Capacitive touch panel and a method of reducing the visibility of metal conductors in capacitive touch panel

Abstract

The present invention discloses a capacitive touch panel, comprises a substantially transparent substrate and a transparent sensing pattern. The transparent sensing pattern, which detects touch signals, is formed on the substantially transparent substrate. The transparent sensing pattern comprises a plurality of conductor cells and at least one metal conductor disposed on the substantially transparent substrate. The at least one metal conductor connects two adjacent conductor cells. At least one low-reflection layer is formed on the at least one metal conductor. The low-reflection layer can reduce the reflected light therefore reducing the visibility of the metal conductors.

1 . A capacitive touch panel, comprising:
 a substantially transparent substrate;   a transparent sensing pattern comprising at least one metal conductor disposed on the substantially transparent substrate; and   at least one low-reflection layer formed on the at least one metal conductor.   
     
     
         2 . The capacitive touch panel according to  claim 1 , wherein the transparent sensing pattern comprises at least two conductor cells connected by the at least one metal conductor. 
     
     
         3 . The capacitive touch panel according to  claim 2 , wherein the transparent sensing pattern comprises a plurality of first electrodes disposed in a first direction and a plurality of second electrodes disposed in a second direction, and the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction, and the first electrodes and the second electrodes are insulated from each other, and at least one electrode of the first electrodes or the second electrodes comprises the at least two conductor cells. 
     
     
         4 . The capacitive touch panel according to  claim 3 , wherein the plurality of first electrodes and the plurality of second electrodes are formed on the same layer and insulated by a plurality of insulators with each insulator disposed between a corresponding first electrode and a corresponding second electrode. 
     
     
         5 . The capacitive touch panel according to  claim 3 , wherein the plurality of first electrodes and the plurality of second electrodes are formed on the same surface of an insulating layer with a plurality of through holes, and each second electrode is divided into a plurality of sections by the plurality of first electrodes with each section separately located between two adjacent first electrodes, and a plurality of electrical conductors are formed on the other surface of the insulating layer with two ends of each electrical conductor respectively connected to two adjacent sections of each second electrode via two corresponding through holes. 
     
     
         6 . The capacitive touch panel according to  claim 5 , wherein the insulating layer is made of transparent insulation material. 
     
     
         7 . The capacitive touch panel according to  claim 2 , wherein the at least two conductor cells are made of substantially transparent conductive material. 
     
     
         8 . The capacitive touch panel according to  claim 7 , wherein said transparent conductive material is selected from the group consisting of Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) and antimony tin oxide (ATO). 
     
     
         9 . The capacitive touch panel according to  claim 1 , further comprising a processing circuit for receiving and processing the touch signals, and the transparent sensing pattern is connected to the processing circuit via the at least one metal conductor. 
     
     
         10 . The capacitive touch panel according to  claim 9 , wherein the transparent sensing pattern comprises a plurality of first electrodes disposed in a first direction and a plurality of second electrodes disposed in a second direction, and the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction, and the first electrodes and the second electrodes are insulated from each other, and at least one electrode of the first electrodes or the second electrodes comprises the at least two conductor cells. 
     
     
         11 . The capacitive touch panel according to  claim 1 , wherein the reflectivity of the low-reflection layer is less than about 80%. 
     
     
         12 . The capacitive touch panel according to  claim 1 , wherein the low-reflection layer is made of material selected from the group consisting of oxide material, nitride material and dark UV-sensitive organic material. 
     
     
         13 . The capacitive touch panel according to  claim 12 , wherein the oxide material is selected from the group consisting of chromium oxide, titanium oxide and zirconium oxide. 
     
     
         14 . The capacitive touch panel according to  claim 12 , wherein the nitride material is selected from the group consisting of chromium nitride, titanium nitride and zirconium nitride. 
     
     
         15 . The capacitive touch panel according to  claim 12 , wherein the dark UV-sensitive organic material is selected from the group consisting of brown, gray, and black photoresist. 
     
     
         16 . The capacitive touch panel according to  claim 1 , further comprising a passivation layer coated on the transparent sensing pattern and the substantially transparent substrate. 
     
     
         17 . A method of reducing the visibility of metal conductors in a capacitive touch panel, comprising a step of forming a low-reflection layer on at least one metal conductor. 
     
     
         18 . The method according to  claim 17 , wherein the low-reflection layer is made of a material selected from the group consisting of oxide material and nitride material. 
     
     
         19 . The method according to  claim 18 , wherein the oxide material is selected from the group consisting of chromium oxide, titanium oxide and zirconium oxide. 
     
     
         20 . The method according to  claim 18 , wherein the nitride material is selected from the group consisting of chromium nitride, titanium nitride and zirconium nitride. 
     
     
         21 . The method according to  claim 17 , wherein the low-reflection layer is made of dark UV-sensitive organic material. 
     
     
         22 . The method according to  claim 21 , wherein the dark UV-sensitive organic material is selected from the group consisting of brown, gray, and black photoresist. 
     
     
         23 . The method according to  claim 17 , wherein the step of forming a low-reflection layer on at least one metal conductor comprises the following steps:
 coating a metal layer on a substantially transparent substrate;   coating a low-reflection layer on the metal layer; and   etching the metal layer and the low-reflection layer at the same time by photolithography, resulting in the low-reflection layer formed on the at least one metal conductor.   
     
     
         24 . The method according to  claim 17 , wherein the step of forming a low-reflection layer on at least one metal conductor comprises the following steps:
 coating a metal layer on a substantially transparent substrate;   coating a low-reflection layer on the metal layer;   exposing the low-reflection layer by photolithography; and   etching the metal layer forming the at least one metal conductor by using the low-reflection layer as etching mask resulting in the low-reflection layer formed on the at least one metal conductor.   
     
     
         25 . The method according to  claim 17 , wherein the step of forming a low-reflection layer on at least one metal conductor comprises the following steps:
 coating a metal layer on a substantially transparent substrate;   etching the metal layer forming at least one metal conductor;   coating a low-reflection layer on the at least one metal conductor; and   exposing the low-reflection layer on the at least one metal conductor by photolithography resulting in the low-reflection layer formed on the at least one metal conductor.