Patent Application
20100090981
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) to a Korean Patent Application entitled “Touch Screen Panel and Fabrication Method thereof” filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Oct. 14, 2008 and assigned Serial No. 10-2008-0100632, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device, and more particularly to a touch screen panel that is mounted on a display device so as to provide an input function.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, information apparatuses (devices), such as a cellular phones, navigation apparatuses for vehicles, and a portable multimedia reproducing devices, are output devices that typically include a speakerphone and a display device. Further, such information apparatuses are input devices for voice calls, permitting character input, retrieving stored information, or the like, and include a microphone, keypad, touchscreen or the like to enable such functionality.
In more recent times, as the portability of the information apparatuses was emphasized by manufacturers in response to consumer demand, the apparatuses have become more and more compact, even as functionality has increased. However, as the multimedia function became more widespread, the need for a relatively large screen that is still portable and enables the user to watch a moving image or a TV broadcasting program has been at the forefront of consumer demand. Such trends have facilitated the employment of a display device having a touch screen panel, instead of a button-type keypad, in manufacturing the information apparatus to reduce size and weight of the apparatus and to permit a larger screen for viewing.
Typically, a touch screen panel generally uses a resistive touch screen element, or a capacitive touch screen element.
The resistive touch screen element is an element sensing an input location through a resistance value that is changed according to the press power of the user, and has an advantage in that its structure and usage method is simple, represents a transmittance rate of a minimum of approximately 80%, and its cost of manufacturer is relatively cheap. However, there is a disadvantage in that the resistive touch screen element does not have sufficient durability, is thick, and is not suitable for a relatively large screen.
The capacitive touch screen element is an element that operates by sensing an input location through the capacity that is changed by the electrostatic generated when the human body is in contact with the element, and has an advantage in that the durability, assembly property, and thickness are superior to that of the resistive touch screen element. However, there is a disadvantage in that the capacitive touch screen element requires an additional control system and its circuit is complex.
Taking the advantages, disadvantages, and portability of the above two-types of touch screen elements into the consideration, the resistive touch screen element is still relatively widely used in manufacturing an information device.
The invisible circuit patterns are printed on the ITO films 11a and 11b, respectively so as to sense the change of the resistance value, or the like, generated by the operation of the user and transmit it to a circuit unit of the information apparatus.
The conventional resistive touch screen element directly senses the press power of the user so that, as discussed previously, the element should be mounted on an exterior surface of the apparatus, i.e. the display device, and it is difficult to have a curved surface. As a result, the resistive touch screen element has an advantage of easiness of the manufacture and low cost, but simultaneously has an disadvantage of difficulty of being formed in a curved surface, so as to cause a problem in diversifying the appearance of the information device.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made to provide a touch screen panel and a manufacturing method thereof which can diversify the appearance of the information apparatus.
In accordance with an exemplary aspect of the present invention, there is provided a touch screen panel, including: a window having a curved surface and mounted on a front surface of a display element; and a touch screen element attached to the curved surface of the window, wherein the touch screen element is processed to have a curvature corresponding to a curvature of the curved surface of the window prior to being attached to the curved surface of the window.
The touch screen element includes a pair of Indium-Tin Oxide films (ITO films) and a plurality of dot spacers disposed between the ITO films.
Furthermore, the touch screen element preferably is processed to have the curvature in a state where the dot spacers are disposed between the ITO films, and the ITO films are manufactured to have the curvature, respectively, and then are assembled as the touch screen element. The ITO films are then attached with each other by an double-sided adhesive tape arranged along edges of the ITO films.
Preferably, the touch screen element comprises a resistive touch screen.
In accordance with another exemplary aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a touch screen panel, including the steps of: manufacturing a window that has a curved surface; manufacturing a touch screen element having a curvature corresponding to a curvature of the curved surface of the window; and attaching the manufactured touch screen element to the window.
The manufacturing of the touch screen element preferably includes the steps of: preparing a pair of ITO films; and attaching the ITO films to each other so that a plurality of dot spacers are disposed between the ITO films.
The method according to the present invention further includes a step of processing the ITO films to have a curvature corresponding to a curvature of the curved surface of the window prior to disposing the dot spacers between the ITO films, and attaching the ITO films to each other so the dot spacers are disposed between the ITO films, and then processing the touch screen element to have a curvature corresponding to the curvature of the curved surface of the window.
Preferably, the step of manufacturing the touch screen element is manufactured as a resistive touch screen element.
According to an exemplary aspect of the present invention, the touch screen panel including the touch screen element is operated in a resistive scheme and also can be mounted on the curved window, so as to facilitate making the appearance of the information device to have diverse designs. Further, the touch screen panel preferably is manufactured using the resistive touch screen element, rather than using the capacitive touch screen element, so as to advantageously save the manufacturing cost of the information device and provide the user with a cost-effective information device.
The above and other exemplary aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, detailed explanation of known related functions and constitutions may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring appreciation of the subject matter of the present invention by a person of ordinary skill in the art.
A double-sided adhesive tape (not shown) can be disposed along the edges of the ITO films 111a and 111b for attaching the ITO films 111a and 111b to each other. The dot spacers 111c uniformly maintain an interval between the ITO films 111a and 111b. That is, the double-sided adhesive tape attaches the ITO films 111a and 111b to each other and is arranged around the dot spacers 111c. The ITO films may be attached to each other via opposite ends of the spacers. In an alternative embodiment, a double-sided adhesive tape may be further used at the edges of the ITO films to attach the ITO films to each other while the dot spacers attach the ITO films to each other.
The touch screen element 101 preferably is manufactured in a shape having a curvature corresponding to the curved surface of the window 113 and is attached to the curved surface of the window 113. Accordingly, the display device 110 includes the resistive touch screen panel.
In the touch screen element 101, the dot spacers 111c are disposed between the ITO films 111a and 111b. The touch screen element 101 is preferably first manufactured in a shape of a flat panel (shown in
There can be a process step of printing a protection film or a circuit pattern on the ITO films 111a and 111b, respectively, prior to attaching the ITO films 111a and 111b with each other, but which is understood by an artisan through the manufacturing method of the flat-type touch screen device, so that its detailed description will be omitted herein.
The ITO films 111a and 111b are cut (shown in
The dot spacers 111c are preferably printed on either one of the ITO films 111a and 111b formed in the shape of the curved surface and the ITO films 111a and 111b are attached with each other while the dot spacers 111c are disposed between the ITO films 11a and 111b, so as to complete (shown in
In manufacturing the touch screen panel, the degree of curvature of the curved surface of the window 113 can be variably set according to the appearance of the informational device that is to being manufactured.
While the present invention has been shown and described with reference to certain exemplary embodiments and drawings thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. For example, while the examples show a window with one curved surface is in within the spirit and scope of the invention that there could be more than one curved surface.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-100632 | Oct 2008 | KR | national |
