TOUCH PANEL
A touch panel including a substrate, a plurality of sensing electrodes, a bridge line, a connection line and an island insulator is provided. The sensing electrodes are disposed on the substrate in parallel. The bridge line is disposed on the substrate and connected between two of the sensing electrodes. The connection line is disposed on the substrate and connected between another two of the sensing electrodes. The bridge line intersects the connection line. The island insulator is disposed on the substrate and covers the bridge line. The bridge line is completely encapsulated between the island insulator and the substrate. The island insulator includes a central portion and a distal portion extended from the central portion. A width of the distal portion is gradually reduced outwardly from the central portion.
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This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 108114433, filed on Apr. 25, 2019. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the InventionThe invention relates to an electronic device, and more particularly, to a touch panel.
2. Description of Related ArtTouch panels have been widely applied to products in various fields to provide intuitive and convenient input operation interfaces. In many products, the touch panel realizes a touch sensing function by a serial electrode array in which a plurality of horizontal electrode strings intersecting a plurality of vertical electrode strings are arranged. In addition, a bridging structure (e.g., a bridge line and an insulation layer for separate the bridge line from another string) may be used at intersections between the horizontal electrode strings and the vertical electrode strings to avoid short circuit between two strings. However, the visibility of the bridge line is often a phenomenon that should be avoided when designing the touch panel. In particular, when the touch panel is applied to a display panel or a display device, the visibility of the bridge line that can reduce a displaying quality is expected to be as low as possible.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe invention provides a touch panel that helps to reduce the visibility of the members to improve applicability of the touch panel.
The touch panel of the invention includes a substrate, a plurality of sensing electrodes, a bridge line, a connection line and an island insulator. The sensing electrodes are disposed on the substrate in parallel. The bridge line is disposed on the substrate and connected between two of the sensing electrodes. The connection line is disposed on the substrate and connected between another two of the sensing electrodes. The bridge line intersects the connection line. The island insulator is disposed on the substrate and covers the bridge line. The bridge line is completely encapsulated between the island insulator and the substrate. The island insulator includes a central portion and a distal portion extended from the central portion. A width of the distal portion is gradually reduced outwardly from the central portion.
In an embodiment of the invention, at least a part of the distal portion obliquely intersects an extending direction of the bridge line.
In an embodiment of the invention, an extending direction of the island insulator is substantially identical to an extending direction of the bridge line.
In an embodiment of the invention, the width of the distal portion is gradually reduced outwardly from the central portion in a direction. A contour of the distal portion has an end and a side edge connected between the end and the central portion. A distance between two ends of the side edge in the direction is L, a distance between the bridge line and the end in the direction is r, a line width of the bridge line is w, an extending length of the end is h, an included angle of the side edge with respect to the direction is Θ, and L=(h−w)/2−r×tan (Θ/2).
In an embodiment of the invention, Θ is from 30 degrees to 60 degrees.
In an embodiment of the invention, r is from 5 μm to 30 μm.
In an embodiment of the invention, the bridge line extends in the direction.
In an embodiment of the invention, an overall length of the island insulator in the direction is Loc, an overall length of the bridge line in the direction is Lbr, and r=(Loc−Lbr)/2.
In an embodiment of the invention, the central portion has a zigzag edge or a step-like edge.
In an embodiment of the invention, a thickness of the central portion is reduced outwardly from a center of the central portion.
In an embodiment of the invention, a thickness of the central portion at a reference point is ½ of a maximum thickness of the central portion, a distance from the reference point extending outwardly to an outer edge of the central portion is from 5 μm to 10 μm.
In an embodiment of the invention, the width of the distal portion is gradually reduced outwardly from the central portion at a constant rate.
In an embodiment of the invention, the touch panel further includes a separation insulator. The separation insulator is disposed between the bridge line and the connection line.
In an embodiment of the invention, an exceeding width of the separation insulator exceeding outwardly from a lateral edge of the bridge line is from 5 μm to 30 μm.
In an embodiment of the invention, the island insulator covers the separation insulator. An exceeding width of the island insulator exceeding from a lateral edge of the separation insulator is from 5 μm to 30 μm.
In an embodiment of the invention, the separation insulator is completely encapsulated between the island insulator and the substrate.
In an embodiment of the invention, the connection line is integrally formed with said another two of the sensing electrode.
Based on the above, according to the embodiments of the invention, the touch panel is disposed with the island insulator covering the bridge line, and the contour of the island insulator has a non-rectangular shape. In this way, the reflective light generated in accordance with the contour of the island insulator can be emitted towards diverging directions, so as to help reducing the visibility of the island insulator and the members covered by the island insulator. Accordingly, when being applied to the display panel or the display device, the touch panel according to the embodiments of the invention facilitates to maintain an ideal displaying quality.
To make the above features and advantages of the disclosure more comprehensible, several embodiments accompanied with drawings are described in detail as follows.
The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.
Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.
Specifically,
In this embodiment, the sensing electrode 120 and the connection line 140 may be made by the same film layer and material. Therefore, as shown by
Specifically, the island insulator 150 includes a central portion 150A and a distal portion 150B extended from the central portion 150A. In this embodiment, a width h of the central portion 150A is substantially fixed, a width h1 of the distal portion 150B is varied, and the width h1 of the distal portion 150B is not greater than the width h of the central portion 150A. The central portion 150A of the island insulator 150 substantially extends in the extending direction (the direction D1) of the bridge line 130, and the width h of the distal portion 150B is gradually reduced outwardly from the central portion 150A in the direction D1, for example. Accordingly, at least a part of the contour of the distal portion 150B obliquely intersects the extending direction (the direction D1) of the bridge line 130.
In this embodiment, the width h1 of the distal portion 150B is reduced outwardly at a constant rate from the central portion 150A, for example. The contour of the distal portion 150B has an end E150B and a side edge S150B connected between the end E150B and the central portion 150A. A distance between two ends of the side edge S150B in the direction D1 is L, a distance between the bridge line 130 and the end E150B in the direction D1 is r, a line width of the bridge line 130 is w, a width of the central portion 150A is h, and L=(h−w)/2−r×tan(Θ/2) when an included angle of the side edge S150B with respect to the direction D1 is Θ. In certain embodiments, Θ may be from 30 degrees to 60 degrees or may even be selected as 45 degree, but not limited thereto.
An overall length of the island insulator 150 in the direction D1 is Loc, an overall length of the bridge line 130 in the direction D1 is Lbr, and a relationship between Loc, Lbr and r can be: r=(Loc−Lbr)/2. In certain embodiments, r may be set to an allowable distance of process error. In this way, after r and Lbr are determined, a desired size of Loc may then be obtained, but not limited thereto. In some embodiments, r is, for example, from 5 μm to 30 μm, but not limited thereto. In addition, in order to avoid short circuit between the bridge line 130 and the connection line 140, a width of the separation insulator 160 is greater than the line width w of the bridge line 130, and a width of the island insulator 150 is greater than the width of the separation insulator 160. For instance, an exceeding width EXW1 of the separation insulator 160 exceeding outwardly from a lateral edge of the bridge line 130 may be from 5 μm to 30 μm, and an exceeding width EXW2 of the island insulator 150 exceeding from a lateral edge of the separation insulator 160 may be from 5 μm to 30 μm. In certain embodiments, sizes of the exceeding widths EXW1 and EXW2 may be equal to a size of the distance r, or may be adjusted according to conditions such as a process capability, a touch panel size, and a touch control resolution. However, the width of each member needs to be sufficient to avoid short circuit between the bridge line 130 and the connecting line 140.
In
Regardless of what rate of variation the width h1 has, a light reflected by the distal portion 150B, 250B or 350B and a light reflected by the central portion 150A will travel in different directions. Therefore, when the user uses the touch panel 100, the visibility of the island insulator 150, 250 or 350 is reduced. In addition, the configuration of the distal portion 150B, 250B and 350B can result in an oblique reflective light to also help reducing the visibility of the bridge line 130 or the separation insulator 160. Therefore, the island insulator 150, 250 or 350 with the varied width disposed in the touch panel 100 can help improving the displaying quality for the touch panel 100. In other words, when the touch panel 100 is used in combination with the display device or the display panel, the displaying quality will not be easily deteriorated due to the visibility of the bridge line 130 and its corresponding structure.
In the embodiments of
The island insulators 150, 250, 350, 450 and 550 can utilize outer contour shapes to achieve an improvement in the displaying quality, but not limited thereto. In certain embodiments, the varied thicknesses of the island insulators 150, 250, 350, 450 and 550 may change traveling directions of the reflective light. For instance,
When light irradiates onto the island insulator 650, the gentle side slope can reflect the light in different directions, and can thus help to reduce the visibility of the island insulator 650. Therefore, both the design of the thickness with the gentle side slope and the design of the contour with the varied width can help to improve the displaying quality of the touch panel 100. The gentle side slope of the island insulator 650 is applicable to the central portions or the distal portions of one or many of the island insulators 150, 250, 350, 450 and 550 in the foregoing embodiments to reduce the visibility of the island insulator.
In summary, according to the embodiments of the invention, the island insulator is disposed on the bridge line to protect the bridge line from damages. Meanwhile, the island insulator according to the embodiments of the invention has the varied width, the gentle side slope or both. Accordingly, the reflective light caused by the island insulator being less likely to concentrate in a specific direction can help to reduce the visibility of the island insulator and the member encapsulated therein. As a result, the quality of the touch panel may be improved, and applicability of the touch panel may also be improved.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.
Claims
1. A touch panel, comprising:
- a substrate;
- a plurality of sensing electrodes, disposed on the substrate in parallel;
- a bridge line, disposed on the substrate and connected between two of the sensing electrodes;
- a connection line, disposed on the substrate and connected between another two of the sensing electrodes, the bridge line intersecting the connection line; and
- an island insulator, disposed on the substrate and covering the bridge line, the bridge line being completely encapsulated between the island insulator and the substrate, wherein the island insulator comprises a central portion and a distal portion extended from the central portion, and a width of the distal portion is gradually reduced outwardly from the central portion.
2. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein an extending direction of the island insulator is substantially identical to an extending direction of the bridge line.
3. The touch panel according to claim 2, wherein at least a part of a contour of the distal portion obliquely intersects the extending direction of the bridge line.
4. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein the width of the distal portion is gradually reduced outwardly from the central portion in a direction, a contour of the distal portion has an end and a side edge connected between the end and the central portion, a distance between two ends of the side edge in the direction is L, a distance between the bridge line and the end in the direction is r, a line width of the bridge line is w, a width of the central portion is h, an included angle of the side edge with respect to the direction is Θ, and L=(h−w)/2−r×tan (Θ/2).
5. The touch panel according to claim 4, wherein Θ is from 30 degrees to 60 degrees.
6. The touch panel according to claim 4, wherein r is from 5 μm to 30 μm.
7. The touch panel according to claim 4, wherein the bridge line extends in the direction.
8. The touch panel according to claim 4, wherein an overall length of the island insulator in the direction is Loc, an overall length of the bridge line in the direction is Lbr, and r=(Loc−Lbr)/2.
9. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein the central portion has a zigzag edge or a step-like edge.
10. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein a thickness of the central portion is reduced outwardly from a center of the central portion.
11. The touch panel according to claim 10, wherein the thickness of the central portion at a reference point is one half a maximum thickness of the central portion, and a distance from the reference point extending outwardly to an outer edge of the central portion is from 5 μm to 10 μm.
12. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein the width of the distal portion is gradually reduced outwardly from the central portion at an inconstant rate.
13. The touch panel according to claim 1 further comprising a separation insulator, the separation insulator being disposed between the bridge line and the connection line.
14. The touch panel according to claim 13, wherein an exceeding width of the separation insulator exceeding outwardly from a lateral edge of the bridge line is from 5 μm to 30 μm.
15. The touch panel according to claim 13, wherein the island insulator covers the separation insulator, and an exceeding width of the island insulator exceeding from a lateral edge of the separation insulator is from 5 μm to 30 μm.
16. The touch panel according to claim 13, wherein the separation insulator is completely encapsulated between the island insulator and the substrate.
17. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein the connection line is integrally formed with the another two of the sensing electrode.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 12, 2019
Publication Date: Oct 29, 2020
Applicant: Wistron Corporation (New Taipei City)
Inventors: Kung-Chieh Huang (New Taipei City), Chia-Cheng Su (New Taipei City)
Application Number: 16/509,508