Contact structure of substrates of touch panel and method of bonding the same

• US 6,573,155 B2
• Filed: 03/21/2002
• Issued: 06/03/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: LG Display Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Atouch Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Oh, Young-Jin, Ahn, Young-Soo
• Primary Examiner(s): Niebling, John F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Roman, Angel
• Application Number:
  US10/103,095
• Publication Number:
  US 20020098612A1
• Time in Patent Office: 439 Days
• Field of Search: 438/51, 438/455, 345/173, 178/18.05
• US Class Current: 438/455
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/045 using resistive elements, e.g. a single continuous surface or two parallel surfaces put in contact
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2207/004 Printed circuit tail
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2207/01 from bottom to top layer

Abstract

Process steps for bonding substrates of a touch panel. Steps include forming an insulator layer around a flexible printed cable (FPC) contact formed on electrodes, forming a low resistive metal layer, to which the FPC is attached, on the insulator layer, forming dot spacers out of insulating material within the active area. Next, connecting the FPC with a band region formed by the insulator layer and the low resistive metal layer after the insulator layer, the low resistive metal layer and the dot spacers have been formed. Finally, bonding the substrates for reading an X coordinate and for reading a Y coordinate after connection between the insulator layer, the low resistive metal layer, the dot spacers and the FPC.

Claims

1. A method for bonding substrates of a touch panel fabricated by processes of forming insulator layers on first and second substrates, forming potential compensating electrodes out of low resistive metal on transparent conductive films, forming dot spacers out of insulating material within an active area so as to achieve electric insulation between the first and second substrates, connecting a flexible printed cable (FPC) to the first and second substrates so as to apply signals to the touch panel from the outside, and bonding the first substrate for detecting an X coordinate and the second substrate for detecting a Y coordinate together so that the transparent conductive films can face each other, comprising the steps of:

forming said potential compensating electrodes out of said low resistive metal on said transparent conductive films upon completion of a process of depositing an insulator layer onto said first and second substrates, and forming the insulator layer around flexible printed cable (FPC) contacts formed on said potential compensating electrodes of arbitrarily selected one of said first and second substrates so as to arbitrarily change positions of said FPC contacts with respect to said potential compensating electrodes;

forming a new low resistive metal layer, to which said FPC will be attached, on said insulator layer so as to connect said FPC to the potential compensating electrodes of said substrates;

forming dot spacers out of insulating material within said active area to achieve electric insulation between said first and second substrates between which said insulator layer and said low resistive metal layer are formed;

connecting said FPC with a band region formed by said insulator layer and said low resistive metal layer, in order to apply signals to said first and second substrates from outside after said insulator layer, said low resistive metal layer and said dot spacers have been formed between said first and second substrates; and

bonding together said first substrate for reading an X coordinate and said second substrate for reading a Y coordinate so that said transparent conductive films can face each other, after the connection between said insulator layer, said low resistive metal layer, said dot spacers and said FPC, which are sequentially formed through the steps, has been completed.

2. The method for bonding the substrates of the touch panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein said step of forming said insulator layer further comprises a step of:

forming through-holes for creating an electrical signal path between said potential compensating electrodes and said low resistive metal layer contacted substantially with said FPC so said low resistive metal layer to which said FPC is attached can be connected to said potential compensating electrodes through said through-holes formed on said insulator layer.

3. A method for bonding substrates of a touch panel, comprising the steps of:

forming an insulator layer around a flexible printed cable (FPC) contact formed on electrodes of the substrates of the touch panel;

forming a low resistive metal layer, to which the FPC is attached, on the insulator layer;

forming dot spacers out of insulating material within an active area;

connecting the FPC contact with a band region formed by the insulator layer and the low resistive metal layer after the insulator layer, the low resistive metal layer and the dot spacers have been formed; and

bonding together the substrates of the touch panel, for reading an X coordinate and for reading a Y coordinate after connections between the insulator layer, the low resistive metal layer, the dot spacers and the FPC.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of forming the insulating layer includes the step of:

forming through-holes for creating an electrical signal path between the electrodes and the low resistive metal layer.