Touch panel

• US 20090101488A1
• Filed: 09/29/2008
• Published: 04/23/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/23/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd., Tsinghua University
• Original Assignee: Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd., Tsinghua University
• Inventors: Fan, Shou-Shan, Jiang, Kai-Li
• Granted Patent: US 8,502,786 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 200/512
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0443 using a single layer of sensing electrodes

Abstract

A touch panel includes a substrate, a transparent conductive layer and at least two separate electrodes. The substrate has a first substrate surface and a second substrate surface opposite to the first substrate surface. The transparent conductive layer includes a carbon nanotube structure formed on the first substrate surface. The at least two separate electrodes are located on a surface of the transparent conductive layer and electrically connected thereto.

Claims

1. A touch panel, comprising:

a substrate having a first substrate surface and a second substrate surface opposite to the first substrate surface;

a transparent conductive layer comprising a carbon nanotube structure formed on the first substrate surface; and

at least two separate electrodes located on the surface of the transparent conductive layer and electrically connected to the transparent conductive layer.

2. The touch panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein carbon nanotubes in the carbon nanotube structure are aligned with each other.

3. The touch panel as claimed in claim 2, wherein the carbon nanotube structure comprises at least two layers of carbon nanotube films.

4. The touch panel as claimed in claim 3, wherein each layer of carbon nanotube film comprise a plurality of coplanar carbon nanotube films.

5. The touch panel as claimed in claim 3, wherein alignment of the carbon nanotubes between adjacent layers of carbon nanotube films is parallel or perpendicular.

6. The touch panel as claimed in claim 3, wherein each carbon nanotube film comprises a plurality of carbon nanotube segments arranged in a preferred orientation.

7. The touch panel as claimed in claim 6, wherein a plurality of the carbon nanotube segments combine end to end by van de Waals attractive force to form a successive carbon nanotube segments.

8. The touch panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein a thickness of the carbon nanotube structure approximately ranges from 0.01 microns to 100 microns.

9. The touch panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least two metal electrodes are formed of copper plating films, silver plating films, or foils.

10. The touch panel as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a hardening layer located on a surface of the carbon nanotube structure.

11. The touch panel as claimed in claim 10, wherein the hardening layer is a polyester film or a silicon dioxide layer.

12. The touch panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein a surface of the touch panel is planar or curved.

13. The touch panel as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a carbon nanotube film located on the second substrate surface.

14. The touch panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein a conductive adhesive is used to adhere the metal electrodes to the carbon nanotube structure, and the metal electrodes are electrically connected to the carbon nanotube structure.

15. The touch panel as claimed in claim 14, wherein the conductive adhesive is silver glue.

16. The touch panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the material of the substrate is glass.