Patent Publication Number: US-2012032913-A1

Title: Display apparatus and method for manufacturing parallax barrier touch board

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a display apparatus and a method for manufacturing a parallax barrier touch board, and more particularly, to a display apparatus using the parallax barrier touch board to achieve a touch control function and a three-dimensional (3D) image display function. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Currently, a display apparatus may have many functions, such as a displaying function, a touch control function and a three-dimensional (3D) image displaying function. In general, a multi-functional display has to add an addition of functional panel for achieving various functionalities. For example, a touch panel or a parallax barrier panel has to be added for achieving a touch control function or a 3D image display function. 
     However, a display with multi-functions needs a cover lens to cover and protect the functional panel (such as the parallax barrier panel). Therefore, the additional functional panel needs to have at least one glass substrate and the cover lens added thereon, hence adding a thickness, weight and material cost to the display. 
     Another way for achieving the multi-functional display is to integrate the functional panel into a display panel thereof. For example, a touch controlling circuit or a parallax barrier can be integrated into a color filter (CF) substrate or a thin film transistor (TFT) substrate. However, the integrated multi-functional panel has problems of low process yield and high cost, and the processing steps thereof are complicated. Furthermore, when the display panel or the functional device (such as the touch controlling circuit or the parallax barrier) thereof has issues or fails to work, the integrated multi-functional display can be difficult to rework or repair. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore, an aspect of the present invention is to provide a display apparatus and a method for manufacturing a parallax barrier touch board, thereby using the parallax barrier touch board to achieve a touch control function and a 3D image display function. 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the display apparatus comprises a display panel and a parallax barrier touch board. The parallax barrier touch board comprises a substrate, a barrier layer and a touch sensing circuit layer. The barrier layer is formed on the substrate and includes a plurality of parallax barriers. The touch sensing circuit layer is formed on the barrier layer. 
     In one embodiment of the present invention, the barrier layer further includes a peripheral barrier pattern formed around the substrate. 
     In one embodiment of the present invention, the display apparatus further comprises a cover lens disposed on the parallax barrier touch board, wherein the cover lens includes a peripheral barrier pattern formed around the cover lens. 
     In one embodiment of the present invention, the display panel is a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel, an organic light emission diode (OLED) panel, a plasma display panel (PDP) or a field emission display panel. 
     In one embodiment of the present invention, the touch sensing circuit layer is a capacitive touch sensing circuit layer. 
     In one embodiment of the present invention, the touch sensing circuit layer is a resistive touch sensing circuit layer. 
     In one embodiment of the present invention, the parallax barrier touch board is bonded on the display panel by an optical adhesive. 
     According to another embodiment of the present invention, the method for manufacturing a parallax barrier touch board comprises the following steps: forming a barrier layer on a substrate, wherein the barrier layer includes a plurality of parallax barriers; and forming a touch sensing circuit layer on the barrier layer. 
     In one embodiment of the present invention, the touch sensing circuit layer comprises a transparent conductive film, an insulating layer, a plurality of metal wires and a transparent passvation layer formed in sequence on the barrier layer. 
     Therefore, with the use of the parallax barrier touch board of the display apparatus disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention, the touch control function and the 3D image display function can be integrated into the display apparatus, thereby reducing the weight, thickness and cost thereof. Furthermore, the processing steps of a display apparatus can be simplified, and the display panel or the parallax barrier touch board thereof can be easily reworked or repaired. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram showing a display apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a partially cross-section view showing the display apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a flow diagram showing a method for manufacturing the parallax barrier touch board according to a first embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 4  is a partially cross-section view showing the display apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     In order to make the illustration of the present invention more explicit and complete, the following description is stated with reference to  FIG. 1  through  FIG. 4 . 
     In the drawings, like reference numerals indicate like components or items. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a schematic diagram showing a display apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. The display apparatus  100  of the present embodiment may have a touch control function and a three-dimensional (3D) image display function. That is, the display apparatus  100  can sense the touch of a user&#39;s fingers or other objects and output corresponding signals, and the display apparatus  100  can display a 3D image. The display apparatus  100  may comprise a display panel  110  and a parallax barrier touch board  120 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 1  again, the display panel  110  may be a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel, an organic light emission diode (OLED) panel, a plasma display panel (PDP) or a field emission display panel for displaying a two-dimensional (2D) image. In the present embodiment, the display panel  110  may be the LCD panel. At this time, the display apparatus  100  may further comprise a backlight module  130  for providing a backlight to the display panel  110  (LCD panel). 
     Referring to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 ,  FIG. 2  is a partially cross-section view showing the display apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The parallax barrier touch board  120  comprises a substrate  121 , a barrier layer  122  and a touch sensing circuit layer  123 . The substrate  121  may be a glass substrate or a flexible transparent substrate, and the material thereof may be glass, polycarbonate (PC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) or polyether sulfone (PES). In the present embodiment, the substrate  121  preferably has a great strength of material to be a protection substrate for protecting the parallax barrier touch board  120  and the display panel  110  from harm. The barrier layer  122  is formed on one side of the display panel  110  for sheltering light. The material of the barrier layer  122  may be metal (such as Cr), metallic oxide, graphite and resin material. The barrier layer  122  includes a peripheral barrier pattern  124  and a plurality of parallax barriers  125 . The peripheral barrier pattern  124  is formed around the substrate  121  and corresponds to a non-displaying region of the display apparatus  100  for sheltering light therein. The parallax barriers  125  are formed inside the peripheral barrier pattern  124  for forming a 3D image effect. The parallax barriers  125  are arranged periodically, and there is a predetermined interval between each adjacent two of the parallax barriers  125  to allow light passing through the barrier layer  122 . Therefore, the parallax barriers  125  of the barrier layer  122  can form the light barriers spaced at intervals. By using the parallax barriers  125  of the barrier layer  122 , the user&#39;s eyes can respectively see the pixels at different positions of the display panel  110 , thereby forming a visual effect of watching a 3D image. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2  again, the touch sensing circuit layer  123  of the present embodiment may be a capacitive touch sensing circuit layer for sensing the touch or moving of the finger or object. The touch sensing circuit layer  123  includes a transparent conductive film  101 , an insulating layer  102 , a plurality of metal wires  103  and a transparent passvation layer  104 . The transparent conductive film  101  may be made of a transparent conductive material, such as ITO, IZO, AZO, ATO, GZO, TCO, ZnO or PEDOT. The transparent conductive film  101  is formed on the substrate  121  and partially covers the barrier layer  122 . The transparent conductive film  101  includes a plurality of sensing pads  105 , a plurality of transparent connecting structures  106  and a plurality of transparent guiding wires  107 . The sensing pads  105  are arranged inside the peripheral barrier pattern  124  in a matrix form for sensing the touch or moving of the object. The shape of the sensing pads  105  may be rhombus or polygon. The transparent connecting structures  106  are disposed between the sensing pads  105  for electrically connecting the sensing pads  105  along a first direction. The transparent guiding wires  107  are disposed on the peripheral barrier pattern  124  for outputting sensing signals. The insulating layer  102  may be made of a transparent insulating material and cover the transparent connecting structures  106  of the transparent conductive film  101  for electrically isolating the sensing pads  105  at different directions. For example, the sensing pads  105  along the first direction can be isolated from the sensing pads  105  along the second direction, wherein the second direction is different to the first direction. For example, the second direction is vertical to the first direction. The metal wires  103  include a plurality of metal connecting structures  108  and a plurality of metal guiding wires  109 . The metal connecting structures  108  are formed on the insulating layer  102  for electrically connecting the sensing pads  105  along the second direction. The metal guiding wires  109  are disposed on the transparent guiding wires  107  for outputting sensing signals. The transparent passvation layer  104  cover the transparent conductive film  101 , insulating layer  102  and the metal wires  103  for protecting them. The transparent passvation layer  104  may be made of a transparent insulating material, such as silica (SiO 2 ). 
     It is worth mentioning that the touch sensing circuit layer  123  is not limited to the above-mentioned sensing structure. For example, the touch sensing circuit layer  123  can be a resistive touch sensing circuit layer. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , a flow diagram showing a method for manufacturing the parallax barrier touch board according to a first embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. When manufacturing the parallax barrier touch board  120  of the present embodiment, in the step S 301 , the barrier layer  122  is formed on the substrate  121 . The peripheral barrier pattern  124  and the parallax barriers  125  of the barrier layer  122  can be formed at the inside of the substrate  121  by a photolithographic process. Subsequently, in the step S 302 , the touch sensing circuit layer  123  is formed on the barrier layer  122 . When forming the touch sensing circuit layer  123  on the barrier layer  122 , the transparent conductive film  101 , the insulating layer  102 , the metal wires  103  and the transparent passvation layer  104  are formed in sequence on the barrier layer  122  for forming the touch sensing circuit layer  123  thereon, and thus the parallax barrier touch board  120  can be formed. When assembling the display apparatus  100  of the present embodiment, the parallax barrier touch board  120  can be bonded on the display panel  110  by using an optical adhesive  140  for sensing the touch or moving of the finger or object and forming the parallax barrier to generate a 3D image effect. In the present embodiment, the barrier layer  122  and the touch sensing circuit layer  123  of the parallax barrier touch board  120  are disposed between the substrate  121  and the display panel  110 . 
     Therefore, the display apparatus  100  of the present embodiment can utilize the parallax barrier touch board  120  to achieve the touch control function and the 3D image display function. When the display apparatus  100  performs the touch control function, the finger or object can touch the substrate  121  of the parallax barrier touch board  120 , and the touch or moving thereof can be detected by the touch sensing circuit layer  123  for obtaining the touch controlling effect. When the display apparatus  100  performs the 3D image display function, the user&#39;s eyes can respectively watch different images by using the parallax barriers  125  of the parallax barrier touch board  120 , thereby forming a 3D image effect with depth perception. 
     Since the touch control function and the 3D image display function are integrated into the parallax barrier touch board  120  of the display apparatus  100 , the use of the glass in the display apparatus  100  can be reduced, thereby reducing the weight, thickness and cost thereof. Furthermore, the touch sensing circuit layer  123  of the parallax barrier touch board  120  can be directly formed on the barrier layer  122 , and thus the process steps thereof can be simplified. Besides, the display apparatus  100  is composed of the display panel  110  and the parallax barrier touch board  120 . Therefore, when the display panel  110  or the parallax barrier touch board  120  has issues or fails, the display panel  110  or the parallax barrier touch board  120  can be reworked or repaired, individually. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , a partially cross-section view showing the display apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. In the second embodiment, the display apparatus  200  comprises a display panel  210 , a parallax barrier touch board  220  and a cover lens  250 . The display panel  210  may be a LCD panel for displaying the 2Ds image. The parallax barrier touch board  220  may be disposed between the display panel  210  and the cover lens  250 . The cover lens  250  is disposed on the parallax barrier touch board  220  for protecting the parallax barrier touch board  220 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 4  again, the parallax barrier touch board  220  comprises a substrate  221 , a barrier layer  222  and a touch sensing circuit layer  223 . The barrier layer  222  and the touch sensing circuit layer  223  are formed in sequence on the substrate  221 . The barrier layer  222  includes a plurality of parallax barriers  225  formed in a displaying region of the display apparatus  200  for forming the 3D image effect. The touch sensing circuit layer  223  includes a transparent conductive film  201 , an insulating layer  202 , a plurality of metal wires  203  and a transparent passvation layer  204  formed in sequence on the barrier layer  222 . The transparent conductive film  201  includes a plurality of sensing pads  205 , a plurality of transparent connecting structures  206  and a plurality of transparent guiding wires  207 . The insulating layer  202  covers the transparent connecting structures  206  of the transparent conductive film  201 . The metal wires  203  include a plurality of metal connecting structures  208  and a plurality of metal guiding wires  209 . The transparent passvation layer  204  covers the transparent conductive film  201 , the insulating layer  202  and the metal wires  203 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 4  again, in the second embodiment, the cover lens  250  includes a peripheral barrier pattern  224  formed on the surrounding thereof and corresponding to the non-displaying region of the display apparatus  200  for sheltering light therein. The material of the cover lens  250  is preferably glass or plastics with high strength. The cover lens  250  can be bonded on the parallax barrier touch board  220  by an optical adhesive  140 . 
     As described above, the display apparatus of the present invention can utilize the parallax barrier touch board to achieve the touch control function and the 3D image display function. Since the touch control function and the 3D image display function are integrated into the parallax barrier touch board, the use of the glass in the display apparatus can be reduced for reducing the weight, thickness and cost thereof, and the process steps thereof can be simplify. Furthermore, since the display apparatus is composed of the display panel and the parallax barrier touch board, the display panel or the parallax barrier touch board can be easy to be reworked or repaired, individually. 
     As is understood by a person skilled in the art, the foregoing embodiments of the present invention are strengths of the present invention rather than limiting of the present invention. It is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims, the scope of which should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures.