BEZEL-LESS TOUCH SCREEN APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SAME

• US 20200133423A1
• Filed: 04/09/2018
• Published: 04/30/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tovis Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Tovis Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: KIM, Yong Beom, PARK, In Su
• Granted Patent: US 11,023,062 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1601 Constructional details related to the housing of computer displays, e.g. of CRT monitors, of flat displays constructional details related to flat displays integrated in a portable computer, e.g. laptop, handheld computer G06F1/1637; constructional details related to television receivers H04N5/64
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1643 the display being associated to a digitizer, e.g. laptops that can be used as penpads details related to the relative motion of the display enclosure with respect to the body enclosure, e.g. to move between laptop and tablet PC configuration G06F1/1615
• 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 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: H01B 1/02 mainly consisting of metals or alloys
• CPC Class Codes: H01B 1/04 mainly consisting of carbon-silicon compounds, carbon or silicon
• CPC Class Codes: H01B 7/04 Flexible cables, conductors, or cords, e.g. trailing cables

Abstract

A bezel-less touch screen apparatus includes: a display panel for displaying an image; and a touch sheet superposed on the display panel, for generating an input signal by a touch by an operator, wherein the touch sheet includes: a touch area for generating a touch signal, the touch area being located on an image display area of the display panel, in which an image is displayed; and a side surface attachment part on which signal electrodes are gathered from the edge of the touch area and connected to a controller and that is bent and attached to the side surfaces of the display panel so as to not protrude over the edge of the display panel. Therefore, the bezel width can be minimized.

Claims

1. A bezel-less touchscreen apparatus comprising a display panel configured to display an image and a touch sheet disposed so as to overlap the display panel in order to generate an input signal by manipulator touch, wherein

the touch sheet comprises:

a touch area portion located at an image display area portion of the display panel in order to generate a touch signal, the image display area portion being configured to display an image; and

a side attachment portion at which signal electrodes are gathered so as to be connected to a controller, the side attachment portion being disposed at a circumference of the touch area portion, the side attachment portion being bent so as not to protrude from an edge of the display panel and attached to a side surface of the display panel.

2. The bezel-less touchscreen apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the signal electrodes is made of one of metal mesh, silver nanowire, graphene, and carbon nanotube exhibiting bendability in order to prevent the signal electrodes from being cut when the side attachment portion is bent from the touch area portion.

3. The bezel-less touchscreen apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the touch sheet comprises a bending line configured to mark a border at which the side attachment portion is bent.

4. The bezel-less touchscreen apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the bending line comprises notches formed along the bending line in a shape of a dotted line in order to reduce unbending force of the side attachment portion in a state in which the side attachment portion is bent.

5. The bezel-less touchscreen apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the touch sheet comprises a protective panel attached to a front surface of the touch sheet in order to protect the touch sheet.

6. The bezel-less touchscreen apparatus according to claim 1, comprising an adhesive member configured to attach the side attachment portion to the side surface of the display panel.

7. The bezel-less touchscreen apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a bent-state retention process of heating a portion of the touch sheet at which the side attachment portion is bent to a glass transition temperature or higher and cooling the portion of the touch sheet is performed in order to prevent the side attachment portion from being unbent due to restoring force thereof in a bent state, thereby retaining a bent shape of the side attachment portion.

8. The bezel-less touchscreen apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the touch sheet comprises a driving electrode layer configured to generate a driving signal in response to touch and a sensing electrode layer configured to sense the driving signal, and

the side attachment portion is integrally formed with each of the driving electrode layer and the sensing electrode layer, the side attachment portion integrally formed with the driving electrode layer being formed so as to be attached to a side surface of the display panel and the side attachment portion integrally formed with the sensing electrode layer being formed so as to be attached to another side surface of the display panel.

9. A method of manufacturing the bezel-less touchscreen apparatus according to claim 1, the method comprising:

preparing the touch sheet so as to correspond to a size of the display panel;

disposing the touch area portion of the touch sheet on an effective image area of the display panel so as to correspond thereto; and

bending the side attachment portion protruding from the edge of the display panel in a state in which the touch area portion corresponds to the image display area portion of the display panel and attaching the side attachment portion to the side surface of the display panel.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the step of bending and attaching the side attachment portion to the side surface of the display panel comprises performing a bent-state retention process of preventing the side attachment portion from being unbent due to restoring force thereof in a bent state in order to prevent the side attachment portion from being unbent due to the restoring force thereof in the bent state.