulating layer is disposed between the flexible substrate and the first patterned conductive layer and directly contacts the flexible substrate.

Claims

1. A flexible touch sensor, comprising:

a sensing electrode structure disposed on a flexible substrate and comprising;

a first insulating layer; and

a first patterned conductive layer formed on the first insulating, layer, wherein the first insulating layer is disposed between the flexible substrate and the first patterned conductive layer and directly contacts the flexible substrate,

a first wire layer, which is disposed on the first insulating layer, electrically connected with the first patterned conductive layer and disposed on the same surface of the first insulating layer as the first patterned conductive layer.

2. The flexible touch sensor as recited in claim 1, wherein the sensing electrode structure further includes a second insulating layer disposed on the first patterned conductive layer and a second patterned conductive layer formed on the second insulating layer, and a second wire, layer electrically connected with the second patterned conductive layer, and the second wire layer is disposed on the second insulating layer and on the same surface of the second insulating layer as the second patterned conductive layer.

3. The flexible touch sensor as recited in claim 2, wherein the second insulating layer covers the first patterned conductive layer and the first wire layer.

4. The flexible touch sensor as recited in claim 2, wherein the second insulating layer covers a part of the first patterned conductive layer and avoids the joint of the first patterned conductive layer and first wire layer.

5. The flexible touch sensor as recited in claim 2, wherein the second insulating layer covers the first patterned conductive layer, and the first wire layer is disposed on the second insulating layer and electrically connected with the first patterned conductive layer by a through hole and a conductive medium filled therein.

6. The flexible touch sensor as recited in claim 1, wherein the thickness of the flexible substrate is between 0.1 μ

m and 15 μ

m.

7. The flexible touch sensor as recited in claim 1, wherein the first insulating layer has hot pressing adhesion property.

8. The flexible touch sensor as recited in claim 1, wherein the first patterned conductive layer is formed by the conductive plasma containing conductive polymer material or nano metal material.

9. A touch panel, comprising:

a flexible touch sensor as recited in any of the claims 2; and

a cover plate,

wherein the cover plate and the flexible touch sensor are attached to each other by an adhesive layer.

10. The touch panel as recited in claim 9, wherein a blocking layer is formed on the cover plate, and the normal projection of the blocking layer on the cover plate at least covers the normal projection of the first wire layer and second wire layer of the flexible touch sensor on the cover plate.

11. A manufacturing method of a touch panel, comprising steps of:

A1;

forming a flexible substrate on a first carrying plate;

A2;

forming a sensing electrode structure on the flexible substrate;

A3;

forming a second carrying plate on the sensing electrode structure;

A4;

removing the first carrying plate from the flexible substrate;

A5;

attaching a cover plate to the flexible substrate which is disposed between the cover plate and the sensing electrode structure; and

A6;

removing the second carrying plate from the sensing electrode structure.

12. The manufacturing method of a touch panel as recited in claim 11, wherein in the step A1, the flexible substrate is attached to the first carrying plate by a first adhesive layer.

13. The manufacturing method of a touch panel as recited in claim 11, wherein in the step A3, the second carrying plate is attached to the sensing electrode structure by a second adhesive layer.

14. The manufacturing method of a touch panel as recited in claim 12, wherein the first adhesive layer is disposed around the first carrying plate, the sensing electrode structure is disposed in the inner region of the first adhesive layer, and the step A5 includes:

cutting off the first adhesive layer along the inner side of the first adhesive layer and then removing the first carrying plate from the flexible substrate.

15. The manufacturing method of a touch panel as recited in claim 14, wherein the first adhesive layer with the portion of the first carrying plate under the first adhesive layer is cut off along the inner side of the first adhesive layer.

16. The manufacturing method of a touch panel as recited in claim 12, wherein the first adhesive layer is disposed around the first carrying plate, the sensing electrode structure is disposed in the inner region of the first adhesive layer, and the manufacturing method further includes:

cutting off the first adhesive layer along the inner side of the first adhesive layer, which is between the step A1 and the step A2.

17. The manufacturing method of a touch panel as recited in claim 11, wherein the step of forming the sensing electrode structure includes:

forming a first insulating layer on the flexible substrate. wherein a conductive material used to form a first patterned conductive layer is disposed on the first insulating layer;

locally curing the conductive material;

curing the first insulating layer;

forming the first patterned conductive layer;

forming a first wire layer on the first insulating layer, wherein the first wire layer is electrically connected with the first patterned conductive layer; and

forming a protection layer on the first patterned conductive layer.

18. The manufacturing method of a touch panel as recited in claim 17, wherein the step of forming the first insulating layer on the flexible substrate further includes a step of removing a first release layer which is disposed on the first insulating layer.

19. The manufacturing method of a touch panel as recited in claim 17, wherein in the step of forming the first insulating layer on the flexible substrate, the first insulating layer is attached to the flexible substrate by hot pressing.

20. The manufacturing method of a touch panel as recited in claim 17, wherein the manufacturing method further includes a step of removing a second release layer disposed on the conductive material, which is after the step of locally curing the conductive material and before the step of curing the first insulating layer.

21. The manufacturing method of a touch panel as recited in claim 11, wherein the manufacturing method further includes a step of forming a blocking layer on the cover plate and the blocking layer is disposed on at least one side of the cover plate.