Touch panel and electronic device including the same
First Claim
1. A touch panel comprising:
- a first substrate;
a second substrate that is spaced apart from the first substrate by a gap, the second substrate comprising a touch surface;
an array of driving electrode pairs that is arranged on the first substrate and the second substrate, and induces an electrical field locally between the first substrate and the second substrate when a driving voltage is applied thereto;
electro-rheological fluid that is filled in the gap between the first substrate and the second substrate, a viscosity of the electro-rheological fluid changing depending on the electrical field induced by the driving electrode pairs;
a plurality of spacers made of elastic material and disposed in the gap between the first substrate and the second substrate and configured to provide the second substrate with a restoring force and structural support; and
a controller configured to adjust a return force by adjusting or removing the driving voltage applied to the driving electrode pairs when a displacement of the second substrate reaches a threshold level due to a pressing e applied to the touch surface of the second substrate.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A touch panel and an electronic device having the same are provided. The touch panel includes a first substrate; a second substrate that is spaced apart from the first substrate by a gap, the second substrate including a touch surface; an array of driving electrode pairs that is arranged on the first substrate and the second substrate, and induces an electrical field locally between the first substrate and the second substrate when a driving voltage is applied thereto; and electro-rheological fluid that is filled in the gap between the first substrate and the second substrate, a viscosity of the electro-rheological fluid changing depending on the electrical field induced by the driving electrode pairs. An operating force or a return force is adjusted by controlling an application or release of the driving voltage.
104 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A touch panel comprising:
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a first substrate; a second substrate that is spaced apart from the first substrate by a gap, the second substrate comprising a touch surface; an array of driving electrode pairs that is arranged on the first substrate and the second substrate, and induces an electrical field locally between the first substrate and the second substrate when a driving voltage is applied thereto; electro-rheological fluid that is filled in the gap between the first substrate and the second substrate, a viscosity of the electro-rheological fluid changing depending on the electrical field induced by the driving electrode pairs; a plurality of spacers made of elastic material and disposed in the gap between the first substrate and the second substrate and configured to provide the second substrate with a restoring force and structural support; and a controller configured to adjust a return force by adjusting or removing the driving voltage applied to the driving electrode pairs when a displacement of the second substrate reaches a threshold level due to a pressing e applied to the touch surface of the second substrate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 17, 20)
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7. A touch panel comprising:
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a touch panel body comprising a first substrate and a second substrate, electro-rheological fluid that fills in a gap between the first substrate and the second substrate, and an array of driving electrode pairs that is arranged on the first substrate and the second substrate to induce an electrical field locally in the gap between the first substrate and the second substrate when a driving voltage is applied; a controller configured to adjust at least one of a number of driving electrode pairs to which the driving voltage is applied among the array of the driving electrode pairs, and a location of driving electrode pairs to which the driving voltage is applied among the array of the driving electrode pairs, in order to vary an operating force of the touch panel body; a plurality of spacers made of elastic material and disposed in the gap between the first substrate and the second substrate and configured to provide the second substrate with a restoring force and structural support, wherein the controller s further configured to adjust a return force by adjusting or removing the driving voltage applied to the driving electrode pairs when a displacement of the second substrate reaches a threshold level due to a pressing force applied to a surface of the second substrate. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 18)
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13. A touch panel comprising:
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a touch panel body comprising a first substrate and a second substrate, electro-rheological fluid that fills a gap between the first substrate and the second substrate, and an array of driving electrode pairs that is arranged on the first substrate and the second substrate to induce an electrical field locally in the gap between the first substrate and the second substrate when a driving voltage is applied; a sensing unit configured to determine whether an input to a touch surface of the first substrate occurs by measuring a change in a gap thickness between the first substrate and the second substrate; a plurality of spacers made of elastic material and disposed in the gap between the first substrate and the second substrate and configured to provide the second substrate with a restoring force and structural support; and a controller configured to adjust a return force by adjusting or removing the driving voltage applied to the driving electrode pairs when a displacement of the second substrate reaches a threshold level due to a pressing force applied to the touch surface of the second substrate, wherein the change in the gap thickness that is used to determine when an input has occurred, is adjustable. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 19)
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21. A touch panel comprising:
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a first substrate; a second substrate that is spaced apart from the first substrate by a gap, the second substrate comprising a touch surface; an array of driving electrode pairs that is arranged on the first substrate and the second substrate, and induces an electrical field locally between the first substrate and the second substrate when a driving voltage is applied thereto; electro-rheological fluid that is filled in the gap between the first substrate and the second substrate, a viscosity of the electro-rheological fluid changing depending on the electrical field induced by the driving electrode pairs; and a controller configured to define an input button area on the touch surface by adjusting at least one of a number of driving electrode pairs to which the driving voltage is applied among the array of the driving electrode pairs, and a location of driving electrode pairs to which the driving voltage is applied among the array of the driving electrode pairs, and to adjust or remove the applied driving voltage when a displacement of the second substrate of the touch panel reaches a predetermined threshold level due to a pressing force applied to the touch surface of the second substrate based on at least one of a type of an application and a state of the application.
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22. A touch panel comprising:
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a first substrate; a second substrate that is spaced apart from the first substrate by a gap, the second substrate comprising a touch surface; an array of driving electrode pairs that is arranged on the first substrate and the second substrate, and induces an electrical field locally between the first substrate and the second substrate when a driving voltage is applied thereto; electro-rheological fluid that is filled in the gap between the first substrate and the second substrate, a viscosity of the electro-rheological fluid changing depending on the electrical field induced by the driving electrode pairs; and a controller configured to adjust an operating force by adjusting a size of a touch panel area for a specific input button to which the driving voltage is applied or by varying an amount of displacement of the second substrate at which the applied driving voltage is removed, and to adjust the return force by adjusting a size of the touch panel area from which the applied driving voltage is removed while the applied driving voltage is maintained in the touch panel area for the specific input button.
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Specification