Display device-integrated touch screen panel

A display device-integrated touch screen panel including an upper substrate and a lower substrate having a display region and a non-display region outside of the display region and including a first non-display region and a second non-display region at an outer side of the first non-display region, a plurality of sensing patterns on the upper substrate in the display region, a plurality of sensing lines located on the upper substrate in the non-display region, and coupled to the sensing patterns, a first guard ring pattern adjacent an edge of the first non-display region and surrounding the plurality of sensing lines, a sealing material between the upper substrate and the lower substrate in the non-display region, and a second guard ring pattern overlapping the sealing material in the non-display region, the second guard ring pattern being electrically coupled to the first guard ring pattern and including a transparent conductive material.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2012-0080613, filed on Jul. 24, 2012, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a display device.

2. Description of the Related Art

A touch screen panel is an input device capable of inputting a user's instruction by selecting content displayed on a screen of an image display device, or the like, with the user's hand or an object, such as a stylus.

To this end, the touch screen panel is located on a front surface of the image display device to use a contact position of the human hand or the object to produce an electric signal. Therefore, the content selected at the contact position is recognized as an input signal.

Since the touch screen panel may replace a separate input device connected to the image display device, such as a keyboard or a mouse, application of touch screen panels has been gradually extended.

As types of touch screen panels, a resistive-type touch screen panel, a photosensitive-type touch screen panel, a capacitive-type touch screen panel, and the like, have been known. Among them, the capacitive-type touch screen panel senses a change in capacitance between a conductive sensing pattern and a neighboring sensing pattern, ground electrode, or the like, when a human hand or an object contacts the touch screen panel, thereby producing an electrical signal corresponding to a contact position.

In general, the touch screen panel is separately manufactured and attached to the image display device, such as a liquid crystal display device or an organic light emitting display device. However, when a separately manufactured touch screen is attached to the display device, the entire thickness of a product is increased and manufacturing cost is also increased.

In addition, in the touch screen panel having the structure of the prior art as described above, a malfunction or damage to internal circuits may occur due to electrostatic discharge generated during manufacturing, transferring, or using the product.

SUMMARY

An aspect of embodiments of the present invention is to provide a display device-integrated touch screen panel in which a touch screen panel is directly formed on an upper substrate of a display device, wherein a first guard ring pattern is formed in a first non-display region of the touch screen panel, and a second guard ring pattern made of a transparent conductive material and coupled to the first guard ring pattern is formed in a second non-display region where a sealing material for sealing upper and lower substrates of the display device is applied, thereby making it possible to reduce an overall thickness of the display device, improve visibility of images, and reduce or minimize an effect of electrostatic discharge applied from the outside more efficiently.

To achieve the above, there is provided a display device-integrated touch screen panel including an upper substrate, a lower substrate, the upper substrate and the lower substrate having a display region and a non-display region at an outer side of the display region and including a first non-display region and a second non-display region at an outer side of the first non-display region, a plurality of sensing patterns on the upper substrate in the display region, a plurality of sensing lines located on the upper substrate in the non-display region, and coupled to the sensing patterns, a first guard ring pattern adjacent an edge of the first non-display region and surrounding the plurality of sensing lines, a sealing material between the upper substrate and the lower substrate in the non-display region, and a second guard ring pattern overlapping the sealing material in the non-display region, the second guard ring pattern being electrically coupled to the first guard ring pattern and including a transparent conductive material.

The sensing lines and the first guard ring pattern may include a low resistance material.

The display device-integrated touch screen panel may further include an insulating layer on the upper substrate, and the second guard ring pattern may contact the insulating layer in the non-display region, and may directly contact the first guard ring pattern through a contact hole in the insulating layer above the first guard ring pattern.

The display device-integrated touch screen panel may further include a third guard ring pattern at an edge of the second non-display region and surrounding an area above the sealing material.

The third guard ring pattern may include a low resistance metal material.

The display device-integrated touch screen panel may further include an insulating layer on the upper substrate, and the second guard ring pattern may contact the insulating layer in the non-display region, and may directly contact the third guard ring pattern through a contact hole in the insulating layer above the third guard ring pattern.

The sensing patterns may include first sensing cells coupled to each other for each row line in a first direction, first connecting ones coupling the first sensing cells in the first direction, second sensing cells coupled to each other for each column line in a second direction, and second connecting lines coupling the second sensing cells in the second direction.

The sensing patterns may be at a same layer.

The sensing cells and the second connecting lines may be integrally formed.

The display device-integrated touch screen panel may further include an insulating layer located at crossing regions of the first connecting lines and the second connecting lines.

The sensing patterns may be at an outer surface of the upper substrate.

The upper substrate may include a sealing substrate of the organic light emitting display device.

The display device-integrated touch screen panel may further include a polarizing film attached to the upper substrate on which the sensing patterns, the sensing lines, and the first and second guard ring patterns are formed, and a window substrate attached to the polarizing film.

The display device-integrated touch screen panel may further include a black matrix layer on the window substrate and corresponding to the non-display region.

The polarizing film may include a polarizer, a phase difference compensating layer, and a transparent adhesive for supporting the polarizer and for attaching the phase difference compensating layer to the polarizer.

The display device-integrated touch screen panel may be flexible.

The window substrate may include at least one of Polymethyl Methacrylate, (PMMA), acryl, or polyester (PET).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, only certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, simply by way of illustration. As those skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may be modified in various ways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not restrictive. In addition, when an element is referred to as being “on” another element, it can be directly on the another element, or can be indirectly on the another element with one or more intervening elements interposed therebetween. Also, when an element is referred to as being “connected to” or “coupled to” another element, it can be directly coupled to the another element, or can be indirectly coupled to the another element with one or more intervening elements interposed therebetween. Hereinafter, like reference numerals refer to like elements.

FIG. 1is a plan view showing an upper substrate of a display device-integrated touch screen panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, andFIG. 2is an enlarged view showing a part of a sensing pattern of the embodiment shown inFIG. 1.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are directed to a display device-integrated a touch screen panel, in which the touch screen panel is formed directly on a surface of an upper substrate200of the display device.

Here, a surface of the upper substrate200corresponds to an outer surface of the upper substrate. That is,FIG. 1is a plan view showing the outer surface of the upper substrate of the display device according to the present exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

However,FIG. 1shows only an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, the touch screen panel may be formed on an inner surface of the upper substrate200, or first sensing cells220aforming sensing patterns220of the touch screen panel may be formed on the inner surface of the upper substrate200, and second sensing cells220bmay be alternately arranged to not overlap the first sensing cells220aand may be formed on the outer surface of the upper substrate200.

In addition, the display device may be an organic light emitting display device or a liquid crystal display device. In the present exemplary embodiment of the present invention, an organic light emitting display device will be described.

Therefore, the upper substrate200may be made of a transparent material, for example, a sealing substrate of the organic light emitting display device. However, if the organic light emitting display device is flexible, the upper substrate200may be made of a film material (for example, polyimide material) or of a plurality of thin film layers.

In addition, as shown inFIG. 1, the touch screen panel according to the present exemplary embodiment includes sensing patterns220formed at a top surface of the upper substrate200(the transparent substrate serving as the sealing substrate), and sensing lines230coupling the sensing patterns220to an outer driving circuit (now shown) through a bonding pad part20.

Here, a region in which the plurality of sensing patterns200are formed to detect a touch position is a display region500in which an image is displayed, and a region at the outer side of the display region500in which sensing lines230electrically coupled to the sensing patterns220and the bonding pad part20are formed is a non-display region510.

In addition, in the present exemplary embodiment, the non-display region510is divided into a first non-display region510a, in which the sensing lines230are formed, and a second non-display region510bpositioned at the outer side of the first non-display region510a(e.g., to surround the first non-display region510a). In the second non-display region510b, the bonding pad part20having a plurality of pads21coupled to each of the sensing lines230is formed.

Here, the second non-display region510bis a region where a sealing material400is applied between the upper substrate200and a lower substrate100to bond the upper substrate200and the lower substrate100. Through curing of the sealing material400by laser irradiation to the second non-display region510b, the upper substrate200and the lower substrate100are bonded together.

In addition, as shown inFIG. 1, the touch screen panel according to the present exemplary embodiment may have a first guard ring pattern250at an edge of the first non-display region510ato enclose (e.g., surround) the outer side of the sensing lines230, and the first guard ring pattern250may be coupled to a pad (e.g., among the bonding pads21included in the bonding pad part20) that is coupled to a ground power supply GND.

The first guard ring pattern250may be made of the same material as that of the sensing lines230, for example, a low resistance metal material, and serves to avoid or prevent a malfunction or damage to internal circuits of the touch screen panel due to externally applied electrostatic discharge.

However, to increase the size of the display region500in which an image display and touch sensing are performed, the non-display region510positioned at the outer side of the display region500should have a narrower width, accordingly.

To reduce or minimize an effect of electrostatic discharge (ESD) applied from the outside, the guard ring pattern250needs to be sufficiently wide. However, as described above, to decrease the width of the non-display region510, the width of the guard ring pattern250should also become narrow.

In addition, when the width of the guard ring pattern250is increased to avoid or prevent deterioration due to ESD, the guard ring pattern250overlaps the sealing material400applied to the second non-display region510b. In this case, during process of curing of the sealing material400by laser, the sealing material400is not sufficiently cured in the region in which the sealing material400overlaps the guard ring pattern250, such that a bonding defect may be generated.

In the present exemplary embodiment, to avoid or overcome this curing issue, a second guard ring pattern260, which is made of a transparent conductive material and is coupled to the first guard ring pattern250, is formed in the second non-display region510bin which the sealing material400is applied, such that the disadvantage of the sealing material400being insufficiently cured is overcome, and both the guard ring patterns250and260are sufficiently wide, thereby making it possible to reduce or minimize the effect of the electrostatic discharge (ESD) applied from the outside.

A structure of the touch screen panel according to the present exemplary embodiment will be described in detail with reference toFIGS. 1 and 2.

The sensing patterns220include a plurality of first sensing cells220acoupled to each other for each row line in a first direction (e.g., X-axis direction), first connecting lines220a1coupling the first sensing cells220a, second sensing cells220bcoupled to each other for each column line in a second direction (e.g., Y-axis direction), and second connecting lines220b1coupling the second cells220bto each other, as shown inFIG. 2.

The first and second sensing cells220aand220bare alternately disposed to not overlap each other, and the first and second connecting lines220a1and220b1cross each other. Here, the first and second connecting lines220a1and220b1have an insulating layer (not shown) interposed therebetween to secure stability.

Meanwhile, the first and second sensing cells220aand220bmay be formed integrally with the first and second connecting lines220a1and220b1, respectively, using a transparent conductive material such as indium tin oxide (ITO), or may be formed separately from the first and second connecting lines220a1and220b1and then electrically coupled thereto, respectively.

For example, the second sensing cells220bmay be patterned integrally with the second connecting lines220b1in the second direction, and the first sensing cells220amay be patterned to each have an independent pattern between the second sensing cells220band may be coupled to each other in the first direction by the first connecting lines220a1positioned at an upper or lower portion thereof.

Here, the first connecting lines220a1may directly contact the first sensing cells220aat an upper or lower portion of the first sensing cells220ato thereby be electrically coupled thereto, or may be electrically coupled to the first sensing cells220athrough contact holes, or the like.

The first connecting lines220a1may be made of the transparent conductive material such as ITO, or may be made of an opaque low resistance metal material and may have an adjustable width, or the like, to avoid or prevent visualization of the pattern (e.g., to make the pattern less noticeable).

The sensing lines230are coupled to the first sensing cells220ain a row unit and the second sensing cells220bin a column unit to respectively couple the first and second cells220aand220bto the external driving circuit (not shown) such as, for example, a position detecting circuit through the bonding pad part20. The sensing lines230, which are located in the first non-display region510apositioned at an outer side portion of the display region500in which an image is displayed, may be made of a wide range of materials. That is, the sensing lines230may be made of a low resistance metal material such as molybdenum (Mo), silver (Ag), titanium (Ti), copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), molybdenum/aluminum/molybdenum (Mo/Al/Mo), and the like, in addition to the transparent electrode material used to form the sensing patterns220.

In the touch screen panel according to the present exemplary embodiment (for example, a capacitive-type touch panel), when a contact object such as a human hand, a stylus pen, or the like, contacts the touch panel, a change in capacitance according to a contact position is transferred from the sensing patterns220to the driving circuit (not shown) via the sensing lines230and the bonding pad part20. In this case, the change in capacitance is converted into an electrical signal by X and Y input processing circuits, or the like (not shown), such that the contact position is recognized.

FIG. 3is a cross sectional view showing a region I-I′ of the display device-integrated touch screen panel according to the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG.1, and the region corresponding to the line I-I′ indicates portions of the first and second non-display regions510aand510band the display region500.

Referring toFIG. 3, the sensing patterns220formed at the display region of the upper substrate200include first sensing cells220acoupled to each other for each row line in the first direction, first connecting lines220a1coupling the first sensing cells220ato each other in a row direction, second sensing cells220bcoupled to each other for each column line in the second direction, and second connecting lines220b1coupling the second sensing cells220bto each other in the second direction, and also include an insulating layer240located at crossing regions of the first connecting lines220a1and the second connecting lines220b1.

However, although dimensions of components of the touch screen panel (such as sensing patterns220, and the like) inFIG. 3are exaggerated (e.g., significantly thinner) for convenience of explanation, an actual thickness of the of each component is thinner than that shown inFIG. 3.

Formed in the non-display region510aof the upper substrate200positioned at the outer side of the display region500are sensing lines230, which are electrically coupled to the sensing patterns220, and the first guard ring pattern250enclosing the outer side of the sensing lines230. Also, the insulating layer240is formed over entire surfaces of the sensing lines230and the first guard ring pattern250.

In addition, at a bottom of the second non-display region510bthe sealing material400is formed to bond the upper substrate200and the lower substrate100of the display device.

Here, the lower substrate100has a plurality of pixels (not shown) including an organic light emitting device, a thin-film transistor, or the like, formed at the display region500, signal (e.g., scan signal, data signal) lines coupled to the pixels and providing signals (e.g., predetermined scan signals, data signals, or the like) are formed in the first non-display region510a, and the sealing material400is formed in the second non-display region510b.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the second guard ring pattern260, which is made of a transparent conductive material and is coupled to the first guard ring pattern250, is formed at the second non-display region510bin which the sealing material400is formed.

As shown inFIG. 3, the second guard ring pattern260made of the transparent conductive material is formed on the insulating layer240of the second non-display region510band directly contacts the first guard ring pattern250through a contact hole252formed at a portion of the insulating layer240overlapping the first guard pattern250.

That is, in the above-mentioned structure, laser may penetrate the second guard ring pattern260formed in the region overlapping the sealing material400, thereby avoiding the disadvantage of the sealing material400not being sufficiently cured when the upper and lower substrates are bonded, and a sufficient width is also achieved for both the guard ring patterns250and260, thereby making it possible to reduce or minimize the effect of the electrostatic discharge (ESD) applied from the outside. However, although the structure in which the second guard ring pattern260is formed on the insulating layer240and the first guard ring pattern250beneath the insulating layer240is described in the present exemplary embodiment shown inFIG. 3, the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, the second guard ring pattern may be formed beneath the insulating layer, and may be electrically coupled to the first guard ring pattern through a contact hole formed at a portion of the insulating layer overlapping (e.g., above) the second guard ring pattern.

In addition, in the present exemplary embodiment, to improve problems of visualization and reflection characteristics of the sensing patterns that may occur due to forming the touch screen panel directly on the upper substrate100of the display device, a polarizing film30may be further formed on the top surface of the touch screen panel. That is, in the present exemplary embodiment, the touch screen panel may be between the display device and the polarizing film30, thereby making it possible to avoid or prevent visualization of, and reduce or minimize the reflectivity of, the sensing patterns. However, when the display device is implemented as the flexible organic light emitting display device, the polarizing film30will also be flexible. To this end, the polarizing film30according to the present exemplary embodiment may have a structure in which a supporting layer made of a triacetyl cellulose (TAC) material included in the existing polarizing plate is removed, and a polarizer, a transparent adhesive layer, and a phase difference compensating layer are stacked, thereby making it possible to make polarizing film30flexible, that is, having a high flexural property.

Generally, the existing polarizing plate has a structure in which the polarizer is interposed between upper and lower supporting layers. The polarizer, which serves to control an amount of light transmitted according to a degree of polarity of incident light, may be made of a poly vinyl alcohol material (PVA). For example, the polarizer may polarize light by elongating the PVA film absorbing iodine with a strong tension.

In addition, the supporting layers provided at upper and lower portions of the polarizer may be made of triacetyl cellulose (TAC) to protect and support the PVA film.

The polarizing plate is generally attached to the outer side of the image display device to improve outdoor visibility by preventing reflection of external light, and so forth. In the case in which the touch screen panel is attached to the upper portion of the image display device, the polarizing plate may be attached to an outer surface of the touch screen panel.

However, if the polarizing plate and the touch screen panel are separately manufactured and then bonded or assembled together, disadvantages, such as a reduction in process efficiency, a reduction in yield, or the like, may occur.

Particularly, in the case of the polarizing plate having the stack structure as described above, the polarizer is about 20 μm thick, the upper supporting layer is about 20 μm thick, and the lower supporting layer is about 80 μm thick. That is, the polarizing plate has an overall thickness of about 180 μm. Therefore, when the polarizing plate is attached to the touch screen panel in the above mentioned state, the overall thickness of the touch screen panel is undesirably increased.

Further, since TAC, which is the material of the supporting layers, has a high elastic modulus, when the polarizing plate having the supporting layers are attached to the flexible touch screen panel, the flexural property of the flexible touch screen panel may not be achieved.

Therefore, in the present exemplary embodiment, to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages, the supporting layers provided to the existing polarizing plate is removed, and the polarizer is protected and supported by the transparent adhesive layer, thereby making it possible that the polarizing film330is flexible.

In addition, to improve the strength of the device, a window substrate40may further be provided on the top surface of the polarizing film30.

As shown inFIG. 3, a black matrix layer (decoration layer)42is formed at a region of the window substrate40in the non-display region510. The black matrix layer42forms/corresponds to an edge of the display region and may prevent visibility of patterns of sensing lines230, and the like, formed in the non-display region510. However, if the display device and the touch screen panel are flexible, as described above, the window substrate40may be made of a flexible material.

Therefore, according to the present exemplary embodiment, the window substrate40may be made of a material such as polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), acryl, polyester (PET), or the like, and may have a thickness of about 0.7 mm.

In addition, the polarizing plate30and the window substrate40may be attached to a first surface of the upper substrate100, on which sensing patterns and the like are formed, by first and second transparent adhesive layers25and27interposed between the first surface and the polarizing plate30, and between the polarizing plate30and the window substrate40, respectively, and the first and second transparent adhesive layer25and27may be made of a transparent adhesive material, for example a super view resin (SVR) or an optical cleared adhesive (OCA), or the like.

FIG. 4is a plan view showing an upper substrate of a display device-integrated touch screen panel according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, andFIG. 5is a cross sectional view showing a region corresponding to the line II-II′ of the display device-integrated touch screen panel according to the exemplary embodiment shown inFIG. 4.

The exemplary embodiment shown inFIGS. 4 and 5is different from the exemplary embodiment shown inFIGS. 1 and 3, in that the exemplary embodiment shown inFIGS. 4 and 5further has a third guard ring pattern270made of the same material as a first guard ring pattern250in an upper region of a second display region corresponding to a sealing material400formed on a bottom surface of a second non-display region510bof an upper substrate200, but all components of the exemplary embodiment shown inFIGS. 4 and 5other than the third guard ring pattern are the same as those of the exemplary embodiment shown inFIGS. 1 and 3. Therefore, like reference numerals will be used to describe same components, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

That is, referring toFIGS. 4 and 5, in the present exemplary embodiment, to enhance the ESD-protective characteristic through guard ring patterns, the second guard ring pattern260, which is electrically coupled to the first guard ring pattern250and made of the transparent conductive material, is formed in the second non-display region510bin which the sealing material400is applied, and is also electrically coupled to the third guard ring pattern270that is formed in the second non-display region510bat an outer side portion of the sealing material400while not overlapping the sealing material400, so as to enclose the sealing material400(e.g., the 3rdguard ring pattern270surrounds a region located above the sealing material400).

However, the third guard ring pattern270is formed through the same process as that of the first guard ring pattern250, and is made of the same low resistance metal material as that of the first guard ring pattern250and the sensing lines230.

Therefore, as shown inFIG. 5, the second guard ring pattern260made of the transparent conductive material is formed on an insulating layer240of the second non-display region510b, and is electrically coupled to the first guard ring pattern250and the third guard ring pattern270through first and second contact holes252and272, respectively. The first and second contact holes252and272are respectively formed at areas where the insulating layer240overlaps the first guard ring pattern250and the third guard ring pattern270.

That is, through the above-mentioned structure, laser may keep or penetrate the second guard ring pattern260formed in the region overlapping the sealing material400, such that the disadvantage of the sealing material400being insufficiently cured at the time of bonding the upper and lower substrates is overcome, and both the guard ring patterns250and260are sufficiently wide, thereby making it possible to reduce or minimize the effect of the electrostatic discharge (ESD) applied from the outside.

As set forth above, according to exemplary embodiments to the present invention, in the touch screen panel directly formed on the upper substrate of the display device, a first guard ring pattern is formed in a first non-display region of the touch screen panel, and a second guard ring pattern made of a transparent conductive material and coupled to the first guard ring pattern is formed in a second non-display region, a sealing material sealing upper and lower substrates of the display device being applied to the second non-display region, thereby making it possible to reduce an overall thickness of the display device, improve visibility of images, and reduce or minimize an effect of electrostatic discharge applied from the outside more efficiently.