Touch Screen Ground Ring for ESD Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
The reduction of border dimensions in touch screen display devices to achieve smaller form factors has led to inadequate electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection, making electronic components vulnerable to damage from ESD events.
Innovation Solution
A touch panel substrate with a unique ground ring configuration, featuring inner edges that conform to and surround the periphery of transmit and receive lines, and outer edges that are substantially parallel and adjacent to the edges of the substrate, providing enhanced ESD protection by extending past the display module's edges on all sides.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of moving object
If border dimensions are reduced to achieve smaller form factors, then the active area of the touch screen is extended toward edges, but electronic components become vulnerable to ESD damage due to removal of protective structural components
Solution Approach 1:
The ground ring is configured in advance to extend beyond the display module edges, creating a pre-established ESD protection path before any ESD event occurs. This preliminary configuration ensures that when ESD strikes, the charge is immediately directed to ground through the extended ground ring rather than through vulnerable electronic components.
Solution Approach 2:
The ground ring acts as an intermediary protective layer between the ESD charge and the electronic components. By positioning the ground ring to extend beyond the display module edges, it intercepts ESD charges first and provides a dedicated discharge path, mediating the harmful effect before it can reach the vulnerable electronics.
2Length of moving object
If structural components for ESD protection are removed, then border width is reduced, but electronic components are exposed to ESD damage
Solution Approach 1:
The ground ring is extended in the lateral dimension beyond the display module edges, creating protection in a previously unprotected spatial zone. This dimensional extension of the ground ring provides ESD protection without requiring additional vertical space or increasing the overall device thickness.
Solution Approach 2:
The ground ring configuration is optimized locally at the critical boundaries where ESD protection is most needed. By extending the ground ring specifically beyond the display module edges rather than uniformly throughout, protection is concentrated where the electronic components are most vulnerable to ESD strikes.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The ground ring configuration effectively protects the display module from ESD events by ensuring that electrical charges are discharged to ground, thereby preventing damage to the electronic components and ensuring reliable operation.
Implementation Method 1
electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection... protects the display module from ESD events... electrical charges are discharged to ground
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of a touch screen display device having improved electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection are provided herein with a touch screen and a display module underlying the touch screen. The touch screen described herein includes a touch panel substrate having a plurality of transmit lines, a plurality of receive lines, a plurality of routing traces and a ground ring formed thereon. The ground ring includes inner edges, which conform to and surround a periphery of the transmit lines, receive lines and routing traces, and outer edges that are substantially parallel and adjacent to edges of the touch panel substrate. At least one of the outer edges of the ground ring extend past at least one outer edge of the display module along at least one entire side of the display module, thereby providing ESD protection to the display module on all such sides.