Conductor pattern structure of capacitive touch panel

#The present invention relates to the field of touch panel devices, and in particular to a conductor pattern structure of a capacitive touch panel.

#Touch panels have been of wide applications in the fields of household appliances, communications, and electronic information appliances. An example of the common applications of the touch panel is an input interface of a personal digital assistant (PDA), an electrical appliance, or a game machine, etc. The current trend of integration of a touch panel and a display panel allows a user to use his or her finger or a stylus to point a control icon shown on the panel in order to execute a desired function on a PDA, an electrical appliance or a game machine, etc. The touch panel is also applied in a public information inquiry system to provide an efficient operation system for the public.

#A conventional touch panel comprises a substrate having a surface on which sensing zones are distributed for sensing a signal associated with the touch of a user's finger or stylus to effect input and control. The sensing zones are made of transparent conductive membranes, such as Indium Tin Oxide (ITO), whereby a user may touch the transparent conducive membrane corresponding to a specific location shown on the display to effect operation of the device.

#The present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art by reading the following description of preferred embodiments thereof, with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

#FIG. 1 is a plan view of a conductor pattern structure of a capacitive touch panel in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;

#FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the conductor pattern structure of the capacitive touch panel of the present invention.

#With reference to the drawings and in particular to FIGS. 1 and 2, of which FIG. 1 illustrates a plan view of a conductor pattern structure of a capacitive touch panel in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention and FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of a portion of the conductor pattern structure of the capacitive touch panel, generally designated with reference numeral 12, is formed on a surface 11 of a substrate 1. The conductor pattern structure 12 comprises a plurality of conductor assemblies 13 extending along a first axis, which will be referred to as “first-axis conductor assemblies”, and a plurality of conductor assemblies 14 extending along a second axis, which will be referred to as “second-axis conductor assemblies”. Each of the first-axis conductor assemblies 13 is parallel to other first-axis conductor assemblies 13, and each of the second-axis conductor assemblies 14 is parallel to other second-axis conductor assemblies 14. The first-axis conductor assemblies 13 are substantially perpendicular to the second-axis conductor assemblies 14. However, it is apparent that the first-axis conductor assemblies 13 and the second-axis conductor assemblies 14 can be arranged on the surface 11 of the substrate 1 at an included angle therebetween that is other than a right angle.

#Each first-axis conductor assembly 13 is composed of a plurality of first-axis conductor cells 131 that are lined up along the first axis, which is designated at “X” in the drawings, on the surface 11 of the substrate 1 in a substantially equally-spaced manner and a disposition zone 15 is delimited between adjacent first-axis conductor assemblies 13 and adjacent first-axis conductor cells 131.

#A first-axis conduction line 132 connects between adjacent first-axis conductor cells 131 positioned along the first axis X so that the first-axis conductor cells 131 along the first axis X are electrically connected together to form a first-axis conductor assembly 13. In other words, the first-axis conductor cells 131 of the same first-axis conductor assembly 13 are connected together in cascade by the first-axis conduction lines 132. Each first-axis conductor assembly 13 is further connected to a signal transmission line 16a for transmitting a signal to a control circuit laid on a circuit board (both not shown).