US 20090160824A1
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`a9y United States
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`a2y Patent Application Publication o) Pub. No.: US 2009/0160824 A1l
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`Chih-Yung et al.
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`43) Pub. Date: Jun. 25, 2009
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`(54) SENSORY STRUCTURE OF TOUCH PANEL Publication Classification
`(75) Inventors: Ting Ch.ih-Y.ung, Hsin.chu County G IG1101:6213 042 (2006.01)
`(TW); Lin Yih-Jer, Hsinchu (52) US.Cl 345/175
`County (TW SeCle s
`YW (57) ABSTRACT
`Correspondence Address: . . ..
`BACON & THOMAS, PLLC A two-.dlmens.lonal sensory structure for Fhe capacitive touch
`625 SLATERS LANE, FOURTH FLOOR panel is provided. The provided two-dimensional sensory
`ALEXANDRIA, VA 22314-1176 (US) structure includes a substrate having plural first metal struc-
`tures and second metal structures on a first surface thereof, a
`(73) Assignee: CANDO CORPORATION, dot-like insulating layer located on the substrate and com-
`Hsinchu County (TW) posed of plural insulating dots, and an electrode layer located
`on the dot-like insulating layer and composed of plural con-
`(21) Appl. No.: 12/285,647 ductive traces. The insulating dots are each corresponding to
`the first metal structures respectively, and thereby a first por-
`(22) Filed: Oct. 10, 2008 tion of the conductive traces arranged along a first direction
`are electrically connected to each other, and the conductive
`(30) Foreign Application Priority Data traces that are arranged along a second direction are electri-
`cally insulated therefrom. The thickness of the touch panel
`Dec. 25,2007 (TW) oo, 96222048 according to the invention is effectively reduced.
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`BOE Tech. Grp. Co. v. Samsung Display Co.
`IPR2025-01481
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`Patent Application Publication Jun. 25, 2009 Sheet 1 of 10 US 2009/0160824 A1
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`Patent Application Publication Jun. 25, 2009 Sheet 2 of 10 US 2009/0160824 A1
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`Patent Application Publication Jun. 25, 2009 Sheet 3 of 10 US 2009/0160824 A1
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`Patent Application Publication Jun. 25, 2009 Sheet 5 of 10 US 2009/0160824 A1
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`Patent Application Publication Jun. 25, 2009 Sheet 7 of 10 US 2009/0160824 A1
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`Jun. 25,2009 Sheet 8 of 10
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`Patent Application Publication Jun. 25, 2009 Sheet 9 of 10 US 2009/0160824 A1
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`Patent Application Publication Jun. 25, 2009 Sheet 10 of 10 US 2009/0160824 A1
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`SENSORY STRUCTURE OF TOUCH PANEL
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`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
`
`[0002] The present invention relates to a sensory structure
`of a touch panel, and more particularly to a sensory structure
`of a capacitive touch panel.
`
`[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
`
`[0004] Touch sensing technology is broadly applied in the
`present electronic application for data input. In this case, the
`information is read out or transmitted while the user touches
`the screen with the finger or the stylus, so that the buttons,
`keyboards or joysticks, which are desired for the conventional
`electronic apparatus, could be omitted.
`
`[0005] Depending on the principles adopted for sensing,
`the touch panels are grouped into such as resistive touch
`panels, capacitive touch panels, infrared (IR) touch panels
`and ultrasonic wave ones. Regarding the IR touch panels and
`the ultrasonic wave ones, an IR or ultrasonic wave transmit-
`ting unit is arranged on one side of the respective X-direction
`and Y-direction of the screen, and on the other side thereof a
`receiving unit is configured. The movement of IR-ray or
`ultrasonic wave would be changed while the screen is touched
`by the user, and the touch position is accordingly measured
`and determined for data input. With respect to the resistive
`touch panel, which is fabricated by the lamination of an upper
`and a lower indium tin oxide (ITO) conductive films, the
`voltage variation thereof is generated while the upper and the
`lower electrodes of ITO are conducted through the touch
`pressure, and is detected by a controller, so that the touch
`position for data input is determined. The capacitive touch
`panel is constructed by the transparent glass substrate with a
`layer of metal oxide coated thereon, where a uniformly dis-
`tributed electrical field is produced throughout the surface of
`the substrate by the application of voltage from the four
`corners thereof. By detecting the capacitance variation
`caused by static-electric reaction between the user’s finger
`and the electric field, the touch position for data input is
`determined.
`
`[0006] The capacitive touch panel is advantageous in the
`design of dust-preventing, anti-fire, anti-scratch and high
`resolution. Nevertheless, an erroneous determination may
`occur in case of being exposed to electrostatic or humid
`environment since the sensory structure of the capacitive
`touch panel is easily affected thereby. Accordingly, it is rela-
`tively more difficult to design the structure and circuitry of the
`sensory structure to further increase the sensitivity of the
`capacitive touch panel, and hence the fabrication cost thereof
`may be so significant.
`
`[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 7,030,860 B1 discloses a capacitive
`sensing system with high transparency and sensitivity, in
`which the sensory structure is constructed with a flexible
`substrate and thus can be integrated into various kinds of
`electronic devices. With reference to FIG. 1A, the one-dimen-
`sional capacitive sensing system 1 according to U.S. Pat. No.
`7,030,860 B1 is illustrated. The capacitive sensing system 1 is
`constructed by a transparent substrate 10 and a further trans-
`parent substrate 14 coated with a transparent conductive layer
`16, where the substrates 10 and 14 are bonded with other by
`the application of an adhesive layer 12. Moreover, if a two-
`dimensional capacitive sensing system 100 is to be fabri-
`cated, a set of two different transparent substrates 14A and
`14B must be provided on two opposite sides of an insulating
`layer 18 where the transparent substrates 14A and 14B have
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`the respective transparent conductive layers 16 A and 16B that
`are patterned in different directions, i.e. x-direction and y-di-
`rection respectively, as shown in FIG. 1B.
`
`[0008] The above sensing system is designed as a multi-
`layer structure, so that the construction of the capacitive touch
`panel having the same is relatively complicated. Upon on
`fabrication, such sensing system needs five to ten film-pro-
`cessing procedures, and the use of two substrates as well as
`one to three full insulating layers is necessary, which fails to
`meet the demands for compactness. Furthermore, the above
`capacitive sensing system adopts the indium tin oxide (ITO)
`electrode for serving as the upper and lower conductive elec-
`trodes thereof, the sensitivity would be relatively reduced
`since the conductivity of ITO is insufficient for its high resis-
`tivity.
`
`[0009] Forovercoming the mentionedissues, itis desired in
`this art to provide a sensory structure of the capacitive touch
`panel with a relatively lower resistance so as to increase the
`sensitivity thereof. In addition, a sensory structure having a
`simplified structure and even reduced thickness is preferred
`for saving the fabrication cost thereof.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`[0010] Itis a first aspect of the present invention to provide
`a two-dimensional sensing structure of a capacitive touch
`panel having an insulating layer of designed pattern, which is
`fabricated by a simplified process.
`
`[0011] It is a second aspect of the present invention to
`provide a two-dimensional sensing structure of a capacitive
`touch panel in which only one substrate is needed and the
`multiple full insulating layers are omitted, so that the capaci-
`tive touch panel according to the present invention has a
`reduced thickness.
`
`[0012] Itisathird aspect of the present invention to provide
`a two-dimensional sensing structure of a capacitive touch
`panel in which the conventional upper and lower transparent
`electrodes are replaced by a metal electrode with the coop-
`eration of an indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode, so that the
`resistance of the sensing structure is reduced and the sensi-
`tivity of the capacitive touch panel is thus improved.
`
`[0013] It is a fourth aspect of the present invention to pro-
`vide a two-dimensional sensing structure of a capacitive
`touch panel having a patterned overcoat for forming the
`bridge connection between two electrode layers.
`
`[0014] In accordance with the mentioned aspects, a two-
`dimensional sensing structure of a capacitive touch panel is
`provided. The provided two-dimensional sensing structure
`includes a substrate having a plurality of metallic structures
`on a first surface thereof, a first electrode layer located on the
`first surface and including a plurality of first sensing areas
`electrically connected with each other in a first direction, a
`dot-like insulating layer located on the first electrode layer
`and including a plurality of insulating bodies respectively
`positioned correspondingly to the first sensing areas, and a
`second electrode layer located on the dot-like insulating layer
`and including a plurality of second sensing areas electrically
`connected with each other in a second direction different from
`the first direction.
`
`[0015] Preferably, the two-dimensional sensing structure
`further includes at least one first conductive trace connecting
`one of the first sensing areas to another one of the first sensing
`areas in the first direction.
`
`[0016] Preferably, the two-dimensional sensing structure
`further includes at least one second conductive trace connect-
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`ing one of the second sensing areas to another one of the
`second sensing areas in the second direction.
`
`[0017] Preferably, the two-dimensional sensing structure
`further includes a protection layer on the second electrode
`layer, and the metallic structures are exposed out of the pro-
`tection layer.
`
`[0018] Preferably, the protection layer includes a pattern
`layer on either one side thereof, so as to provide an appear-
`ance of periphery-like pattern.
`
`[0019] Preferably, the protection layer includes an optical
`coating layer on either one side thereof which is one selected
`from a group consisting of an anti-reflection layer, an anti-
`glare layer and an anti-static layer.
`
`[0020] Preferably, the protection layer is provided with the
`pattern layer and/or the optical coating layer before being
`attached on said second electrode layer.
`
`[0021] Preferably, the substrate is a transparent substrate,
`and on a second surface thereof, opposite to the first surface,
`acolor filter or ablack matrix layer, or even both are provided.
`[0022] Preferably, the first sensing areas and the second
`sensing areas are arranged as a first array and a second array
`respectively.
`
`[0023] Preferably, each ofthe firstand second sensing areas
`is shaped as diamond, rectangular, triangular or a combina-
`tion thereof.
`
`[0024] In accordance with the mentioned aspects, the
`present invention provides a further two-dimensional sensing
`structure of a capacitive touch panel, which includes a sub-
`strate having a plurality of first conductive structures and
`having a plurality of second conductive structures for external
`connection, a dot-like insulating layer located on the substrate
`and including a plurality of insulating bodies, each of which
`is positioned correspondingly to each of the first conductive
`structures respectively, and an electrode layer located on the
`dot-like insulating layer and including an array of sensing
`areas, wherein a first portion of the sensing areas are electri-
`cally connected with each other in a first direction through at
`least one of the first conductive structures.
`
`[0025] Preferably, in the provided two-dimensional sens-
`ing structure, a second portion of the sensing areas are elec-
`trically connected with each other through at least one of
`conductive traces in a second direction different from the first
`direction.
`
`[0026] Preferably, the two-dimensional sensing structure
`further includes a protection layer on the electrode layer, and
`the second conductive structures are exposed out thereof.
`[0027] Preferably, the protection layer includes a pattern
`layer on either one side thereof, so as to provide an appear-
`ance of periphery-like pattern.
`
`[0028] Preferably, the protection layer includes an optical
`coating layer on either one side thereof which is one selected
`from a group consisting of an anti-reflection layer, an anti-
`glare layer and an anti-static layer.
`
`[0029] Preferably, the protection layer is provided with the
`pattern layer and/or the optical coating layer before being
`attached on said second electrode layer.
`
`[0030] Preferably, each of the sensing areas is shaped as
`diamond, rectangular, triangular or a combination thereof.
`[0031] Preferably, the substrate is a transparent substrate,
`and on a second surface thereof, opposite to the first surface,
`acolor filter or ablack matrix layer, or even both are provided.
`[0032] In accordance with the mentioned aspects, the
`present invention provides still a further two-dimensional
`sensing structure of a capacitive touch panel, which includes
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`a substrate having a plurality of conductive structures on a
`first surface thereof, a first electrode layer located on the first
`surface and including a plurality of sensing areas electrically
`connected with each other in a first direction, an insulating
`protection layer covering above the first electrode layer and
`patterned in such a way that the sensing areas of the first
`electrode layer are exposed, and a second electrode layer
`covering above the insulating protection layer, wherein the
`second electrode layer has a portion connected to the exposed
`sensing areas.
`
`[0033] Preferably, the two-dimensional sensing structure
`further includes a protection layer on the second electrode
`layer, and the conductive structures are exposed out of the
`protection layer.
`
`[0034] Preferably, the protection layer includes a pattern
`layer on either one side thereof, so as to provide an appear-
`ance of periphery-like pattern.
`
`[0035] Preferably, the protection layer includes an optical
`coating layer on either one side thereof which is one selected
`from a group consisting of an anti-reflection layer, an anti-
`glare layer and an anti-static layer.
`
`[0036] Preferably, the protection layer is provided with the
`pattern layer and/or the optical coating layer before being
`attached on said second electrode layer.
`
`[0037] Preferably, in the two-dimensional sensing struc-
`ture, each of the sensing areas is shaped as diamond, rectan-
`gular, triangular or a combination thereof.
`
`[0038] Preferably, the substrate is a transparent substrate,
`and on a second surface thereof, opposite to the first surface,
`acolor filter or ablack matrix layer, or even both are provided.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`[0039] FIG.1isacross-sectional view schematically show-
`ing the conventional sensing structure of a capacitive touch
`panel according to the prior art;
`
`[0040] FIGS. 2A to 2E are top views schematically show-
`ing the sensing structure of a capacitive touch panel in accor-
`dance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
`
`[0041] FIG. 2F is an enlarged view showing the sensing
`areas of the sensing structure of the capacitive touch panel of
`the preferred embodiment of the present invention;
`
`[0042] FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing the sensing
`areas of the sensing structure of the capacitive touch panel of
`another preferred embodiment of the present invention;
`[0043] FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing the sensing
`areas of the sensing structure of the capacitive touch panel of
`still another preferred embodiment of the present invention
`
`[0044] FIGS. 5A to 5D are top views schematically show-
`ing the sensing structure of a capacitive touch panel in accor-
`dance with another preferred embodiment of the present
`invention;
`
`[0045] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA'
`of FIG. 5D, showing the sensing structure of a capacitive
`touch panel in accordance with the preferred embodiment of
`the present invention;
`
`[0046] FIG.7 is a cross-sectional view showing the sensing
`structure of a capacitive touch panel in accordance with a
`further preferred embodiment of the present invention; and
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`[0047] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a capaci-
`tive touch panel in accordance with a preferred embodiment
`of the present invention.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED
`EMBODIMENT
`
`[0048] With reference to the following disclosures com-
`bined with the accompanying drawings, the sensing structure
`of'a capacitive touch panel according to the present invention
`is illustrated and understood. It should be noted that the
`accompanying drawings are provided only for illustration
`where the size or scale of the elements shown therein are not
`necessarily the actual one. Furthermore, some elements of the
`touch panel that are well known in this art are omitted in the
`drawings for the purpose of simplicity.
`
`[0049] FIGS. 2A to 2E are top views schematically show-
`ing the formation of sensing structure of a capacitive touch
`panel in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the
`present invention.
`
`[0050] First, the glass substrate 20 is provided with a metal
`layer, as shown in FIG. 2A. The metal layer is patterned in a
`form of multiple wirings and contact strips 211 for further
`being connected to the external.
`
`[0051] Above the metal layer including the wirings and
`contact strips 211, a first electrode layer of plural sensing
`areas 221 that are arranged as a regular sensing array and
`electrically connected with each other in the x-direction is
`provided, as shown in FIG. 2B. A layer of insulating pattern is
`provided on the first electrode layer, so as to replace the
`overcoat of a conventional sensing structure. The layer of
`insulating pattern is composed of plural insulating dots 231,
`and each of which is located on a position corresponding to
`the respective sensing areas 221 of the first electrode layer, as
`shown in FIG. 2C. In this embodiment, each of the insulating
`dots 231 is provided to cover the area between two sensing
`areas 221 that are adjacent to each other, so as to make the first
`electrode layer insulating from the further electrode layer.
`[0052] Afterward, a second electrode layer is provided on
`the layer of insulating pattern. The second electrode layer is
`also composed of a plurality of sensing areas 241 that are
`arranged as a regular sensing array, as shown in FIG. 2D. The
`sensing areas 241 are connected to each other in the y-direc-
`tion, so that an electrical connection in the y-direction for the
`sensing structure is established. By means of the bridge con-
`nection of the first electrode layer and the connection of the
`second electrode layer, which have the respective sensing
`areas electrically connected in different directions, the elec-
`trical connections respectively in the x-direction and the y-di-
`rection are simultaneously established through the respective
`sensing areas 221 and 241. Accordingly, the two-dimensional
`sensing structure 2 of a capacitive touch panel of the present
`invention is fabricated.
`
`[0053] The protection layer 25 is finally provided to cover
`the second electrode layer for protecting the mentioned elec-
`trode layers and the conductive traces of the sensing structure
`except for the metallic contact strips 211. The contact strips
`211 are exposed so as to establish the electrical connection to
`the external of the sensing structure thereby, as shown in FI1G.
`2E.
`
`[0054] By the use of locally distributing insulating dots
`231, a full insulating layer of the conventional sensing struc-
`ture, for insulating the electrode layer from another, is not
`needed in this embodiment. The present invention is thus
`advantageous in not only material-saving but a reduced thick-
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`ness of the touch panel. Furthermore, while the sensing areas
`221,221'and 241, 241" are of diamond-like shape as shown in
`FIG. 2F, sensing areas of other kinds of shapes are also
`possible which will be illustrated in the following. As shown
`in FIG. 2F, two adjacent sensing areas 221 and 221' of the
`electrode layer are connected in the x-direction through at
`least one, preferably two, conductive trace 262, while the
`sensing areas 241 and 241' of the other electrode layer are
`connected in the y-direction through at least one, preferably
`two, conductive trace 261, so as to ensure that the disconnec-
`tion of sensing structure may not occur in case of the fault of
`a single bridge.
`
`[0055] In addition to the diamond-shaped sensing areas,
`other kinds of shapes are possible for the sensing areas for
`enhancing the sensibility of the sensory structure. For
`example, the sensing areas of the first electrode layer and
`second electrode layer are arranged as arrays of triangular
`units 321 and 341 formed on the substrate 30, or rectangular
`units 421 and 441 formed on the substrate 40, as shown in
`FIGS. 3 and 4 respectively. Two adjacent units are connected
`with each other in the x-direction through two conductive
`traces 362 and in the y-direction through two conductive
`traces 361, where the units of different electrode layer, i.e.
`units 321 and 341, are insulating from each other with the
`insulating body 33. Also, two adjacent units 421 are con-
`nected with each other in the x-direction through two con-
`ductive traces 462, while the other two adjacent units 441 are
`connected with each other in the y-direction through two
`conductive traces 461. It is found that such arrangement pro-
`vides the present capacitive touch panel of a predetermined
`size with a significantly increased sensing sensitivity in com-
`parison with the conventional ones.
`
`[0056] With reference to FIGS. 5A to 5D and FIG. 6, the
`sensing structure of a capacitive touch panel in accordance
`with the second preferred embodiment of the present inven-
`tion is illustrated, wherein FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional
`view taken along line AA' of FIG. 5D.
`
`[0057] As shown in FIG. 5A, a metal layer 51 is first pro-
`vided on the glass substrate 50. The metal layer 51 is pat-
`terned as contact strips as well as the bridge structure. In other
`words, the glass substrate 50 is thus provided with a plurality
`of metallic contact strips 511 and metallic bridge structures
`512 on the surface thereof, wherein the metallic contact strips
`511 are serving for electrical connections to the external and
`the metallic bridge structures 512 arranged in the x-direction
`are serving for connecting the sensing areas in the x-direction.
`[0058] Similar to the first embodiment, a layer of insulating
`pattern is provided on the metal layer 51, so as to replace the
`overcoat of a conventional sensing structure. The layer of
`insulating pattern is of plural insulating dots 531, and each of
`which is located on a position corresponding to the respective
`bridge structures 512 of the metal layer 51. In this embodi-
`ment, however, each of the insulating dots 531 is provided to
`cover each of the respective metallic bridge structures 512, as
`shown in FIG. 5B.
`
`[0059] Afterward, as shown in FIG. 5C, an electrode layer
`54 is provided on the layer of insulating pattern 53. The
`electrode layer 54 is an electrode layer of a form of two-
`dimensional regular sensing array, i.e. an electrode layer
`composed of a plurality of sensing areas 541 and 542 that are
`two-dimensionally arranged in plane. In this embodiment, the
`electrode layer 54 of sensing areas 541 and 542 are aligned in
`such a way that the sensing areas 541 are electrically con-
`nected to each other in the x-direction via the respective
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`metallic bridge structures 512, and are insulated from the
`sensing areas 542 electrically connected to each other in the
`y-direction by the respective insulating dots 531. In this case,
`the sensing areas having electrical connections respectively
`in the x-direction and the y-direction are simultaneously
`obtained in a single procedure, and thereby the two-dimen-
`sional sensing structure of a capacitive touch panel of the
`present invention is fabricated.
`
`[0060] The protection layer 55 is finally provided to cover
`the electrode layer 54 for protecting the mentioned electrode
`layers and the conductive traces of the sensing structure
`except for the metallic contact strips 511. The contact strips
`511 are exposed so as to establish the electrical connection to
`the external of the sensing structure thereby, as shown in FI1G.
`5D and FIG. 6.
`
`[0061] With reference to FIG. 7, the sensing structure of a
`capacitive touch panel in accordance with the third preferred
`embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. Similarly,
`the two-dimensional sensing structure 7 of the present inven-
`tion includes a first electrode layer on the glass substrate 70,
`which is composed of a regular array of sensing areas 721. A
`layer of insulating pattern 73 is provided for replacing the
`overcoat of a conventional sensing structure, wherein the
`layer of insulating pattern is of plural pin holes 732, and each
`of'which is formed on a position corresponding to the respec-
`tive sensing areas 721 of the first electrode layer, so as to
`expose the sensing areas 721. The layer of insulating pattern
`73 is covered with a second electrode layer, where the second
`electrode layer is partially connected to the sensing areas 721
`of the first electrode layer through the pin holes 732 of the
`layer of insulating pattern 73. Also, a protection layer 75 is
`provided on the second electrode layer to protect the fabri-
`cated structure. By means of the bridge connection of the first
`electrode layer and the connection of the second electrode
`layer, which have the respective sensing areas electrically
`connected in different directions, the electrical connections
`respectively in the x-direction and the y-direction are simul-
`taneously established through the respective sensing areas.
`Accordingly, the two-dimensional sensing structure of a
`capacitive touch panel of the present invention is fabricated.
`[0062] In the present invention, not only the conventional
`metallic electrode layer but also the indium tin oxide (ITO)
`electrode layer is adoptable for serving as the electrode of the
`sensing structure. Preferably, the combination of metal and
`ITO layer is also applicable in the present invention.
`
`[0063] With reference to FIG. 8, a cross-sectional view
`showing a capacitive touch panel 8 in accordance with a
`preferred embodiment of the present invention is schemati-
`cally illustrated. According to this embodiment, the electrode
`layer is provided with a mark for the alignment of sensing
`areas, so as to further form a color filter 89 having a black
`matrix (BM) 88 formed therein on the other surface, the
`surface opposing to which the two-dimensional sensing
`structure 800 is located on, of the substrate 80. For this pur-
`pose, a conventional pre-alignment procedure is also adopt-
`able. In addition to the mentioned embodiments, such an
`electrode/CF or electrode/BM bi-structure is also applicable
`in the conventional touch panel, so as to reduce the use of
`substrates, and thus the thickness of panel can be effectively
`decreased.
`
`[0064] In another embodiment, the protection layer 85 of
`the sensing structure 800 is provided with a pattern layer 850
`on either side thereof, so as to provide the panel 8 with an
`appearance of periphery-like pattern. Preferably, the protec-
`
`Jun. 25, 2009
`
`tion layer 85 is also optically-treated, for example, coated
`with an optical layer 855, so as to exhibit a desired optical
`property such as anti-reflection, anti-glare or anti-static.
`[0065] According to the present invention, the pattern layer
`850 and/or the optical coating layer 855 is preferably pre-
`formed on the protection layer 85 and integrally attached on
`the second electrode layer. Alternatively, the pattern layer 850
`and/or the optical coating layer 855 can be separately formed
`on the protection layer 85, so as to exhibit the desired prop-
`erty.
`
`[0066] The layer of insulating pattern, composed of plural
`locally-distributed insulating dots, is adopted in the present
`invention, so that the use of conventional full insulating layer
`is eliminated. In this case, the total thickness of the sensing
`structure of the present invention effectively reduced up to 0.5
`to 3 um. Moreover, in comparison with the conventional
`sensing structure of a touch panel, the sensing structure
`according to the present invention can be fabricated by a
`much simplified procedure because of the alignment effect of
`the insulating dots associated with the metallic bridge struc-
`tures, and the whole structure of the two-dimensional sensing
`structure is simplified. Furthermore, since the two-dimen-
`sional sensing structure of the present invention adopts only a
`single substrate as well as the ITO electrode with the elec-
`trode layer on the substrate, the resistance of the sensing
`structure is significantly decreased and the sensitivity thereof
`is accordingly improved.
`
`[0067] Based on the above, the two-dimensional sensing
`structure of a capacitive touch pane according to the present
`invention is advantageous in that the structure thereof and the
`fabrication therefore is simplified, the thickness thereof is
`decreased and the resistance thereof is reduced, which is
`applicable for the demands for electronic devices of compact-
`ness.
`
`[0068] While the invention has been described by way of
`examples and in terms of preferred embodiments, it is to be
`understood that various changes, substitutions, and alter-
`ations can be made herein without departing from the spirit
`and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
`
`What is claimed is:
`
`1. A two-dimensional sensing structure of a capacitive
`touch panel, comprising:
`
`a substrate having a plurality of metallic structures on a first
`
`surface thereof;
`
`a first electrode layer located on said first surface and
`comprising a plurality of first sensing areas, wherein
`said first sensing areas are electrically connected with
`each other in a first direction;
`
`a dot-like insulating layer located on said first electrode
`layer and comprising a plurality of insulating bodies,
`wherein said insulating bodies are respectively posi-
`tioned correspondingly to said first sensing areas; and
`
`a second electrode layer located on said dot-like insulating
`layer and comprising a plurality of second sensing areas,
`wherein said second sensing areas are electrically con-
`nected with each other in a second direction different
`from said first direction.
`
`2. The two-dimensional sensing structure of claim 1, fur-
`ther comprising at least one first conductive trace connecting
`one of said first sensing areas to another one of said first
`sensing areas in said first direction.
`
`3. The two-dimensional sensing structure of claim 2, fur-
`ther comprising at least one second conductive trace connect-
`
`
`
`
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`US 2009/0160824 Al
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`ing one of said second sensing areas to another one of said
`second sensing areas in said second direction.
`
`4. The two-dimensional sensing structure of claim 1, fur-
`ther comprising a protection layer on said second electrode
`layer.
`
`5. The two-dimensional sensing structure of claim 4,
`wherein said protection layer comprises a pattern layer on
`either one side thereof, so as to provide an appearance of
`periphery-like pattern.
`
`6. The two-dimensional sensing structure of claim 5,
`wherein said protection layer is provided with said pattern
`layer before being attached on said second electrode layer.
`
`7. The two-dimensional sensing structure of claim 4,
`wherein said protection layer comprises an optical coating
`layer on either one side thereof which is one selected from a
`group consisting of an anti-reflection layer, an anti-glare layer
`and an anti-static layer.
`
`8. The two-dimensional sensing structure of claim 7,
`wherein said protection layer is provided with said optical
`coating layer before being attached on said second el