1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a touch panel, especially a three-dimensional touch panel.
2. Description of Related Art
Touch sensing technology is capable of providing a natural interface between an electronic system and a user, and has found widespread applications in various fields, such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants, automatic teller machines, game machines, medical devices, liquid crystal display devices, and computing devices.
There are different types of touch panels. However, these touch panels can only achieve two-dimensional control, not three-dimensional control.
What is needed, therefore, is to provide a touch panel, which can overcome the above-described shortcomings.
Many aspects of the disclosure can be better understood with reference to the drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the views.
The disclosure is illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements. It should be noted that references to “an” or “one” embodiment in this disclosure are not necessarily to the same embodiment, and such references mean at least one.
Referring to
The first electrode plate 12 comprises a first conductive layer 122, a first substrate 124 and a second conductive layer 126. The first conductive layer 122 and the second conductive layer 126 form a two-dimensional coordinate touching module capable of detecting the coordinates along two directions (e.g., X and Y shown in
The second electrode plate 16 comprises a third conductive layer 162 and a second substrate 164. The third conductive layer 162 is located on a first surface of the second substrate 164 adjacent to the first electrode plate 12. Thus, the third conductive layer 162 and the second conductive layer 126 are spaced from each other by the interval 18. The second conductive layer 126 and the third conductive layer 162 form a third-dimensional coordinate touching module capable of detecting the coordinate along a direction (e.g., Z shown in
A material of the first substrate 124 and the second substrate 164 can be a flexible material having a good transparency. The material of the first substrate 124 and the second substrate 164 can be polymethylmethacrylate, polycarbonate, polyethylene terephthalate, polyimide, or cyclic olefin copolymer.
The first conductive layer 122, the second conductive layer 126, and the third conductive layer 162 are all anisotropic impedance layers, and can be formed by ITO, metals, graphene, or a carbon nanotube film. The carbon nanotube film comprises a number of carbon nanotubes arranged substantially along a same direction, and joined end to end substantially along the arranged direction. The carbon nanotubes of the carbon nanotube film are joined end to end substantially along the arranged direction to form a number of conductive channels substantially along the arranged direction. The carbon nanotube film has a minimum impedance along the arranged direction of the carbon nanotubes and a maximum impedance along the direction substantially perpendicular to the arranged direction of the carbon nanotubes, thus having anisotropic impedance. In one embodiment, the first conductive layer 122, the second conductive layer 126, and the third conductive layer 162 are formed by a number of ITO conductive strips.
A material of the supporters 14 can be electric insulative materials.
A gas, an electric insulative fluid, or an elastic electric insulative solid can be filled into the interval 18. The electric insulative fluid and the elastic electric insulative solid can be transparent or translucent. In one embodiment, the capacitive touch panel 100 does not include supporter 14 therein because the first electrode plate 12 and the second electrode plate 16 are spaced from each other by the electric insulative solid.
In one embodiment, the capacitive touch panel 100 further comprises a transparent protective film 10 to protect the first electrode plate 12. A material of the transparent protective film 10 can be silicon nitride, silicon oxide, benzocyclobutene, polyester, or acrylic resin.
Referring to
The capacitive touch panel 100 can further include a display module (not shown). The display module can be located on a second surface of the second substrate 164 opposite to the first surface of the second substrate 164. In one embodiment, a thickness of the capacitive touch panel 100 is decreased because the display module and the second electrode plate 16 share the same second substrate 164.
Referring to
S10, applying a first driving signal to one of the first conductive layer 122 and the second conductive layer 126, and obtaining a capacitance change ΔC1 of the first capacitance from the other of the first conductive layer 122 and the second conductive layer 126 that the first driving signal is not applied thereon;
S11, determining a two-dimensional coordinate (X, Y) of the touch point T according to the capacitance change ΔC1;
S12, applying a second driving signal to one of the second conductive layer 126 and the third conductive layer 162, and obtaining a capacitance change ΔC2 of the second capacitance from the other of the second conductive layer 126 and the third conductive layer 162 that the second driving signal is not applied thereon;
S13, comparing the ΔC2 with a threshold value C0; if ΔC2>C0, outputting a three-dimensional coordinate (X, Y, Z) of the touch point T; if ΔC2≦C0, outputting the two-dimensional coordinate (X, Y) of the touch point T.
In step S10, when the first driving signal is applied to one of the first conductive layer 122 and the second conductive layer 126, the third conductive layer 162 can be connected to ground. When the first driving signal is applied to the first conductive layer 122, the capacitance change ΔC1 can be obtained by scanning the second conductive layer 126. When the first driving signal is applied to the second conductive layer 126, the capacitance change ΔC1 can be obtained by scanning the first conductive layer 122. In one embodiment, the first driving signal is applied to the second conductive layer 126, and the capacitance change ΔC1 is obtained by scanning the first conductive layer 122. Thus a noise between the first conductive layer 122 and second conductive layer 126 can be reduced.
The first driving signal can be applied to the first conductive channels of the first conductive layer 122 one by one or at the same time. When the first driving signal is applied to the first conductive channels one by one, the other first conductive channels without the first driving signal applied thereon can be connected to ground or floating.
The first driving signal can also be applied to the second conductive channels of the second conductive layer 126 one by one or at the same time. When the first driving signal is applied to the second conductive channels one by one, the other second conductive channels without the first driving signal applied thereon can also be connected to ground or floating. In one embodiment, the first driving signal is applied to the second conductive channels one by one, and the other second conductive channels without the first driving signal applied thereon is connected to ground.
In step S11, referring to
In step S12, the first conductive layer 122 can be connected to ground.
The capacitance change ΔC2 of the second capacitance can be obtained by a mutual sensing method. For example, when the second driving signal is applied to the second conductive layer 126, the capacitance change ΔC2 of the second capacitance can be obtained by scanning the third conductive layer 162; or when the second driving signal is applied to the third conductive layer 162, the capacitance change ΔC2 of the second capacitance can be obtained by scanning the second conductive layer 126.
The second driving signal can be applied to all of the second conductive channels or the specific second conductive channels having the touch points T applied thereon one by one or at the same time. In one embodiment, a time for applying the second driving signal can be reduced because the second driving signal is applied only to the second conductive channels having the touch point T applied thereon. When the second driving signal is applied to the second conductive channels one by one, the other second conductive channels without the second driving signal applied thereon can be connected to ground or floating. The second driving signal can also be applied to all the third conductive channels of the third conductive layer 162 or the specific third conductive channels having the touch point T applied thereon one by one or at the same time. In another embodiment, the second driving signal is applied to the third conductive channels having the touch point T applied thereon one by one. When the second driving signal is applied to the third conductive channels one by one, the other third conductive channels without the second driving signal applied thereon can be connected to ground or floating.
When the second driving signal is applied to the second conductive channels, the capacitance change ΔC2 can be obtained by scanning all of the third conductive channels or the specific third conductive channels having the touch points T applied thereon one by one or at the same time. In one embodiment, a period time of scanning the third conductive channels can be reduced because the capacitance change ΔC2 is obtained only by scanning the third conductive channels having the touch points T applied thereon. When the second driving signal is applied to the third conductive channels, the capacitance change ΔC2 can be obtained by scanning all of the second conductive channels or the specific second conductive channels having the touch points T applied thereon one by one or at the same time. In another embodiment, the capacitance change ΔC2 is obtained by scanning the second conductive channels having the touch points T applied thereon.
In step S13, the threshold value C0 can be determined according to a precision of the capacitive touch panel 100, and can be greater than zero. Referring to
A pressure of the touch point T can be defined by the second capacitance C3 and C3′. For example, when C3′=C3, the pressure of the touch point T can be defined as zero Newton (N); when C3′=1.1×C3, the pressure of the touch point T can be defined as 0.1 N; when C3′=1.2×C3, the pressure of the touch point T can be defined as 0.2 N, and so on. Furthermore, a second two-dimensional coordinate (X, Y) of the touch point T can also be obtained according to the capacitance change ΔC2, and be verified with the two-dimensional coordinate (X, Y) obtained according to the capacitance change ΔC1. Thus, the touch-control precision of the two-dimensional coordinate (X, Y) of the capacitive touch panel 100 can be further improved.
In some embodiments, when the capacitance change ΔC2 reaches different predetermined values, such as 0.1×C3, 0.2×C3, 0.3×C3, and 0.4×C3, a different third-dimensional coordinate (Z) of the touch point T can be obtained. Thus, a touch-control precision of the third-dimensional coordinate (Z) of the capacitive touch panel 100 can be improved.
The capacitive touch panel 100 of the present embodiment has the following advantages. First, the pressure of the touch point can be detected by the second electrode plate 16, thus the three-dimensional coordinate of the touch point can be obtained. Second, the two-dimensional coordinate and the third-dimensional coordinate of the touch point is obtained in different steps, thus preventing the two-dimensional coordinate and the third-dimensional coordinate of the touch point from influencing each other. Third, the number of the third conductive channels is equal to the number of the first conductive channels. Thus, different third-dimensional coordinates of different touch points can be obtained at the same time.
Referring to
Referring to
S20, applying a first driving signal to one of the first conductive layer 122 and the second conductive layer 126, and obtaining a capacitance change ΔC1 of the first capacitance from the other of the first conductive layer 122 and the second conductive layer 126 that the first driving signal is not applied thereon;
S21, determining a two-dimensional coordinate (X, Y) of the touch point T according to the capacitance change ΔC1;
S22, applying a second driving signal to one of the second conductive layer 126 and the fourth conductive layer 166, and obtaining a capacitance change ΔC3 of the second capacitance from the one of the second conductive layer 126 and the fourth conductive layer 166;
S23, comparing ΔC3 with a threshold value C0; if ΔC3>C0, outputting a three-dimensional coordinate (X, Y) of the touch point T; if ΔC3≦C0, outputting the two-dimensional coordinate (X, Y, Z) of the touch point T.
Steps S20 and S21 are the same as the steps S10 and S11 respectively.
In step S22, the capacitance change ΔC3 can be obtained by a self-sensing method or the mutual-sensing method. In the self-sensing method, the second driving signal is applied to the second conductive layer 126 or the fourth conductive layer 166, and the capacitance change ΔC3 is obtained by scanning the second conductive layer 126 or the fourth conductive layer 166 with the second driving signal applied thereon at the same time.
In one embodiment, the second driving signal is applied to the second conductive layer 126, and the capacitance change ΔC3 is obtained by scanning the second conductive layer 126 at the same time. At this time, the first conductive layer 122 and the fourth conductive layer 166 can be connected to ground or floating. Specifically, the second driving signal can be applied to a first end of the second conductive channels of the second conductive layer 126, and the capacitance change ΔC3 can be obtained by scanning the first end or a second end opposite to the first end of the second conductive channels at the same time. In one embodiment, the second driving signal is applied to the first end of the specific second conductive channels having the touch point T applied thereon, and the capacitance change ΔC3 is obtained by scanning the second end opposite to the first end of the second conductive channels at the same time. Thus, a period time of step S22 can be reduced.
In another embodiment, a single second driving signal is applied to the fourth conductive layer 166, and the capacitance change ΔC3 is obtained by scanning the fourth conductive layer 166 at the same time. This is because the fourth conductive layer 166 is a successive conductive layer having a substantially uniform impedance along different directions. At this time, the first conductive layer 122 and the second conductive layer 126 can be connected to ground or floating.
In step S23, the threshold value C0 can be determined according to a precision of the capacitive touch panel 200, and can be greater than zero. Referring to
A pressure of the touch point T can be defined by the second capacitance C4 and C4′. For example, when C4′=C4, the pressure of the touch point T can be defined as zero N; when C4′=1.1×C4, the pressure of the touch point T can be defined as 0.1 N; when C4′=1.2×C4, the pressure of the touch point T can be defined as 0.2 N, and so on.
In some embodiments, when the capacitance change ΔC3 reaches different predetermined values, such as 0.1×C4, 0.2×C4, 0.3×C4, and 0.4×C4, different third-dimensional coordinates of the touch point T can be obtained. Thus, a touch-control precision of the third-dimensional coordinate (X, Y, Z) of the capacitive touch panel 200 can be improved.
Finally, it is to be understood that the above-described embodiments are intended to illustrate rather than limit the present disclosure. Variations may be made to the embodiments without departing from the spirit of the disclosure as claimed. Elements associated with any of the above embodiments are envisioned to be associated with any other embodiments. The above-described embodiments illustrate the scope of the disclosure but do not restrict the scope of the disclosure.
Depending on the embodiment, certain of the steps of methods described may be removed, others may be added, and the sequence of steps may be altered. It is also to be understood that the description and the claims drawn to a method may include some indication in reference to certain steps. However, the indication used is only to be viewed for identification purposes and not as a suggestion as to an order for the steps.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2013103869118 | Aug 2013 | CN | national |
This application claims all benefits accruing under 36 U.S.C. §119 from China Patent Application No. 201310386911.8, filed on Aug. 30, 2013 in the China Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. This application is related to applications entitled, “METHOD FOR DETECTING TOUCH POINTS OF TOUCH PANEL,” filed ______ (Atty. Docket No. US53378); and entitled, “METHOD FOR DETECTING TOUCH POINTS OF TOUCH PANEL,” filed ______ (Atty. Docket No. US53382).