Variable Width Mesh Electrode for Touch Window Visibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional touch windows with metallic sensing electrodes face issues of reduced visibility due to mesh line crossings, non-uniform sheet resistance, and vulnerability to external shocks, which affect reliability and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A touch window design featuring mesh lines with controlled widths and cross areas, where the cross area width is maximized to ten times the mesh line width, and a protective resin layer with adhesive and anti-scattering properties is applied to enhance durability and reduce thickness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If mesh lines are used to form the sensing electrode, then the electrode can be made with metallic material, but the visibility is degraded due to cross areas where mesh lines intersect
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making the mesh line width variable rather than uniform. The mesh line width is designed to be narrower at cross areas and wider at non-cross areas, allowing the cross areas to have reduced visibility impact while maintaining adequate conductivity where needed. This local variation in width optimizes both visibility and electrode functionality.
2Illumination intensity
If mesh line width is reduced to improve visibility, then visibility improves, but sheet resistance becomes non-uniform and touch efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality by varying the mesh line width according to position. At cross areas where visibility is most affected, the line width is reduced to minimize visual impact. At non-cross areas, the line width is increased to ensure adequate conductivity and touch efficiency. This spatially differentiated design allows each region to have optimal properties for its specific function.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies parameter changes by modifying the mesh line width parameter as a function of position. The line width is not a fixed value but varies continuously or discretely across the electrode structure, with specific width values assigned to different regions (cross areas vs. non-cross areas) to optimize the balance between visibility and touch efficiency.
3Reliability
If a protective layer is added to protect the electrode from external shocks, then reliability improves, but the thickness of the touch window increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs flexible shells and thin films by using a protective layer with thickness specifically designed to be 10 micrometers or less. This thin film approach provides the necessary protection against external shocks and mechanical damage while maintaining the overall thinness of the touch window structure. The protective layer is thin enough not to significantly increase total thickness but thick enough to provide adequate protection.
Data Source
AI summary
A capacitive touch window includes: a substrate; a cover substrate; and an electrode, wherein a portion of the substrate is flat and another portion thereof is curved, and the electrode includes: a first sensing electrode; a second sensing electrode including second unit sensing electrodes spaced apart from the first sensing electrode; a bridge electrode connecting the second unit sensing electrodes; and an insulating layer between the first sensing electrode and the bridge electrode. The first and second sensing electrodes are disposed on a same surface of the substrate. The bridge electrode includes: a first mesh line having a first width; a second mesh line having a second width; and a first cross area in which the first and second mesh lines cross each other, the first cross area having a third width, wherein the third width is 2 to 5 times the first width and the second width.