Touch panel, liquid crystal display screen using the same, and methods for making the touch panel and the liquid crystal display screen

• US 20100007625A1
• Filed: 09/03/2009
• Published: 01/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd., Tsinghua University
• Original Assignee: Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd., Tsinghua University
• Inventors: Chen, Ga-Lane, Fan, Shou-Shan, Jiang, Kai-Li, Liu, Liang, Cheng, Jia-Shyong, Wu, Jeah-Sheng
• Granted Patent: US 8,411,052 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04104 Multi-touch detection in digitiser, i.e. details about the simultaneous detection of a plurality of touching locations, e.g. multiple fingers or pen and finger
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/045 using resistive elements, e.g. a single continuous surface or two parallel surfaces put in contact

Abstract

A touch panel includes a first electrode plate and a second electrode plate spaced from the first electrode plate. The first electrode plate includes a first substrate, a plurality of first transparent electrodes, and a plurality of first signal wires. The second electrode plate includes a second substrate, a plurality of second transparent electrodes, and a plurality of second signal wires. Both the second transparent electrode and the first transparent electrode include a transparent carbon nanotube structure, the carbon nanotube structure includes of a plurality of metallic carbon nanotubes.

Claims

1. A touch panel comprising:

a first electrode plate comprising;

a first substrate,

a plurality of first transparent electrodes, the plurality of first transparent electrodes are located on the first substrate and aligned along a first direction, and

a plurality of first signal wires, each of the first transparent electrodes is connected to one of the first signal wires;

a second electrode plate, spaced from the first electrode plate, comprising;

a second substrate,

a plurality of second transparent electrodes, the plurality of second transparent electrodes are located on the second substrate and aligned along a second direction, both the second transparent electrodes and the first transparent electrodes comprise of a transparent carbon nanotube structure, the carbon nanotube structure comprises of a plurality of metallic carbon nanotubes, and

a plurality of second signal wires, and each of the second transparent electrodes is connected to one of the second signal wires.

2. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the carbon nanotube structure comprises one or more carbon nanotube films.

3. The touch panel of claim 2, wherein the carbon nanotube film is a disordered carbon nanotube film.

4. The touch panel of claim 2, wherein the carbon nanotube film is an ordered carbon nanotube film.

5. The touch panel of claim 4, wherein the carbon nanotube film includes a plurality of successive and commonly oriented carbon nanotubes joined end to end by van der Waals attractive force.

6. The touch panel of claim 4, wherein there are two or more stacked carbon nanotube films and an angle defined by the orientation of the carbon nanotubes in two adjacent stacked carbon nanotube films is in the range from about 0°

to about 90°

.

7. The touch panel of claim 4, 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, and each carbon nanotube segment comprises of the plurality of metallic carbon nanotubes that are combined by van der Waals attractive force therebetween.

8. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the carbon nanotube structure is a composite structure comprising at least one carbon nanotube film and a polymer material infiltrated in the carbon nanotube film.

9. The touch panel of claim 8, wherein the polymer comprises of a material that is selected from the group consisting of polycarbonate (PC), polymethyl methacrylate acrylic (PMMA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), benzocyclobutenes (BCB), polystyrene, polyethylene, polycarbonate, and polycycloolefins.

10. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the plurality of first transparent electrodes are parallel to each other and uniformly spaced, the plurality of second transparent electrodes are parallel to each other and uniformly spaced, and each of the first transparent electrodes and second transparent electrodes has a strip-shaped structure.

11. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein a width of the carbon nanotube structure is in the range from about 20 microns to about 250 microns.

12. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein a distance between adjacent first transparent electrodes is in the range from about 20 microns to about 50 microns, a distance between adjacent second transparent electrodes is in the range from about 20 microns to about 50 microns.

13. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the carbon nanotubes in the first transparent electrodes are arranged along the first direction, and the carbon nanotubes in the second transparent electrodes are arranged along the second direction.

14. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction.

15. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of the first transparent electrodes comprises a first end and a second end;

the first end of each of the plurality of the first transparent electrodes is connected to an X-coordinate drive power source, and the second end of each of the plurality of the first transparent electrodes is connected to a sensor;

each of the plurality of the second transparent electrodes comprises a first end and a second end;

the first end of each of the plurality of the second transparent electrodes is connected to a Y-coordinate drive power source, and the second end of each of the plurality of the second transparent electrodes is grounded.

16. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the first signal wires and the second signal wires comprise of a material selected from the group consisting of indium tin oxide, antimony tin oxide, conductive resin, carbon nanotubes, and combinations thereof.

17. The touch panel of claim 1, further comprising an insulative layer located between the first and second electrode plates, and the insulative layer insulates the first electrode plate from the second electrode plate.

18. The touch panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein one or more of dot spacers are separately located between the first and second electrode plates.

19. A display apparatus comprising:

a touch panel comprising;

a first electrode plate comprising;

a first substrate,

a plurality of first transparent electrodes, the plurality of first transparent electrodes are located on the first substrate and aligned along a first direction, and

a plurality of first signal wires, each of the first transparent electrodes is connected to one of the first signal wires;

a second electrode plate, spaced from the first electrode plate, comprising;

a second substrate,

a plurality of second transparent electrodes, the plurality of second transparent electrodes located on the second substrate and aligned along a second direction, the second transparent electrodes and the first transparent electrodes comprise a transparent carbon nanotube structure, the carbon nanotube structure comprises of a plurality of metallic carbon nanotubes, and

a plurality of second signal wires, and each of the second transparent

electrodes is connected to one of the second signal wires.

a display device adjacent to the touch panel.

20. The display apparatus as claimed in claim 19, wherein the touch panel is spaced from the display device.

21. The display apparatus as claimed in claim 19, wherein the touch panel is located on the display device.

22. The display apparatus as claimed in claim 19, further comprising a shielding layer located on a lower surface of the second substrate.

23. The display apparatus as claimed in claim 19, further comprising a passivation layer located on a surface of the touch panel.

24. The display apparatus as claimed in claim 19, wherein the display device is selected from a group consisting of monochrome display, color graphics adapter display, enhanced graphics adapter display, variable-graphics-array display, super VGA display, liquid crystal display, cathode ray tube, and plasma display.