Patent Application
20120188196
The present invention relates to a display apparatus, a touch panel and a method for manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to a display apparatus, a parallax barrier touch panel having a touch function and a three-dimensional (3D) image displaying function, and a method for manufacturing the same.
Currently, a display apparatus may have multiple functions, such as a displaying function, a touch function, and a 3D image displaying function. In general, a multi-functional display has to have more value added for achieving various functionalities. For example, a touch panel or a parallax barrier panel has to be added in a display for achieving a display apparatus with a touch control function or a 3D image display function.
For example, when integrating the touch function and the 3D image display function into a liquid crystal display (LCD), an LCD panel, the touch panel, and the parallax barrier panel are required for the display.
However, at this time, the above-mentioned display with multi-functions needs 6 glass substrates and three adhesion steps for assembly. Thus, the conventional display with multi-functions is relatively thick in outline dimension and more complicated in assembly.
Therefore, an aspect of the present invention is to provide a display apparatus, a touch panel and a method for manufacturing the same for integrating a touch function and a 3D image display function into the touch panel.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the touch panel comprises a first substrate, a first sensing electrode layer formed on the first substrate, an insulating layer formed on the first sensing electrode layer, a second sensing electrode layer formed on the insulating layer, a second substrate and a barrier electrode layer formed on the second substrate, and a liquid crystal layer formed between the second substrate and the first substrate.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the display apparatus comprises a display panel and a touch panel. The touch panel comprises a first substrate, a first sensing electrode layer formed on the first substrate, an insulating layer formed on the first sensing electrode layer, a second sensing electrode layer formed on the insulating layer, a second substrate and a barrier electrode layer formed on the second substrate, and a liquid crystal layer formed between the second substrate and the first substrate.
According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, the method for manufacturing a touch panel comprises the following steps: forming a first sensing electrode layer on a first substrate; forming an insulating layer on the first sensing electrode layer; forming a second sensing electrode layer on the insulating layer; forming a barrier electrode layer on a second substrate; and forming a liquid crystal layer between the second sensing electrode layer and the barrier electrode layer.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the second sensing electrode layer includes a plurality of second sensing pads.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the second sensing electrode layer is a common electrode connected to a common voltage.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the first sensing electrode layer and the second sensing electrode layer are formed as a projected capacitive sensing circuit.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the first sensing electrode layer and the second sensing electrode layer are formed as a resistive sensing circuit.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the barrier electrode layer comprises a plurality of parallax barrier electrodes being arranged in a periodical manner, and a predetermined pitch which is between each adjacent two of the parallax barrier electrodes is less than or equal to 300 μm.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the second sensing electrode layer includes a plurality of sensing pads, a pitch which is between each adjacent two of the sensing pads is less than or equal to 50 μm, and the width of each of the sensing pads is less than or equal to 10 mm.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the touch panel is bonded on the display panel by using an optical adhesive.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the display apparatus further comprises a cover lens disposed on the touch panel.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the pitch between the barrier electrodes is greater than the pitch between the sensing pads.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the width of the sensing pad is greater than the pitch between the barrier electrodes.
Therefore, with the use of the touch panel of the display apparatus disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention, the touch function and the 3D image display function can be integrated into the display apparatus for reducing the number of glass substrates being used, and thus the weight, thickness and cost thereof can be reduced. Furthermore, the assembly steps of the display apparatus can be reduced and simplified for reducing the assembly time and labor thereof.
The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
In order to make the illustration of the present invention more explicit and complete, the following description is stated with reference to
In the drawings, like reference numerals indicate like components or items.
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
The first substrate 121 and the second substrate 122 may be glass substrates or a flexible transparent substrate, and the material thereof may be glass, polycarbonate (PC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) or polyether sulfone (PES). In the present embodiment, the second substrate 122 is disposed between the first substrate 121 and the display panel 110, and the first substrate 121 is disposed at one side of the display panel 110 opposite to the second substrate 122, and the first substrate 121 preferably has a great mechanical strength to be a protective substrate for protecting the touch panel 120 and the display panel 110 from harm.
In one embodiment, the display apparatus 100 may further comprise a cover lens (not shown) which can be disposed on the touch panel 120 for protecting the touch panel 120. The material of the cover lens is preferably glass or plastics with high mechanical strength, and the cover lens can be adhered to the touch panel by an optical adhesive.
Referring to
In this embodiment, the first sensing electrode layer 123 and the second sensing electrode layer 125 can sense the touch or moving of the object and output sensing signals accordingly. The sensing signals can be transmitted to a circuit board 103 of the second substrate 122 (such as a flexible printed circuit board).
In one embodiment, the first sensing electrode layer 123 and the second sensing electrode layer 125 may be formed as, for example, a resistive sensing circuit. At this time, the insulating layer 124 which is disposed between the first sensing electrode layer 123 and the second sensing electrode layer 125 may include spacing units for separating the electrode layers 123 and 125.
Referring to
The width (about 5 mm) of each of the second sensing pad 102 of the second sensing electrode layer 125 is far greater than the width or the pitch (about 100 μm) of the parallax barrier electrodes 104, and the pitch between the second sensing pads 102 is relatively small compared with the pitch between the barrier electrode. Therefore, in comparison with the parallax barrier electrodes 104 of the barrier electrode layer 126, the second sensing electrode layer 125 can be regarded as a common electrode which is connected to a common voltage. In other words, the second sensing pad 102 is not only used for sensing touch position but also treated as common electrode. Accordingly, when applying a voltage to the second sensing electrode layer 125 and the barrier electrode layer 126, an electric field is formed between the electrode layers 125 and 126 for selectively controlling the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer 127 to rotate. By the rotating of the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer 127 which is between the electrode layers 125 and the parallax barrier electrodes 104, the touch panel 120 can allow the light to pass or to be sheltered. When the light passes through the liquid crystal layer 127, the user can directly watch the 2D images of the display panel 110. When the light is sheltered by the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer 127 which is between the electrode layers 125 and the parallax barrier electrodes 104, the parallax barriers are periodically formed between the electrode layers 125 and the parallax barrier electrodes 104. At this time, the user can respectively see different picture at different positions of the display panel 110, thereby forming a visual effect as if watching a 3D image. Therefore, with the use of the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer 127 between the electrode layers 125 and the parallax barrier electrodes 104, and modulate the rotation of the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer 127, the parallax barrier touch panel 120 can selectively switch 2D/3D images.
Referring to
Therefore, the display apparatus 100 of the present embodiment can utilize the touch panel 120 to achieve the touch function and the 3D image display function at the same time. When the display apparatus 100 performs the touch function, the finger or object can touch the first substrate 121 of the touch panel 120, and the touch or moving thereof can be detected by the sensing circuit formed by the sensing electrode layers 123 and 125 for obtaining the touch controlling effect. When the display apparatus 100 performs the 3D image display function, the user's eyes can respectively watch different images by using the parallax barriers formed by the second sensing electrode layer 125 and the barrier electrode layer 126, thereby forming a 3D image effect with depth perception.
As described above, the display apparatus of the present invention can utilize the touch panel to achieve the touch function and the 3D image display function. Since the touch function and the 3D image display function are integrated into the touch panel, the use of the glass in the display apparatus can be reduced for reducing the weight, thickness and cost thereof, and the process steps thereof can be simplify. Furthermore, with the use of the touch panel of the present invention, the assembly steps of the display apparatus can be reduced and simplified, thereby reducing the assembly time and labor thereof.
As is understood by a person skilled in the art, the foregoing embodiments of the present invention are strengths of the present invention rather than limiting of the present invention. It is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims, the scope of which should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100102840 | Jan 2011 | TW | national |
