JP2009294771A - Manufacturing method of touch panel - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manufacturing method of a touch panel, wherein a plate glass is employed for a panel layer and a substrate layer, capable of simultanesouly acquiring a plurality of touch panels, with a single manufacturing process. <P>SOLUTION: A plate glass whose thickness is more than required is selected as a substrate layer 1. Some lower electrode units 12 arranged regularly are provided on the upper surface of the substrate layer. An adhesive frame 41 is provided on the peripheral edge of each of the lower electrode units. A sealing frame 42 is provided on the outer peripheral edge of the substrate layer. A plate glass whose thickness is larger than required is employed as a panel layer 2, and a plurality of upper electrode units 22 are provided on the surface of the panel layer. By using the adhesive frame and the sealing frame, the substrate layer and the panel layer are laminated and bonded together, to form a plate body assembly. The plate body assembly is subjected to an etching process in a hydrofluoric acid solution, thereby thickness of the plate glass body is reduced. One or more functional thin films are pasted on the upper surface of each of electrode unit installing parts of the panel layer. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a touch panel, and particularly relates to a manufacturing method that is suitable for touch panel manufacturing that employs glass plate materials for a panel layer and a substrate layer, and that can obtain a plurality of touch panels simultaneously in a single manufacturing process.

  A touch panel is an input device that is placed on a frame such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT), and the user touches the top surface with a finger or a touch pen based on instructions on the monitor screen. Position detection is performed by detecting the position. As for the structure of a general touch panel, for example, in an electric resistance type touch panel, approximately two panel-like electric resistance films are arranged so as to face each other at a certain interval. Normally, the upper electrical resistance film is placed on one surface of a flexible transparent film or thin glass panel layer, and the lower electrical resistance film is placed on one surface of the substrate layer of the glass plate. An adhesive is applied to the peripheral part of the panel, and the two are brought into close contact with each other to form a touch panel. In recent years, the touch panel has been widely applied to various electronic products as the function and production quality of the touch panel are constantly improved and the price is drastically reduced. However, touch panels used in special applications such as an optional navigator combined in a vehicle are usually used in intense sunlight and must be resistant to high temperatures. The kind of touch panel material is not suitable for the commonly used plastic material film, and the best is to use a high-temperature-resistant glass plate that does not have polarization, but the glass material is hard and prone to cracking. In addition, when it is used for the panel layer, it is necessary to reduce the thickness. Usually, touch control is not possible unless the thickness is 0.25 mm or less. Moreover, since the strength of this type of thin glass plate is not good, it is suitable only for manufacturing a small area touch panel, and the width of the maximum area is usually between about 120 mm and 150 mm. In addition, this type of glass thin layer is very easy to break in the cutting process, and the thin layer is difficult to be flattened in the process of adhesive combination, and easily causes a light wave interference phenomenon such as a Newton ring. Also, stress tends to remain between the plate layers, thereby reducing the strength and durability of the glass thin layer. As has been clarified above, there are various difficulties in the production and production of glass-type touch panels used by being placed in vehicles, and the defect rate of products is high, especially for touch panels with an area width of 150 mm or more. For this reason, the production volume is low and the price is high, and it is currently only used in a few luxury cars.

  In view of the above-described problems, a main object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a touch panel. It is used for touch panels that employ glass plate materials for the panel layer and substrate layer, and can produce one or more touch panels simultaneously in a single production process, greatly improving production efficiency, time and manpower costs To achieve the goal of reducing. In addition, since it is possible to produce a touch panel made of a thin glass plate material having a large area, it is possible to prevent the thin glass plate from being bent or cracked in the production process, and to improve the quality and yield of the finished touch panel product.

The manufacturing method of the touch panel based on this invention is as follows.
(A) A rectangular transparent glass plate with a larger area than the thickness required for the substrate layer of the finished touch panel is selected as the substrate layer, and a lower electrode unit is arranged on the upper surface of the substrate layer. An adhesive frame is provided at the peripheral edge of each lower electrode unit, and a seal frame is provided at the outer peripheral edge of the substrate layer.
(B) Further, a rectangular transparent glass plate having a thickness larger than that required for the panel layer of the finished touch panel is selected as the panel layer, and the panel layer is formed on the lower surface of the panel layer. A plurality of upper electrode units are provided, and these upper electrode units correspond to the installation positions of the lower electrode units on the substrate layer.
(C) Thereafter, the two layers of the substrate layer and the panel layer are focused and overlapped, and the two plates are adhered and overlapped by the adhesive frames on the plate body and the seal frame on the outer peripheral edge of the plate body, and the combined plate Form the body.
(D) Subsequently, in the thinning process, when the etching process is performed with the hydrofluoric acid solution on the combined plate body of the substrate layer and the panel layer, the thickness of the glass plate body of the substrate layer and the panel layer is reduced, Thereby, the thickness required for the substrate layer of the finished touch panel and the thickness required for the panel layer are obtained.
(E) In the subsequent cutting step, the cutter is cut along the predetermined cutting line from above the panel layer, and the panel layer is cut and grooves are formed in the substrate layer.
(F) Finally, a dividing operation is performed along the groove on the substrate layer. The substrate layer is divided by applying pressure along a predetermined cutting line, and a plurality of independent touch panels are formed.

  In the touch panel manufacturing method described above, the required thickness of the panel layer is about 0.15 to 0.25 mm. The thickness of the etching is about 0.1 to 0.3 mm. Further, the above-described adhesive frame and seal frame can be installed on the substrate layer, and can also be installed on the panel layer or on both the substrate layer and the panel layer. Further, the seal frame can be selected from petroleum wax, a light curable adhesive, and a thermosetting adhesive. In addition, the density | concentration of the hydrofluoric acid solution used for the thinning process mentioned above is about 10%-30%.

  In the touch panel manufacturing method described above, one or more functional thin films can be attached to the upper surface of each electrode unit installation site of the panel layer after the thinning process and before the cutting process. The functional thin film is any one of a polarizing film, a filter, and a decorative frame, or a combination of two or more.

The invention of claim 1 is a touch panel manufacturing method comprising:
(A) A rectangular transparent glass plate having a large area and a thickness larger than that required for the substrate layer of the finished touch panel is selected as a substrate layer, and a lower electrode unit that is slightly arranged on the upper surface of the substrate layer is provided. Installed, provided an adhesive frame on the peripheral edge of each lower electrode unit, provided a seal frame on the outer peripheral edge of the substrate layer,
(B) Further, a rectangular transparent glass plate having a thickness larger than that required for the panel layer of the finished touch panel is selected as the panel layer, and the panel layer is formed on the lower surface of the panel layer. A plurality of upper electrode units, which correspond to the installation positions of the lower electrode units of the substrate layer,
(C) Thereafter, the two layers of the substrate layer and the panel layer are focused and overlapped, and the two plates are adhered and overlapped by the adhesive frames on the plate body and the seal frame on the outer peripheral edge of the plate body, and the combined plate Form the body,
(D) Subsequently, in the thinning process, when the etching process is performed with the hydrofluoric acid solution on the combined plate body of the substrate layer and the panel layer, the thickness of the glass plate body of the substrate layer and the panel layer is reduced, As a result, the thickness required for the substrate layer of the finished touch panel and the thickness required for the panel layer are obtained.
(E) In the subsequent cutting step, a cutter is cut from above the panel layer along a predetermined cutting line, and the panel layer is cut and a groove is formed at a position cut into the substrate layer.
(F) Finally, the dividing operation is performed along the groove on the substrate layer, and the substrate layer is divided by applying pressure along the predetermined cutting line to form a plurality of independent touch panel finished products. This is a touch panel manufacturing method.
The invention according to claim 2 is the touch panel manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive frame and the seal frame are installed on the panel layer or on the board layer and the panel layer. Yes.
The invention according to claim 3 is the touch panel manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the required thickness of the panel layer is about 0.15 to 0.25 mm.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the touch panel manufacturing method according to the first aspect, the thickness of the etching is about 0.1 to 0.3 mm.
A fifth aspect of the present invention is the touch panel manufacturing method according to the first aspect, wherein the seal frame is petroleum wax, a photo-curing adhesive, or a thermosetting adhesive.
The invention according to claim 6 is the touch panel manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the concentration of the hydrofluoric acid solution is about 10% to 30%.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the touch panel manufacturing method includes a step of attaching one or more layers of functional thin films to the upper surface of each electrode unit installation site of the panel layer after the thinning step and before the cutting step. The touch panel manufacturing method according to claim 1.
The invention according to claim 8 is the touch panel manufacturing method according to claim 7, wherein the functional thin film is any one of a polarizing film, a filter, and a decorative frame, or a combination of two or more.

  The touch panel manufacturing method of the present invention is suitable for touch panel manufacturing that employs glass plate materials for the panel layer and the substrate layer, and is capable of simultaneously obtaining a plurality of touch panels in a single manufacturing process.

  The present invention will continue to be described as a specific example of manufacturing an electric resistance touch panel using a glass plate material, having a panel layer thickness of 0.2 mm and a substrate layer thickness of 0.5 mm. This further elucidates the novel features of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a large-area glass plate having a thickness of 0.7 mm is selected as the substrate layer 1. In addition, a plurality of properly arranged lower electrode units 12 are installed on the upper surface of the substrate layer 1. The lower electrode unit 12 includes a transparent electric resistance film 12A and a bus electrode 12B. Further, an adhesive frame 41 is provided on the peripheral edge of each lower electrode unit 12 of the substrate layer 1, and a seal frame 42 is provided on the outer peripheral edge of the substrate layer 1. The seal frame 42 can be a light curable adhesive, a thermosetting adhesive, or petroleum wax.

  Further, a glass plate having a thickness of 0.4 mm and the same area standard as the substrate layer 1 is used as the panel layer 2, and a plurality of upper electrode units 22 are provided on the lower surface of the panel layer 2. These upper electrode units 22 correspond to the installation positions of the respective lower electrode units 12 of the substrate layer 1, and the upper electrode unit 22 also includes a transparent electric resistance film 22A and a bus electrode 22B.

  Thereafter, the substrate layer 1 and the panel layer 2 are accurately overlapped by a target 17 or 27 provided in the vicinity of the side edges of the substrate layer 1 and the panel layer 2 or another method for accurately determining the position. The above-mentioned adhesive frames 41 on the plate body and the seal frame 42 on the outer periphery of the panel adhere and overlap the two plates to form a combined plate body. As a result, the upper electrode unit 22 and the lower electrode unit 12 are overlapped and joined by the adhesive frame 41 to form an independent touch sensor unit. As shown in FIG. 3, between the upper electrode unit 22 and the lower electrode unit 12 of the touch sensor unit, a number of protruding point-like partition portions 13 are spaced within the range of the transparent electric resistance film 12A and the transparent electric resistance film 22A. Leave relative placement. In addition, the seal frame 42 is used to completely separate the internal gap between the two plates and the outside, thereby forming the double seal protection of the adhesive frame 41 and the seal frame 42 for the internal components of each touch sensor unit. Therefore, contamination in the subsequent thinning process can be prevented.

  In the subsequent thinning process, when the combined plate body of the substrate layer 1 and the panel layer 2 is etched with a hydrofluoric acid (HF) solution having a concentration of about 10% to 30%, the substrate layer 1 and the panel layer All the outer surfaces of the glass plate body 2 are etched uniformly to remove a thickness of about 0.2 mm to form a thickness required for a finished touch panel product. That is, the panel layer 2 is thinned to be a glass plate having a thickness of about 0.2 mm, and the substrate layer 1 is thinned to be a glass plate having a thickness of about 0.5 mm.

  Thereafter, one or more functional thin films 6 are attached to the upper surface of each electrode unit installation site of the panel layer 2. For example, polarizing film (Polarizing Film), filter (Filter), decorative frame (Border Icon), etc., thereby strengthening the toughness of the panel layer 2 while giving the touch panel the effect of polarization, filter, etc. In addition, the thin glass plate can be prevented from cracking or breaking.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the panel layer 2 and the functional thin film 6 are completely cut by cutting along the predetermined cutting line 25 from above the panel layer 2 and the functional thin film 6 with a cutter 8 such as a laser cutter or a diamond cutter. Then, the slits 16 are formed in the substrate layer 1 (see FIG. 3) and divided into the area ranges required for each touch sensor unit. Subsequently, the division work is performed. As shown in FIG. 4, for example, a pair of press mold heads 71 and a press mold substrate 72 having an appropriate plastic deformation capability such as rubber are focused on the grooves 16 on the substrate layer 1, and the press mold head 71 is mounted on the substrate. An appropriate pressure is applied by pushing from one side of the layer 1 to divide the glass substrate along the predetermined cutting line 25 to complete a finished product of the independent touch panel 9.

  As has been clarified in the above description, in the first half of the processing step, the substrate layer 1 and the panel layer 2 are made thick so that the electrode unit and the adhesive frame are installed and the pressure of the two-plate body is used. Maintains the strength of the glass plate during the lap bonding process and prevents cracking and breakage of the glass plate. After the thinning process, one or more functional thin films 6 are attached to the upper surface of each electrode unit installation site of the panel layer 2. Thereby, the toughness of the panel layer 2 can be strengthened and the crack and damage of a thin glass plate can be prevented. In addition, the present invention employs a glass plate touch panel for the panel layer 2 and the substrate layer 1, and produces one or more touch panels at the same time in one production processing step, greatly improving production efficiency, In addition to reducing time and manpower costs, the strength of the thin glass plate material of the panel layer and the substrate layer can be maintained in the manufacturing process. Therefore, it is possible to manufacture a touch panel made of a thin glass plate material having a large area, which prevents the thin glass plate from being bent or cracked in the production process, and greatly improves the quality and yield of touch panel products.

  Moreover, although the above-mentioned this invention makes the electrical-resistance-type touch panel the Example, the form of this invention is not restricted to this, Those who are familiar with this kind of technique refer to the above-mentioned description, and more It is clearly possible to make improvements and changes. For example, the embodiment can be changed to a capacitor-type touch panel. Therefore, any modification or change relating to the present invention made based on the same spirit of the invention shall be included in the category protected by the present invention.

It is an exploded view of the panel layer and board | substrate layer in this invention. It is a state figure which cuts a slot to a combination board object of a panel layer and a substrate layer of the present invention, and shows a state where a cutting operation is performed with a cutter along a scheduled cutting line of a combination board object. It is sectional drawing after the cut in the combination board of FIG. It is a state figure which is performing division processing to the combination board object of the present invention, and is a sectional view in the state where the combination board object was already pressure-divided along a predetermined cutting line.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Board | substrate layer 12 Lower electrode unit 12A Transparent electric resistance film | membrane 12B Bus electrode 13 Partition part 16 Groove | channel 17 Target 2 Panel layer 22 Upper electrode unit 22A Transparent electric resistance film | membrane 22B Bus electrode 25 Planned cutting line 27 Target 41 Adhesive frame 42 Seal frame 6 Functional thin film 71 Press mold head 72 Press mold substrate 8 Cutter

Claims (8)

The touch panel manufacturing method is
(A) A rectangular transparent glass plate having a large area and a thickness larger than that required for the substrate layer of the finished touch panel is selected as a substrate layer, and a lower electrode unit that is slightly arranged on the upper surface of the substrate layer is provided. Installed, provided an adhesive frame on the peripheral edge of each lower electrode unit, provided a seal frame on the outer peripheral edge of the substrate layer,
(B) Further, a rectangular transparent glass plate having a thickness larger than that required for the panel layer of the finished touch panel is selected as the panel layer, and the panel layer is formed on the lower surface of the panel layer. A plurality of upper electrode units, which correspond to the installation positions of the lower electrode units of the substrate layer,
(C) Thereafter, the two layers of the substrate layer and the panel layer are focused and overlapped, and the two plates are adhered and overlapped by the adhesive frames on the plate body and the seal frame on the outer peripheral edge of the plate body, and the combined plate Form the body,
(D) Subsequently, in the thinning process, when the etching process is performed with the hydrofluoric acid solution on the combined plate body of the substrate layer and the panel layer, the thickness of the glass plate body of the substrate layer and the panel layer is reduced, As a result, the thickness required for the substrate layer of the finished touch panel and the thickness required for the panel layer are obtained.
(E) In the subsequent cutting step, a cutter is cut from above the panel layer along a predetermined cutting line, and the panel layer is cut and a groove is formed at a position cut into the substrate layer.
(F) Finally, dividing work is performed along the grooves on the substrate layer, and the substrate layer is divided by applying pressure along the predetermined cutting line to form a plurality of independent touch panel finished products. A method for manufacturing a touch panel.   2. The method of manufacturing a touch panel according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive frame and the seal frame are installed on a panel layer or on a substrate layer and a panel layer.   The touch panel manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the required thickness of the panel layer is about 0.15 to 0.25 mm.   2. The method of manufacturing a touch panel according to claim 1, wherein a thickness of the etching is about 0.1 to 0.3 mm.   The touch panel manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the seal frame is petroleum wax, a photo-curing adhesive, or a thermosetting adhesive.   The method for manufacturing a touch panel according to claim 1, wherein the concentration of the hydrofluoric acid solution is about 10% to 30%.   The method for manufacturing the touch panel includes a step of attaching one or more functional thin films to the upper surface of each electrode unit installation site of the panel layer after the thinning step and before the cutting step. A manufacturing method of the touch panel according to 1.   The touch panel manufacturing method according to claim 7, wherein the functional thin film is any one of a polarizing film, a filter, and a decorative frame, or a combination of two or more.

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