JP2006106912A - Information input device and method for manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information input device and a picture input type display device which are easily assembled at low costs. <P>SOLUTION: An insulating film 45 for icon display for a fixed key having notched sections 45a, 45b, 45c, 45d and 45e is installed on the touch electrode of at least one substrate of upper and lower substrates 11 and 41 of a touch panel 40 formed by bonding the upper and the lower substrates 11 and 41 with a fixed interval. The notched sections are shaped so that the types of icons are recognized from characters or symbols, graphics or patterns or the like, and formed so that the switch operations of the ions are performed in the notched sections. Also, the notched sections are installed in an active area. Also, an insulating film for icon display is colored so as to be made opaque so that the icons are identified. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an information input device, and in particular, used in devices such as ATMs, car navigation systems, vending machines, copying machines, various terminals, electronic notebooks, word processors, personal computers, etc., on a display screen such as a liquid crystal display. The present invention relates to an information input apparatus in which a user inputs data by directly pressing a display screen of information with a finger or a pen according to an instruction on a screen that is arranged and seen through, or inputs handwritten characters.

  One typical information input device is a resistive touch panel. The background art will be described using this resistive touch panel. The resistive film type touch panel in the prior art has an upper substrate in which a touch electrode and a wiring electrode connected to the touch electrode are formed on the lower surface of a flexible transparent substrate, and the touch electrode and the touch electrode on the upper surface of the transparent substrate. A wiring electrode to be connected to the lower electrode, and a lower substrate having dot spacers arranged at regular intervals on the upper surface of the touch electrode, is arranged so that the touch electrodes face each other with a predetermined gap. The touch panel is used by being arranged on the upper surface side of a display device such as a liquid crystal display device. By pressing the touch panel located at the display portion of the display device with a finger or a pen, the upper substrate of the touch panel is bent and the touch electrode at the pressed position comes into contact with the touch electrode on the lower substrate. The position is detected by measuring electrical resistance and the input information is read.

  Here, a configuration of a commonly used resistive film type touch panel (hereinafter simply referred to as a touch panel) will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 is a plan view of a conventional touch panel, FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 12, FIG. 14 is a plan view of the lower substrate in FIG. 12, and FIG. 15 is a plan view of the upper substrate in FIG. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 12, FIG. 13, FIG. 14, and FIG. 15, the touch panel 20 of the prior art is composed of a lower substrate 1 having a square shape and an upper substrate 11 having flexibility as main components. Yes. As shown in FIG. 14, the lower substrate 1 includes a transparent substrate 2 made of transparent square glass, a lower touch electrode 3 formed in a square shape on the upper surface of the transparent substrate 2, and a diagram of the lower touch electrode 3. 14, a pair formed to be connected along both upper and lower opposing sides and routed to an FPC mounting portion S (a portion of a lower dotted line frame in FIG. 14) in a downwardly extending portion of the transparent substrate 2. Wiring electrodes 4 and 5, a pair of connection electrodes 8 and 9 formed in the vicinity of the FPC attachment portion S, dot spacers 10 arranged in a matrix on the lower touch electrode 3, and a pair of wiring electrodes 4 and 5. It is comprised with the insulating films 6 and 7 provided on the surface. The wiring electrode 4 is composed of a portion of the electrode 4a connected to the lower side of the lower touch electrode 3 in FIG. 14 and a portion of the electrode 4b routed from there to the FPC mounting portion S. The wiring electrode 5 includes a portion of the electrode 5a connected to the upper side of the lower touch electrode 3 in FIG. 14, a portion of the electrode 5b routed along the outer peripheral area on the right end side of the transparent substrate 2, and an FPC attachment portion. It consists of electrodes 5c and 5d in the portion facing S. The insulating film 6 is provided on the wiring electrode 4a, and the insulating film 7 is provided on the wiring electrodes 5a, 5b, and 5c. This insulating film is provided in a portion close to a touch electrode and a pair of wiring electrodes on the upper substrate, which will be described later, to prevent contact conduction. The insulating film also serves as a protective film against damage. Further, the pair of connection electrodes 8 and 9 are provided in the vicinity of the FPC mounting portion S in order to make conductive connection to wiring electrodes 14 and 15 of the upper substrate 11 to be described later, and as shown in FIG. The wiring electrodes 14 and 15 are connected to the connection portions B and A.

As shown in FIG. 15, the upper substrate 11 includes a transparent substrate 12 made of a flexible transparent base material, an upper touch electrode 13 formed in a rectangular shape on the lower surface of the transparent substrate 12, The FPC of the lower substrate 1 is formed by connecting along both the left and right opposing sides of the touch electrode 13 in FIG.
A pair of wiring electrodes 14 and 15 routed in the direction of the mounting portion S and insulating films 16 and 17 provided on the surfaces of the pair of wiring electrodes 14 and 15 are configured. The wiring electrode 14 is composed of a portion of the electrode 14a connected to the left side of the upper touch electrode 13 in FIG. 15 and an electrode 14b routed toward the FPC mounting portion S. Similarly, the wiring electrode 15 includes: In FIG. 15, the electrode 15a is connected to the right side of the upper touch electrode 13 and the electrode 15b is routed toward the FPC attachment portion S. The insulating film 16 is provided on the wiring electrodes 14a and 14b, and the insulating film 17 is provided on the wiring electrodes 15a and 15b. The tip portion 14b1 of the wiring electrode 14b and the tip portion 15b1 of the wiring electrode 15b are formed on the lower substrate 1. Since it is a part connected to the connection electrodes 8 and 9, no insulating film is provided. The insulating films 16 and 17 are provided for the purpose of preventing contact conduction and protecting, like the insulating film of the lower substrate 1.

  12 and 13, the wiring electrodes 14 (14a portion) and 15 (15a portion) of the upper substrate 11 and the wiring electrodes 4 (4a portion) and 5 (5a portion) of the lower substrate 1 are square. The lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 11 are joined to each other so as to be disposed on the opposite sides of the substrate, with a certain gap, and the outer periphery of the upper substrate 11 and the lower substrate 1 is circulated. And sealed. Further, the wiring electrodes 14 and 15 provided on the upper substrate 11 are connected to the connection electrodes 8 and 9 provided on the lower substrate 1 at the locations of the connection portions B and A and the conductive electrodes, It is connected through an anisotropic conductive adhesive or the like to conduct electricity.

  The touch panel 20 configured as described above has a structure in which the outer portions of the pair of wiring electrodes 14 and 15 of the upper substrate 11 and the pair of wiring electrodes 4 and 5 of the lower substrate 1 are sealed with a sealing material 18 over the entire circumference. However, as another structure, there is a structure in which the portion where the wiring electrode is formed is sealed with a sealing material over the entire circumference to narrow the frame.

  Each component part of the touch panel 20 having the above-described configuration is as follows. Transparent glass is used for the transparent substrate 2 constituting the lower substrate 1. As this glass, soda glass, quartz glass, alkali glass, borosilicate glass, normal plate glass, and the like can be used, and those having a thickness that does not cause warpage or the like are used. In many cases, 0.7 to 1.1 mm is selected. Since the transparent substrate 12 constituting the upper substrate 11 requires flexibility, a transparent thin glass or a transparent plastic film is used. For example, those used in devices that require heat resistance such as car navigation are often used as 0.2 mm-thick microsheet glass that is strong in heat resistance and impact resistance and has flexibility. . As the plastic film, a PET film (polyethylene terephthalate film) or a polycarbonate film having a thickness of 0.1 to 0.2 mm is mainly used.

  The lower touch electrode 3 constituting the lower substrate 1 and the upper touch electrode 13 constituting the upper substrate 11 are made of a transparent thin film formed of an indium oxide ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) film doped with tin. This ITO film is formed by a vacuum deposition method, a sputtering method, a CVD method, a printing method, or the like. Since the lower touch electrode 3 and the upper touch electrode 13 are required to have a high resistance value, they are formed very thin in the range of 250 to 500 angstroms. Then, the ITO film formed on the entire surface of the substrate is formed by removing unnecessary portions by photolithography and leaving necessary portions.

  The pair of wiring electrodes 4 and 5 constituting the lower substrate 1, the pair of connection electrodes 8 and 9, and the pair of wiring electrodes 14 and 15 constituting the upper substrate 11 are made of a high conductivity paste such as silver paste. It is formed by a printing method such as screen printing. In view of the performance of the touch panel, the lower the resistance value of these electrodes, the better. In general, the sheet resistance value of these electrodes needs to be 1/100 or less of the sheet resistance value of the touch electrode. It is said that. Therefore, a design has been made to reduce the resistance value by increasing the thickness of printing of these electrodes or increasing the width.

  The dot spacer 10 constituting the lower substrate 1 is provided so that the upper and lower touch electrodes other than the pressed portion do not come into contact with each other, and transparent acrylic resin, epoxy resin, urethane resin, and other transparent resin materials are used. It is formed in a dot matrix at regular intervals by a method such as screen printing, and then subjected to a curing treatment with heat or ultraviolet rays. Since the dot spacer 10 is required to be invisible, the diameter is designed in the range of 30 to 60 μm and the dot interval is 1 to 8 mm. The height differs depending on whether a thin glass is used for the transparent substrate 12 or a plastic film, but ranges from 2 to 5 μm when a thin glass is used, and around 10 μm when a plastic film is used. Form with.

  The sealing material 18 is provided for the purpose of bonding the upper substrate 11 and the lower substrate 1 and for the purpose of preventing moisture and the like from entering the inside, but at the same time also serves the purpose of setting the upper and lower substrates 11 and 1 to a predetermined gap amount. ing. The sealing material 18 is formed by printing an epoxy resin adhesive or an acrylic resin adhesive in which spacer balls are dispersed by a method such as screen printing. The thickness differs between the case where a thin glass is used for the upper transparent substrate 12 and the case where a plastic film is used, but when a thin glass is used, the gap between the upper and lower substrates 11 and 1 after bonding is around 10 μm. Is used, the gap after bonding of the upper and lower substrates 11 and 1 is set in a range of about 100 to 200 μm. The spacer ball is provided to keep the gap between the upper substrate 11 and the lower substrate 1 in a predetermined gap, and an insulating plastic ball, silica ball, glass fiber or the like having a predetermined size is used. After this sealant 18 is printed on either the upper substrate 11 or the lower substrate 1, the upper substrate 11 and the lower substrate 1 are aligned and bonded together, subjected to heat treatment under pressure and cured, Bonding is performed.

  The insulating films 16 and 17 provided on the surfaces of the pair of wiring electrodes 14 and 15 of the upper substrate 11 and the insulating films 6 and 7 provided on the surfaces of the pair of wiring electrodes 4 and 5 of the lower substrate 11 are made of acrylic resin, It consists of an insulating thin film formed by a method such as screen printing using a resin material such as an epoxy resin or a urethane resin. In addition, a film formed by vacuum deposition or sputtering of silicon oxide or the like should also be used. Can do.

  The touch panel having the above configuration is provided on the upper surface side of the liquid crystal display device and used as a screen input type display device. As an example, a screen input type display device disclosed in Patent Document 1 below will be described.

JP-A-6-67800

  16 and 17 are a perspective view and an exploded perspective view showing the overall appearance of the screen input type display device disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above. The screen input type display device shown in FIG. 16 is a device that can input and output various types of information by handwriting characters and figures on the surface of the touch panel using the pen 24. In the upper case 21 and the lower case 22, a touch panel 20, a liquid crystal display device 27, a main circuit board 30 and the like shown in FIG. The upper case 21 has a wide window opened on the front side, and a touch panel 20 is attached to the opened window so that the touch panel can be operated. The touch panel 20 here has an area divided into two parts, an area where a fixed key input display unit 20b is provided on the upper side, and an information input / output unit 20a which can be written with a pen on the lower side. And have an area.

  The fixed key input display unit 20b is arranged with predetermined icons 26a, and information to be operated by pressing a target icon with a pen is displayed on the information input / output unit 20a. As can be seen from FIG. 17, the fixed key input display portion 20 b has a configuration in which an icon 26 a printed on the spacer 26 disposed on the lower surface side of the touch panel 20 can be seen through the touch panel 20.

As shown in FIG. 17, the main components of the screen input type display device shown in FIG. 16 are a touch panel 20 at the top, a spacer 26 below, and a liquid crystal display device 27 below. There is a holder 28 made of resin underneath, and the main circuit board 30 is provided underneath it. The holder 28 has two shelves 28a and 28b. The holder 28 has a structure in which the liquid crystal display device 27 is incorporated on the shelf 28a, and the spacer 26 and the touch panel 20 are incorporated on the shelf 28b. Affixed with double-sided tape. The holder 28 is fixed to the main circuit board 30, and a CPU 31 and a driver IC 33 for a liquid crystal display device are mounted on the main circuit board 30. The main circuit board 30 and the liquid crystal display device 27 are connected by a heat seal 29, and the main circuit board 30 and the touch panel 20 are connected by an FPC 20f.

  In the above configuration, the spacer 26 is provided for the purpose of preventing the generation of Newton rings when the touch panel 20 and the liquid crystal display device 27 are laminated. The spacer 26 having a required thickness is used to attach the touch panel 20 and the liquid crystal display device 27 to each other. A certain gap is provided. As the material of the spacer 26, a resin film or the like is mainly used. However, a portion where information is input / output with the touch panel 20 has an open shape. Further, a fixed icon 26 a that is used constantly is printed on one end of the spacer 26. When the touch panel 20 is overlaid on the spacer 26, the icon 26a is visible, and that portion becomes the fixed key input display portion 20b of the touch panel 20.

  In the touch panel having such a configuration, the spacer must have a shape in which an icon is provided. Therefore, the spacer has to take a considerably limited shape. In addition, since a special icon printing process is required, the manufacturing cost of the parts increases. Furthermore, since accurate alignment between the spacer and the touch panel is necessary, the assembly cost is increased.

  In order to solve the above problems, the first means used by the present invention is an upper substrate having a touch electrode and a wiring electrode connected to the touch electrode, a wiring electrode having a touch electrode and a wiring electrode connected to the touch electrode. In the information input device in which the electrode is opposed to the lower substrate having a certain gap and the sealing material is disposed around the gap, the information input device is on the touch electrode of at least one of the upper and lower substrates. An insulating film that suppresses or blocks light transmission is provided in a part of an active area that is an effective operation area of the information input device, and a cutout portion that transmits light is provided on the surface of the insulating film.

  The second means used by the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problem is that the shape of the notch of the insulating film in the first means of the present invention forms a character, a symbol, a figure or a picture. It is characterized by that.

  The third means used by the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems is that in the first or second means of the present invention, the size of the notch portion of the insulating film is the upper substrate on the notch portion. When the is pressed, the upper substrate is bent, and the touch electrode of the upper substrate and the touch electrode of the lower substrate are in contact with each other in the cutout portion.

The fourth means used by the present invention in order to solve the above-mentioned problems is the means according to the first, second or third of the present invention, wherein the insulating film is the wiring electrode of the substrate on the side where the insulating film is provided. An insulating film for a wiring electrode formed on the surface is provided so as to extend.

  The fifth means used by the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems is that, in the first to fourth means of the present invention, the insulating film is provided on both the upper and lower substrates, and both The provided insulating films are arranged at positions that do not overlap each other in the active area.

  The sixth means used by the present invention in order to solve the above-mentioned problems is the following: an upper substrate having a touch electrode and a wiring electrode connected to the touch electrode; a wiring electrode having a touch electrode and a wiring electrode connected to the touch electrode; In the method of manufacturing an information input device, wherein the touch electrode on at least one of the upper and lower substrates is arranged in such a manner that the electrode is opposed to the lower substrate having a certain gap and the sealing material is disposed around the gap. An insulating film printing step of printing the insulating film using a mask having a shape for forming a light transmission notch in the insulating film in a step of disposing an insulating film on a portion of the information. Manufacturing method of input device.

  The seventh means used by the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems is the step of printing the insulating film in the seventh means of the present invention, wherein the wiring electrode is formed on the substrate on the side where the insulating film is printed. The wiring electrode insulating film formed on the surface is printed using a mask that is printed simultaneously.

  As an effect of the invention, the present invention provides an information input device with an insulating film having a notch. Then, the display film is formed to be opaque or to suppress light. Therefore, the identification of the display formed of the insulating film in the transparent touch panel can be distinguished at a glance. In addition, the insulating film has a notch, but the notch has a shape whose type can be recognized by numbers, symbols, figures, designs, and the like. The display type of the fixed key can be identified at a glance with the display shape of the notch, so there is no mistake in pressing. Further, the size of the notch portion of the display insulating film is formed such that when the upper substrate on the notch portion is pressed, the upper substrate bends and the touch electrodes on the upper and lower substrates come into contact with each other in the notch portion. Therefore, malfunction can be prevented. And detection with good reliability can be performed.

  The insulating film is provided by extending a wiring electrode insulating film formed on the surface of the wiring electrode. With the same material, the insulating film and the wiring electrode insulating film can be printed and formed at the same time, and both can be finished by one printing. This avoids an increase in printing cost.

  Moreover, the information input device of the present invention employs a manufacturing method in which an insulating film having a notch is printed and formed. Since printing is a simple method, it can be formed in a short time and with high accuracy. Further, by printing together with the insulating film formed on the wiring electrode surface, the insulating film and the wiring electrode insulating film can be formed at the same time, so that the number of printing steps can be reduced and the cost can be reduced.

The screen input type display device of the present invention includes an information input device provided with an icon display of a fixed key inside the information input device. As described in the background art, the prior art has a configuration using special parts such as displaying icons on parts such as spacers. Therefore, the configuration of the screen input type display device of the present invention does not require a special part for displaying the icon of the fixed key. Since the number of parts can be reduced and the assembly work can be facilitated, the manufacturing cost is reduced. In addition, the thickness can be reduced.

Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In describing the information input device of the present invention, a resistive touch panel (hereinafter simply referred to as a touch panel), which is one of the information input devices, will be described. The same applies to the embodiments described below. Here, FIG. 1 is a plan view of a touch panel according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line GG in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of a lower substrate in FIG. Parts having the same configuration as that of the touch panel described in the related art are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is limited to the necessary limit.

  In the touch panel of the present invention, an icon display for a fixed key is provided in the touch panel. In FIG. 1, D indicated by the alternate long and short dash line indicates the range of the active area (effective operation area), and the inside of the alternate long and short dash line D is the active area. This active area is divided into an icon display area E for displaying fixed key icons and an information input / output area F for inputting information by pen writing. The icon display area E consists of an icon display insulating film 45 having notches 45a, 45b, 45c, 45d, and 45e. The icon display insulating film 45 is formed at the edge of the active area. Provided in the region. By providing the icon display insulating film 45 in the edge area of the active area, the information input / output area F can be used with a large area. Since the notch is provided to perform a switch operation at the notch, the notch has a size (wideness) at which the switch operation can be performed. Furthermore, the notch part also shows the type of the fixed key icon. In FIG. 1, there are five notches 45a, 45b, 45c, 45d, and 45e. For example, the notch 45a has an address icon, the notch 45b has a schedule icon, and a notch. The part 45c shows a clear icon, the notch part 45d shows an icon of Δ (in the figure, meaning to advance), the notch part 45e shows an icon of ▽ (in the figure, means to go back), and the like. This notch is finished in a shape that allows the type of icon to be identified by letters, symbols, figures, and the like. Further, the icon display insulating film 45 is opaque, and the notches 45a, 45b, 45c, 45d, and 45e are opened and are in a transparent state. As a result, each icon can be clearly distinguished and visually recognized. In FIG. 1, five notches are provided and five types of icons are shown. However, the number of icons is not particularly limited and may be provided as necessary.

  A configuration of the touch panel 40 having such specifications will be described. The touch panel 40 includes an upper substrate 11 and a lower substrate 41 as main components. The upper substrate 11 is connected to two opposing sides of the upper touch electrode 13 formed in a rectangular shape on the lower surface of the flexible transparent substrate 12, and is routed toward the FPC attachment portion S. A pair of wiring electrodes 14 and 15 provided and an insulating film 16 (17) provided on the surface of the pair of wiring electrodes 14 (15). As shown in FIG. 3, the lower substrate 41 is connected to the lower touch electrode 3 formed in a square shape on the upper surface of the transparent substrate 2, and the two opposite sides of the lower touch electrode 3, toward the FPC attachment portion S. A pair of wiring electrodes 4, 5 formed by drawing, connection electrodes 8, 9 formed in the vicinity of the FPC attachment portion S, dot spacers 10 formed in a matrix on the upper surface of the lower touch electrode 3, and wiring electrodes 4, 5 Insulation for icon display having insulating films 6 and 7 provided on the surface and a plurality of notches 45a, 45b, 45c, 45d and 45e formed on the left touch panel in FIG. And a film 45. The lower touch electrode 3 is disposed under the icon display insulating film 45. Hereinafter, the insulating film provided on the wiring electrodes of the upper substrate and the lower substrate is referred to as a wiring electrode insulating film, and will be described separately from the icon display insulating film.

The upper substrate 11 and the lower substrate 41 having the above-described configuration (the upper substrate and the lower substrate may be referred to as upper and lower substrates hereinafter) are exactly the same as the pair of wiring electrodes 14 and 15 of the upper substrate 11 and the lower substrate 41. The pair of wiring electrodes 4 and 5 are arranged in a square arrangement, and a predetermined gap is provided with the sealing material 18, and the upper and lower substrates 11 and 41 are rotated and bonded and fixed to finish the touch panel 40. When the upper and lower substrates 11 and 41 are bonded and fixed, at the same time, the pair of wiring electrodes 14 and 15 of the upper substrate 11 are electrically conductive adhesives at the respective distal end portions of the pair of connection electrodes 6 and 7 provided on the lower substrate 41. Connected by. Although not shown, a polarizing plate, an antireflection film (AR film), an antiglare film, or the like is provided on the upper surface of the upper substrate 11 in order to improve the antiglare property and improve the transparency and display quality. Yes. In addition, a phase difference plate is provided on the lower surface of the lower substrate 41. Further, when a polarizing plate is provided on the uppermost surface, a hard coat film is also provided on the upper surface of the polarizing plate in order to prevent the polarizing plate and the like from being damaged by the pressing operation. This hard coat film is disposed on the upper surface of the upper substrate of the touch panel when the uppermost surface of the apparatus is the upper substrate of the touch panel. In addition, the FPC 19 is attached to the FPC attachment portion S so as to conduct electricity.

  The configuration of the touch panel 40 of the present invention is different from the configuration of the conventional touch panel 20 described above in that the icon display insulating film 45 is provided on the lower substrate 1. The icon display insulating film 45 is formed by mixing a resin such as an epoxy resin, an acrylic resin, or a urethane resin with a pigment or the like to form an ink, which is then formed by a printing method such as screen printing. Since the icon display insulating film 45 needs to be clearly visible, the transmittance is lowered to make it opaque so that the colored tone can be clearly recognized. Further, since the icon display insulating film 45 displays an icon for a fixed key, the type of the icon can be clearly identified by the notch. Therefore, as described above, a shape in which the type of icon can be recognized by characters, symbols, figures, etc. is taken. The characters are formed by printing as a part of the icon display insulating film 45. In this way, the notch part is displayed with characters, symbols, graphics, etc., and the icon display insulating film 45 is colored so that the type of the icon can be clearly distinguished and identified. To prevent. Further, since the insulating film is provided in the portion of the icon display insulating film 45 where there is no notch, the icon is not switched on even if the upper substrate 11 is pressed. Therefore, reliable information input can be performed.

Further, the icon display insulating film 45 is formed in the edge area of the active area as shown in FIG. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the lower substrate 41 is formed on the lower touch electrode 3. Since the dot spacer 10 is also provided on the lower touch electrode 3, the icon display insulating film 45 is also formed on the dot spacer 10. Further, in the present embodiment, it is formed on the lower substrate 41 side, but it may be formed on the upper touch electrode 13 of the upper substrate 11 and may be formed on at least one side. The cutout portion of the icon display insulating film 45 is required to have a size (width) at which the switch operation can be performed at the cutout portion. Accordingly, the thickness of the icon display insulating film 45 and the size of the notch greatly influence the function of the switch as an icon. This state will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory view for explaining the function of the notch portion of the icon display insulating film. In FIG. 4, the upper substrate 11 located above the notch 45 c of the icon display insulating film 45 is pressed with a pen 24. The flexible upper substrate 11 bends and the upper touch electrode 13 of the upper substrate 11 contacts the lower touch electrode 3 of the lower substrate 41. t represents the thickness of the icon display insulating film 45, and m represents the width (size) of the notch 45 c of the icon display insulating film 45. Here, if the thickness t of the icon display film 45 is too thick, the upper transparent electrode 13 of the upper substrate 11 contacts the icon display film 45 first. For this reason, in order to make the upper transparent electrode 13 contact the lower transparent electrode 3, a further higher pressing force is required. For this reason, the pressing force does not fall within the specified range of ^{20 to} 200 gr / cm ² , causing a problem that the pressing force protrudes outside the specified range. On the other hand, when the thickness t is small, the upper transparent electrode 13 comes into contact with the lower transparent electrode 3 before coming into contact with the icon display film 45, so that it can be operated with a low pressing force. Therefore, the thinner the thickness t, the better. In the present invention, the icon display insulating film 45 is printed and formed together with the wiring electrode insulating films 6 and 7 by a screen printing method. Since the wiring electrode insulating films 6 and 7 are formed as thin films in the range of 2 to 5 μm, the icon display insulating film 45 is formed to a thickness of 2 to 5 μm. Therefore, the influence of the thickness of the icon display insulating film 45 on the pressing force is very small. The same applies to the width m. If the width m is too small, a high pressing force is required to bring the upper and lower touch electrodes 13 and 3 into contact with each other. On the other hand, when the width m is wide, the upper and lower touch electrodes 13 and 3 can be brought into contact with each other with a low pressing force. Accordingly, the wider the width m, the better. However, if the width m is too wide, the area of the icon display insulating film 45 is increased, and the information input / output area F is narrowed. Therefore, the size of the notch portion is appropriately selected within the range in which the upper and lower touch electrodes 13 and 3 can easily come into contact with each other within the range of the pressing force to be managed and the required area of the input / output portion region can be obtained. It is good to set.

  As described above, the present invention employs a configuration in which an icon display is provided in the touch panel using the switch function of the touch panel, and the switch function is provided in the icon display. That is, an icon display insulating film having a notch is provided in the touch panel, the size of the notch is set to a size that allows a switch operation in the notch, and the switch operation is performed in the notch. It has a configuration. In order to make the icon display clearly visible, including its type, the icon display is colored to make it opaque, and the notch is shaped so that the type of icon can be seen with characters, symbols, figures, etc. I have to. By adopting such a configuration, the types of icons can be identified immediately, and information can be input quickly and accurately. Further, as described in the related art, it is not necessary to prepare a component such as a spacer provided with an icon display separately, and an effect of reducing component cost and assembly cost can be obtained.

Next, a method for manufacturing the touch panel 40 having the above configuration will be described. First, for the lower substrate 41, the transparent lower touch electrode 3 is formed on the transparent substrate 2 made of glass. As the lower touch electrode 3, an ITO film is formed by a vacuum deposition method or the like, and then an unnecessary ITO film is removed by photolithography to form an ITO film having a required size to be a touch electrode. Next, the dot spacer 10 is printed and formed on the lower touch electrode 3 by a printing method such as screen printing, and then the dot spacer 10 is cured by heat treatment or ultraviolet irradiation. Next, the pair of wiring electrodes 4 and 5 and the pair of connection electrodes 8 and 9 are formed using a silver paste by a printing method using a mask such as screen printing, and subjected to heat treatment to be cured.
At this time, the printed mask is covered with a mask where the insulating film is notched, and the insulating film is disposed on the touch panel substrate where light is blocked or suppressed by the insulating film. A mask processed into a mesh shape is used.
Next, the icon display insulating film 45 and the wiring electrode insulating films 6 and 7 are formed by a printing method such as screen printing, and are cured by heat treatment. As a result, the lower substrate 41 is completed. Next, with respect to the upper substrate 11, a transparent upper touch electrode 13 is formed on the transparent substrate 12 made of thin glass or a resin film. As with the lower touch electrode 3, the upper touch electrode 13 is formed by forming an ITO film by a vacuum deposition method or the like and then removing an unnecessary ITO film by photolithography. Next, the pair of wiring electrodes 14 and 15 are formed by printing using a silver paste by a printing method such as screen printing, and then subjected to heat treatment to be cured. Next, the wiring electrode insulating films 16 and 17 are formed on necessary portions of the pair of wiring electrodes 14 and 15 by a printing method such as screen printing, and are cured by heat treatment. As a result, the upper substrate 11 is completed.

  As described above, the present invention provides a fixed gap between the upper substrate having the touch electrode and the wiring electrode connected to the touch electrode, and the lower substrate having the wiring electrode having the wiring electrode connected to the touch electrode. A method of manufacturing an information input device in which an electrode is provided so as to face each other and a sealing material is provided around the gap, and an insulating film is provided on a part of the touch electrode of at least one of the upper and lower substrates. The insulating film printing step of printing the insulating film using a mask having a shape for forming a light transmissive notch in the insulating film, and further comprising the step of printing the insulating film, A wiring electrode insulating film formed on the surface of the wiring electrode on the substrate on which the insulating film is printed is printed using a mask that simultaneously prints.

Next, the sealing material 18 is formed on either the upper substrate 11 or the lower substrate 41 by a printing method such as screen printing. And it makes it harden | cure at low temperature (80-100 degreeC). Next, the upper substrate 11 and the lower substrate 41 are made to face each other, aligned, and several sheets are stacked and set in a pressurizing apparatus. The set pressurizing apparatus is put in a firing furnace, and the applied pressure and heating temperature are stepped. Finally, baking is performed at a heating temperature of 150 ° to 180 ° C. As a result, the sealing material 18 is completely cured and the upper substrate 11 and the lower substrate 41 are bonded and fixed. The connection between the pair of wiring electrodes 14 and 15 on the upper substrate 11 and the pair of connection electrodes 6 and 7 on the lower substrate 41 is performed by applying a conductive adhesive to the tips of the connection electrodes 6 and 7 on the lower substrate 41. Thus, the conductive adhesive is cured and connected when the pressing and heating processes are performed with the upper substrate 11 and the lower substrate 41 facing each other. Thereby, the touch panel 40 is obtained.

  The icon display insulating film 45 is screen-printed using a screen printing plate in which the printed shape of the icon display insulating film and the printed shape of the wiring electrode insulating film are incorporated, and the wiring electrode insulating film is also formed together. . The printing operation is relatively easy and quality accuracy is obtained, and the icon display insulating film 45 and the wiring electrode insulating film can be printed at the same time in one printing operation. It is possible to obtain a high-accuracy dimension of the notch portion of the display insulating film 45.

As described above, the present invention provides a fixed gap between the upper substrate having the touch electrode and the wiring electrode connected to the touch electrode, and the lower substrate having the wiring electrode having the wiring electrode connected to the touch electrode. In an information input device provided and arranged with electrodes facing each other and a sealant disposed around the gap, an insulating film that inhibits or blocks light transmission is provided on a part of the touch electrode of at least one of the upper and lower substrates. The insulating film is provided with a cutout portion through which light is transmitted, and the shape of the cutout portion of the insulating film is a character, symbol, figure, or pattern. Yes.
With this insulating film, it can be used as an icon display of the touch panel, and the touch panel switch can be switched on and off at the icon portion.
It can also be applied as a display unit other than icons. For example, it has an application effect that can display a picture or character of a dog with an insulating film.

    As Example 1 of the present invention, a screen input type display device including a liquid crystal display device and a backlight on the lower surface side of a touch panel will be described with reference to FIG. FIGS. 5A and 5B show a screen input type display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5A is a plan view, and FIG. 5B is a side view including a cross section of a main part. .

  In FIG. 5, a touch panel is arranged on the uppermost layer. This touch panel uses the touch panel 40 having the configuration described in the above embodiment. Since the configuration of the touch panel 40 has been described in detail in the above-described embodiment, the description here is limited to the necessary limit. The touch panel 40 has an icon display area E (the left end side in FIG. 5A) that displays a fixed key icon in the active area, and input / output of information that can be input by pen writing or a human finger. It has a partial area F. In the icon display area E, an icon display insulating film 45 having a plurality of notches described with reference to FIG. 1 is formed. Further, the width of the icon display insulating film 45 is n. The touch panel 40 is supported by a support fixing frame 58.

  A liquid crystal display device 50 is disposed on the lower surface side of the touch panel 40, and the touch panel 40 and the liquid crystal display device 50 are fixed with a predetermined gap by a double-sided adhesive tape 51. A transflective layer 52 is provided below the liquid crystal display device 50, and a light diffusing layer 56 and a light guide plate 55 constituting a backlight are laminated below the liquid crystal display device 50. Next to the light guide plate 55 (FIG. 5). A light source 57 made of an LED or the like is provided on the right end side in (b). Then, these components are supported and fixed by a support fixing frame 58 in a built-in form. In FIG. 5B, a connection cable (FPC or the like) to the drive board attached to the touch panel 40 or the liquid crystal display device 50 is omitted.

    Here, the width l of the liquid crystal display device 50 has a width enough to display the information input / output area F of the touch panel 40. That is, there is no liquid crystal display device 50 below the icon display area E where the icon display insulating film 45 is provided, and the portion of the icon display insulating film 45 is illuminated with light directly emitted from the light guide plate 55. It is supposed to be. This is because the icon display for the fixed key is performed by the icon display insulating film 45 provided on the touch panel 40, so that the liquid crystal display is not required and only the light for illuminating the icon display is required. In general, the liquid crystal display device disposed under the touch panel is as large as the touch panel. The same applies to the light guide plate constituting the backlight. However, in the screen input type display device of the present invention, the liquid crystal display device 50 is narrowed by reducing the width corresponding to the width n of the icon display insulating film 45, and the information input / output unit. The size of the area F can be displayed. By adopting such a configuration, the liquid crystal display device can be miniaturized and the material cost can be reduced. Furthermore, the icon display provided on the touch panel is very bright because it is directly illuminated by backlight light. Since the illumination through the liquid crystal display device and the semi-transmissive reflective film has a considerably low transmittance, the illumination brightness is considerably reduced. This problem is solved by the configuration of the present invention.

  In the screen input type display device of the present invention, the icon display for the fixed key is provided on the touch panel 40. Therefore, a special part such as a spacer used in the prior art is not required, and an assembling work is also unnecessary. Parts cost and assembly cost can be reduced. Furthermore, since the spacers used in the prior art are not necessary, the effect of reducing the thickness can be obtained. Further, the icon display for the fixed key provided on the touch panel is performed with an icon display insulating film provided with a notch. Since the icon display insulating film can be printed together with the conventional wiring electrode insulating film printing, the icon can be displayed without changing the printing cost.

In the first embodiment, the transparent substrate 12 of the upper substrate 11 of the touch panel 40 uses a PET film, and the gap (gap) amount between the upper and lower substrates 11 and 41 is set to about 100 μm. The icon display insulating film 45 provided on the lower substrate 41 is formed in a thickness of 2 to 5 μm by a screen printing method together with the wiring electrode insulating film using a resin ink colored in black. Therefore, the icon display part constituted by the notch part is enhanced in contrast, the icon display is clearly recognized, and the icon type can be clearly distinguished and recognized by the shape of each notch part. By forming the icon display insulating film 45 in black, the wiring electrode insulating film also becomes black. However, this wiring electrode portion is attached to the support fixing frame member at a position where it cannot be seen as an appearance portion, and thus troubles occur. Absent.

  Next, Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 shows a cross-sectional view of the main part of the touch panel according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, and FIG. 7 shows a plan view of the upper substrate in FIG. First, the configuration of the touch panel 60 in the second embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 6, the touch panel 60 of the second embodiment also includes an upper substrate 71 and a lower substrate 61 as main components. And the 1st point different from the touch panel 20 demonstrated by the prior art is the place which has arrange | positioned the sealing material 78 in the place of the wiring electrode located in the outermost side, and bonded the upper and lower substrates 71 and 61 together. . In the touch panel 20 in the prior art, the upper and lower substrates are bonded to each other at the outer portion of the wiring electrode. Therefore, the touch panel 60 in the second embodiment is smaller than that of the prior art. That is, the transparent substrate 72 of the upper substrate 71 and the transparent substrate 62 of the lower substrate 61 are slightly smaller in size than those of the prior art. Next, the second difference is that an icon display insulating film 75 having a notch is provided in order to display a fixed key icon.

  Next, the touch panel 60 of Example 2 will be described in detail below. As shown in FIG. 7, the upper substrate 71 is connected to two opposite sides of the upper touch electrode 13 formed in a rectangular shape on the lower surface of the flexible transparent substrate 72 and attached to the FPC. A pair of wiring electrodes 14 and 15 provided by being routed toward the portion S, wiring electrode insulating films 16 and 17 provided on the surfaces of the pair of wiring electrodes 14 and 15, and provided on the left end side in FIG. And an icon display insulating film 75 having a notch. The icon display insulating film 75 is formed by extending the wiring electrode insulating film 16 provided on the surface of the wiring electrode 14a, and this extended portion is used as the icon display insulating film 75. . Similar to the prior art, the wiring electrode 14 has an electrode 14a portion and an electrode 14b portion, and the wiring electrode 15 also has a 15a portion and a 15b portion. The insulating film 75 for icon display is formed by extending the wiring electrode insulating film 16 provided in the wiring electrode 14a sideways, and this expanded part is used as the insulating film 75 for icon display. Therefore, the icon display insulating film 75 is formed of the same material and in the same process as the wiring electrode insulating film 16. The icon display insulating film 75 has cutout portions 75a, 75b, 75c, 75d, and 75e, and displays the type of icon for the fixed key depending on the shape of the cutout portions 75a, 75b, 75c, 75d, and 75e. Yes. The shape of the notch is such that the type of each icon can be clearly distinguished using characters, symbols, figures, and the like. In addition, these notches are provided at positions that fit within the active area.

Further, FIGS. 6 and 7 will be described with reference to FIG.
The lower substrate 61 is connected to the lower touch electrode 3 formed in the rectangular shape shown in FIG. 3 on the upper surface of the transparent substrate 62 and to the two opposite sides of the lower touch electrode 3 toward the FPC mounting portion S. A pair of wiring electrodes 4, 5 formed by drawing, connection electrodes 8, 9 formed in the vicinity of the FPC attachment portion S, dot spacers 10 formed in a matrix on the upper surface of the lower touch electrode 3, wiring electrodes 4, Insulating films 6 and 7 provided on the surface 5. Since the wiring electrodes 4 and 5 are routed toward the FPC mounting portion S, the wiring electrode 4 has an electrode 4a portion and a 4b portion, and similarly, the wiring electrode 5 also has a 5a, 5b, 5c, and 5d portion. . In FIG. 6, only the 5b portion is drawn on the wiring electrode 5.

    The upper substrate 71 and the lower substrate 61 having the above-described configuration are arranged to face each other, a predetermined gap is provided, and the adhesive is fixed by a sealing material 78. The sealing material 78 is formed by printing on either one of the upper and lower substrates 71 and 61, which is printed so as to overlap with the electrode portion corresponding to the outermost side of the respective wiring electrodes of the upper and lower substrates 71 and 61. The upper and lower substrates 71 and 61 are bonded and fixed by the same method using the pressurizing apparatus and the firing furnace described in the embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment, a PET film is used for the transparent substrate 72 of the upper substrate 71, and the upper and lower substrates 71 and 61 are bonded and fixed with a sealing material 78 so that the gap amount is 100 μm. At the same time, when the upper substrate 71 and the lower substrate 61 are bonded and fixed, the pair of wiring electrodes 14 and 15 of the upper substrate 71 are electrically conductive at the respective tip portions of the pair of connection electrodes 8 and 9 provided on the lower substrate 61. Connect with adhesive.

  The icon display insulating film 75 is formed by extending the wiring electrode insulating film 16. However, the icon display insulating film 75 is colored to make the transmittance low and opaque. In the second embodiment, the icon display insulating film 75 is formed together with the wiring electrode insulating film to a thickness of 2 to 5 μm by a screen printing method using an insulating ink colored in black. Thus, the icon display insulating film 75 can be clearly seen. Further, the notch portion of the icon display insulating film 75 is a place where the upper touch electrode 13 of the upper substrate 71 and the lower touch electrode 3 of the lower substrate 61 are brought into contact with each other in the notch portion to perform a switch operation. The electrode 13 and the lower touch electrode 3 are formed in a size that allows contact operation. Under the size, a display shape is used in which the types of icons can be clearly distinguished using characters, symbols, figures, and the like. In this way, the icon can be clearly recognized and the type can be clearly distinguished and visually recognized. A switch operation can be performed at the notch.

Further, the icon display insulating film 75 is made of the same material as the wiring electrode insulating film 16, and both are printed and formed simultaneously. For printing, a screen printing method or the like is used. As a printing plate to be used, a printing plate including both the icon display insulating film 75 and the wiring electrode insulating films 16 and 17 is used.
In this way, simultaneous printing is possible, and the printing cost is the same.

The touch panel 60 having the above configuration can be disposed on the upper surface side of the liquid crystal display device and used for a screen input type display device. When the screen input type display device having the configuration described in the first embodiment is formed by using the touch panel 60 of the second embodiment, the effects described in the first embodiment, that is, the cost of parts, the assembly cost is reduced, and the thickness is reduced. Effects such as downsizing, downsizing of liquid crystal display device, bright illumination of icon display, etc. are obtained.

  Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 is a plan view of the touch panel in Example 3, FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line HH in FIG. 8, FIG. 10 is a plan view of the lower substrate in FIG. 8, and FIG. Is shown. The touch panel of Example 3 is a touch panel provided in a handy type screen input type device used when receiving an order from a customer at a restaurant such as a restaurant. First, a touch panel input screen according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. On the left side of FIG. 8, there is an icon display section for a fixed key indicating an operation procedure for receiving an order. This display portion is formed of a first icon display insulating film 95 having a notch. In FIG. 8, a cutout portion 95a indicating an icon for setting a meal table number, a cutout portion 95b indicating an icon for advancing the screen display, a cutout portion 95c indicating an icon for returning the screen display, an error or a change, etc. Are provided with a notch portion 95d indicating an icon for canceling the input instruction, and a notch portion 95e indicating an icon for instructing order confirmation when all the order items are determined. In the upper side of FIG. 8, there is an icon display portion for a fixed key indicating the type of food. This icon display unit displays icons by roughly classifying food by genre. The icon display portion indicating the type of food is formed of a second icon display insulating film 85 having a notch. In FIG. 8, a cutout portion 85a showing icons for noodles such as udon, soba and ramen, a cutout portion 95b showing a bowl icon, a cutout portion 85c showing a set meal icon, a cutout portion 85d showing a single item icon, a drink Is provided with a notch 85e. Here, each notch portion of the first icon display insulating film 95 and each notch portion of the second icon display insulating film 85 are within the active area indicated by the alternate long and short dash line D in FIG. The size of the cutout is such that the icon can be switched. And operation is performed by pressing the notch. Further, these cutout portions are roughly divided into two regions (J, K) except for an icon display portion indicating an operation procedure and an icon display portion indicating the type of food. In the area of J, various table numbers, various menus for noodles, various menus for bowls, various menus for set meals, etc. are displayed. By pressing the displayed menu with a pen or finger, an order menu is displayed. Can be set. In the area K, the table number, ordered menu item, price, and the like are displayed. The display of many menu items displayed in the area of J and the display of the order menu items displayed in the area of K are displayed by a liquid crystal display device disposed on the lower surface side of the touch panel 80. To see through.

Next, the configuration of the touch panel 80 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9, 10, and 11. The touch panel 80 includes an upper substrate and a lower substrate as main components. As shown in FIG. 11, the upper substrate 91 has a configuration in which a first icon display insulating film 95 is provided on the upper substrate 91. That is, the upper touch electrode 13 formed in a rectangular shape on the lower surface of the flexible transparent substrate 12 and a pair provided by being connected to two opposite sides of the upper touch electrode 13 and being routed toward the FPC attachment portion S. 11 and the upper substrate of the prior art constituted by the wiring electrode insulating films 16 and 17 provided on the surfaces of the pair of wiring electrodes 14 and 15, and further on the left end side in FIG. The first icon display insulating film 95 having a notch is provided. The first icon display insulating film 95 here is formed by extending the wiring electrode insulating film 16 provided on the surface of the wiring electrode 14, and this extended portion is formed as the first icon display insulating film. 95. Similar to the prior art, the wiring electrode 14 has an electrode 14a portion and an electrode 14b portion, and the wiring electrode 15 also has a 15a portion and a 15b portion. The first icon display insulating film 95 is formed by extending the wiring electrode insulating film 16 provided on the wiring electrode 14a sideways, and this expanded part is used as the first icon display insulating film 95. Accordingly, the first icon display insulating film 95 is formed of the same material and in the same process as the wiring electrode insulating film 16. The first icon display insulating film 95 has notches 95a, 95b, 95c, 95d, and 95e, and the operation procedure and the like are performed with the shapes of the notches 95a, 95b, 95c, 95d, and 95e. The type of icon for the fixed key shown is displayed. The shape of the notch is such that the type of each icon can be clearly distinguished using characters, symbols, figures, and the like.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10, the lower substrate 81 has a configuration in which a second icon display insulating film 85 is provided on the lower substrate used in the prior art. That is, a lower touch electrode 3 formed in a rectangular shape on the upper surface of the transparent substrate 2 and a pair of wiring electrodes 4 connected to two opposing sides of the lower touch electrode 3 and drawn toward the FPC mounting portion S, 5, a pair of connection electrodes 8 and 9 provided in the vicinity of the FPC attachment portion S, a dot spacer 10 formed in a matrix on the lower touch electrode, and a wiring electrode provided on the surface of the pair of wiring electrodes 4 and 5 In addition to the lower substrate of the prior art composed of the insulating films 6 and 7, the second icon display insulating film 85 having a notch provided on the upper end side in FIG. 10 is provided. Yes. Here, the second icon display insulating film 85 is formed by extending the wiring electrode insulating film 7 provided on the surface of the wiring electrode 5, and this extended portion is formed as the second icon display insulating film. 85. The wiring electrode 5 has electrodes 5a, 5b, 5c and 5d, and the wiring electrode 4 also has a 4a portion and a 4b portion. The second icon display insulating film 85 is extended by extending the wiring electrode insulating film 7 provided in the electrode 5a portion downward, and this expanded portion is used as the second icon display insulating film 85. Accordingly, the second icon display insulating film 85 is formed of the same material and in the same process as the wiring electrode insulating film 7. The second icon display insulating film 85 has notches 85a, 85b, 85c, 85d, and 85e. The shape of the notches 85a, 85b, 85c, 85d, and 85e indicates the type of food. Is displayed. The shape of the notch is such that the type of each icon can be clearly distinguished using characters, symbols, figures, and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the touch panel 80 is formed by bonding and fixing the upper substrate 91 and the lower substrate 81 having the above configuration with a seal material 18 with a predetermined gap. Although not shown, a polarizing plate is provided on the upper surface of the upper substrate 91 and a phase difference plate is provided on the lower surface of the lower substrate 81 in order to improve the antiglare property and improve the transparency and display quality. Further, the FPC 19 is attached to the FPC attachment portion S of the lower substrate 81 so as to be conductive.

  In the third embodiment, the first icon display insulating film 95 is formed in black, and the second icon display insulating film 85 is formed in blue, both of which are opaque. Accordingly, the wiring electrode insulating films 16 and 17 on the upper substrate 91 are also formed in black, and the wiring electrode insulating films 6 and 7 on the lower substrate 81 are also formed in blue. These wiring electrode insulating films 16, 17 and 6, 7 are arranged in a portion that cannot be seen by a frame member or the like when incorporated as a screen input type display device, and thus do not affect the appearance. As described above, by changing the colors of the first icon display insulating film 95 and the second icon display insulating film 85, the type of icon can be easily understood. Moreover, since the notch has a shape that can be clearly distinguished using characters, symbols, figures, etc., the type of icon can be distinguished at a glance.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the first icon display insulating film 95 provided on the upper substrate 91 and the second icon display insulating film 85 provided on the lower substrate 81 are provided at positions where they do not overlap. When the first icon display insulating film 95 and the second icon display insulating film 85 overlap with each other, the notch portion does not appear in a normal shape, causing a problem that the switch operation is not performed normally or the operation is impossible. .
As another application, the first icon display insulating film 95 provided on the upper substrate 91 and the second icon display insulating film 85 provided on the lower substrate 81 may overlap each other. At this time, in order to operate the switch of the icon, it is necessary that at least a part of the notch portions of the opposing insulating film coincide with each other. If the switch function is not provided, the icon display looks worse, but an insulating film can be stacked.

  In the first icon display insulating film 95 in the third embodiment, a part of the wiring electrode insulating film 16 is printed with an increased width, and the expanded part is used as the first icon display insulating film 95. The wiring electrode insulating films 16 and 17 and the first icon display insulating film 95 on the upper substrate 91 are formed by screen printing. The formation of the second icon display insulating film 85 on the lower substrate 81 is exactly the same. Since the icon display insulating film and the wiring electrode insulating film can be formed by one printing, it can be formed efficiently without increasing the printing cost.

  The third embodiment has been described using the touch panel of a handy type screen input type device used when receiving orders from customers in restaurants such as restaurants. When there are many fixed key icons, it is effective to provide icons separately for the upper substrate side and the lower substrate side as shown in the third embodiment. The touch panel having the configuration shown in the third embodiment can also be used as a touch panel for various screen input type display devices such as an electronic notebook and a car navigation system. The same effect as described in the first embodiment is obtained. That is, effects such as reduction of parts cost, assembly cost, thinning, downsizing of the liquid crystal display device, and bright illumination of icon display can be obtained.

  The touch panel described above has a configuration in which glass is used for the lower substrate and plastic is used for the upper substrate. However, the upper and lower substrates may be made of glass, and the upper and lower substrates may be made of plastic. In the above description, the pen input type touch panel has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to other input type touch panels such as finger input.

1 is a plan view of a touch panel according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is GG sectional drawing in FIG. It is a top view of the lower board | substrate in FIG. It is explanatory drawing explaining the function in the notch part of the insulating film for icon displays. FIGS. 5A and 5B show a screen input type display device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, in which FIG. 5A is a plan view and FIG. 5B is a side view including a cross section of a main part. It is principal part sectional drawing of the touchscreen in Example 2 of this invention. It is a top view of the upper board | substrate in FIG. It is a top view of the touch panel in Example 3 of the present invention. It is HH sectional drawing in FIG. It is a top view of the lower board | substrate in FIG. It is a top view of the upper board | substrate in FIG. It is a top view of the touch panel in a prior art. It is CC sectional drawing in FIG. It is a top view of the lower board | substrate in FIG. It is a top view of the upper board | substrate in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the whole external appearance of the screen input type display apparatus as described in said patent document 1. FIG. It is a disassembled perspective view of the screen input type display apparatus in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1, 41, 61, 81 Lower substrate 2, 12, 62, 72 Transparent substrate 3 Lower touch electrode 4, 5, 14, 15 Wiring electrode 6, 7, 16, 17 Wiring electrode insulating film 8, 9 Connection electrode 10 dots Spacer 11, 71, 91 Upper substrate 13 Upper touch electrode 18, 78 Sealing material 40, 60, 80 Touch panel 45, 75 Insulating film 45a, 45b, 45c, 45d, 45e, 75a, 75b, 75c, 75d, 75e for icon display 85a, 85b, 85c, 85d, 85e, 95a, 95b, 95c, 95d, 95e,
Notch 50 Liquid crystal display device 51 Double-sided adhesive tape 52 Transflective layer 55 Light guide plate 56 Diffusion layer 57 Light source 58 Support fixing frame 85 Second icon display insulating film 95 First icon display insulating film

Claims (7)

  An upper substrate having a touch electrode and a wiring electrode connected to the touch electrode, and a lower substrate having a touch electrode and a wiring electrode having a wiring electrode connected to the touch electrode are provided with a certain gap therebetween and the electrodes are opposed to each other. In the information input device that is disposed and has a sealant disposed around the gap, light is transmitted to a part of an active area that is on the touch electrode of at least one of the upper and lower substrates and is an effective operation area of the information input device. An information input device comprising an insulating film for suppressing or blocking, and a cutout portion through which light is transmitted is provided on the surface of the insulating film.   The information input device according to claim 1, wherein the shape of the cutout portion of the insulating film has a display function of characters, symbols, graphics, pictures, and the like.   The size of the cutout portion of the insulating film is such that the upper substrate bends when the upper substrate on the cutout portion is pressed, and the touch electrode of the upper substrate and the touch electrode of the lower substrate are in the cutout portion. The information input device according to claim 1, wherein the information input device has a size that can be touched.   4. The insulating film for a wiring electrode according to claim 1, wherein the insulating film is provided by extending a wiring electrode insulating film formed on the surface of the wiring electrode of the substrate on the side on which the insulating film is provided. Information input device.   The insulating film is provided on both of the upper and lower substrates, and the insulating film provided on both of the insulating films is disposed in a position not overlapping each other in the active area. 4. The information input device according to any one of 4. An upper substrate having a touch electrode and a wiring electrode connected to the touch electrode, and a lower substrate having a touch electrode and a wiring electrode having a wiring electrode connected to the touch electrode are provided with a certain gap therebetween and the electrodes are opposed to each other. In the method of manufacturing the information input device, in which the sealing material is disposed around the gap,
In the step of disposing an insulating film on a part of the touch electrode of at least one of the upper and lower substrates, the insulating film is printed using a mask having a shape for forming a light transmission cutout in the insulating film. A method for manufacturing an information input device, comprising an insulating film printing step. The step of printing the insulating film is characterized in that the wiring electrode insulating film formed on the surface of the wiring electrode on the substrate on which the insulating film is printed is printed using a mask that simultaneously prints. Item 7. A method for manufacturing the information input device according to Item 6.

Images