Touch panel and display device using the same

• US 8,325,585 B2
• Filed: 09/29/2008
• Issued: 12/04/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd., Tsinghua University
• Original Assignee: Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd., Tsinghua University
• Inventors: Jiang, Kai-Li, Liu, Liang, Fan, Shou-Shan
• Primary Examiner(s): HINDI, NABIL Z
• Application Number:
  US12/286,220
• Publication Number:
  US 20090153514A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,527 Days
• Field of Search: 345/173, 345/174, 438/800, 438/1.3, 438/1.4, 313/495, 313/497, 313/310, 313/311, 313/309, 359/489.2, 174/94.R, 381/164, 381/426, 349/123, 349/161, 349/149, 349/158
• US Class Current: 369/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0444 using a single conductive element covering the whole sensing surface, e.g. by sensing the electrical current flowing at the corners

Abstract

A touch panel includes a transparent substrate, a transparent conductive layer, and at least two electrodes. The transparent conductive layer is formed on a surface of the transparent substrate. The transparent conductive layer includes at least two carbon nanotube layers, and each carbon nanotube layer includes a plurality of carbon nanotubes arranged along a same direction. The carbon nanotubes in two adjacent carbon nanotube layers are arranged along the same direction. The electrodes are electrically connected with the transparent conductive layer. Further, a display device using the touch panel is also included.

Claims

1. A touch panel comprising:

a transparent substrate comprising a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface;

a transparent conductive layer located on the first surface of the transparent substrate, the transparent conductive layer comprising at least two stacked carbon nanotube layers, each of the at least two stacked carbon nanotube layers comprising a plurality of carbon nanotubes substantially aligned along a single direction, and the plurality of carbon nanotubes in the at least two stacked carbon nanotube layers are substantially aligned along the same direction; and

four electrodes being electrically connected with the transparent conductive layer and located on a surface of the transparent conductive layer.

2. The touch panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the at least two stacked carbon nanotube layers comprises one carbon nanotube film or a plurality of coplanar carbon nanotube films.

3. The touch panel as claimed in claim 2, wherein the carbon nanotube film comprises a plurality of successively oriented carbon nanotube segments joined end to end by the van der Waals attractive force therebetween.

4. The touch panel as claimed in claim 3, wherein the plurality of carbon nanotubes in each of the plurality of successively oriented carbon nanotube segments are combined by van der Waals attractive force therebetween.

5. The touch panel as claimed in claim 2, wherein a thickness of the carbon nanotube film is in an approximate range from 0.5 nanometers to 100 micrometers.

6. The touch panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of carbon nanotubes in the at least two stacked carbon nanotube layers are selected from the group consisting of single-walled carbon nanotubes, double-walled carbon nanotubes, and multi-walled carbon nanotubes.

7. The touch panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the four electrodes are adhered to the surface of the transparent conductive layer by a silver-based slurry, the four electrodes being metal electrodes.

8. The touch panel as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a transparent protective layer disposed on a surface of the transparent conductive layer, a material of the transparent protective layer is selected from the group consisting of silicon nitride, silicon dioxide, benzocyclobutenes, polyester film, and polyethylene terephthalate.

9. The touch panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein a material of the substrate is selected from the group consisting of glass, quartz, diamond, and plastic.

10. The touch panel as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a shielding layer disposed on the second surface of the substrate.

11. The touch panel as claimed in claim 10, wherein a material of the shielding layer is selected from the group consisting of indium tin oxide, antimony tin oxide, and a carbon nanotube film.

12. A display device comprising:

a touch panel comprising;

a transparent substrate;

a transparent conductive layer located on the transparent substrate, the transparent conductive layer comprising at least two stacked carbon nanotube layers; and

at least two electrodes being electrically connected with the transparent conductive layer; and

a display element positioned opposite and adjacent to the touch panel,

wherein each of the at least two stacked carbon nanotube layers comprises a plurality of successively oriented carbon nanotube segments joined end to end by the van der Waals attractive force therebetween, each of the plurality of successively oriented carbon nanotube segments comprises a plurality of carbon nanotubes substantially aligned along a same direction, and the plurality of carbon nanotubes are in contact with each other and combined by van der Waals attractive force therebetween, the plurality of carbon nanotubes in each of the plurality of successively oriented carbon nanotube segments in the at least two stacked carbon nanotube layers being substantially aligned along the same direction.

13. The display device as claimed in claim 12, further comprising a touch panel controller, a central processing unit, and a display element controller electrically connected to each other, the touch panel controller being connected to the touch panel, and the display element controller being connected to the display element.

14. The display device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the touch panel is spaced from the display element with a distance.

15. The display device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the touch panel is located on the display element.

16. The display device as claimed in claim 12, further comprising a passivation layer disposed on the touch panel and the passivation layer being comprised of one of silicon nitrides and silicon dioxides.

17. A touch panel comprising:

a transparent substrate comprising a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface;

a transparent conductive layer to detect coordinates of a touch point by detecting coupling capacitances located on the first surface of the transparent substrate, the transparent conductive layer comprising at least two stacked carbon nanotube layers, each of the at least two stacked carbon nanotube layers comprising a plurality of carbon nanotubes substantially aligned along a single direction, and the plurality of carbon nanotubes in the at least two stacked carbon nanotube layers are substantially aligned along the same direction; and

at least two electrodes electrically connected with the transparent conductive layer.

18. The touch panel as claimed in claim 17, further comprising a shielding layer disposed on the second surface of the substrate, the shielding layer consisting of a carbon nanotube film consisting of a plurality of carbon nanotubes aligned along a same direction.

19. The touch panel as claimed in claim 18, wherein the at least two electrodes comprises four electrodes directly and electrically connected with the transparent conductive layer and located on a surface of the transparent conductive layer.