Asymmetric Sensor Spacer Design for Touch Panel Accuracy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Touch panels integrated with liquid crystal display panels face issues with erroneous touch position data due to manufacturing processing deviations and cell gap variations, leading to unwanted contact between sensor electrodes and pads before user input.
Innovation Solution
The display panel design includes a first and second substrate with sensor pads and spacers, where the second sensor spacer protrudes further than the first, allowing for accurate touch position detection by ensuring contact only upon sufficient pressure, thus preventing false touch information generation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If sensor spacers are formed on substrates to enable touch detection, then touch position detection capability is improved, but manufacturing processing deviations cause unwanted contact between sensor electrodes and pads before user touch
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetry by forming a height difference between the first sensor spacer and the second sensor spacer. The first sensor spacer has a first height while the second sensor spacer has a second height greater than the first height. This asymmetric design ensures that the sensor electrode contacts the second sensor pad before contacting the first sensor pad during manufacturing, preventing false touch indications while maintaining accurate touch position detection capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-configuring the sensor spacers with different heights during manufacturing. The second sensor spacer is formed to protrude farther than the first sensor spacer, so that during assembly, the sensor electrode automatically contacts the second sensor pad first. This preliminary height differentiation prevents unwanted contact between the sensor electrode and the first sensor pad before actual user touch occurs
2Ease of operation
If sensor electrodes and pads are positioned close to each other for sensitive touch detection, then touch detection sensitivity is improved, but contact occurs before user touch due to cell gap deviation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses asymmetry to create different contact sequences by forming the first sensor spacer with a first height and the second sensor spacer with a second height greater than the first height. This asymmetric height configuration ensures that even when cell gap deviation occurs, the sensor electrode contacts the second sensor pad (which is positioned lower due to the taller spacer) before contacting the first sensor pad, maintaining manufacturing precision tolerance while preserving touch detection sensitivity
3Ease of manufacture
If uniform height sensor spacers are used for simplified manufacturing, then manufacturing complexity is reduced, but touch position accuracy deteriorates due to processing deviations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetry by intentionally forming the first sensor spacer and second sensor spacer with different heights. The first sensor spacer has a first height while the second sensor spacer has a second height greater than the first height. This asymmetric design, while adding a parameter to the manufacturing process, actually simplifies the overall system by eliminating the need for complex compensation mechanisms, and simultaneously improves touch coordinate reading accuracy by ensuring proper contact sequence despite processing deviations
Data Source
AI summary
Provided are a display panel which can detect a touch position derived from a user's touch and can prevent erroneous touch position data from being generated even when an erroneous connection to a position sensing line is present due a processing deviation or a cell gap deviation, and a manufacturing method of the same. The display panel includes a first substrate, a first sensor pad that is formed on the first substrate, a second sensor pad that is spaced apart from the first sensor pad, a second substrate that is disposed to face the first substrate, a first sensor spacer that is formed on the second substrate to overlap the first sensor pad and protrudes toward the first substrate, a second sensor spacer that is formed on the second substrate to overlap the second sensor pad and protrudes toward the first substrate, and a sensor electrode that is formed on the first sensor spacer and the second sensor spacer to overlap the first sensor pad and the second sensor pad, wherein the second sensor spacer protrudes toward the first substrate more than the first sensor spacer does.