Touch Panel Border Region Sensing via Segmented Electrodes
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional touch panels have limited sensitivity as only the visible region provides touch functionality, with the border region being non-functional, which restricts their overall performance.
Innovation Solution
A touch panel design that includes a substrate with a visible region and a border region, featuring a shielding layer and a sensing electrode layer that extends from the visible region to the border region, comprising first and second electrodes and bridge portions for electrical connectivity, enhancing touch functionality across both areas.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the sensing electrode layer is extended to the border region, then touch sensitivity is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sensing electrode layer is divided into multiple segments including first electrodes, second electrodes, and bridge portions. The first electrodes are arranged in the visible region while the second electrodes extend to the border region, with bridge portions connecting them. This segmentation allows the sensing function to be extended to the border region while maintaining manageable structural complexity through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extends the sensing electrode layer from the traditional two-dimensional visible region into the border region, effectively utilizing the third dimension (depth/layering) to accommodate the extended sensing capability. The bridge portions are disposed at different positions to connect electrodes across regions, adding a spatial dimension to the electrode arrangement that enables border region sensing without proportionally increasing overall complexity.
2Reliability
If the bridge portion width is increased in the border region, then electrostatic discharge tolerance is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The bridge portions are designed with different width characteristics in different regions. Specifically, the bridge portions in the border region have a first width optimized for electrostatic discharge tolerance, while bridge portions in the visible region have a second width optimized for sensing performance. This local differentiation allows each region to have the specific quality it needs without compromising the other, resolving the contradiction between reliability and manufacturing precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent explicitly changes the width parameter of the bridge portions based on their location. The first width for border region bridge portions is designed to be different from the second width for visible region bridge portions. This parameter change allows the border region to achieve better electrostatic discharge tolerance through wider bridge portions while the visible region maintains its sensing performance with appropriately sized bridge portions, making the design more adaptable to different functional requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
A touch panel is provided. The touch panel includes a substrate which includes a visible region, a border region outside the visible region, a shielding layer over the border region, and a sensing electrode layer extending from the visible region to the border region. The sensing electrode layer includes first electrode pads arranged along a first direction and electrically connected to each other. The sensing electrode layer also includes second electrode pads arranged along a second direction. The second electrode pads include a first pad and a second pad adjacent to the first pad. The first pad and at least part of the second pad are disposed above the border region. The sensing electrode layer also includes bridge portions connecting the adjacent second electrode pads, and the bridge portions include a first bridge part disposed above the border region and connecting the first pad and the second pad.