Flexible touch screen panel

• US 9,996,205 B2
• Filed: 11/18/2016
• Issued: 06/12/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/24/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Kang, Sung-Ku, Jung, Tae-Hyeog, Kim, Hak-Sun, Hirai, Akira
• Primary Examiner(s): Mengistu, Amare
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nadkarni, Sarvesh J
• Application Number:
  US15/356,431
• Publication Number:
  US 20170068357A1
• Time in Patent Office: 571 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B05D 5/06 to obtain multicolour or other optical effects B05D5/02 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B05D 7/54 No clear coat specified
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 1/08 made of polarising materials
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 1/10 Optical coatings produced by application to, or surface treatment of, optical elements G02B1/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/3033 in the form of a thin sheet or foil, e.g. Polaroid
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/3083 Birefringent or phase retarding elements G02B5/3008, G02B5/3016 take precedence; systems for polarisation control G02B27/286; manufacturing phase modulating patterns by lithographic processes G03F7/001
• 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 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0443 using a single layer of sensing electrodes
• 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

Abstract

In a flexible touch screen panel, sensing patterns as a touch sensor are formed on the first surface of a flexible thin film substrate and a coated polarizer layer is formed on the second surface of the thin film substrate to secure the flexible characteristic, to reduce the thickness of the touch screen panel, and to improve the visibility of an image. Particularly, the flexible touch screen panel includes a flexible substrate comprising an active region and a non-active region positioned outside the active region, sensing patterns formed over the active region of a first surface of the substrate, conductive lines formed over the non-active region of the first surface of the substrate and connected to the sensing patterns, and a coated polarizer layer formed over a second surface of the substrate.

Claims

1. A flexible touch screen panel, comprising:

a flexible substrate comprising first and second surfaces facing away from each other;

an array of sensing electrodes and conductive lines provided over the first surface of the flexible substrate;

a thin crystal film polarizer coated on the second surface of the flexible substrate without an intervening layer between the thin crystal film polarizer and the second surface of the flexible substrate;

a black matrix disposed between the first surface of the flexible substrate and the conductive lines;

a transparent adhesive layer covering the array of sensing electrodes and the conductive lines on the first surface of the flexible substrate, and

a functional coating layer disposed on the thin crystal film polarizer,

wherein the functional coating layer comprises at least one of;

a hard coating layer, a reflection preventing layer and a contamination preventing layer.

2. The flexible touch screen panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flexible substrate comprises a phase shift film.

3. The flexible touch screen panel as claimed in claim 2, wherein the flexible substrate is configured to function as a quarter wave plate (QWP).

4. The flexible touch screen panel as claimed in claim 3, wherein the flexible substrate comprises at least one of a polycarbonate (PC) film, an oriented polypropylene (OPP) film, of a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) film.

5. The flexible touch screen panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flexible substrate comprises a plurality of phase shift films to form a lamination structure.

6. The flexible touch screen panel as claimed in claim 5, wherein retardation values of at least two of the plurality of phase shift films differ from each other.

7. The flexible touch screen panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flexible substrate comprises a cast polycarbonate (PC) film or a cyclic polyolefin (COP) film.

8. The flexible touch screen panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the array of sensing electrodes comprise:

first sensing cells arranged in a first direction;

first coupling lines, each of which electrically connects neighboring two cells among the plurality of first sensing cells;

second sensing cells arranged in a second direction; and

second coupling lines, each of which electrically connects neighboring two cells among the plurality of second sensing cells.

9. The flexible touch screen panel as claimed in claim 8, wherein an insulating layer is interposed between and at an intersection of one of the first coupling lines and one of the second coupling lines.

10. The flexible touch screen panel as claimed in claim 8, wherein the first and second sensing cells are disposed on the same side of the flexible substrate.

11. The flexible touch screen panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the thin crystal film polarizer has a thickness less than or equal to 5 μ

m.

12. The flexible touch screen panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the thin crystal film polarizer is interposed between the flexible substrate and the functional coating layer.

13. The flexible touch screen panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flexible substrate comprises an active region including the array of sensing electrodes and a non-active region, wherein the black matrix is formed between the first surface of the flexible substrate and the conductive lines in the non-active region positioned outside of the active region.

14. A flexible touch screen panel, comprising:

a flexible substrate comprising first and second surfaces facing away from each other;

an array of sensing electrodes and conductive lines provided over the first surface of the flexible substrate;

a thin crystal film polarizer coated on the second surface of the flexible substrate without an intervening layer between the thin crystal film polarizer and the second surface of the flexible substrate;

a black matrix disposed between the first surface of the flexible substrate and the conductive lines;

a transparent adhesive layer covering the array of sensing electrodes and the conductive lines on the first surface of the flexible substrate, and

a functional coating layer disposed on the thin crystal film polarizer,

wherein the thin crystal film polarizer is interposed between the flexible substrate and the functional coating layer,

wherein the functional coating layer comprises at least one of;

a hard coating layer, a reflection preventing layer and a contamination preventing layer.

15. The flexible touch screen panel as claimed in claim 14, wherein the array of sensing electrodes comprise:

first sensing cells arranged in a first direction;

first coupling lines, each of which electrically connects neighboring two cells among the plurality of first sensing cells;

second sensing cells arranged in a second direction; and

second coupling lines, each of which electrically connects neighboring two cells among the plurality of second sensing cells.

16. The flexible touch screen panel as claimed in claim 15, wherein an insulating layer is interposed between and at an intersection of one of the first coupling lines and one of the second coupling lines.

17. The flexible touch screen panel as claimed in claim 15, wherein the first and second sensing cells are disposed on the same side of the flexible substrate.