Touch Panel Substrate with Wide Electrode Ends for Light Transmittance

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Solution Overview

Problem

Touch panels with layered conductive films often experience misalignment issues, leading to non-uniform light transmittance and visual disturbances due to high brightness at the boundaries between electrode grids, causing display quality issues.

Innovation Solution

A touch panel substrate design featuring a first electrode layer and a second electrode layer with net-like patterns, where the outer edges of the electrodes have wide width parts to ensure uniform light transmittance even when the layers are not perfectly aligned, by canceling out high light transmittance in the spaces between electrodes with low light transmittance at the edges.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of manufacture

If layered conductive films are used to reduce moire, then visibility is improved, but non-uniform light transmittance occurs at boundaries between electrode grids

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemoire suppressionVSAvoidlight transmittance uniformity
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by giving different widths to different parts of the conductor lines. Specifically, the conductor lines have wider portions at their ends and narrower portions in their intermediate sections. This local variation in width compensates for the misalignment between layered conductive films, ensuring that the boundaries between electrode grids do not create visible patterns while maintaining uniform light transmittance across the display surface.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

2Illumination intensity

If conductor lines are made uniformly thin to improve light transmittance, then brightness increases, but misalignment between layers becomes more noticeable

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvelight transmittanceVSAvoidalignment tolerance
Core Design Contradiction:
Illumination intensityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies parameter changes by varying the width parameter of the conductor lines along their length. The conductor lines transition from wider ends to narrower intermediate sections, creating a gradual change in the physical parameter (width) that compensates for alignment variations between layers while maintaining overall light transmittance and suppressing visible boundaries.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

3Reliability

If wide conductor lines are used to ensure electrical conductivity, then electrical performance improves, but light transmittance decreases and patterns become visible

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveelectrical conductivityVSAvoidlight transmittance
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSIllumination intensity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies segmentation by dividing each conductor line into multiple sections with different widths - wider end portions and narrower intermediate portions. This segmentation allows the conductor line to maintain sufficient electrical conductivity through the wider sections while reducing visibility and improving light transmittance through the narrower sections, effectively balancing electrical performance with optical quality.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentUS10037109B2Touch-panel substrate and electronic device with electrodes provided on different plane surfaces and reduced non-uniformity of in-plane light transmittance
Publication Date: 2018.07.31 SHARP KK
  • US10037109B2 patent drawing
  • US10037109B2 patent drawing
  • US10037109B2 patent drawing

AI summary

Provided are (i) a touch panel substrate improved in uniformity of in-plane light transmittance and (ii) an electronic device employing the touch panel substrate. First sensor electrodes (11) are arranged in a first electrode layer (10), and second electrodes are arranged in a second electrode layer. In part of an outer edge of a first sensor electrode (11) which part is arranged side by side with an outer edge of a second electrode when viewed from above, ends of conductor lines (13) of the first sensor electrode (11) have respective wide width parts (40) each of which is wider than the other part of the conductor lines (13) when viewed from above.