JP2003248552A - Manufacturing method for touch panel - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manufacturing method for a touch panel which does not generate Newton rings. <P>SOLUTION: The manufacturing method for providing upper and lower base boards which arrange a pair of transparent electrodes in such a manner that surfaces of the electrodes are placed opposite to each other to stick the boards by sealing agents comprises a step of superimposing an upper base board 1 and a lower base board 2 via a sealing agent 60, a step of drying temporarily a sealing agent 61 in a state of heating and pressurizing the boards 1 and 2 during a predetermined time, a step of maintaining a sealing agent 62 in a state of releasing pressurizing to the boards 1 and 2 during a predetermined time and a step of sticking the board 1 with the board 2 via a sealing agent 63 by burning the sealing agent 62 with heating and pressurizing of the boards 1 and 2 during the predetermined time. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device such as a car navigation system, which is arranged on a screen of a liquid crystal display, and a user directly presses a display screen of information with a finger or a pen according to an instruction on the screen to see data. The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a touch panel that is input, has a beautiful screen, and is excellent in durability, wear resistance, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A touch panel as an input switch integrated with a display device is used by being arranged on the display surface of the display device. In the touch panel, an upper substrate composed of a micro glass plate and a transparent electrode formed on the lower surface thereof and a lower substrate composed of a glass plate and a transparent electrode formed on the upper surface thereof are transparent electrodes with a predetermined space therebetween. They are arranged so that they face each other, and are attached with a sealant.

In this touch panel, when the upper portion of the upper substrate is pressed with an input pen or a finger, the upper substrate is bent and the transparent electrode of the upper substrate comes into contact with the transparent electrode of the lower substrate at the pressing point. Then, the coordinates of the contact point are detected by measuring the electric resistance, and the input information is read. An example of such a conventional touch panel manufacturing method will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 4, and FIG. 5 are views for explaining a conventional touch panel manufacturing process. Figure 1
FIG. 1 shows a state in which the sealant 60 is printed on the lower substrate 2.
1A is a plan view of the lower substrate 2, and FIG.
It is an AA sectional view in (a). FIG. 2 shows the upper substrate 1
2A shows a state in which the transparent electrode 3 is formed, FIG. 2A is a plan view of the upper substrate 1, and FIG. 2B is a B view in FIG. 2A.
It is a -B sectional view. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a process of attaching the upper substrate 1 to the lower substrate 2 with the sealing agent 60.
FIG. 2A shows a state in which the upper substrate 1 is superposed on the lower substrate 2, and FIG. 2B is a diagram showing a state of the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 adhered with the sealant 60. In FIG. 5, the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 set on the curing jig 9 are set and pressed.
The process of heating is shown.

As shown in FIG. 1, a transparent electrode 4 is formed on a lower substrate 2 made of a soda glass plate having a thickness of 1.1 mm, and lead-out electrodes 8a and 8b connected to the transparent electrode 4 are formed.
To form. Further, after forming dot spacers 5 on the transparent electrode 4, a sealant 6 is formed on the peripheral portion of the lower substrate 2.
Print 0. At this time, the opening 60a of the sealant 60 is provided in a part of the peripheral portion of the lower substrate 2.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the thickness is 0.2 mm.
Similarly to the lower substrate 2, the transparent electrode 3 and the leading electrodes 7a and 7b are formed on the upper substrate 1 made of the micro glass plate.

Next, as shown in FIG.
The upper substrate 1 is superposed on the lower substrate 2 on which is printed. At this time, the transparent electrode 4 formed on the lower substrate 2 and the transparent electrode 3 formed on the upper substrate 1 are arranged to face each other.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 superposed on the curing jig 9 are set and set, and the sealant 60 is baked by pressurizing and heating for a predetermined time. afterwards,
The upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 are gradually cooled, and the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 are attached by a sealant 64 as shown in FIG. Then, the opening 60a of the sealant shown in FIG. 1 is sealed.
Through the above manufacturing process, the touch panel according to the conventional technique is manufactured.

[0009]

As described above, the conventional 2
In a touch panel using a number of glass substrates, the glass upper substrate 1 on the side that presses the surface with a fingertip or an input pen needs to use a thin material to lighten the input, and is made of a special glass material. Micro glass is used.

However, in the conventional touch panel manufacturing method, the adhesion between the upper substrate 1 and the sealant 64 is poor. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4B, there is a problem that the upper substrate 1 is deformed into a concave shape toward the lower surface side and a Newton ring is generated. In addition, this correction requires a great deal of time and labor, and may result in defective products.
As described above, there is a problem in that the yield in the manufacturing process is low and the cost is high.

(Object of the Invention) The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and by improving the adhesion between the upper substrate and the sealant, the manufacturing is facilitated and a Newton's ring does not occur. An object of the present invention is to provide a touch panel manufacturing method that can be manufactured at low cost.

[0012]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, in the method of manufacturing a touch panel according to claim 1 of the present invention, the upper and lower substrates provided with a pair of transparent electrodes are provided with the transparent electrode surfaces. In a method of manufacturing a touch panel which is installed so as to face each other and is adhered with a sealant, a step of superimposing an upper substrate and a lower substrate via a sealant, and heating and heating the superposed upper and lower substrates for a predetermined time. A step of temporarily drying the sealant by pressing, a step of holding the sealant for a predetermined time in a state where the pressure applied to the upper and lower substrates is released, and a predetermined time for the upper and lower substrates in a state where the pressure is released, And heating and pressing the sealing agent to bond the upper substrate and the lower substrate with the sealing agent.

In the touch panel manufacturing method according to the second aspect of the present invention, the temporary drying of the sealant is performed at a heating temperature of 90.
It is characterized in that it is held at 0 ° C. and a pressure of 0.5 kg / cm ² for 5 minutes.

Further, the touch panel manufacturing method according to the invention of claim 3 is characterized in that the upper substrate is a micro glass plate and the lower substrate is a glass plate.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 5 are views for explaining a method for manufacturing a touch panel according to this embodiment. Hereinafter, the method for manufacturing the touch panel according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a manufacturing process of the lower substrate 2, and FIG. 1A is a plan view of the upper substrate 2.
1B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, a transparent electrode 4 is formed on a lower substrate 2 made of a soda glass plate having a thickness of 1.1 mm. The transparent electrode 4 is formed by patterning an ITO film having a thickness of about 50 Å to 4000 Å by sputtering or CVD and etching.

Next, the lead-out electrodes 8a, 8b electrically connected to the transparent electrode 4 are formed. The lead-out electrodes 8a and 8b are formed by printing a silver paste film having a thickness of about 1 to 20 μm and firing at 130 ° C. for about 60 minutes.

Next, the dot spacers 5 formed on the surface of the transparent electrode 4 are formed. The dot spacers 5 are formed in a square or circular shape having a size of about 30 to 40 μm and an acrylic resist having a thickness of about 3 to 12 μm, which is uniformly patterned by a photolithography process at intervals of about 4 to 5 mm. Moreover, the dot spacers 5 may be made of a photo-curing resin by printing.

Further, after forming the dot spacers 5, a sealant 60 is printed on the peripheral portion of the lower substrate 2.
The sealing agent 60 is used to bond the upper substrate 1 and the lower substrate 2 to each other, and an epoxy resin adhesive, an acrylic resin adhesive or the like is selected, and the sealing agent 60 is
It is formed with a width in the range of 2.5 mm. This sealant 60
Spacer members, such as plastic balls and fiber glass, of a required size are dispersed in the substrate, and this spacer member serves to hold the upper substrate 1 and the lower substrate 2 at a required distance. There is. In addition, an opening 60a of the sealant 60 is provided in a part of the peripheral portion of the lower substrate 2.

2A and 2B are views for explaining the manufacturing process of the upper substrate 1, and FIG. 2A is a plan view of the upper substrate 1 and FIG.
2B is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, a transparent electrode 3 and lead-out electrodes 7a and 7b are formed on an upper substrate 1 made of a micro glass plate having a thickness of 0.2 mm, like the upper substrate 2. As the micro glass used as the upper substrate 1, borosilicate glass or the like can be given as an example.

FIG. 3 is a view for explaining a step of attaching the upper substrate 1 to the lower substrate 2. FIG. 3A shows a step of superposing the upper substrate 1 on the lower substrate 2. Figure 3
As shown in (a), the lower substrate 2 on which the sealant 60 is printed is faced down, and the upper substrate 1 is superposed on the sealant 60. At this time, the transparent electrode 4 formed on the lower substrate 2 and the transparent electrode 3 formed on the upper substrate 1 are arranged to face each other.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 placed on the curing jig 9 are set, and the heating temperature is 90 ° C.
The sealing agent 60 is tentatively dried by maintaining the applied pressure at 0.5 kg / cm ² for 5 minutes. FIG. 3B shows a process of temporarily drying the sealant 61 in a state where the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 that have been stacked are heated and pressed, and at this time, the cross-sectional shape of the sealant 61 is the thickness. The direction is compressed and becomes smaller, and the width direction is held slightly bulged.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3C, the pressure applied to the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 is released, and the sealing agent 62 is held in this state for 10 minutes. At this time, the cross-sectional shape of the sealant 62 is released from compression and extends a little in the thickness direction, and in the width direction, it becomes a drum shape with a constriction near the center of the height. At this time, the temperature of the substrate and the sealant does not change much because the entire heat capacity is large, although it is in the slow cooling state.

Next, the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 in the state in which the applied pressure is released are subjected to
The sealant 62 is baked by pressurizing and heating again at 0.25 kg / cm 2 and 150 ° C. and holding for 60 to 90 minutes. After that, through a slow cooling step, as shown in FIG. 3D, the peripheral portions of the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 are attached with a sealant 63 at a constant interval of about 8 to 12 μm. At this time, the cross-sectional shape of the sealant 63 is compressed in the thickness direction and becomes smaller, and in the width direction, it becomes an hourglass shape in which a slightly constricted state remains near the center of the height. Then, the opening 60a of the sealant is sealed. The touch panel in the present embodiment is realized by the above manufacturing process.

As described above, according to the touch panel manufacturing method of this embodiment, the upper substrate 1 and the lower substrate 2 are overlapped with each other via the sealant 60, and the sealant 60 is added.
Tentatively dry under heating and pressurization, and then hold in a state where the applied pressure is released, and again heat, pressurize and bake, and attach the upper substrate 1 and the lower substrate 2 with the sealant 63. Due to
The adhesion between the upper substrate 1 and the sealant 63 is improved. As a result, the upper surface of the upper substrate 1 was prevented from having a concave shape, and had a flat shape or a slightly convex shape, and the occurrence of Newton's rings could be prevented.

In this embodiment, borosilicate glass is used as an example of the material of the upper substrate 1, and the lower substrate 2 is used.
Although the soda glass has been described as an example of the above material, it is needless to say that the material is not limited to this and other materials can be used.

[0027]

According to the method of manufacturing a touch panel of the present invention, the adhesion between the upper substrate and the sealant is improved, whereby the top surface of the upper substrate has a flat shape or a slightly convex shape. It is possible to prevent the generation of Newton's rings. In addition, the improved adhesion between the upper substrate and the sealant stabilizes the quality and facilitates manufacturing.
It is possible to reduce man-hours and cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a manufacturing process of a touch panel according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which a sealant is printed on a lower substrate.
1A is a plan view of the lower substrate, and FIG. 1B is FIG. 1A.
3 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.

2A and 2B show a manufacturing process of an upper substrate of a touch panel according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2A is a plan view of the upper substrate, and FIG. 2B is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 2A. is there.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a manufacturing process of the touch panel according to the embodiment of the present invention, showing a process of laminating and bonding a lower substrate and an upper substrate.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a manufacturing process of a touch panel in a conventional technique, showing a process of laminating and adhering an upper substrate on a lower substrate.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a manufacturing process of the touch panel according to the embodiment of the present invention, showing a process of setting the upper and lower substrates superposed on a curing jig and pressurizing and heating them.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Upper substrate 2 Lower substrate 3 transparent electrodes 4 transparent electrodes 5 dot spacer 7a, 7b routing electrodes 8a, 8b routing electrodes 9 Curing jig 60, 61, 62, 63, 64 Sealant

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H01H 11/00 H01H 11/00 C // H01H 13/70 13/70 EF term (reference) 2H089 HA18 HA35 QA12 TA01 TA02 5B068 AA05 AA32 BB06 BC07 BC13 5B087 AA09 AC09 CC12 CC14 CC37 5G006 AA01 CD06 FB14 FB17 FB30 FD02 5G023 AA11 CA19 CA21 CA43

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A method for manufacturing a touch panel in which upper and lower substrates provided with a pair of transparent electrodes are installed such that the transparent electrode surfaces face each other, and a sticking agent is used to bond the upper and lower substrates together. And a step of heating the upper and lower substrates stacked for a predetermined time,
A step of temporarily drying the sealant by pressurizing, a step of holding the sealant for a predetermined time in a state where the pressure applied to the upper and lower substrates is released, and a step of keeping the upper and lower substrates in a state where the pressure is released for a predetermined time And a step of adhering the upper substrate and the lower substrate with the sealant by heating and pressurizing the sealant, and manufacturing the touch panel. 2. The temporary drying of the sealant is performed at a heating temperature of 90.
The method for manufacturing a touch panel according to claim 1, wherein the method is held at a temperature of 0.5 ° C. and a pressure of 0.5 kg / cm ² for 5 minutes. 3. The method of manufacturing a touch panel according to claim 1, wherein the upper substrate is a micro glass plate, and the lower substrate is a glass plate.