Capacitive type touch panel

• US 7,864,503 B2
• Filed: 04/23/2008
• Issued: 01/04/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/11/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tazik Solutions Limited
• Original Assignee: Sense Pad Tech Co.
• Inventors: Chang, Yu-Huei
• Primary Examiner(s): Ha, Nguyen T
• Application Number:
  US12/148,998
• Publication Number:
  US 20080277259A1
• Time in Patent Office: 986 Days
• Field of Search: 361/288, 361290-292, 361/283.1, 361/283.2, 361/283.4, 200/269, 200/310, 200/600, 345173-175, 345/177
• US Class Current: 361/288
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04111 Cross over in capacitive digitiser, i.e. details of structures for connecting electrodes of the sensing pattern where the connections cross each other, e.g. bridge structures comprising an insulating layer, or vias through substrate
• 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: H03K 17/9622 using a plurality of detectors, e.g. keyboard
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2017/9602 characterised by the type or shape of the sensing electrodes

Abstract

A capacitive type touch panel includes: a transparent substrate; an array of first conductors formed on a surface of the transparent substrate; an array of second conductors formed on the surface of the transparent substrate; a plurality of conductive first bridging lines, each of which interconnects two adjacent ones of the first conductors; a plurality of conductive second bridging lines, each of which interconnects two adjacent ones of the second conductors and each of which intersects insulatively a respective one of the first bridging lines; and a plurality of spaced apart insulators, each of which is disposed at an intersection of a respective one of the first bridging lines and a respective one of the second bridging lines to separate the respective first and second bridging lines.

Claims

1. A capacitive type touch panel comprising:

a transparent substrate having opposite top and bottom surfaces;

an array of first conductors formed on said top surface of said transparent substrate;

an array of second conductors formed on said top surface of said transparent substrate and disposed alternately with said first conductors;

a plurality of spaced apart conductive first bridging lines, each of which interconnects two adjacent ones of said first conductors;

a plurality of spaced apart conductive second bridging lines, each of which interconnects two adjacent ones of said second conductors and each of which intersects insulatively a respective one of said first bridging lines; and

a plurality of spaced apart insulators, each of which is disposed at an intersection of a respective one of said first bridging lines and a respective one of said second bridging lines so as to separate the respective one of said first bridging lines from the respective one of said second bridging lines.

2. The capacitive type touch panel of claim 1, wherein each of said insulators is sandwiched between the respective one of said first bridging lines and the respective one of said second bridging lines.

3. The capacitive type touch panel of claim 1, wherein each of said first and second conductors is made from a thin film of a conductive transparent material.

4. The capacitive type touch panel of claim 3, wherein said conductive transparent material is selected from the group consisting of indium-tin-oxide, indium-zinc-oxide, zinc oxide, aluminum zinc oxide, and combinations thereof.

5. The capacitive type touch panel of claim 3, wherein said thin film of each of said first and second conductors is formed with a plurality of holes.

6. The capacitive type touch panel of claim 5, wherein each of said holes is a through-hole.

7. The capacitive type touch panel of claim 5, wherein said holes in said thin film of each of said first and second conductors occupy a total hole area within an area enclosed by a periphery of said thin film of the respective one of said first and second conductors, said thin film of each of said first and second conductors having a solid area not equal to said total hole area of said holes therein.

8. The capacitive type touch panel of claim 7, wherein said solid area of said thin film of each of said first conductors differs from that of said thin film of each of said second conductors.

9. The capacitive type touch panel of claim 1, wherein said transparent substrate is made from a material selected from the group consisting of glass, polymethylmethacrylate, polyvinylchloride, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate, and polycarbonate.

10. The capacitive type touch panel of claim 1, wherein each of said insulators is made from a material selected from the group consisting of photoresist, silicon dioxide, titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, silicon nitride, aluminum nitride, and tantalum oxide.

11. The capacitive type touch panel of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of conductive first connecting lines formed on said top surface of said transparent substrate, and a plurality of conductive second connecting lines formed on said top surface of said transparent substrate, said first conductors being arranged into parallel columns, said first conductors of each of said columns being interconnected by respective ones of said first bridging lines, said second conductors being arranged into parallel rows, said second conductors of each of said rows being interconnected by respective ones of said second bridging lines, each of said first connecting lines being connected to an endmost one of said first conductors of a respective one of said columns of said first conductors, each of said second connecting lines being connected to an endmost one of said second conductors of a respective one of said rows of said second conductors.

12. The capacitive type touch panel of claim 11, further comprising a plurality of first bonding wires and a plurality of second bonding wires, said transparent substrate further having a side edge, each of said first bonding wires being connected to a respective one of said first connecting lines and extending outwardly therefrom through said side edge of said transparent substrate, each of said second bonding wires being connected to a respective one of said second connecting lines and extending outwardly therefrom through said side edge of said transparent substrate.