Touch panel system and electronic device

Abstract

To provide a touch panel system capable of highly precisely detecting depressing force.SOLUTION: There is provided a touch panel system that includes a touch panel and a controller. A touch panel 1 includes: an active matrix substrate 40; a color filter substrate 20; and a liquid crystal layer 30 placed between the active matrix substrate 40 and the color filter substrate 20. The active matrix substrate 40 includes a drive electrode Tx and a depressing force detecting electrode FRx both placed on a surface opposite to the liquid crystal layer 30. The color filter substrate 20 includes an electrical conductor 212A placed on a surface opposite to the liquid crystal layer 30. The controller imparts a drive signal to the drive electrode Tx so as to obtain a signal value from the depressing force detecting electrode FRx and detects a depression force by an instructing object to the touch panel 1 based on the signal value obtained from the depressing force detecting electrode FRx.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a touch panel system and an electronic device. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-199412 (hereinafter referred to as Patent Document 1) discloses a touch panel that detects a touch position and a pressing force. The touch-sensing display device of Patent Document 1 includes a color filter, a plurality of first touch electrodes for sensing a touch force, and a plurality of second touch electrodes and a plurality of third touch electrodes for sensing a touch position, which are separated from the plurality of first touch electrodes by the color filter. In the touch-sensing display device of Patent Document 1, an elastic dielectric layer is disposed on the plurality of first touch electrodes for sensing a touch force. In the touch-sensing display device of Patent Document 1, a resin elastic dielectric layer is deformed by a touch force from a finger or the like, thereby changing the electrostatic capacitance between the finger or the like and the first touch electrode, and therefore, the touch force is sensed using a signal from the first touch electrode. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2017-199412 A Summary of the Invention

[0004] In the touch-sensing display device of Patent Document 1, a change in capacitance due to the displacement of the resin is detected, but the change in capacitance due to the displacement is very small. Therefore, the touch-sensing display device of Patent Document 1 may not obtain a sufficient change in capacitance. Furthermore, in the touch-sensing display device of Patent Document 1, the capacitance also changes due to a change in the contact area of ​​the finger caused by pressing. Therefore, the touch-sensing display device of Patent Document 1 may not detect pressing with high accuracy. High detection accuracy of pressing force is required for touch panel systems and display devices equipped with touch panel systems.

[0005] According to one embodiment, a touch panel system includes a touch panel and a controller, the touch panel including an active matrix substrate, a color filter substrate, and a liquid crystal layer located between the active matrix substrate and the color filter substrate, the active matrix substrate having a drive electrode and a detection electrode arranged on a surface facing the liquid crystal layer, the color filter substrate having a conductor arranged on a surface facing the liquid crystal layer, and the controller is configured to apply a drive signal to the drive electrode to obtain a signal value from the detection electrode, and to detect pressure on the touch panel by an indicator based on the signal value obtained from the detection electrode.

[0006] Further details will be described in the following embodiments. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an example of a touch panel included in a touch panel system. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of an electrode layer of the touch panel according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a schematic enlarged view of a portion P in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the detection principle of the touch panel system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of a method for detecting a pressure in a touch panel system. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a schematic plan view of an electrode layer of a touch panel according to the second embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a schematic enlarged view of a portion R in FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line CC in FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a touch panel according to the third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] [First embodiment] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an electronic device 100 according to a first embodiment. The electronic device 100 is, for example, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a smart watch, an in-vehicle information display, or a personal computer. The electronic device 100 includes a touch panel system 1A and a controller 50. The controller 50 includes a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and executes processing required for the electronic device 100 based on a signal from the touch panel system 1A.

[0009] The touch panel system 1A includes a touch panel 1 and a controller 5. Fig. 2 is a schematic plan view of an electrode layer 17 including electrodes for detecting a position and a pressure of the touch panel 1. Fig. 3 is a schematic enlarged view of a portion P in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line AA in Fig. 3, and Fig. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line BB in Fig. 4.

[0010] The touch panel 1 is a full-in-cell type touch panel in which a capacitive touch panel is incorporated into a liquid crystal panel. As shown in Fig. 4, the touch panel 1 includes an active matrix substrate 10, a color filter substrate (hereinafter, CF substrate) 20, and a liquid crystal layer 30 disposed between the active matrix substrate 10 and the CF substrate 20. A pair of polarizing plates 40 are disposed on the outer sides of the active matrix substrate 10 and the CF substrate 20. The thickness (cell gap) of the liquid crystal layer 30 is, for example, about 3 µm.

[0011] The CF substrate 20 includes a glass substrate 22, a color filter 21, and a black matrix 212. The color filter 21 and the black matrix 212 are disposed on the surface of the glass substrate 22 facing the liquid crystal layer 30. A polarizing plate 40 is disposed on the opposite surface of the glass substrate 22. A cover glass 41 is disposed on the polarizing plate 40, and the surface of the cover glass forms a touch surface 1T of the touch panel 1. The touch panel 1 accepts operations on the touch surface 1T by a pointer F (see FIG. 7) such as a finger or a touch pen.

[0012] The color filter 21 has a plurality of different color resists arranged for each pixel. In this embodiment, the color filter 21 includes red (R), green (G), and blue (B) color resists 211R, 211G, and 211B. The color resists 211R, 211G, and 211B are collectively referred to as color resist 211. There may be three or more different colors of resist.

[0013] The black matrix 212 is disposed at the boundary of the color resist 211. In this embodiment, the black matrix 212 is disposed between adjacent color resists 211. That is, each color resist 211 is separated by the black matrix 212. The black matrix 212 includes at least one black matrix electrode (conductor) 212A. The black matrix electrode 212A is formed of a material having electrical conductivity and light blocking properties, such as a metal, and is connected to a reference potential. Therefore, the black matrix electrode 212A functions as a ground electrode and also functions as a black matrix. The black matrix 212 may be partially constituted by the black matrix electrode 212A, or may be entirely constituted by the black matrix electrode 212A.

[0014] Alternatively, the black matrix 212 may include a black matrix layer of a conventional black matrix material and a black matrix electrode 212A disposed on the black matrix layer.

[0015] The active matrix substrate 10 includes a glass substrate 11, and has a general structure of a liquid crystal panel for applying an electric field to the liquid crystal layer 30 and driving pixels. Specifically, the active matrix substrate 10 has a plurality of gate bus lines 12, a plurality of source bus lines 14, a plurality of switching elements (not shown), and a plurality of pixel electrodes (not shown).

[0016] The multiple gate bus lines 12 each extend in the x-axis direction and are arranged in the y-axis direction.

[0017] The source bus lines 14 extend in the y-axis direction and are arranged in the x-axis direction. An insulating layer 13 is located between the gate bus lines 12 and the source bus lines 14, and an insulating layer 15 is located between the pixel electrodes and the source bus lines 14.

[0018] An insulating layer 16 is positioned to cover the pixel electrodes, and an electrode layer 17 is positioned on the insulating layer 16. In this embodiment, the electrode layer 17 is a counter electrode or a common electrode for applying a voltage between the pixel electrodes and the electrode layer 17 to apply an electric field to the liquid crystal of the liquid crystal layer 30, and also includes electrodes for detecting the position and pressure of the touch panel. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the electrode layer 17 includes a plurality of drive electrodes Tx, a plurality of position detection electrodes Rx, and a plurality of pressure detection electrodes FRx. For ease of understanding, these electrodes are hatched in FIG. 2. The drive electrodes Tx, the position detection electrodes Rx, and the pressure detection electrodes FRx are transparent electrodes such as ITO (Indium Tin Oxide).

[0019] The multiple driving electrodes Tx each extend in the x-axis direction and are arranged in the y-axis direction. The multiple position detection electrodes Rx are arranged two-dimensionally in the x-axis direction and the y-axis direction. More specifically, the rows of the multiple position detection electrodes Rx arranged in the x-axis direction and one of the multiple driving electrodes Tx are arranged alternately in the y-axis direction. Therefore, the driving electrodes Tx are located between the position detection electrodes Rx adjacent to each other in the y-axis direction.

[0020] The position detection electrodes Rx arranged in the y-axis direction are connected to each other by wiring Wr arranged below the drive electrodes Tx via an insulating layer.

[0021] Each of the pressure detection electrodes FRx extends in the y-axis direction and is arranged in the x-axis direction. As shown in Fig. 2, each pressure detection electrode FRx is disposed between the position detection electrodes Rx arranged in the x-axis direction and is divided at a position where it overlaps with the drive electrode Tx.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 3, in this embodiment, the driving electrode Tx has two slits St1 and one slit St2 in a region intersecting with the position detection electrode Rx. The slits St1 are provided on a pair of sides of the driving electrode Tx located in the y-axis direction, and have an opening on each side. On the other hand, the slit St2 is provided near the center of the driving electrode Tx in the y-axis direction, away from the pair of sides. The slits St1 and St2 are arranged in the y-axis direction and are separated from each other in the y-axis direction. Since the slits St1 and St2 are separated from each other, the driving electrode Tx is continuous in the x-axis direction, and it is possible to transmit a driving signal to the end.

[0023] The position detection electrodes Rx are arranged in the slits St1 and St2. The position detection electrodes Rx in the slits St1 and St2 are connected to each other by wiring Wf arranged via an insulating layer below the drive electrodes Tx between the slits St1 and St2.

[0024] 3 also shows the correspondence between the pixels of the liquid crystal panel and the electrode layer 17, with color resists 211R, 211G, and 211B indicated by dotted lines. In the x-axis direction, color resists of different colors are repeatedly arranged in the order of, for example, color resists 211R, 211G, and 211B, and color resists of the same color are arranged in the y-axis direction.

[0025] The pressure detection electrode FRx has a width in the x-axis direction that is approximately the same as that of a pixel or each color resist, for example.

[0026] A gap Ga is provided in the boundary region between the pressure detection electrodes FRx and the drive electrodes Tx. As shown in Fig. 4, the black matrix electrode 212A is positioned so as to overlap the gap Ga between the pressure detection electrodes FRx and the drive electrodes Tx in a plan view.

[0027] The driving electrode Tx and the detection electrodes Rx, FRx are connected to the controller 5. A driving signal is applied to the driving electrode Tx from the controller 5. A detection signal is input to the controller 5 from the detection electrodes Rx, FRx.

[0028] The electronic device 100 can be manufactured by a general manufacturing method using manufacturing techniques for liquid crystal displays or in-cell touch panels.

[0029] 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the detection principle in the touch panel system 1A according to the first embodiment. Scene SC1 shows a state before a pointer F such as a finger comes into contact with the touch surface 1T of the touch panel 1 (before contact). Scene SC2 shows a state in which the pointer F is in contact with the touch surface 1T of the touch panel 1 but is not being pressed (before pressing). Scene SC3 shows a state in which the pointer F is pressed while maintaining its contact (when pressed).

[0030] In the touch panel 1, the drive electrodes Tx, the pressure detection electrodes FRx, and the position detection electrodes Rx are arranged opposite to the black matrix electrode 212A with the liquid crystal layer 30 interposed therebetween. The black matrix electrode 212A is arranged at a position where it overlaps with the gap Ga in a plan view. Before the contact of the pointer (scene SC1), a fringe capacitance Cf is formed by the fringe electric field in the vicinity of the region where the drive electrodes Tx and the pressure detection electrodes FRx are adjacent to each other. In addition, a capacitance Cs is formed between the surface of the drive electrodes Tx and the surface of the pressure detection electrodes FRx. However, since the area of ​​the pressure detection electrodes FRx is small, the capacitance Cs is relatively small. The detection signal from the pressure detection electrodes FRx has a signal value according to the capacitance Cs and the fringe capacitance cf.

[0031] After the indicator F has contacted the sensor and before the indicator F is pressed (Scene SC2), the capacitance Cs decreases as a result of the transfer of charge to the indicator F. On the other hand, the fringe capacitance Cf does not change much. As a result, the signal value of the detection signal from the pressure detection electrode FRx changes with the decrease in the capacitance Cs.

[0032] When pressed (scene SC3), the thickness H1 of the liquid crystal layer 30 decreases to a thickness H2 in response to the pressure. Therefore, the black matrix electrode 212A connected to the reference potential approaches the boundary region between the drive electrodes Tx and the pressure detection electrodes FRx. This narrows the region in which the fringe electric field is formed, and the fringe capacitance Cf decreases. At this time, the effect of the change in thickness of the liquid crystal layer 30 on the electrostatic capacitance Cs is small. Therefore, the signal value of the detection signal from the pressure detection electrodes FRx changes mainly in response to the decrease in the fringe capacitance Cf.

[0033] Both the scene SC2 before pressing and the scene SC3 during pressing include contact of the indicator F with the touch surface 1T, and the change in capacitance Cs is small. For this reason, when calculating the difference change amount ΔD (=DB-DA) between the signal value DA of the detection signal from the pressure detection electrode FRx of the scene SC2 and the signal value DB of the detection signal from the pressure detection electrode FRx of the scene SC3, the signal value due to the capacitance Cs is cancelled out. For this reason, the difference change amount ΔD mainly reflects the fringe capacitance Cf due to the pressing force of the indicator F. That is, the controller 5 calculates the magnitude of the pressing force (pressing force) based on the change amount of the signal value.

[0034] In addition, the width of the pressure detection electrode FRx in the x-axis direction is about the pixel size, and the electrode area is not large. Therefore, even if the contact area between the indicator and the touch panel changes due to a pressure, the change in the capacitance Cs due to the change in the contact area is relatively small. Therefore, the pressure detection electrode FRx can accurately detect the pressure of the indicator without being affected by the change in the contact area between the indicator and the touch panel.

[0035] In addition, in a scene SC1 before contact, the driving electrode Tx and the black matrix electrode 212A, and the position detection electrode Rx and the black matrix electrode 212A are similarly capacitively coupled. In a scene SC2 before pressing, the capacitance between the driving electrode Tx and the black matrix electrode 212A and the capacitance between the position detection electrode Rx and the black matrix electrode 212A also decrease due to the charge moving to the indicator F. Therefore, the signal value of the detection signal from the position detection electrode Rx includes a signal value according to the change in capacitance caused by the contact of the indicator F with the touch surface 1T. As a result, the touched position can be obtained based on the detection signal from the position detection electrode Rx.

[0036] At this time, by arranging the pressure detection electrodes FRx adjacent to the drive electrodes Tx, the movement of charge from the capacitive coupling between the pressure detection electrodes FRx and the drive electrodes Tx to the indicator F in contact with the touch surface 1T can be suppressed more than the movement of charge from the capacitive coupling between the position detection electrodes Rx arranged at a position farther away from the pressure detection electrodes FRx and the drive electrodes Tx to the indicator F. Therefore, by arranging the pressure detection electrodes FRx adjacent to the drive electrodes Tx, the influence of the contact of the indicator F on the signal value can be suppressed.

[0037] 7 is a flow chart showing an example of a method for detecting a pressure in the touch panel system 1A. The controller 5 acquires a signal value from a detection signal from the pressure detection electrode FRx (step S101). If the signal value is a specified value indicating contact of the indicator F with the touch surface 1T (YES in step S103), the controller 5 stores the signal value acquired from the detection signal (step S105). The signal value stored here corresponds to the signal value DA of the detection signal before pressure (scene SC2) in FIG. 7.

[0038] The controller 5 acquires a signal value from the detection signal from the pressure detection electrode FRx (step S107), and calculates the amount of change from the signal value DA (step S109). If the amount of change in the signal value is equal to or greater than a pre-stored threshold value of the amount of change indicating a pressure (YES in step S111), the controller 5 detects a pressure by the indicator F (step S113). The controller 5 calculates the pressure using the amount of change (step S115).

[0039] In the touch panel 1 according to the present embodiment, the driving electrodes Tx and the pressure detection electrodes FRx are arranged with the conductor (black matrix electrode 212A) sandwiched between them by the liquid crystal layer 30, so that the distance from the driving electrodes Tx and the pressure detection electrodes FRx to the black matrix electrode 212A can be made sufficiently smaller than the distance H3 from the driving electrodes Tx and the pressure detection electrodes FRx to the touch surface 1T. Therefore, the change amount of the signal value of the detection signal from the pressure detection electrodes FRx due to the contact of the indicator F with the touch surface 1T can be made sufficiently smaller than the change amount due to the pressing force of the indicator F. This makes it possible to suppress the influence of the contact of the indicator F with the touch surface 1T on the detection signal. Therefore, in the touch panel system 1A according to the embodiment, the pressing force is efficiently obtained based on the change amount ΔD (=DB-DA) between the signal value DA of the detection signal of the scene SC2 before pressing and the signal value DB of the detection signal of the scene SC3 at the time of pressing. In addition, the pressing force is obtained based on the detection signal from the pressure detection electrodes FRx, and at the same time, the touched position is obtained based on the detection signal from the position detection electrodes Rx.

[0040] Moreover, according to the touch panel 1 of the present embodiment, the area of ​​the pressure detection electrode is smaller than the area of ​​the position detection electrode. For example, in FIG. 2, when a drive signal is applied by the drive electrode Tx at the center in the y-axis direction, the area Af of the pressure detection electrode FRx is smaller than the area Ar of the adjacent position detection electrode Rx. In other words, the area Ar of the position detection electrode Rx is larger than the area Af of the pressure detection electrode FRx. This is because, for example, the width of the pressure detection electrode FRx in the x-axis direction is smaller than that of the position detection electrode Rx. Therefore, by having a large area, the position detection electrode Rx can accurately detect the contact of the indicator. On the other hand, by having a small area, the pressure detection electrode can suppress the capacitance change due to the change in the contact area of ​​the indicator and accurately detect the pressure by the indicator.

[0041] [Second embodiment] Fig. 8 is a schematic plan view of an electrode layer 17 of a touch panel 1 according to a second embodiment. Fig. 9 is a schematic enlarged view of a portion R in Fig. 8. Fig. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line CC in Fig. 9. In the touch panel 1 according to the second embodiment, a plurality of position detection electrodes Rx and pressure detection electrodes FRx are formed in a wiring layer 11L.

[0042] In the touch panel 1 of the present embodiment, the pressure detection electrodes FRx' are arranged at a different height from the position detection electrodes Rx and the drive electrodes Tx. In other words, the touch panel 1 of the present embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the pressure detection electrodes FRx' are formed of a metal layer different from the metal layer that forms the position detection electrodes Rx and the drive electrodes Tx.

[0043] The drive electrode Tx is provided with a plurality of slits St' extending in the y-axis direction. The interval between the plurality of slits St' is, for example, equal to the pixel pitch in the x-axis direction, and in a plan view, the plurality of slits St' overlap with the black matrix electrode 212A. The plurality of slits St' are isolated openings that do not reach a pair of sides of the drive electrode Tx arranged in the y-axis direction. Therefore, the drive electrode Tx is continuous and not divided in the x-axis direction.

[0044] It is preferable that the slit St' is not provided at a position overlapping with the wiring Wr connecting the position detection electrodes Rx in a plan view, because providing the slit St' at this position would result in a fringe capacitance being formed between the wiring Wr and the drive electrodes Tx, and a change in the fringe capacitance due to pressing could affect the position detection signal.

[0045] The multiple pressure detection electrodes FRx' are located below the insulating layer 16 and extend in the y-axis direction. In other words, the insulating layer 16 is located between the multiple pressure detection electrodes FRx' and the position detection electrodes Rx and drive electrodes Tx, and the multiple pressure detection electrodes FRx' are at a different height level from the position detection electrodes Rx and drive electrodes Tx.

[0046] Each pressure detection electrode FRx' is positioned so as to overlap with the slit pressure detection electrode FRx' and the black matrix electrode 212 in plan view.

[0047] The width of the pressure detection electrode FRx' in the x-axis direction is smaller than the pixel pitch in the x-axis direction, and may be, for example, approximately equal to or smaller than the width of the black matrix electrode 212 in the x-axis direction.

[0048] As shown in Fig. 8, among the multiple pressure detection electrodes FRx' arranged in the x-axis direction, two or more pressure detection electrodes FRx' are connected by wiring Wb. In the example shown in Fig. 8, six pressure detection electrodes FRx' are connected by wiring Wb.

[0049] According to the present embodiment, since a plurality of pressure detection electrodes FRx' are bundled together, the amount of change in the signal value of the detection signal caused by the capacitance change due to pressure increases, so that it is possible to detect and measure the pressure of the indicator and the magnitude of the pressure with higher accuracy.

[0050] In addition, since the width of the pressure detection electrodes FRx' in the x-axis direction can be reduced and they are disposed below the drive electrodes Tx, the pressure detection electrodes FRx' are less susceptible to changes in capacitance due to contact with a pointer or changes in the contact area. Therefore, the pressure detection electrodes FR' can efficiently detect pressure.

[0051] In this embodiment, six pressure detection electrodes FRx' are connected by wiring Wb, but the number of connections may be other than six. Also, the pressure detection electrodes FRx' are located under the black matrix electrodes 212 between each color filter, but the number of pressure detection electrodes FRx' may be reduced. For example, a pressure detection electrode FRx' may be disposed every three pixels in the x-axis direction. In this case, the black matrix electrodes 212 between color filters where no pressure detection electrodes FRx' are disposed may be non-conductive black matrices.

[0052] [Third embodiment] 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a touch panel 1 according to a third embodiment. The touch panel 1 according to the third embodiment has a transparent electrode 213 such as ITO. The transparent electrode 213 is disposed continuously with the black matrix electrode 212A. The transparent electrode 213 is located on a color resist 211 of the color filter 21. The width WC in the x-axis direction of the transparent electrode 213 is larger than the width WB of the black matrix electrode 212A in the first direction. The width WC is preferably larger than the width WR of the color resist 211 in the first direction.

[0053] Moreover, it is preferable that the transparent electrode 213 overlaps at least a part of the pressure detection electrode FRx in a plan view. More preferably, the transparent electrode 213 overlaps the entire pressure detection electrode FRx in a plan view.

[0054] According to this embodiment, the transparent electrode 213 connected to the black matrix electrode 212A overlaps at least a part of the pressure detection electrode FRx in a plan view, so that the transparent electrode 213 functions as a shield and can suppress the occurrence of a capacitance change in the pressure detection electrode FRx due to the contact of the pointer with the touch surface. Meanwhile, as in the first embodiment, the distance between the drive electrode Tx and the pressure detection electrode FRx and the black matrix electrode 212A and the transparent electrode 213 changes due to the pressure of the pointer, so that the pressure detection electrode FRx can detect the change in the fringe capacitance. Therefore, the influence of the capacitance change due to the contact of the pointer or the change in the contact area is suppressed, and the pressure detection electrode FRx can detect the pressure with high accuracy.

[0055] This embodiment can be effectively used for a touch panel 1 having a particularly large pixel size. When the pixel size is large, the width of the pressure detection electrode FRx in the x-axis direction also becomes large (for example, 50 μm or more), and therefore the area of ​​the pressure detection electrode FRx becomes large, and the influence of the capacitance change caused by the contact of the pointer with the touch surface becomes large. However, in this embodiment, in such a case, the transparent electrode 213 can effectively suppress such an influence. [Other embodiments] The touch panel system and electronic device of the present disclosure may be modified in various ways and are not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, the shapes of the drive electrodes, position detection electrodes, and pressure detection electrodes are merely examples, and these electrodes may have other shapes. In the present embodiment, the counter electrode (common electrode) used to apply an electric field to the liquid crystal layer is provided on the active matrix substrate, and serves as the drive electrode, position detection electrode, and pressure detection electrode. However, the counter electrode may be provided on the color filter substrate. In this case, the drive electrode, position detection electrode, and pressure detection electrode may be provided separately on the active matrix substrate.

[0056] The touch panel system and electronic device of the present disclosure can also be described as follows. A touch panel and A controller; Equipped with The touch panel includes: An active matrix substrate; A color filter substrate; a liquid crystal layer located between the active matrix substrate and the color filter substrate; Including, the active matrix substrate has a driving electrode and a detection electrode disposed on a surface facing the liquid crystal layer; the color filter substrate has a conductor disposed on a surface facing the liquid crystal layer; The controller: applying a drive signal to the drive electrodes and acquiring a signal value from the detection electrodes; The touch panel is configured to detect a pressure applied by a pointer to the touch panel based on a signal value obtained from the detection electrodes.

[0057] According to the first configuration, since a conductor is positioned on the color filter substrate, when an indicator presses the touch panel, the distance between the drive electrode and the detection electrode and the conductor changes, and the pressure can be detected efficiently.

[0058] As a second configuration, in the first configuration, the controller may be further configured to calculate the magnitude of the pressure based on an amount of change in the signal value.

[0059] In a third configuration, in the first configuration, the detection electrodes include a position detection electrode and a pressure detection electrode located adjacent to the drive electrode, the conductor is located so as to overlap a boundary region between the drive electrode and the pressure detection electrode in a plan view, and the controller may detect the pressure based on a signal value obtained from the pressure detection electrode. With this configuration, the pressure detection electrode can detect a change in fringe capacitance with the drive electrode, so that the pressure can be detected efficiently.

[0060] In a fourth configuration, in the third configuration, the controller may further detect a position touched by the indicator based on signal values ​​obtained from each of the position detection electrodes.

[0061] As a fifth configuration, in the third configuration, an area of ​​the pressure detection electrode may be smaller than an area of ​​the position detection electrode.

[0062] In a sixth configuration, in the third configuration, the color filter substrate is arranged on a surface facing the liquid crystal layer, and further includes a color filter having a plurality of resists of different colors, and a black matrix arranged at the boundary between the plurality of resists, and the conductor may constitute at least a part of the black matrix.

[0063] A seventh configuration is the sixth configuration, wherein the color filter substrate further includes a transparent electrode connected to the conductor and arranged on the color filter, and the transparent electrode may overlap at least a portion of the pressure detection electrode in a planar view.

[0064] In an eighth configuration, in the first configuration, the conductor may be connected to a reference potential.

[0065] An electronic device according to a ninth aspect includes the touch panel system according to any one of the first to eighth aspects. [Explanation of symbols]

[0066] 1: touch panel, 1A: touch panel system, 5: controller, 10: active matrix substrate, 21: color filter, 30: liquid crystal layer, 100: electronic device, 211, 211B, 211G, 211R: color resist, 212: black matrix, 212A: black matrix electrode (conductor), F: indicator, FRx: pressure detection electrode (detection electrode, first detection electrode), Rx: position detection electrode (detection electrode) Tx: drive electrode

Claims

1. A touch panel and A controller; Equipped with The touch panel includes: An active matrix substrate; A color filter substrate; a liquid crystal layer located between the active matrix substrate and the color filter substrate; Including, the active matrix substrate has a driving electrode and a detection electrode disposed on a surface facing the liquid crystal layer; the color filter substrate has a conductor disposed on a surface facing the liquid crystal layer; The controller: applying a drive signal to the drive electrodes and acquiring a signal value from the detection electrodes; and detecting a pressure applied to the touch panel by a pointer based on a signal value obtained from the detection electrode. Touch panel system.

2. The controller is further configured to calculate a magnitude of the pressure based on an amount of change in the signal value. The touch panel system according to claim 1 .

3. the detection electrodes include a position detection electrode and a pressure detection electrode located adjacent to the drive electrode; the conductor is positioned so as to overlap a boundary region between the drive electrode and the pressure detection electrode in a plan view, The controller detects the pressure based on a signal value obtained from the pressure detection electrode. The touch panel system according to claim 1 .

4. The controller further detects a position touched by the indicator based on signal values ​​obtained from each of the position detection electrodes. The touch panel system according to claim 3 .

5. The area of ​​the pressure detection electrode is smaller than the area of ​​the position detection electrode. The touch panel system according to claim 3 .

6. The color filter substrate includes: a color filter disposed on a surface facing the liquid crystal layer and having a plurality of resists of different colors; a black matrix disposed on a boundary between the plurality of resists; Further comprising: The conductor constitutes at least a part of the black matrix. The touch panel system according to claim 3 .

7. the color filter substrate further includes a transparent electrode connected to the conductor and disposed on the color filter; The transparent electrode overlaps at least a portion of the pressure detection electrode in a plan view. The touch panel system according to claim 6.

8. The touch panel system of claim 1 , wherein the conductor is connected to a reference potential.

9. A touch panel system according to any one of claims 1 to 8 is provided. Electronic devices.

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