Touch Panel Conductive Pattern with Opening Regions
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing touch panels, particularly resistive and capacitive types, face challenges in manufacturing large-sized screens with high conductivity at low costs, as they require complex processes and high costs due to the need for transparent conductive films like ITO, which have high resistance and increase in cost with screen size, and forming metal patterns is costly and complicated.
Innovation Solution
A touch panel design that includes a screen part, a router part, a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) part, and pad parts with conductive patterns having opening regions, allowing for simultaneous formation of the router and FPCB parts with the screen part using a printing method in a single process, reducing costs and complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If transparent conductive film (ITO) is used to achieve conductivity in touch panels, then electrical conductivity is improved, but manufacturing cost increases significantly with screen size
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter from transparent conductive film (ITO) to metal pattern, fundamentally altering the conductivity achievement method. This parameter change allows high conductivity to be maintained while reducing manufacturing cost, especially for large screens, as metal patterns can be formed more economically than ITO films on large substrates.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a composite structure combining metal pattern with transparent insulating film. This composite material approach achieves the dual benefit of high electrical conductivity from the metal pattern and optical transparency from the insulating film, while avoiding the high cost of large-area ITO films.
2Reliability
If metal pattern is used to reduce manufacturing cost and improve conductivity, then electrical conductivity and cost-effectiveness are improved, but manufacturing process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the formation of screen part and pad part into a single printing process. By combining these previously separate manufacturing steps into one printing operation, the patent reduces process complexity while maintaining the metal pattern's electrical conductivity advantages.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex photolithography or multi-step manufacturing processes with a printing method. This substitution simplifies the manufacturing process significantly, as printing can directly form the metal pattern without requiring the complex alignment and multiple processing steps of traditional methods.
3Ease of manufacture
If printing method is used to form metal patterns, then manufacturing cost and process complexity are reduced, but pattern shape accuracy deteriorates due to print roll contact
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the manufacturing process into distinct printing steps for screen part and pad part formation. This segmentation allows each part to be printed with optimized parameters, maintaining pattern accuracy while benefiting from the cost-effectiveness of printing. The screen part is printed first, then the pad part is printed separately, avoiding the need for a single complex print roll to handle both.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary printing of the screen part before printing the pad part. This preliminary action allows the screen part to be formed with high precision first, establishing a foundation that prevents subsequent print roll contact from degrading overall pattern accuracy when the pad part is added.
4Manufacturing precision
If separate processes are used to form screen part and pad part, then pattern accuracy is maintained, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the formation of screen part and pad part into a single integrated printing process. By combining these two previously separate processes into one printing operation, the patent reduces manufacturing complexity and cost while maintaining pattern accuracy through optimized printing parameters and sequential printing strategy.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a touch panel, comprising a screen part, a router part, a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) part, a first pad part comprising two or more router connection regions connecting the screen part and the router part, and a second pad part comprising two or more FPCB connection regions connecting the router part and the flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) part, in which at least some regions of the two or more FPCB connection regions comprise a conductive pattern having opening regions.