Touch panel having deformable electroactive polymer actuator

• US 8,970,513 B2
• Filed: 03/17/2011
• Issued: 03/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/11/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kwon, Jong-oh, Choi, Seung-Tae, Lim, Seong-Taek
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Long D
• Application Number:
  US13/050,550
• Publication Number:
  US 20120086651A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,447 Days
• Field of Search: 345/173
• US Class Current: 345/173
• 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 2203/04809 Textured surface identifying touch areas, e.g. overlay structure for a virtual keyboard
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/045 using resistive elements, e.g. a single continuous surface or two parallel surfaces put in contact
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus

Abstract

A touch panel is provided. The touch panel includes an electroactive polymer (EAP) actuator which is deformable when protruded or depressed locally at a part to which a driving voltage is applied; and a flexible touch sensor which is disposed on the EAP actuator. The flexible touch sensor is deformable locally in correspondence with a deformation of the EAP actuator, and senses an input according to a contact or pressing operation.

Claims

1. A touch panel comprising:

an electroactive polymer (EAP) actuator which is deformable when protruded or depressed locally at a part to which a driving voltage is applied;

a flexible touch sensor which is disposed on the EAP actuator, is deformable locally in correspondence with a deformation of the EAP actuator, and senses an input according to a contact or pressing operation; and

a bumpy member disposed on the flexible touch sensor and formed of plastic or metal, the bumpy member being deformable locally in correspondence with a deformation of the flexible touch sensor,

wherein the bumpy member comprises a plurality of unit bumpy members that are separated and arranged in a matrix form,

wherein the EAP actuator comprises a plurality of layers which are stacked together to form a multi-layered EAP actuator, each layer of the plurality of layers comprising;

a polymer thin film formed from an electro-active polymer (EPA); and

a plurality of driving electrodes which are formed on a surface of the polymer thin film, and are configured to apply driving voltages to the polymer thin film, and

wherein the EAP actuator is deformed in the same direction as the plurality of layers are stacked in layers.

2. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the polymer thin film comprises a crosslinked Poly(VinyliDene Fluoride-TriFluoroEthylene-ChloroTriFluoroEthylene) (P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE)) polymer or a crosslinked Poly(VinyliDene Fluoride-TriFluoroEthylene-ChloroFluoroEthylene) (P(VDF-TrFE-CFE)) polymer.

3. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the driving electrodes are comprise polypyrrole, polyaniline, or polythiophen.

4. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the flexible touch sensor comprises:

a piezoelectric layer comprising a piezoelectric polymer; and

a plurality of sensing electrodes which are formed on the piezoelectric layer, and through which current generated when a surface of the piezoelectric layer is deformed flows.

5. The touch panel of claim 4, wherein the piezoelectric layer comprises a Poly(VinyliDene Fluoride-TriFluoroEtylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) polymer.

6. The touch panel of claim 4, wherein the sensing electrodes comprises polypyrrole, polyaniline, or polythiophen.

7. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the plurality of unit bumpy members have upper surfaces with a concavo-convex structure.

8. A touch panel comprising:

a multi-layered electroactive polymer (EAP) actuator body comprising a plurality of polymer thin films that are formed with EAP and have a stacked structure, and a plurality of driving electrodes disposed between each of the polymer thin films;

a flexible touch sensor which is disposed on the multi-layered EAP actuator body, and comprises a piezoelectric layer formed from a piezoelectric polymer, and a plurality of sensing electrodes formed on the piezoelectric layer, wherein current generated when the piezoelectric layer is pressed flows through the sensing electrodes;

a bumpy member disposed on the flexible touch sensor and formed of plastic or metal, the bumpy member being deformable locally in correspondence with a deformation of the flexible touch sensor;

a driving unit which is electrically connected to the driving electrodes and applies a driving voltage to the driving electrodes to form an electric field locally in the polymer thin films; and

a sensing unit which is electrically connected to the sensing electrodes and senses current flowing through the sensing electrodes to detect an input location at which the piezoelectric layer is pressed,

wherein the bumpy member comprises a plurality of unit bumpy members that are separated and arranged in a matrix form,

wherein the multi-layered EAP actuator body comprises a plurality of unit layers having a stacked structure, and each of the unit layers comprises;

a first polymer thin film formed from an EAP;

a first driving electrode including a plurality of first electrode lines which are formed on the first polymer thin film and extend in a first direction;

a second polymer thin film which is formed from an EAP and is formed on the first polymer thin film on which the first driving electrode is formed; and

a second driving electrode comprising a plurality of second electrode lines which are formed on the second polymer thin film and extend in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction,

wherein the driving unit applies different driving voltages to the first driving electrode and the second driving electrode, respectively, so that the first and second driving electrodes have opposite voltages, and

wherein the EAP actuator is deformed in the same direction as the plurality of layers are stacked in layers.

9. The touch panel of claim 8, wherein the plurality of driving electrodes are arranged in a matrix form on each of the polymer thin films, and the driving unit applies the driving voltage to a part of the driving electrodes arranged in the matrix form.

10. The touch panel of claim 8, wherein the driving unit applies the driving voltage to all of the plurality of first electrode lines or to a part of the first electrode lines selected from among the plurality of first electrode lines, and to all of the plurality of second electrode lines or to a part of the second electrode lines selected from among the plurality of second electrode lines.

11. The touch panel of claim 10, wherein the driving unit sequentially applies the driving voltage to all or the selected part of the first electrode lines, and to all or the selected part of the second electrode lines, for a predetermined time period.

12. The touch panel of claim 11, wherein the predetermined time period is within a range of about 1/100 to about 1 second.

13. The touch panel of claim 8, wherein the plurality of unit bumpy members have upper surfaces with a concavo-convex structure.

14. The touch panel of claim 8, wherein the plurality of driving electrodes are arranged in a predetermined pattern on each of the polymer thin films.

15. The touch panel of claim 14, wherein when the driving unit applies the driving voltage to the driving electrodes, the flexible touch sensor functions as an input button at an area corresponding to the predetermined pattern.