In-cell OLED Touch Panel Metal Sensing Layer Integration
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional touch display panels with integrated touch sensors increase manufacturing costs and complexity, and reduce light penetration rates, leading to thicker and heavier OLED displays with compromised display quality.
Innovation Solution
An in-cell OLED touch display panel structure with a metal layer for sensing, featuring a black matrix layer and a sensing electrode layer composed of conductive metal lines integrated between the substrates, eliminating the need for additional touch sensors on the glass substrates and enhancing light penetration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a conventional touch panel is overlapped with a display unit, then touch sensing function is achieved, but the weight and thickness of the display panel increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the touch sensor and display unit into a single integrated structure. The touch sensor is formed within the display panel structure itself, specifically using the lower substrate as the sensing substrate and forming sensing electrodes (source line, gate line, pixel electrode) directly in the display unit, eliminating the need for a separate overlapped touch panel.
2Ease of operation
If a conventional touch panel is overlapped with a display unit, then touch sensing function is achieved, but the light penetration rate decreases and display quality degrades
Solution Approach 1:
The touch sensor and display unit are merged into one integrated structure, eliminating the additional touch panel layer that blocks light. The sensing electrodes are formed within the display unit's existing layers, allowing light to pass through without being obstructed by a separate touch panel overlay.
3Ease of operation
If on-cell touch technology is used with a sensing layer on upper glass substrate, then touch sensing is achieved, but manufacturing cost increases and process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the sensing layer formation with the existing display manufacturing process. The sensing electrodes are formed using the same thin film transistor fabrication steps already required for the display, utilizing existing photomasks and deposition processes, thereby avoiding additional manufacturing costs and process complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The lower substrate serves dual functions: as the substrate for the thin film transistor layer and as the sensing substrate for the touch sensor. The same manufacturing processes produce both the display functional layers and the touch sensing electrodes, achieving multi-functionality with a single manufacturing line.
4Ease of operation
If additional touch sensors are added to glass substrates, then touch sensing capability is enhanced, but the panel thickness and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The touch sensor is merged into the display unit structure, with sensing electrodes formed within the existing panel thickness. The source line, gate line, and pixel electrode are integrated into the display's thin film transistor layer, adding minimal thickness while achieving full touch sensing capability.
Data Source
AI summary
An in-cell OLED touch display panel structure with metal layer for sensing includes an upper substrate, a lower substrate parallel to the upper substrate, an OLED layer configured between the upper and lower substrates, a black matrix layer, a sensing electrode layer, and a thin film transistor layer. The black matrix layer is disposed at one surface of the upper substrate facing the OLED layer, and is composed of a plurality of opaque lines. The sensing electrode layer is disposed at one side of the black matrix layer facing the OLED layer, and is composed of a plurality of sensing conductor lines. The thin film transistor layer is disposed at one side of the lower substrate facing the OLED layer. The plurality of sensing conductor lines are disposed at positions corresponding to those of the plurality of opaque lines of the black matrix.