TOUCH-SENSITIVE DEVICE AND COVER LENS ASSEMBLY
A touch-sensitive device includes a transparent substrate, a touch-sensing structure, a decorative layer, a trace layer, a passivation layer and a sheltering layer. The touch-sensing structure is disposed on the transparent substrate and located in a touch-sensitive region. The decorative layer is disposed on the transparent substrate and located in a non-touch-sensitive region, and the trace layer is disposed on the decorative layer. The passivation layer is disposed on the transparent substrate and at least covers the touch-sensing structure and the trace layer. The sheltering layer is disposed at least on the passivation layer and located in the non-touch-sensitive region.
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This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 13/750,369, filed on Jan. 25, 2013, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 13/152,805, filed on Jun. 3, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,643,614.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONa. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to touch-sensitive device and a touch-sensitive display device having high reliability and low light leakage.
b. Description of the Related Art
Referring to
According to the above design, in case the periphery of a cover glass wiring structure (such as a traces-on-lens wiring structure shown in
The invention provides a touch-sensitive device and a touch-sensitive display device having high reliability and low light leakage.
In order to achieve one or a portion of or all of the objects or other objects, one embodiment of the invention provides a touch-sensitive device having a touch-sensitive region and a non-touch-sensitive region and including a transparent substrate, a touch-sensing structure, a decorative layer, a trace layer, a passivation layer and a sheltering layer. The touch-sensing structure is disposed on the transparent substrate and located in the touch-sensitive region. The decorative layer is disposed on the transparent substrate and located in the non-touch-sensitive region, and the trace layer is disposed on the decorative layer. The passivation layer is disposed on the transparent substrate and at least covers the touch-sensing structure and the trace layer. The sheltering layer is disposed at least on the passivation layer and located in the non-touch-sensitive region.
In one embodiment, the non-touch-sensitive region is formed on the periphery of the touch-sensitive device, and the sheltering layer is disposed on the periphery of the non-touch-sensitive region.
In one embodiment, a gap region is formed between an outer edge of the decorative layer and a side edge of the transparent substrate, and the sheltering layer overlaps the gap region. In one embodiment, the touch-sensing structure comprises a plurality of first sensing series and a plurality of second sensing series spaced apart from the first sensing series.
In one embodiment, the sheltering layer includes at least one of photo resist, diamond-like carbon, ceramic, colored ink and resin.
In one embodiment, the sheltering layer includes a translucent material, an opaque material, a material having low light transmittance, or a material capable of transmitting infrared light.
In one embodiment, the sheltering layer surrounds the decorative layer.
In one embodiment, each of the passivation layer and the sheltering layer has an opening on the trace layer to expose a part of the trace layer.
In one embodiment, the touch-sensitive device further includes a transparent conductive layer disposed on the decorative layer and electrically connected to the trace layer and an external circuit.
In one embodiment, the touch-sensitive device further includes an insulation layer disposed on the passivation layer and distributed only in the non-touch-sensitive region, and the thickness of the insulation layer is 3-100 times greater than the passivation layer.
In one embodiment, the touch-sensing structure is an underground electrode structure or a bridge electrode structure.
Another embodiment of the invention provides a touch-sensitive display device, where a display device is attached to the aforesaid touch-sensitive device through an optical adhesive.
According to the above embodiments, since the sheltering layer overlaps the gap region between an outer edge of the decorative layer and a side edge of the transparent substrate, the problem of periphery light leakage is avoided. Besides, the sheltering layer is disposed on the periphery of the touch-sensitive device to surround the decorative layer on the trace layer to provide periphery protection of the wiring structure on the cover glass and to avoid side scrapes on the decorative layer to improve production reliability.
Other objectives, features and advantages of the invention will be further understood from the further technological features disclosed by the embodiments of the invention wherein there are shown and described preferred embodiments of this invention, simply by way of illustration of modes best suited to carry out the invention.
In the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. In this regard, directional terminology, such as “top,” “bottom,” “front,” “back,” etc., is used with reference to the orientation of the Figure(s) being described. The components of the invention can be positioned in a number of different orientations. As such, the directional terminology is used for purposes of illustration and is in no way limiting. On the other hand, the drawings are only schematic and the sizes of components may be exaggerated for clarity. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless limited otherwise, the terms “connected,” “coupled,” and “mounted” and variations thereof herein are used broadly and encompass direct and indirect connections, couplings, and mountings. Similarly, the terms “facing,” “faces” and variations thereof herein are used broadly and encompass direct and indirect facing, and “adjacent to” and variations thereof herein are used broadly and encompass directly and indirectly “adjacent to”. Therefore, the description of “A” component facing “B” component herein may contain the situations that “A” component directly faces “B” component or one or more additional components are between “A” component and “B” component. Also, the description of “A” component “adjacent to” “B” component herein may contain the situations that “A” component is directly “adjacent to” “B” component or one or more additional components are between “A” component and “B” component. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions will be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.
In this embodiment, a passivation layer 32 covers both a touch-sensing structure in the touch-sensitive region T and a laminated structure in the non-touch-sensitive region N to protect the entire touch-sensitive device 10a. The passivation layer 32 may be made from an inorganic material such as silicide. Another insulation layer 44 is formed on the passivation layer 32 and distributed only in the non-touch-sensitive region N, and the thickness of the insulation layer 44 is 3-100 times greater than the thickness of the passivation layer 32. The insulation layer 44 may be made from an inorganic material or an organic material. A transparent conductive layer 46 is formed on the decorative layer 16 and electrically connected to the metal traces in the trace layer 18. The transparent conductive layer 46 may be made from an ITO transparent conductive film. The passivation layer 32 and the insulation layer 44 both have an opening 43 formed at a position overlapping a bonding area of the transparent conductive layer 46 to expose a part of the transparent conductive layer 46. The exposed part of the transparent conductive layer 46 is electrically connected to an external circuit through an anisotropic conductive film (ACF) 36, and the external circuit may be a transmission device (such as a flexible printed circuit board 34) or an electronic device (such as an IC chip). A sheltering layer 38 may be disposed on the periphery of the non-touch-sensitive region N. The sheltering layer 38 at least overlaps the gap region S and touches the passivation layer 32 and the insulation layer 44. Also, an opening 45 is formed on the sheltering layer 38 at a position overlapping the bonding area of the transparent conductive layer 46. In this embodiment, the sheltering layer 38 may be made from ink. Typically, a cover glass is designed to have various shapes formed by special-shaped edging processing. However, the special-shaped edging processing required destruction operations that may shake and damage the decorative layer 16. Therefore, the decorative layer 16 is often kept a safe distance away from the side edge Q of the transparent 12. However, when the decorative layer 16 is disposed to be kept a safe distance away from the side edge Q, the gap region S is formed to result in periphery light leakage. As shown in
Note the configuration of a touch-sensing structure in the touch-sensitive region is not restricted, as long as the effect of detecting touch operations is achieved. For example, the touch-sensing structure may be an underground electrode structure, a bridge electrode structure or other electrode structure. Further, the touch-sensitive device according to the above embodiments may combine with a display device to form a touch-sensitive display device. For example, as shown in
The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form or to exemplary embodiments disclosed. Accordingly, the foregoing description should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Obviously, many modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in this art. The embodiments are chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its best mode practical application, thereby to enable persons skilled in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use or implementation contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents in which all terms are meant in their broadest reasonable sense unless otherwise indicated. Therefore, the term “the invention”, “the present invention” or the like does not necessarily limit the claim scope to a specific embodiment, and the reference to particularly preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention does not imply a limitation on the invention, and no such limitation is to be inferred. The invention is limited only by the spirit and scope of the appended claims. The abstract of the disclosure is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract, which will allow a searcher to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the technical disclosure of any patent issued from this disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Any advantages and benefits described may not apply to all embodiments of the invention. It should be appreciated that variations may be made in the embodiments described by persons skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims. Moreover, no element and component in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether the element or component is explicitly recited in the following claims.
Claims
1. A touch-sensitive device, comprising:
- a substrate;
- a touch-sensing structure for performing touch-sensing operations;
- a passivation layer disposed on the touch-sensing structure;
- a trace layer electrically connected to the touch-sensing structure;
- a decorative layer disposed on the substrate for shielding the trace layer, wherein a gap region is formed between an outer edge of the decorative layer and a side edge of the transparent substrate; and
- a light-shielding sheltering layer disposed on at least a part of a periphery of the substrate, wherein the light-shielding sheltering layer overlaps at least a part of the passivation layer, covers at least a part of the decorative layer, and covers the gap region between the outer edge of the decorative layer and the side edge of the transparent substrate.
2. The touch-sensitive device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the touch-sensing structure comprises a plurality of first sensing series and a plurality of second sensing series spaced apart from the first sensing series.
3. The touch-sensitive device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the second sensing series and the first sensing series are oriented to cross over each other at crossover locations, each of the first sensing series comprises multiple first electrodes and multiple first connecting lines, the first electrodes are connected with each other by the first connecting lines, each of the second sensing series comprises multiple second electrodes and multiple second connecting lines, the second electrodes are connected with each other by the second connecting lines, and a plurality of insulators separate from each other are disposed in the crossover locations to separate the first sensing series and the second sensing series.
4. The touch-sensitive device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the substrate is a cover lens.
5. The touch-sensitive device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the light-shielding sheltering layer comprises at least one of photo resist, diamond-like carbon, ceramic, colored ink, resin and a material capable of transmitting infrared light.
6. The touch-sensitive device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the light-shielding sheltering layer comprises at least one of a translucent material, an opaque material, and a material having low light transmittance.
7. The touch-sensitive device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the decorative layer comprises at least one of photo resist, diamond-like carbon, ceramic, colored ink and resin.
8. The touch-sensitive device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the decorative layer is formed from photo resist and the light-shielding sheltering layer is formed from ink.
9. The touch-sensitive device as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the decorative layer and the light-shielding sheltering layer is a colored layer.
10. The touch-sensitive device of claim 1, wherein the light-shielding sheltering layer surrounds the decorative layer.
11. A cover lens assembly for a touch-sensitive device, comprising:
- a substrate;
- a decorative layer disposed on the substrate for shielding traces of the touch-sensitive device, wherein the decorative layer has an outer edge near a side edge of the substrate and an inner edge opposite the outer edge, and a gap region is formed between the outer edge of the decorative layer and the side edge of the substrate; and
- a light-shielding sheltering layer distinct from the decorative layer, wherein the light-shielding sheltering layer is disposed on at least a part of a periphery of the substrate and covers at least a part of the decorative layer, the light-shielding sheltering layer covers the gap region formed between the outer edge of the decorative layer and the side edge of the substrate, the light-shielding sheltering layer has an outer edge near the side edge of the substrate and an inner edge opposite the outer edge, and the inner edge of the light-shielding sheltering layer is not aligned with the inner edge of the decorative layer.
12. The cover lens assembly as claimed in claim 11, wherein the inner edge of the decorative layer is located further away from the side edge of the substrate than the inner edge of the light-shielding sheltering layer.
13. The cover lens assembly as claimed in claim 11, wherein the outer edge of the light-shielding sheltering layer is located further away from the inner edge of the decorative layer than the side edge of the substrate.
14. The cover lens assembly as claimed in claim 11, wherein the light-shielding sheltering layer comprises at least one of photo resist, diamond-like carbon, ceramic, colored ink, resin and a material capable of transmitting infrared light.
15. The cover lens assembly as claimed in claim 11, wherein the light-shielding sheltering layer comprises at least one of a translucent material, an opaque material, and a material having low light transmittance.
16. The cover lens assembly as claimed in claim 11, wherein the decorative layer comprises at least one of photo resist, diamond-like carbon, ceramic, colored ink and resin.
17. The cover lens assembly as claimed in claim 11, wherein the decorative layer is formed from photo resist and the light-shielding sheltering layer is formed from ink.
18. The cover lens assembly as claimed in claim 11, wherein each of the decorative layer and the light-shielding sheltering layer is a colored layer.
19. The cover lens assembly of claim 11, wherein the light-shielding sheltering layer surrounds the decorative layer.
20. A touch-sensitive device, comprising:
- a cover lens assembly, comprising: a substrate; a decorative layer disposed on the substrate for shielding traces of the touch-sensitive device, wherein the decorative layer has an outer edge near a side edge of the substrate and an inner edge opposite the outer edge; and a light-shielding sheltering layer distinct from the decorative layer, wherein the light-shielding sheltering layer is disposed on at least a part of a periphery of the substrate and covers at least a part of the decorative layer, the light-shielding sheltering layer has an outer edge near the side edge of the substrate and an inner edge opposite the outer edge, and the inner edge of the light-shielding sheltering layer is not aligned with the inner edge of the decorative layer; and
- a touch-sensing structure combined with the cover lens assembly for performing touch-sensing operations.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 7, 2014
Publication Date: Jul 3, 2014
Applicant: WINTEK CORPORATION (TAICHUNG CITY)
Inventors: MING-KUNG WU (TAI CHUNG CITY), KUO-CHANG SU (SHAN HUA TOWN), CHIA-CHI CHEN (TAI PING CITY), YU-TING LIN (TA LI CITY)
Application Number: 14/201,540
International Classification: G06F 1/16 (20060101); G02B 1/11 (20060101);