KR20210035147A - Touch sensor-antenna module and display device including the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A touch sensor-antenna module of the embodiments of the present invention includes a base layer, sensing electrodes, a bridge electrode, and an antenna pattern. The sensing electrodes include first sensing electrodes arranged on the base layer, and arranged in a first direction parallel to the upper surface of the base layer, and second sensing electrodes arranged in a second direction parallel to the upper surface of the base layer and arranged along a second direction intersecting the first direction. The bridge electrode connects the first sensing electrodes, which are adjacent in the first direction. The antenna pattern is disposed on the same layer as the bridge electrode and includes a radiation electrode overlapping the sensing electrodes in a planar direction.

Description

TOUCH SENSOR-ANTENNA MODULE AND DISPLAY DEVICE INCLUDING THE SAME}

The present invention relates to a touch sensor-antenna module and a display device including the same. In more detail, it relates to a touch sensor-antenna module including an antenna pattern and a touch sensor layer, and a display device including the same.

With the recent development of the information society, wireless communication technologies such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are combined with display devices and implemented in the form of, for example, a smartphone. In this case, an antenna may be coupled to the display device to perform a communication function.

With the recent evolution of mobile communication technology, an antenna for performing communication in an ultra-high frequency band corresponding to, for example, 3G to 5G needs to be coupled to the display device.

Meanwhile, a touch panel or a touch sensor, which is an input device that allows the user's command to be input by selecting the instruction content displayed on the screen with a human hand or object, is combined with the display device to implement an image display function and an information input function. Electronic devices are being developed. For example, as in Korean Patent Application Publication No. 2014-0092366, a touch screen panel in which a touch sensor is combined with various image display devices has been developed.

As an antenna and a touch sensor coexist in one display device, an additional space is required for mounting an antenna, and thus, development of a display device according to a recent thinner and lighter design may be restricted. In addition, operation reliability may be degraded due to mutual signal interference between the antenna and the touch sensing electrode.

For example, Korean Patent Application Publication No. 2003-0095557 discloses an antenna structure embedded in a portable terminal, but does not consider compatibility with other electric devices such as a touch sensor.

Korean Patent Application Publication No. 2014-0092366 Korean Patent Application Publication No. 2003-0095557

An object of the present invention is to provide a touch sensor-antenna module having improved space efficiency and operational reliability.

An object of the present invention is to provide a display device including a touch sensor-antenna module having improved space efficiency and operational reliability.

1. Substrate layer; First sensing electrodes arranged on the substrate layer and arranged in a first direction parallel to an upper surface of the substrate layer, and a second sensing electrode arranged in a second direction parallel to the upper surface of the substrate layer and intersecting the first direction. A plurality of sensing electrodes including two sensing electrodes; A bridge electrode connecting the first sensing electrodes adjacent in the first direction; And an antenna pattern disposed on the same layer as the bridge electrode and including a radiation electrode overlapping the sensing electrodes in a plane direction.

2. The touch sensor-antenna module according to the above 1, further comprising an insulating layer covering the sensing electrodes, wherein the bridge electrode and the antenna pattern are disposed on the insulating layer.

3. The touch sensor-antenna module according to the above 1, wherein the bridge electrode is disposed under the sensing electrodes.

4. The touch sensor-antenna module according to the above 3, further comprising an insulating layer covering the bridge electrode on the base layer, and the sensing electrodes are disposed on the insulating layer.

5. The touch sensor-antenna module according to the above 1, wherein the corner portions of the radiation electrode overlap in a planar direction, respectively, with four sensing electrodes around the sensing electrode overlapping with the central portion of the radiation electrode.

6. In the above 1, the second sensing electrodes extend in the second direction and are electrically connected to each other by a connection part integrally connected to the second sensing electrodes, and the radiation electrode is the bridge electrode and the connection part. The touch sensor-antenna module, overlapping the intersection area intersecting in the plane direction.

7. The touch sensor-antenna module according to the above 6, wherein the radiation electrode overlaps with the four sensing electrodes around the cross-region.

8. The touch sensor-antenna module according to the above 6, wherein the bridge electrode is included in the radiation electrode.

9. In 8 above, the radiation electrode has a mesh structure defined by electrode lines crossing each other, and the mesh structure includes a separation area in which some of the electrode lines are cut off, the touch sensor- Antenna module.

10. The touch sensor-antenna module according to the above 9, wherein the bridge electrode extends within the separation area and the space between the electrode lines.

11. The method of 1 above, wherein the radiation electrode includes a mesh structure, and the sensing electrodes have a solid structure, a touch sensor-antenna module.

12. The touch sensor-antenna module according to the above 1, wherein the antenna pattern further comprises a transmission line extending from the radiation electrode and a signal pad connected to one end of the transmission line.

13. The touch sensor-antenna module according to the above 12, wherein the antenna pattern further comprises a ground pad disposed to be separated from the transmission line and the signal pad around the signal pad.

14. The touch sensor-antenna module according to the above 12, wherein the upper surface of the base layer includes a sensing area and a wiring area, and the sensing electrodes are arranged on the sensing area.

15. The method of 14 above, further comprising touch sensing pads electrically connected to the sensing electrodes and disposed on the wiring area, wherein the signal pad of the antenna pattern is disposed on the wiring area, a touch sensor- Antenna module.

16. A display device comprising the touch sensor-antenna module of any one of 1 to 15 above.

According to embodiments of the present invention, the antenna pattern may be introduced together through the touch sensor layer forming process by forming the radiation electrode of the antenna pattern on the same layer as the bridge electrode of the touch sensor layer. Accordingly, a separate space and process for mounting the antenna pattern may be omitted, and an antenna pattern substantially integrated with the touch sensor layer may be implemented.

In some embodiments, parasitic capacitance generated between the sensing electrode of the touch sensor layer and the radiation electrode may be dispersed by adjusting the position of the radiation electrode. Accordingly, mutual interference due to overlapping of the sensing electrode and the radiation electrode may be reduced.

1 is a plan view illustrating a schematic structure of a touch sensor layer included in a touch sensor-antenna module according to example embodiments.
2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic structure of a touch sensor layer included in a touch sensor-antenna module according to example embodiments.
3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic structure of a touch sensor layer included in a touch sensor-antenna module according to some exemplary embodiments.
4 is a plan view illustrating a schematic structure of an antenna pattern included in a touch sensor-antenna module according to exemplary embodiments.
5 and 6 are schematic plan views illustrating an arrangement of a touch sensor layer and an antenna pattern in a touch sensor-antenna module according to exemplary embodiments.
7 is a partially enlarged plan view illustrating an arrangement of a touch sensor layer and an antenna pattern in an intersection area of the touch sensor layer according to example embodiments.
8 is a schematic plan view illustrating a display device according to example embodiments.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a touch sensor-antenna module including a touch sensor layer including a plurality of sensing electrodes and a bridge electrode, and an antenna pattern disposed to overlap the touch sensor layer. In addition, a display device with improved space efficiency and operational reliability is provided through the touch sensor-antenna module.

1 is a plan view illustrating a schematic structure of a touch sensor layer included in a touch sensor-antenna module according to example embodiments. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic structure of a touch sensor layer included in a touch sensor-antenna module according to exemplary embodiments. For example, FIG. 2 shows a structure of a touch sensor having a top-bridge structure in which the bridge electrode 120 is disposed above the sensing electrodes 110 and 130.

1 and 2, the touch sensor layer 100 may include a base layer 105 and sensing electrodes 110 and 130 arranged on the base layer 105.

The base layer 105 is used to mean a film-type base material used as a base layer for forming the sensing electrodes 110 and 130 or an object on which the sensing electrodes 110 and 130 are formed. In some embodiments, the base layer 105 may refer to an encapsulation layer of a display panel on which the sensing electrodes 110 and 130 are stacked.

For example, the substrate layer 105 may be a substrate or film material commonly used for a touch sensor without particular limitation, and may include, for example, glass, a polymer, and/or an inorganic insulating material. Examples of the polymer include cyclic olefin polymer (COP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyacrylate (PAR), polyetherimide (PEI), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), poly Allylate, polyimide (PI), cellulose acetate propionate (CAP), polyethersulfone (PES), cellulose triacetate (TAC), polycarbonate (PC), cyclic olefin copolymer (COC), poly And methyl methacrylate (PMMA). Examples of the inorganic insulating material include silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, and metal oxide.

The sensing electrodes 110 and 130 may include first sensing electrodes 110 and second sensing electrodes 130.

The first sensing electrodes 110 may be arranged along a first direction (eg, an X direction) parallel to the upper surface of the base layer 105, for example. In some embodiments, the first sensing electrodes 110 may be physically spaced apart from each other as island-type unit electrodes. In this case, the first sensing electrodes 110 adjacent in the first direction may be electrically connected to each other by the bridge electrode 120.

Accordingly, a first sensing electrode row extending in the first direction may be formed by the plurality of first sensing electrodes 110 and the bridge electrode 120. In addition, the plurality of first sensing electrode rows may be parallel to the upper surface of the base layer 105 and may be arranged along a second direction crossing the first direction. For example, the first direction and the second direction may cross each other perpendicularly.

The second sensing electrodes 130 may be arranged along a second direction (eg, Y direction), for example. In some embodiments, the second sensing electrodes 130 adjacent in the second direction may be physically or electrically connected to each other by the connection unit 140. For example, the connection part 140 may be integrally formed at the same level as the second sensing electrodes 130.

Accordingly, the second sensing electrodes 130 are connected to each other by the connection part 140 to form a second sensing electrode row extending in the second direction. A plurality of second sensing electrode rows may be arranged along the first direction.

For example, the sensing electrodes 110 and 130 and the bridge electrode 120 are silver (Ag), gold (Au), copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), and chromium. (Cr), titanium (Ti), tungsten (W), niobium (Nb), tantalum (Ta), vanadium (V), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn), molybdenum (Mo), calcium (Ca), or an alloy thereof (eg, silver-palladium-copper (APC)). These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

The sensing electrodes 110 and 130 and/or the bridge electrode 120 are, for example, indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), zinc oxide (ZnO), indium zinc tin oxide (IZTO), cadmium A transparent conductive oxide such as tin oxide (CTO) may be included.

In some embodiments, the sensing electrodes 110 and 130 and the bridge electrode 120 may include a stacked structure of a transparent conductive oxide and a metal. For example, the sensing electrodes 110 and 130 and/or the bridge electrode 120 may have a three-layer structure of a transparent conductive oxide layer-metal layer-transparent conductive oxide layer. In this case, while the flexible property is improved by the metal layer, a signal transmission speed may be improved by lowering resistance, and corrosion resistance and transparency may be improved by the transparent conductive oxide layer.

2, the insulating layer 150 may at least partially cover the sensing electrodes 110 and 130 on the base layer 105. According to exemplary embodiments, the insulating layer 150 is formed in the crossing region C of the first sensing electrode 110 and the second sensing electrode 130, so that the connection part 140 of the second sensing electrode 130 is formed. ) Can be covered. The bridge electrode 120 may be formed on the insulating layer 150 to be connected to neighboring first sensing electrodes 110.

The insulating layer 150 may include an inorganic insulating material such as silicon oxide or silicon nitride, or an organic insulating material such as an acrylic resin or a siloxane resin.

As shown in FIG. 2, the touch sensor 100 may include a sensing area A and a wiring area B. The sensing electrodes 110 and 130 and the bridge electrode 120 may be disposed on the base layer 105 of the sensing area A. The touch sensing pad 170 may be disposed on the base layer 105 of the wiring area B.

According to example embodiments, a trace branching from each of the first sensing electrode row and the second sensing electrode column extends to the wiring region B and may be electrically connected to the touch sensing pad 170.

Accordingly, the physical touch information input to the touch sensor 100 is converted into an electric signal due to the difference in capacitance by the first sensing electrode 110 and the second sensing electrode 130, and the electrical signal is converted into a touch sensing pad. Through 170, for example, it may be transmitted to a touch sensing driving IC to implement touch sensing. The touch sensing driving IC may be bonded to the touch sensing pad 170 through, for example, a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB).

The passivation layer 160 protects the sensing electrodes 110 and 130 and the bridge electrode 120 on the sensing area A, and may extend onto the wiring area B. The passivation layer 160 may include, for example, an opening exposing the touch sensing pad 170.

The passivation layer 160 may include an inorganic insulating material such as silicon oxide or silicon nitride, or an organic insulating material such as an acrylic resin or a siloxane resin.

As shown in FIG. 1, each of the first sensing electrode 110 and the second sensing electrode 130 may be patterned into a predetermined shape.

According to example embodiments, the edge or boundary of the first sensing electrode 110 and the second sensing electrode 130 may be patterned in a wavy shape. Accordingly, a moire phenomenon due to overlapping with electrodes or wires (data wires, gate wires, etc.) included in the display panel disposed under the touch sensor layer 100 may be reduced.

Unlike this, the first sensing electrode 110 and the second sensing electrode 130 may have a polygonal pattern shape such as a rhombus shape and a hexagonal shape.

3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic structure of a touch sensor layer included in a touch sensor-antenna module according to some exemplary embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 3, electrodes included in the touch sensor layer 100 may be arranged according to a bottom-bridge structure. According to exemplary embodiments, the bridge electrode 120 may be disposed on the base layer 105, and the insulating layer 150 covering the bridge electrode 120 may be formed on the base layer 105.

Contact holes exposing the upper surface of the bridge electrode 120 may be formed in the insulating layer 150. The second sensing electrodes 130 may be disposed on the insulating layer 150 in an arrangement substantially the same as or similar to the arrangement described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

The first sensing electrodes 110 fill the contact holes on the insulating layer 150 and may be electrically connected to the bridge electrode 120. The first sensing electrodes 110 adjacent in the first direction may be disposed to face each other with the connection part 140 interposed therebetween. The bridge electrodes 120 may overlap each other in the thickness direction in the connection part 140 and the crossing region C with the insulating layer 150 interposed therebetween.

The passivation layer 160 may be formed on the insulating layer 150 to cover the sensing electrodes 110 and 130.

4 is a plan view illustrating a schematic structure of an antenna pattern included in a touch sensor-antenna module according to example embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 4, the antenna pattern 200 may include a radiation electrode 210, a transmission line 220, and an antenna pad 250. The antenna pad 250 may include a signal pad 230 and a ground pad 240.

The radiation electrode 210 has, for example, a polygonal plate shape, and the transmission line 220 extends from the center of the radiation electrode 210 in the second direction, for example, to be electrically connected to the signal pad 230. I can. The transmission line 220 may be formed as a single member substantially integral with the radiation electrode 210.

In some embodiments, a pair of ground pads 240 may be disposed with the signal pad 230 interposed therebetween. The ground pads 240 may be electrically and physically separated from the signal pad 230 and the transmission line 220.

The radiation electrode 210, the transmission line 220 and/or the antenna pad 250 are silver (Ag), gold (Au), copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), respectively. , Chromium (Cr), titanium (Ti), tungsten (W), niobium (Nb), tantalum (Ta), vanadium (V), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni) , Tin (Sn), zinc (Zn), molybdenum (Mo), calcium (Ca), or an alloy thereof. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more. For example, the radiation electrode 210 may include silver (Ag) or a silver alloy to implement low resistance, and for example, may include a silver-palladium-copper (APC) alloy.

The radiation electrode 210, the transmission line 220 and/or the antenna pad 250 are indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), zinc oxide (ZnO), indium zinc tin oxide (IZTO), and cadmium tin. A transparent conductive oxide such as oxide (CTO) may be included.

In some embodiments, the radiation electrode 210, the transmission line 220, and/or the antenna pad 250 may include a stacked structure of a transparent conductive oxide layer and a metal layer. For example, the radiation electrode 210, the transmission line 220, and/or the antenna pad 250 may have a three-layer structure of a transparent conductive oxide layer-metal layer-transparent conductive oxide layer. In this case, while the flexible property is improved by the metal layer, resistance may be lowered, and corrosion resistance and transparency may be improved by the transparent conductive oxide layer.

According to example embodiments, the radiation electrode 210 may have a mesh structure. Accordingly, as will be described later with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, even when overlapping with the sensing electrodes 110 and 130, generation of parasitic capacitance may be reduced and transmittance may be improved. In some embodiments, the sensing electrodes 110 and 130 included in the touch sensor layer 100 may have a solid structure to improve sensing sensitivity.

In one embodiment, the transmission line 220 may also have a mesh structure. The antenna pads 250 may have a solid structure to reduce power supply and signal transmission resistance.

In an embodiment, a dummy mesh pattern (not shown) may be arranged around the radiation electrode 210.

According to example embodiments, the antenna pattern 200 may be disposed on the same layer or at the same level as the bridge electrode 120 of the touch sensor layer 100 described above. As described with reference to FIG. 2, when the bridge electrode 120 is disposed on the insulating layer 150, the antenna pattern 200 may be disposed on the insulating layer 150. In this case, the insulating layer 150 may be provided as a dielectric layer of the antenna pattern 220.

As described with reference to FIG. 3, when the touch sensor layer 100 has a bottom-bridge structure, the antenna pattern 200 may be disposed on the base layer 105 together with the bridge electrode 120.

5 and 6 are schematic plan views illustrating an arrangement of a touch sensor layer and an antenna pattern in a touch sensor-antenna module according to exemplary embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 5, when the radiation electrodes 210 included in the antenna patterns 200 are projected in a plane direction, they may be disposed to overlap the sensing electrodes 110 and 130.

According to exemplary embodiments, the radiation electrode 210 is disposed on the sensing area A together with the sensing electrodes 110 and 130, and the antenna pads 250 are disposed on the wiring area B. I can. Accordingly, while mounting the antenna pattern 200 using the sensing area A, the antenna pads 250 can be connected to the antenna driving IC chip using the wiring area B that is connected to the driving IC chip. I can.

As described above, the antenna pattern 200 may be disposed on the same layer as the bridge electrode 120 of the touch sensor layer 100. Accordingly, the antenna pattern 200 may be formed together using a patterning process or an etching process for forming the bridge electrode 120 of the touch sensor layer 100.

Accordingly, by forming the antenna pattern 200 by utilizing the space and the process of the touch sensor layer 100 together, the degree of freedom of space and the degree of device integration can be improved.

As shown in FIG. 5, the radiation electrode 210 of the antenna pattern 200 may overlap each of the first sensing electrode 110 or the second sensing electrode 130 in a plane direction. In one embodiment, the corner portions of the radiation electrode 210 may overlap with the four sensing electrodes 110 and 130 around the sensing electrodes 110 and 130 overlapping with the central portion of the radiation electrode 210, respectively. .

In this case, the parasitic capacitance generated between the central portion of the radiation electrode 210 and the sensing electrodes 110 and 130 may be dispersed to the periphery of the adjacent sensing electrodes 110 and 130 through the corner portion. Accordingly, excessive decrease in sensing sensitivity in the sensing electrodes 110 and 130 overlapping the central portion of the radiation electrode 210 can be prevented.

Referring to FIG. 6, the radiation electrode 210 of the antenna pattern 200 may overlap in a plane direction with the crossing region C where the bridge electrode 120 of the touch sensor layer 100 is located. In this case, the radiation electrode 210 may overlap the four sensing electrodes 110 and 130 around the crossing region C.

As the radiation electrode 210 overlaps the crossing region C, the parasitic capacitance between the radiation electrode 210 and the sensing electrodes 110 and 130 is uniformly distributed in the direction of the first sensing electrode row and the second sensing electrode column. I can make it. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent occurrence of touch sensing unevenness due to an increase in parasitic capacitance in either a row direction or a column direction.

In FIGS. 5 and 6, for convenience of explanation, the antenna pattern 200 is shown to be disposed on the sensing electrodes 110 and 130, but the antenna pattern 200 may be disposed under the sensing electrodes 110 and 130. have.

7 is a partially enlarged plan view illustrating an arrangement of a touch sensor layer and an antenna pattern in an intersection area of the touch sensor layer according to example embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 7, as described with reference to FIG. 6, when the radiation electrode 210 overlaps the crossing region C of the touch sensor layer 100, the bridge electrode 120 is formed in the radiation electrode 210. Can be included.

As described above, the radiation electrode 210 may have a mesh structure, and in this case, a plurality of intersecting electrode lines may be included in the radiation electrode 210.

The bridge electrode 120 is included in the mesh structure of the radiation electrode 210 and crosses the connection part 140, and for example, may electrically connect adjacent first sensing electrodes 110.

A separation region S in which the electrode lines are partially cut may be formed in the mesh structure. The bridge electrode 120 may extend within the space between the electrode lines and/or the separation region S. Accordingly, since the bridge electrode 120 is in contact or electrically connected to the mesh structure of the radiation electrode 210, it is possible to prevent a sensing error from occurring.

8 is a schematic plan view illustrating a display device according to example embodiments. For example, FIG. 8 shows an external shape including a window of a display device.

Referring to FIG. 8, the display device 300 may include a display area 310 and a peripheral area 320. The peripheral area 320 may be disposed on both sides and/or both ends of the display area 310, for example. The peripheral area 320 may correspond to, for example, a light blocking portion or a bezel portion of an image display device.

The above-described touch sensor-antenna module is disposed over the display area 310 and the peripheral area 320 of the display device 300, and the sensing electrodes 110 and 130 of the touch sensor electrode layer 100 are provided in the display area 310. ) Can be arranged within. In addition, the radiation electrode 210 of the antenna pattern 200 may also be arranged in the display area 310. As described above, it is possible to prevent the radiation electrodes 210 from being visually recognized by the user by using the mesh structure.

The touch sensing pads 170 of the touch sensor layer 100 shown in FIG. 2 and the antenna pads 250 of the antenna pattern 200 shown in FIG. 4 may be disposed in the peripheral area 320.

In addition, a touch sensor driving IC chip and an antenna driving IC chip are disposed in the peripheral area 320 together, and the touch sensing pads 170 of the touch sensor layer 100 and the antenna pads 250 of the antenna pattern 200 are respectively disposed. ) And can be electrically connected.

According to the above-described exemplary embodiments, by integrating the antenna pattern 200 of the touch sensor-antenna module at the level of the bridge electrode 120 of the touch sensor layer 100, the degree of spatial freedom of the display device may be increased.

100: touch sensor layer 105: base layer
110: first sensing electrode 120: bridge electrode
130: second sensing electrode 140: connection
150: insulating layer 170: touch sensing pad
200: antenna pattern 210: radiation electrode
220: transmission line 230: signal pad
240: ground pad 250: antenna pad

Claims (1)

Base layer;
First sensing electrodes arranged on the substrate layer and arranged in a first direction parallel to an upper surface of the substrate layer, and a second sensing electrode arranged in a second direction parallel to the upper surface of the substrate layer and intersecting the first direction. A plurality of sensing electrodes including two sensing electrodes;
A bridge electrode connecting the first sensing electrodes adjacent in the first direction; And
A touch sensor-antenna module comprising an antenna pattern disposed on the same layer as the bridge electrode and including a radiation electrode overlapping the sensing electrodes in a plane direction.

Images