Tuesday, July 16, 2013

SuperC-Touch’s 7th patent for touch panel open to make sales

SuperC-Touch’s 7th patent for touch panel open to make sales

U.S. Certificated No. US 2011/0163993(invention)
Name: CAPACITIVE TOUCH PANEL
Price: 1,500,000. USD

Description:
This patent and the sixth patent CN201010001496.6, Name: capacitive touch panel device are for the same patent proposal, just apply for a U.S. patent. I have already received patent approving notification by the U.S. Patent Office and await the certified announcement with a certificate arrive.

Compared to the panel which used metal crossover structure, the real single layer ITO touch panel can reduce photolithography two times in the production process, so the cost can lower 30%. Today, this single layer ITO structure touch panel which mainly uses the triangular pattern electrodes is widely applied in inexpensive products. In China, 130 million affordable mobile phones which use single layer ITO electrode sold each year. However, when panel size increases, the accuracy of single layer ITO touch panel will be substantially reduced, so it can only be used in small-sized products, but not be used in the tablet and Ultra book.

The purpose of the present invention is to solve this problem. First, applying conservation of energy to measure the ITO electrode's resistance value and converting it into a distance value to obtain the coordinate of one axis, then, by measuring the difference in capacitance value ​​to get a coordinate of another axis. The method of present invention can be applied to produce single-layer structure of ITO touch panel without size limitation, from 3.5 inches to 80 inches can be. So, it is the best solution for entering the cheap tablet and Ultra book market.

Full text of the present patent

Thanks for all predecessors recent questions and answer all your questions in the post:

(1)   What’s the difference between this patent and single layer mutual capacitance and single layer self-capacitance?

Ans.: For the touch panel with multiple-finger touch features, whether single ITO layer structure is used with self-capacitance or used with mutual capacitance, when the size of touch panel becomes large, the sensing points also become too many, and the following issues will seriously increase: 1.Wiring out is a big problem. 2. The ITO's resistance becomes too large and causes controller IC cannot detect the tiny signal. 3. The contacts of FPC are too tiny and too close to cause bonding yield lower down, so rising costs. That’s why the size rarely does more than 7 inches.

    For the touch panel which has triangular pattern sensors of a single ITO layer that provides a single-finger gestures feature, touch accuracy becomes serious poor due to the panel size becomes large, so that users cannot accept.   
   
    The present invention can overcome these problems and apply to the single layer structure in large size touch panel, from 7 inch to 80 inch.

(2)   Does it need to change the ITO pattern? Or it can use the previous pattern?

Ans.: Only using the Rx pattern of DITO structure is enough, but not Tx Part. Therefore, it’s a single layer structure; the accuracy is higher than the triangular pattern and without size limitation.

(3)   What is the impact of resistance to it? Or no effect?
Ans.: The higher sheet resistance the higher measurement accuracy, it is possible to use various ITO alternative materials, such as ZTO, conductive polymers, etc., can be used in sheet resistance 1000 ohms / square cm, significantly reducing the production cost of the touch panel, dry process can also be used in the patterned process, such as laser etching, chemical etching or the like.

(4) Do you use the principle calculating the sensor's resistance's distance to calculate the capacitance?
Ans.: Measuring self-capacitance to calculate the X-axis coordinate and measuring single one ITO sensor’s resistance value to determine the coordinate of the Y-axis, so each sensing electrode uses two methods to get the X, Y axis coordinates.

(5) So it would only use the RX pattern on it, like a diamond or a long strip can do?
Ans.: Complete corrects, and the diamond pattern gets better effect than a long strip pattern.

(6) The costs of single-layer structure on-cell touch panels have been low enough also
 Needs to develop in-cell technology?
Ans.: Undeniable single-layer structure on-cell touch has a considerable price advantage, I believe that in the near future it will fully replace of the G / G and OGS touch panel below five inches. However, for LCD Makers Since there is not much in terms of technical barriers and the threshold is not high, so in profitable state, will attract the majority of LCD Makers competing R & D production, the fierce competition is inevitable.

    However, single-layer structure on-cell touch there are still many problems to be overcome, there are many challenges across, however, such as size limit issue , FPC bonding process low yield, the dead zone caused by ITO traces , too large resistance of ITO wiring line, excessive capacitive problem which is caused by too close with LCD, LCD noise problems will cause instability in the quality and the poor experience of users and brand firms' faith, all the issues will affect the single layer on-cell touch the future.

The cost of many in-cell touch structure is lower than on-cell structure, and there is no limit on the size, as long as the touch IC technique progress into the  in-cell field, can cause the touch industry decisive change, so long-term development to look, in-cell touch is the touch industry of no return, it is difficult to find other options. Today, we see a variety of touch panel technologies such as OGS, GF2, single layer on cell, metal mesh, etc. And there are many materials development, such as ZTO, conductive polymers, Nano silver, carbon nanotubes, grapheme…all the technologies and material mentioned before are just a transitional period products. Therefore, will eventually be eliminated, sincere suggest that you be taken seriously this trend.

Now the development of the single layer on cell, Sony mixing in cell and on cell, metal mesh, OGS, TOL and other technologies are just a transitional nature.

(7) Taiwan market is small, whether the price of Taiwan's patent should be relatively low?
Ans.: There are more than one hundred countries around the world, will go to apply for a patent only in several countries, however, even if these countries have applied for patents all certified, there are still hundreds of countries not patented with unrestricted market can go to sales, Therefore, the restrictions on the sales market has limitations.

The scope of patent protection in addition to selling restrictions also limit production; For protecting the rights and interests, it is more effectively to limit production from upstream producers than to ban the sale in the consumer countries.

Particularly in relation to in-cell touch patent, the patents in the producing countries are more important. Taiwan's LCD panel production occupies an important position, so the value of patents than even the largest consuming country (the United States) but also to the high and also South Korea and mainland China the patent is contested. The patents certified in South Korea pose a threat to Samsung and LGD, patents certified in China pose a threat to BOE, TCL, Century Display, IVO, CEC Panda, etc. The patents certified in Taiwan pose a threat to AUO, Innolux, CPT, Hannstar, etc.
Japan is not included because of Japan seldom to counterfeit products of others, so the value of patents are only to restrict the sale and it will be relatively low.

Using patents to protect their own production and restrict the opponents' production is much more important than using patents to protect their own sales and restrict the opponents' selling.

(8)There is a growing demand of the size of the Touch Panel in current market, so the material of the Sensor is transfer from ITO to Metal, but currently due to poor visibility issue which is caused by the reflectivity of the Metal of Metal Mesh, generally made ​​of nickel alloy target, the visibility can be better, but still high impedance.

Ans.: If suddenly a touch IC company says capacitors and resistors issues are overcome, and that we are wasting time of doing a variety of materials and methods of improvement. The progress of material technology is slow, but the progress of touch IC technology is fast, so touch IC advances can solve the problem, do not spend too much energy in changing material.

(9)What kind of metal has both characters of high transparency and low impedance?
  
Ans.: In fact, it is not the best way to improve the material of metal mesh, but where to place the Metal mesh, if we locate the metal mesh ​​at the corresponding position under the BM layer of color filter glass, where the metal mesh cannot be seen, so there is no reflection problem.

SuperC-Touch developed "perturbation resonance" touch IC technology not only to overcome the problems of capacitors and resistors, but also to overcome the problem of LCD noise, so no matter Metal mesh made ​​at In cell, On cell, Out cell is not a problem, Since the performance of touch IC is no more an issue, how to use Metal mesh in cell interior to achieve the lowest cost, that is your company can work toward.

The future mainstream technology of the touch industry is to make the Metal mesh in the interior of the LCD's originally opaque area. 

 If you seniors have further issues to discuss, welcome to Email me.
SuperC-Touch will do our best to provide you answers and solutions, thank you.

SuperC Touch Standly Lee

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