Touch Display Spacers for Structural Integrity and Parasitic Capacitance
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Solution Overview
Problem
The integration of a touch screen into portable devices like smartphones and tablets often compromises structural support and electrical performance due to thickness constraints.
Innovation Solution
A display device design featuring a first substrate with pixel areas, display elements, spacers, and touch sensing electrodes on a second substrate, where the spacers maintain structural integrity and the touch sensing electrodes are configured to prevent parasitic capacitance, ensuring both structural support and electrical performance are maintained.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If the touch screen is integrated inside the display panel to reduce thickness, then the device thickness is reduced, but structural support and electrical performance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into distinct functional layers: a display panel with display elements on a first substrate, and a touch screen with touch sensing electrodes on a second substrate. These substrates are separated by spacers, creating a segmented structure that maintains structural integrity while achieving thinness. The segmentation allows each layer to perform its function independently without compromising overall performance.
2Length of moving object
If the touch screen is integrated inside the display panel to reduce thickness, then the device thickness is reduced, but electrical performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Spacers are introduced as intermediary elements between the first substrate (display panel) and the second substrate (touch screen). These spacers maintain a controlled distance between the substrates, preventing direct contact that would cause electrical interference. The intermediaries preserve electrical performance by isolating the conductive elements while enabling the thin integrated design.
3Length of moving object
If touch sensing electrodes are placed close to display elements, then device thickness is reduced, but parasitic capacitance increases
Solution Approach 1:
Spacers serve as physical intermediaries that maintain a predetermined distance between the display elements on the first substrate and the touch sensing electrodes on the second substrate. This spacing prevents direct electrical interaction that would generate parasitic capacitance, while still allowing the overall device to remain thin through the integrated layered structure.
4Length of moving object
If substrates are placed close together, then device thickness is reduced, but structural integrity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The integrated display device is segmented into distinct functional modules (display panel and touch screen) that are positioned close together but remain structurally independent through the use of spacers. This segmentation allows the device to achieve thinness while maintaining the structural integrity of each individual substrate.
Data Source
AI summary
A display device may include a first substrate including a plurality of pixel areas, a plurality of display elements disposed in the plurality of pixel areas on the first substrate, respectively, a second substrate facing the first substrate, a plurality of spacers disposed between the plurality of display elements, and a plurality of touch sensing electrodes disposed on a surface of the second substrate facing the first substrate. The display element, among the plurality of display elements, includes a first electrode disposed in a pixel area among the plurality of pixel areas, a pixel defining layer disposed between each pixel area among the plurality of pixel areas and exposing the first electrode, an emission layer disposed on the first electrode and including at least a light generating layer, and a second electrode disposed on the emission layer and extending to the pixel defining layer and the plurality of spacers. The plurality of spacers are disposed on the pixel defining layer and the second electrode includes openings overlapping the plurality of spacers.