JP2010257208A - Touch panel, and method of manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a touch panel 100 having a protective plate 6 and a manufacturing method thereof, to bond the protective plate 6 by applying a liquid adhesive resin and easily and reliably prevent a transparent electrode pattern of a touch panel body 5 from being seen. <P>SOLUTION: After a photo-curable liquid adhesive resin is applied to an upper surface of the protective plate 6 to form a predetermined application pattern 81, a light-scattering transparent resin sheet 57 is attached to the surface of application face. In this state, the application pattern 81 is prevented from spreading. The photo-curable liquid adhesive resin is similarly applied again to an upper surface of the transparent resin sheet 57 to form the application pattern 81. After the touch panel body 5 is pressure-bonded, the entire surface is irradiated with UV light to cure the liquid adhesive resin. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a touch panel attached to an image display surface of a display panel and a manufacturing method thereof. In particular, the present invention relates to a transparent protective plate attached to the outer surface.

  Touch screens consisting of liquid crystal display panels and touch panels have rapidly spread in recent years and have been widely used for personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable game consoles, car navigation systems, portable or stationary POS terminals, ATM terminals and ticket machines, and small portable devices. Widely used in personal computers. Furthermore, it is being used for digital cameras, one-segment mobile phones, portable audio players and video players.

  There are various types of touch panels, but recently, electrostatic capacity methods that are excellent in transmittance and durability and that can be easily reduced in thickness and weight have been attracting attention. In a touch panel that does not need to be pushed down, such as a capacitance type, a transparent and rigid protective plate made of tempered glass or an acrylic plate may be attached to the outer surface that comes into contact with a user's finger or the like.

  In such a case, if an air layer is interposed between the touch panel body (the part before the protective plate is attached) and the protective plate, the luminance is reduced due to reflection at the interface with the air layer, and the display image quality due to the contrast is reduced. It causes deterioration. Therefore, there is a method in which a resin sheet (pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet) that is transparent and sticky (pressure-sensitive adhesive) is disposed between the touch panel body and the protective plate, and is bonded to each other so as to sandwich the sheet. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1). Such overall adhesion makes it possible to improve visibility, increase strength, and reduce thickness and size.

  On the other hand, in a liquid crystal panel that does not have a touch panel, an ultraviolet (UV) curable resin is applied to a predetermined area of the protective plate or display panel when a protective plate for the display panel is attached to the image display surface of the liquid crystal display panel. It has also been proposed to bond them together (Patent Document 2). In Patent Document 2, an ultraviolet (UV) curable resin is applied to a predetermined region of a protective plate or a display panel, and then bonded to the display panel or the protective plate in a reduced pressure chamber reduced to an absolute pressure of 50 kPa or less. Tightening is disclosed. The reason why the pressing is performed under reduced pressure is to prevent bubbles from being generated in the adhesive layer. In Patent Document 2, various coating patterns are shown in FIG. 4. In the paragraph “0020”, “Multi-point dropping or surface coating method” indicates that “the spread time of the UV curable resin can be shortened. It can be done ".

  When the entire surface of the touch panel body and the protective plate are bonded, as a result of improving the brightness and contrast, an electrode pattern or the like in the touch panel body may appear on the display surface. In particular, in the case of a capacitive touch panel, for example, when a pattern such as a lattice is recognized due to the transparent electrode pattern extending in the X direction and the transparent electrode pattern extending in the Y direction. Can occur. According to a typical example, the transparent electrode pattern is made of an ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) film (refractive index = 1.80), a glass substrate (refractive index = 1.52) or an acrylic resin (refractive index = 1.48). The refractive index is higher than that of the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer. In particular, when the thickness of the electrode pattern is increased in order to reduce the resistance value of the transparent electrode pattern, it is easily visible from the outside.

  On the other hand, regardless of the presence or absence of a protective plate, in the capacitive touch panel, in order to make the electrode pattern difficult to see, the electrode pattern inside the touch panel body is devised, or unevenness that scatters light is provided inside the electrode layer, etc. This has been proposed (Patent Documents 3 to 5). In Patent Document 3, it is said that the electrode pattern is difficult to see if the crossed arrayed electrode pattern is formed by metal wiring with a width of 30 μm or less and the mesh opening is made into a specific shape such as a square. Further, Patent Document 4 discloses disposing a dummy electrode in a gap between a transparent electrode pattern arranged on a substrate and a common electrode pattern. Furthermore, Patent Document 5 discloses that the transparent electrode pattern is provided with irregularities for imparting light scattering properties.

In addition, sticking the anti-glare film (Anti-glare film, the reflection prevention film) which provided the unevenness | corrugation with the filler etc. to the outer surface of a touch panel has been performed from before (for example, patent document 6). In addition, in order to improve the adhesion at the interface between the layers constituting the resistive touch panel, it has also been proposed to provide irregularities at the interface with an inorganic particle filler (Patent Document 7).
JP 2008-083491 A JP 2004-325788 A JP 2006-344163 A JP 2008-129708 A JP 2009-053893 A JP 2008-140327 A

  If the pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet is used, the pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet is relatively expensive, which increases the material cost. In order to prevent this, there were problems such as the need for decompression equipment. In Patent Document 1, it is suggested in paragraph 0097 or the like that an ultraviolet (UV) curable resin can be applied and bonded to the touch panel body or the protective plate. However, there is no specific description except that a room temperature curable silicone resin can be used. Actually, it seems that pasting by application | coating of adhesive resin liquid is not performed commercially.

  Further, in the pasting method described in Patent Document 2 (particularly, FIGS. 2 to 3), since the pressure driving unit is disposed in the decompression chamber, the size of the decompression chamber is considerably larger than the size of the display panel. It gets bigger. In addition, after applying the UV curable resin to the protective plate or the display panel, it is necessary to carry out an operation of transferring the UV curable resin into the decompression chamber, positioning it at a predetermined position of the pressure platen, and attaching it. In particular, as shown in FIG. 4 (h), if it is a system in which the entire surface of the adhesive surface is uniformly applied (solid surface), the adhesive resin protrudes when pressed, so pressure cannot be applied and adhesion It was difficult to control the layer thickness to be uniform.

  On the other hand, in any of the methods of Patent Documents 3 to 5, it is necessary to change or add a process for forming an electrode pattern or a base pattern thereof, resulting in an increase in costs related to manufacturing equipment and manufacturing process operations. In addition, it is expected that the degree of required unevenness provided for each product type varies depending on the specific application and the lighting conditions of the backlight and frontlight. In the methods of Patent Documents 3 to 5, it is difficult to flexibly cope with each product type.

  In addition, if a separate anti-glare film is attached to the outer surface of the protective plate, it causes a decrease in luminance and an increase in weight, which is not preferable particularly when used for a portable display device.

  In view of the above problems, the technical development group to which the present inventors belong has made various attempts to apply an ultraviolet (UV) curable adhesive resin liquid to a protective plate or a touch panel body and to bond them together. Among them, the group of the inventors of the present invention can perform a specific application method and a specific bonding operation so that good and efficient bonding can be performed without using a decompression facility as in Patent Document 2. I found out that it could be realized. Compared to the case of using a sticky adhesive sheet, the adhesive resin liquid application method can generally reduce the thickness of the adhesive resin layer, improve light transmittance, and improve transparency (low haze). Improvement) can be realized.

  The present inventors diligently studied to prevent the electrode pattern from being seen in a capacitive type touch panel based on such a novel pasting method. In particular, the inventors have eagerly searched for a method that is less expensive and can appropriately adjust the degree of light scattering according to individual cases. As a result, we have found that the objective can be achieved by a very simple and simple method.

  That is, according to the present invention, in the touch panel provided with the protective plate and the manufacturing method thereof, the protective plate is attached by applying the adhesive resin liquid, and the transparent electrode pattern of the touch panel body can be easily and reliably seen. It is intended to provide a touch panel that can be prevented and a method for manufacturing the same.

  The touch panel according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a touch panel body including one or a plurality of substrates and an electrode pattern arranged and formed on the substrate, and a non-touch panel attached to the outer surface side of the touch panel body. A touch panel comprising a flexible protective plate, an adhesive resin layer for bonding the touch panel body and the protective plate over the entire input operation area of the touch panel body, and a transparent resin sheet having light scattering properties, the adhesive resin layer Has elasticity and wraps the transparent resin sheet from the side of the touch panel body, the side of the protective plate, and the side of any of these end faces.

  The touch panel manufacturing method according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a touch panel body including one or more substrates and an electrode pattern formed on the substrate, and an outer surface of the touch panel body. A method of manufacturing a touch panel comprising a non-flexible protective plate to be attached, wherein a curable adhesive resin liquid is used, and the adhesive resin liquid is applied to the protective plate or the touch panel body, and applied A step of bringing one surface of the transparent resin sheet having light scattering properties into contact with the layer of the adhesive resin solution, a step of applying the adhesive resin solution to the other surface of the transparent resin sheet, and the transparent resin sheet. And the step of pressure-bonding the protective plate and the touch panel body so that the layers of the adhesive resin liquid on both sides are sandwiched, and the adhesive resin liquid is pasted by curing Characterized in that it comprises a step of completion.

  A touch panel according to a second aspect of the present invention includes a touch panel body including one or a plurality of substrates and an electrode pattern formed on the substrate, and a non-touch panel attached to the outer surface side of the touch panel body. A touch panel comprising a flexible protective plate and an adhesive resin layer that adheres the touch panel main body and the protective plate over the entire input operation area of the touch panel main body, and the adhesive resin layer has elasticity. In the adhesive resin layer, spherical, biconvex lens-like or spheroid-like particles made of a transparent cross-linked resin or a transparent inorganic material and having an average particle diameter of 0.5 to 12 μm are used as an adhesive resin component (organic and / or inorganic polymerization). Sex component) 0.1 to 5 parts by weight is added to 100 parts by weight.

  The cost for attaching the protective plate to the touch panel body can be reduced, and the electrode pattern of the touch panel body can be prevented from appearing on the display surface by a simple and inexpensive method.

It is a process flow figure showing typically about a protection board pasting method used in a 1st embodiment of the present invention. The lower end portion also schematically shows a cross section in the width direction in each step. It is a typical perpendicular sectional view showing an example of a protection board pasting device used in an embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view which shows one Example of the application pattern on a protection board. FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a tray-like jig used in an embodiment of the present invention and a positioning jig on a pressure-bonding stage (third suction portion). 1 is a laminated cross-sectional view of a touch panel according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a lamination | stacking sectional drawing of the touchscreen which becomes the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is laminated | stacked sectional drawing of the touchscreen of a comparative example. It is a typical perspective view which shows a mode that the touch panel with a protective plate was assembled | attached to the liquid crystal display device.

  A touch panel and a manufacturing method thereof according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The touch panel in the present embodiment is a small one used for a mobile phone or other mobile devices, for example, a QWVGA having a diagonal size of 2.4 to 2.8 inches (vertical / horizontal ratio of 5: 3, 400 × 240 pixels) and a diagonal size of 3.0 to It can be mounted on a liquid crystal display panel that forms a 3.5-inch WVGA (16: 9 aspect ratio, 800 x 480 pixels) image display surface. As shown in FIG. 8, in the liquid crystal display panel 150, the array substrate protrudes from the counter substrate along one side of the rectangular display panel 1, and a shelf-shaped peripheral connection portion 151 is formed. One driver IC chip 152 and one flexible wiring board (FPC) 153 are mounted on the connection portion 151 using an anisotropic conductive film (ACF). In addition, polarizing plates 154 are attached to both surfaces of the display panel 150. The touch panel 100 has substantially the same dimensions as the display panel 150 or a vertical and horizontal dimension slightly larger than the display panel 150, and includes the touch panel body 5 and a protective plate 6 attached to the outer surface thereof.

  The schematic process diagram of FIG. 1 shows a method for attaching the protective plate 6 according to the present embodiment. In addition, a schematic side sectional view of FIG. 2 shows the protective plate attaching apparatus 10 used in the embodiment of the present invention.

  The touch panel body 5 is of a capacitive type, and is disposed between one or two substrates, first and second conductive pattern layers formed on the substrate surface, and these conductive pattern layers. And a dielectric layer. The conductive pattern layer is made of a transparent conductive material such as ITO or IZO (indium-zinc oxide) or a fine metal wire. For example, the first conductive pattern layer is formed by arranging conductive patterns extending in the vertical direction (X direction), and the second conductive pattern layer is formed by arranging conductive patterns extending in the horizontal direction (Y direction), for example. When the touch panel body 5 is made of a single substrate, the conductive pattern layer formed on the outer surface of the substrate is covered with a hard coating layer called a hard coat layer. This hard coat layer is provided by an inorganic material such as nitrogen oxide or a resin film. The substrate of the touch panel body 5 is made of a resin sheet or a sheet of tempered glass, and the resin sheet is a sheet of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin, polycarbonate resin (PC) or other engineering plastic resin, or cyclic olefin resin such as norbornene. Is used.

  The protective plate 6 is a transparent resin sheet made of acrylic resin or polycarbonate resin, or a tempered glass plate, and has a thickness of, for example, 0.5 to 1.0 mm. The protection plate 6 is an acrylic resin plate having a thickness of about 0.7 mm in a specific example. For example, when bonding the protective plate 6 made of resin and the touch panel body 5 made of a glass substrate, the adhesive resin layer is elastomeric even after curing so as to absorb the difference in thermal expansion coefficient between them. A material that exhibits elasticity is selected. For example, a relatively large thickness of 0.05 to 0.3 mm, particularly 0.08 to 0.2 mm (80 to 200 μm) is given. In one specific example, the thickness of the adhesive resin layer is 0.1 mm (100 μm). As the adhesive resin liquid, for example, a resin composition obtained by modifying a UV photocurable epoxy resin with a silicone elastomer and adding precipitated silica as an inorganic filler can be used. Further, for example, “NORLAND optical adhesive NOA68” manufactured by Edmund Optics and “Optical elastic resin (Super View Resin)” manufactured by Sony Chemical & Information Device Co. can be used. The adhesive resin liquid to be applied generally has a viscosity at 25 ° C. of 1000 to 6000 mPa / sec, preferably 2000 to 4000 mPa / sec, for example 3000 to 4000 mPa / sec. Here, the viscosity is, for example, a value read by using a B-type viscometer BH II manufactured by Tokimec (Tokyo Keiki) and rotating the rotor for 30 seconds after standing. The Young's modulus (E) of the adhesive resin after being completely cured is preferably 1 to 100 MPa, for example 5 to 20 MPa.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the protective plate 6 is attached by the following operations (1) to (5).

  (1) Application: An adhesive resin liquid is applied on the protective plate 6 (or on the touch panel body 5) using the dispenser 8 to form a predetermined application pattern 81.

  (2) Placement of transparent resin sheet having light scattering property: A light scattering transparent resin sheet 57 is disposed so as to be overlaid on the protective plate 6. That is, one surface of the transparent resin sheet 57 comes into contact with the layer of the adhesive resin liquid that forms the coating pattern 81 and is attached to the protective plate 6 due to its adhesiveness. However, the layer of the adhesive resin liquid is hardly spread and the shape and dimensions of the coating pattern 81 are substantially maintained.

  (3) Application again: On the transparent resin sheet 57, that is, on the other surface of the transparent resin sheet 57, the same predetermined application pattern 81 as in the above (1) is formed.

  (4) Bonding: The touch panel body 5 (or the protective plate 6) is bonded by adopting a predetermined crimping method for preventing the generation of bubbles.

  (5) Positioning / temporary fixing / overall curing: After aligning the touch panel body 5 and the protective plate 6, perform temporary fixing by spot-like UV irradiation, and then irradiate the entire surface with UV light to apply adhesive. The entire resin layer 83 is cured.

  Here, the light-scattering transparent resin sheet 57 is a sheet product of the same material and configuration as the light-scattering film that can be used by being attached to the display surface of a reflective liquid crystal display device, and has an appropriate thickness. Having a small light transmittance of 95% or more can be used. For example, (1) obtained by mixing a liquid crystal compound or other birefringent material into a polymerizable component and causing microphase separation during polymerization, (2) spherical or other particles made of a transparent cross-linked resin or a transparent inorganic material And (3) those obtained by imparting light scattering properties with a porous structure. The light-scattering transparent resin sheet 57 has a thickness of preferably 10 to 150 μm, more preferably 20 to 100 μm. If a film based on PET resin or the like having high rigidity (strong “strain”) is used, operations such as alignment and adsorption can be performed smoothly.

  Examples of dispersed spherical particles include polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resins or various transparent spherical particles similar to those used as spherical spacers for liquid crystal display devices in base resins such as acrylic resins. And a mixture of light scattering particles. As the light scattering particles, various particle products listed as usable as “light scattering filler 83A” in the description of the second embodiment to be described later can be used. The blending amount with respect to the base resin, preferable average particle diameter, and the like are the same as those described as “light scattering filler 83A”. For example, the “forward scattering film FT-014” series of Polatechno Co., Ltd. based on triacetylcellulose (CTA) can be used.

  Examples of the light scattering property imparted by the porous structure include, for example, Asahi Kasei's “Hypore (registered trademark)” series (average pore size 0.05 to 0.5 μm), which is a continuous porous film made of polyolefin, or the like A film having the structure can be used. However, when such a porous resin sheet is used, it is necessary to degas under reduced pressure and soak the adhesive resin solution in order to prevent air bubbles from entering. Further, it is necessary to optimize the film thickness, the difference in refractive index from the adhesive resin to be immersed, and the like so as to prevent a decrease in light transmittance and excessive diffusion.

  Below, the sticking method in this embodiment is demonstrated in detail using FIGS. As shown in FIG. 2, the protective plate affixing device 10 includes a first suction part (coating stage) 1, a second suction part (crimp head) 2, and a third part that respectively form horizontal suction chuck surfaces 12. Including a suction part (crimping stage) 7. Further, the protective plate affixing device 10 supports the coating stage 1 so that the coating stage 1 can be turned upside down and on the coating stage 1 when the coating stage 1 is in an upward state. Adhesive liquid application nozzle 8 for applying adhesive resin to the held protective plate 6 and a robot arm 82 that holds and holds the adhesive liquid, and protection after application completion from the application stage 1 when the application stage 1 is reversed A transfer stage 35A for receiving the plate 6 and a resin plate stage 35B that can be moved up and down for attaching the light-scattering transparent resin sheet 57 to the lower surface of the protective plate 6 in the transfer stage 35A are included. In the illustrated example, the protective plate affixing device 10 further includes a second support driving mechanism 4 that suspends and supports the pressure-bonding head 2 and moves up and down and horizontally, and a pressure-bonding stage 7 that is disposed upward. Is mounted so that it can be moved up and down from below, and the position adjustment table 73 for adjusting the position in the left and right (X axis) direction, the front and rear (Y axis) direction and the vertical axis (θ), and the crimping stage 7 are inserted from below. And a third support drive mechanism 71 that supports the mounting table 71C from below and moves horizontally.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the protective plate affixing device 10 includes a coating station 10A comprising a coating stage 1, an adhesive liquid coating nozzle 8 and a robot arm 82, a delivery stage 35, a first support drive mechanism 3, and the like. A protective plate transfer station 10B, a bonding station 10C including the pressure bonding head 2, its vertical movement mechanism 41, and the third pressure bonding stage 7, and a display panel transfer station 10D for transferring the touch panel body 5.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the coating stage 1, the crimping head 2 and the crimping stage 7, and the resin plate stage 35B as the first to third suction portions 2, 3, and 7 have substantially the same dimensions. A single rectangular suction chuck surface 12 is formed. A plurality of suction ports 13 are arranged in a matrix on each suction chuck surface 12, and vacuum suction is performed by a suction device (not shown) through a suction pipe 14 provided in the suction portions 1 and 2. Further, the suction chuck surface 12 is provided with a sealing lining layer made of rubber, elastomer resin or elastic foamed resin body.

  The coating stage 1 is supported from the machine base 101 of the protective plate pasting apparatus 10 through a hinge part 33 and a hinge support part 32 provided along one side of the rectangle. In the initial state where the suction chuck surface 12 faces upward, the coating stage 1 is placed on and supported by the support portion 34 at the other end of the hinge portion 33 (the left side in FIG. 2). . In this state, the application stage 1 is attracted and fixed to the support portion 34 by a magnet mechanism or the like. A frame-shaped jig 16 for aligning the protective plate 6 with a predetermined portion of the suction chuck surface 12 is attached to the suction chuck surface 12 of the coating stage 1 by screwing or the like. The inner dimensions (inner dimensions) of the frame-shaped jig 16, that is, the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the area inside the frame-shaped jig 16, are slightly larger than the corresponding dimensions of the protection plate 6 to be handled. The protective plate 6 is positioned on the suction chuck surface 12 by pressing against one corner of the frame-shaped jig 16.

  If the protective plate 6 is positioned and fixed by suction, the adhesive liquid application nozzle 8 drops the resin liquid while being driven in the horizontal direction by the robot arm 82, and forms a predetermined application pattern 81 on the protective plate 1. Form. The protective plate 1 is almost entirely attached to the display surface of the touch panel body 5 via an adhesive resin. That is, almost the entire surface of the protective plate 1 is the planned adhesion region 61, and generally only a slight margin exists between the planned adhesion region 61 and the edge of the protective plate 6. Further, in many cases, a black print pattern 61A (see FIG. 5) is provided in advance along the four edges of the adhesion planned area 61. The black print pattern 61A is typically disposed so as to have a width extending from a portion that overlaps the edge of the planned adhesion region 61 to the edge of the protective plate 6, and is undesired from the peripheral edge of the liquid crystal display device. It plays a role such as preventing light leakage.

  As the adhesive liquid application nozzle 8 and the robot arm 82, a dispenser system similar to that used for application of a sealant that seals the array substrate and the counter substrate can be used with appropriate changes in settings. For example, “Coating robot dispense mate D-580 series equipped with image recognition system” manufactured by Sanei Tech Co., Ltd. can be used.

  A plurality of dot-like application patterns 81 formed on the protection plate 6 are arranged according to the following rules (see FIG. 3).

  (1) Each application pattern 81A, 81B, 81C is circular or elliptical.

  (2) The application patterns 81A, 81B, 81C are distributed so as to be line symmetric with respect to the center line of the adhesion planned region 61 and its perpendicular bisector.

  (3) The center of each of the application patterns 81A, 81B, 81C is located on or near the “two-way Y-shaped line pattern” set as follows. First, a line that bisects the corners of the four corners of the planned adhesion region 61, that is, a line that extends from the apexes of the four corners at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to each side, is first assumed. In this way, the point at which the two lines that bisect the two corners sandwiching one short side of the planned adhesion region 61 and the center line are the first Y-shaped intersection point 68, and the other short side is sandwiched A point at which the two lines that bisect the two corners intersect with the center line is a second Y-shaped intersection 68. Four line segments connecting these Y-shaped intersection points 68 and the apexes of the four corners of the adhesion planned area 61 are defined as branch lines 67. That is, of the lines that bisect the four corners, the portion up to the center line 65 is defined as a branch line 67. On the other hand, a portion connecting the first Y-shaped intersection point 68 and the second Y-shaped intersection point 68 in the center line is defined as a center line portion 69. In this way, a “two-way Y-shaped line pattern” including one central line portion 69 and four branch lines 67 extending in a Y shape from both ends or the vicinity thereof is set. However, the center line portion 69 may be bonded as necessary when the aspect ratio (aspect ratio; rectangular length / width) of the planned bonding area 61 is 1.2 to 1.35 and 1.7 to 2.2. It will be appropriately expanded and contracted within about 1/3 of the length of 61, that is, in the range of 20 to 45%.

  (4) The application pattern 81A located on the center line portion 69 accounts for 50 to 70% of the total application amount. Note that the thickness of the resin liquid layers of the application patterns 81A, 81B, and 81C is not greatly different, and the same applies when considered in terms of area. That is, the rule may be that the application pattern 81A located on the center line portion 69 occupies 50 to 70% of the total area of the application pattern for the rectangular adhesion planned region 61.

  (5) The application pattern 81A arranged on the center line portion 69 is circular or an ellipse whose short axis is located on the center line 65. When a plurality of application patterns 81A are arranged, their shape and application amount Or the areas are equal to each other. Here, the flatness ([major axis-minor axis] / major axis) of the contour of the application pattern 81A is 0 to 2.0. Further, the interval between the application patterns 81A on the center line portion 69 is set to a distance of 0.3 to 0.7 times the diameter or minor axis of the application pattern 81A, for example. However, if the aspect ratio (aspect ratio; rectangular length / width) of the planned adhesion region 61 is about 1.1 to 1.2, the coating pattern 81A is elliptical or oval (oval) whose major axis is along the center line 65 It is also possible to arrange only one on the center line portion 69.

  (6) On each branch line 67, a plurality of coating patterns, in particular, two coating patterns 81B and 81C are arranged, and the coating pattern 81B positioned on the inner side is more coated than the coating pattern 81C positioned on the outer side. Or the area is large. Here, the coating amount or area ratio is, for example, 1.5 to 2.5.

  Next, a mechanism for bonding the protective plate 6 on which the plurality of application patterns 81 are formed and the touch panel body 5 to perform pressure bonding will be described.

  As shown in the right half of FIG. 2, the second support drive mechanism 4 suspends and supports the second suction portion 2, and the second support drive mechanism 4 is provided with a protective plate through a support frame (not shown). It is supported from the machine base 101 of the pasting device 10. The second support drive mechanism 4 includes a vertical movement / support mechanism 41 composed of a hydraulic cylinder for moving the second suction part 2 up and down, and a vertical movement / support mechanism 41 and a second suction part in the horizontal direction of FIG. And a horizontal movement / support mechanism 42 that supports 2 and moves horizontally. The vertical movement / support mechanism 41 for moving the second suction portion 2 up and down includes a cylinder rod 41A connected to the center of the upper surface of the second suction portion 2 and is fitted into the cylinder outer cylinder portion 41B. This is realized by supplying hydraulic medium oil to the cylinder chamber 41C and discharging it from the cylinder chamber 41C by the hydraulic control mechanism. On the other hand, the horizontal movement / support mechanism 42 includes, for example, a horizontal sliding portion 42A in which a cylinder outer cylinder portion 41B of the hydraulic cylinder mechanism 41 is fitted, and a horizontal rail 42B that engages with the horizontal sliding portion 42B and is fixed from the machine base 101. And a horizontal drive mechanism (not shown) connected to the sliding portion 42A. The horizontal drive mechanism is composed of, for example, a pneumatic cylinder and a servo mechanism, and can perform quick movement in the left-right direction in FIG. 2 by the pneumatic cylinder and alignment operation by the servo mechanism. Although not shown in the drawing, the vertical movement / support mechanism 41 is provided with a guide mechanism for maintaining the lower surface of the second suction portion 2 as a crimping head horizontally as required. For example, a flange portion or a horizontal support plate projects from the upper part of the crimping head 2 to the outside in the horizontal direction, and a plurality of vertical guide bars are supported from the horizontal sliding portion 42A or the machine base 101 so as to be flanged or horizontal. It is inserted through the hole of the support plate.

  In one specific example, the crimping stage 7 is attached to the top of the position adjustment table 73 as shown at the lower right end of FIG. The position adjustment table 73 allows fine adjustment of the position in each direction along two axes (X axis and Y axis) perpendicular to each other in the horizontal plane, and adjustment of the position and orientation in the rotation direction (θ) around the vertical axis. It is an XYθ table that enables Further, the crimping stage 7 is provided with a vertical movement (Z-axis movement) mechanism that can be switched between a position protruding upward and a position pulled downward. On the other hand, the mounting table 71C is supported from the machine table 101 through the third support drive mechanism 71 so as to be horizontally movable. The mounting table 71C includes an opening 71E through which the crimping stage 7 can be inserted on the mounting surface, and a cavity 71F that receives the position adjustment table 73 and the crimping stage 7 below the opening 71E.

  The position adjustment table 73 and the crimping stage 7 can be configured to be supported and driven by being connected to the movable portion of the third support driving mechanism 7 together with the mounting table 71C while being accommodated in the cavity portion 71F. Alternatively, it can be configured such that it is supported directly from the machine base 101 and does not move horizontally. In this case, when the mounting table 71C on which the touch panel body 5 is placed at the display panel delivery station 10D is moved to the bonding station 10C by the third support drive mechanism 71, the crimping stage 7 and the position adjustment table 73 are It is received in the cavity 71F of the mounting table 71C through the opening 71G on the lower side surface of the mounting table 71C. Thereafter, the crimping stage 7 protrudes upward through the opening 71E on the mounting surface, and sucks the touch panel body 5.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, an alignment jig 75 is held on the mounting surface of the mounting table 71 </ b> C, and the touch panel body 5 is disposed in the alignment jig 75. Further, during and after the bonding process, the protection plate 6 is disposed in the alignment jig 75 together with the touch panel body 5. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the bottom wall of the alignment jig 75 is provided with an opening 75A that substantially matches the opening 71E of the mounting table 71C. 2 and 4, the mounting surface of the mounting table 71C is provided with an L-shaped positioning jig 72 in a plan view for aligning the positioning jig 75 with the mounting table 71C. The positioning jig 75 is positioned at a predetermined position on the mounting table 71C by being abutted against the positioning jig 72. In the example shown in FIG. 2, a pressing portion 77 that presses the positioning jig 75 toward the positioning jig 72 in the horizontal direction in order to keep the positioning state is provided on the mounting table 71C. In the illustrated example, the pressing portion 77 includes a portion protruding upward from the edge portion of the mounting table 71C, a spring fixed on the inside, and a pressing piece fixed on the tip of the spring. In one specific example shown in FIG. 4, gripping recesses 75B, 75C, and 75D are provided along the central portions of the three sides of the touch panel body 5 in the frame portion of the positioning jig 75. An operator can easily pick up the touch panel body 5 by inserting his / her finger into the holding recesses 75B, 75C and 75D as necessary. Further, a recessed portion 75E having a large area for receiving the FPC 56 is provided at a location along the remaining one side of the touch panel body 5.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the support drive mechanism 71 that supports and horizontally moves the mounting table 71C includes a sliding portion 71A having the mounting table 71C fixed to the upper surface, and the sliding portion 71A engages with the machine base. A horizontal rail 71B fixed to the upper surface of 101 and a horizontal drive mechanism (not shown) connected to the sliding portion 71A. The horizontal drive mechanism is composed of, for example, a pneumatic cylinder mechanism. By this operation, the suction unit 7 quickly moves from the bonding station 10C to the display panel delivery station 10D, and vice versa. During this movement, the third suction portion 7 is previously pulled down below the mounting table 71C. Further, in the specific example shown in FIG. 2, the abutting stopper 71D is provided at the end of the rail 71B so as to be positioned at a predetermined position of the left and right stations 10C and 10D after quick movement to the left and right. .

  In addition, after the touch panel body 5 and the protective plate 6 are pasted together while sandwiching the uncured adhesive resin layer 83, or when pasted together in this way, on the left and right sides and the front and rear sides By being abutted against the positioning surface formed by the inner wall surface of the jig 75, alignment is performed. Accordingly, as in the case of positioning of the positioning jig 75 shown in FIG. 4, the touch panel body 5 and the protective plate 6 are moved to one corner of the positioning jig 75, in particular, the corner of the positioning jig 72. Positioning is performed by pressing against the corner corresponding to. This pressing is performed, for example, when the adhesive resin pattern 81 on the lower surface of the protective plate 6 is in contact with the upper surface of the touch panel body 5 and before performing a full-fitting crimping operation, This can be done by putting the finger into the front and right concave portions 75D and 75E and pushing it after releasing the suction to the protective plate 6. In this case, the position adjustment table 73 can be omitted.

  In a state of being aligned in this way, the spot irradiation device 9 is used to irradiate a predetermined irradiation spot 93 with UV light. Thus, “temporary fixing” is performed to fix the touch panel body 5 and the protection plate 6 in a state of being aligned with each other. Such spot irradiation can be performed at a position where the mounting table 71C and the alignment jig 75 are away from the crimping station 10C, for example, at the display panel delivery station 10D. The touch panel body 5 and the protective plate 6 cannot be displaced from each other by spot irradiation, and are taken out from the alignment jig 75, and are irradiated with UV light on the entire surface of the adhesive resin layer or bonded. The agent resin layer is sent to a heating chamber for curing by heating. At the display panel delivery station 10D, the touch panel body 5 with the protective plate 6 can be taken out from the alignment jig 75, or the alignment jig 75 can be removed from the mounting table 71C. In some cases, the alignment jig 75 can be set in a UV irradiation chamber or a heating chamber.

  Below, the flow of the attaching process of the protective plate 6 in this embodiment will be briefly described with reference to FIG.

  (1) Step 1 (setting and alignment of the protective plate 6): When the coating stage (first suction part) 1 is in the initial position and posture, the protective plate 6 is attached to the frame-shaped jig 16 on the coating stage 1. Place in. When the positioning is completed, vacuum suction from the suction chuck surface 12 is started, and the protection plate 6 is fixed.

  (2) Step 2 (application of adhesive resin liquid): By discharging the resin liquid from the adhesive liquid application nozzle 8 while operating the robot arm 82, a predetermined plurality of application patterns 81 are formed on the protective plate 6. To form.

  (3) Step 3 (reversing and holding the protective plate 6, attaching the transparent resin sheet 57 and reversing it again): When the application is completed, the robot arm 82 retracts the adhesive liquid application nozzle 8 to the initial position. Then, the application stage 1 is reversed. At this time, an ejector 31 including a resin ejector pin 31A and a pneumatic cylinder 31B is operated. By reversing, the frame-shaped jig 16 of the coating stage 1 is abutted against the frame-shaped support portion 36 of the delivery stage 35A, and in this state, the surface on which the coating pattern 81 is formed is faced downward, and the horizontal jig Placed in.

  On the other hand, a light-scattering transparent resin sheet 57 is previously positioned and adsorbed on a resin plate stage 35B provided inside the delivery stage 35A. Then, in a state where the protective plate 6 is disposed on the delivery stage 35A, the resin plate stage 35B is raised, and the transparent resin sheet 57 is slowly brought into contact with the adhesive resin liquid layer on the lower surface of the protective plate 6. In this way, the transparent resin sheet 57 is attached to the protective plate 6 by the adhesive resin liquid layer. At this time, the transparent resin sheet 57 is firmly attached to the extent that the layer of the adhesive resin liquid is hardly spread. The reason for the slow contact with the coated surface facing down is to prevent bubbles from entering the layer of the adhesive resin liquid.

  Thereafter, the coating stage 1 is reversed again and returned to the initial position in the coating station 10A, and then the same coating operation as in Step 2 is performed again. After completing the coating operation again, the coating stage 1 is reversed again, the suction of the coating stage 1 is released, and the protection plate 6 is transferred to the delivery stage 35. In this state, the protective plate 6 has its peripheral portion engaged with the frame-like support portion 36 of the delivery stage 35A, and again, the surface on which the coating pattern 81 is formed faces downward, and is horizontally placed at a predetermined position. Placed in. The application stage 1 is reversed and returned to the initial position by a similar ejector 31 (not shown).

  (4) Step 4 (feeding to the crimping part): The crimping head (second suction part) 2 is quickly moved above the delivery stage 35A by the operation of the horizontal movement / support mechanism 42. Then, by the operation of the hydraulic cylinder of the vertical movement / support mechanism 41, the crimping head 2 is abutted against the outer surface (the upper surface in this state) of the protective plate 6. When it is abutted, the adsorption mechanism of the crimping head 2 is operated to adsorb the protective plate 6. The crimping head 2 is immediately lifted up slightly by the vertical movement / support mechanism 41 and returned to the position where the crimping is performed by the horizontal movement / support mechanism 42. Instead of providing a horizontal movement mechanism for the crimping head 2, a robot arm or an operator can grab both ends of the protective plate 6, lift it from the delivery stage 35A, abut against the crimping head 2, and suck it at a predetermined position. it can.

  On the other hand, at the same time that the crimping head 2 moves to above the delivery stage 35A, the mounting table 71C is moved in the opposite direction to the right end in FIG. 2 by the third support drive mechanism 71 made of a pneumatic cylinder or the like. . At this location, the alignment jig 75 in which the touch panel body 5 is stored is placed on the mounting table 71C. At this time, the positioning jig 75 is abutted against the L-shaped positioning jig 72. Further, the touch panel body 5 is pushed into the corner of the positioning jig 75 corresponding to the corner of the positioning jig 72. In this way, the touch panel body 5 is positioned at a predetermined location on the third mounting table 71C. Thereafter, the mounting table 71C returns to the crimping position at the same time as the crimping head 2 returns to the crimping position. At this time, the crimping stage 7 passes through the opening 75A of the alignment jig 75 and is abutted against the touch panel body 5, and suction is immediately performed.

  (5) Step 5 (crimping): After confirming that the protective plate 6 and the touch panel body 5 are roughly aligned, the crimping operation is performed. At this time, the pressure-bonding head 2 is lowered as quickly as possible until shortly before the lower end of the coating pattern 81 adhering to the lower surface of the protective plate 6 contacts the upper surface of the touch panel body 5. Next, the pressure-bonding head 2 is slowly lowered so that the lower end portion of the coating pattern 81 slowly comes into contact with the upper surface of the touch panel body 5. After the preliminary crimping, the suction of the protective plate 6 by the crimping head 2 is released, and the protective plate 6 is pressed against the corner of the positioning jig 72 in the positioning jig 75 for positioning. Do. Thereafter, the pressure bonding head 2 is lowered again to perform the main pressure bonding. At the time of this main pressure bonding, first, the pressure bonding head 2 is lowered relatively quickly so that air bubbles escape from the adhesive resin layer 83. Next, the descent is stopped and the pressurized state is maintained for a predetermined time.

  When the main crimping is completed, the crimping head 2 is raised and the crimping stage 7 is lowered.

  (6) Step 6 (delivery after crimping): After the above crimping operation is completed, if the crimping head 2 starts to rise, the mounting table 71C is moved to the display panel delivery position. At this position, as shown at the right end of FIG. 2, the adhesive resin layer 83 is locally cured in a dot shape by local UV irradiation, thereby performing “temporary fixing”. For example, a spot irradiation device 9 having four UV spot light sources 91 made of LEDs or the like is used. When the local UV irradiation is completed, the touch panel body 5 with the protective plate 6 is removed from the mounting table 7IC together with the alignment jig 75. Then, a positioning jig 75 accommodating a new touch panel body 5 is repositioned and attached to the mounting table 71C, and then the mounting table 71C returns to the crimping position. On the other hand, the pressure bonding head (second suction portion) 2 receives the protection plate 6 from the protection plate transfer stage 35 and returns to the position of pressure bonding. For example, Keyence Corporation's “High Power UV-LED Irradiator UV-400” (365 nm) or Hamamatsu Photonics Corporation ’s “UV-LED Spot Light Source LEIGHTNINGCURE LC-L1” can be used as the spot irradiation device 9. Can do.

(7) Step 7 (Cure the adhesive resin layer)
The touch panel body 5 with the protective plate 6 attached is sent to the UV irradiation chamber together with the alignment jig 75, and the entire surface of the adhesive resin layer 83 is irradiated with ultraviolet rays. Thereafter, as necessary, heat curing is performed in a heating chamber or a weather resistance test chamber to complete the pasting.

  FIG. 3 shows a specific example of the coating pattern. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the contours of the coating pattern 81 are all elliptical, and the center of the coating pattern 81A on the center line portion 69 is precisely located on the center line portion 69, but the branch line The center of the coating patterns 81B and 81C on 67 is slightly shifted from the branch line 67. Specifically, three coating patterns 81A are provided on the center line portion 69 in the adhesion region 61 having a diagonal size of 3.0 inches and an aspect ratio of 1.58. The application patterns 81A-1 to 81A-3 on the center line portion 69 have the same dimensions and shape, and the flatness is 0.46. The centers of the application patterns 81A-1 and 81A-3 on both ends are Located near the Y-shaped intersection 68. The coating pattern 81B on the inner side of the branch line 67 has a flatness of 0.11, and the major axis extends substantially in the direction of the branch line 67. The coating pattern 81C on the outer side of the branch line 67 has a flatness of 0.19, and the long axis faces the direction of the long side of the adhesion planned region 61. Out of the total area of the coating pattern, three coating patterns 81A on the central line 69 are 69%, four inner coating patterns 81B on the branch line 67 are 22%, and four outer coating patterns on the branch line 67. 81C is 9%. Note that the ratio of the total area of the coating pattern 81 to the area of the adhesion planned region 61 is about 12%.

  FIG. 5 schematically shows a laminated structure of the touch panel 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention obtained as described above. As shown in FIG. 5, the light-scattering transparent resin sheet 57 is arranged in parallel to the touch panel body 5 and the protective plate 6 and at equal intervals therefrom. The four sides of the transparent resin sheet 57 are all on the inner side of the end surface of the adhesive resin layer 83, and are particularly spaced inward from the inner edge of the black print pattern 61A. That is, since the transparent resin sheet 57 does not overlap with the black print pattern 61A, even if the transparent resin sheet 57 is disposed, it is not necessary to increase the thickness of the adhesive resin layer 83. Note that the edge of the transparent resin sheet 57 may be located inside the electrode pattern formation region of the touch screen body 5, but in such a case as well, there is a problem that the electrode pattern appears because the width of the gap is small. Absent. In one specific example, the thickness of the black printed pattern 61A is 50 μm, the thickness of the transparent resin sheet 57 is 30 μm, and the total thickness of the adhesive resin layer 83 including the transparent resin sheet 57 is 100 μm.

  In the illustrated example, the touch panel body 5 is made of a PET resin sheet as a substrate 53 that also serves as a dielectric layer, and a first electrode pattern layer 52 and a second electrode pattern layer 54 are provided on the outer surface and the back surface, respectively. Is formed. The first electrode pattern layer 52 on the outer surface side is covered with a hard coat layer 51.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the touch panel 100 ′ of the present embodiment, the filler 83A having light scattering properties is uniformly dispersed in the adhesive resin layer 83.

  As the light scattering filler 83A, various transparent spherical particles similar to those used as a spherical spacer for a liquid crystal display device can be mentioned as preferable ones. For example, those having an average particle diameter of 1 to 8 μm in each series of “Micropearl SP”, “Micropearl EX”, and “Micropearl SI” (silica particles) of Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd. can be used. In addition, “Technopolymer MBX-5” (average particle diameter of crosslinked polymethyl methacrylate 5 μm), “Technopolymer BMX-5” (average particle diameter of crosslinked polybutyl methacrylate 5 μm), “Technopolymer” from Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd. SBX-6 (crosslinked polystyrene average particle size 6m) and other spherical particle products, Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd. Technopolymer LMX series (biconvex lens-shaped crosslinked polymethyl methacrylate particles, average particle size: 3 Non-spherical particle products such as ˜12 μm) can be used.

  Light scattering without impairing the light transmittance if using spherical particle products, biconvex lens products with a mean particle size of 0.5 to 12 μm, preferably 1 to 10 μm, or non-spherical particle products such as spheroids It is preferable for imparting properties. As the light-scattering filler 83A, rod-like or flake-like glass particles can be used in some cases. Light scattering filler 83A is, for example, added in an amount of 0.1 to 5 parts by weight, preferably 0.5 to 2 parts by weight, based on 100 parts by weight of the adhesive resin component (organic and inorganic polymerizable components) excluding solvents and fillers. To do. The cured adhesive resin layer has a thickness of 30 to 200 μm, preferably 50 to 150 μm.

  Next, a touch panel 100 "of a comparative example related to the prior art will be described with reference to FIG. 7. The touch panel 100" of the comparative example uses an adhesive adhesive resin sheet 83B, and the touch panel body 5 and the protective plate 6 are used. Are bonded to each other along the inner edge of the print pattern 61A. If the thickness of the adhesive resin sheet 83B is around 100 μm and the vacuum degassing operation during the bonding operation is insufficient, the step due to the printing pattern 61A may not be sufficiently absorbed. The air remaining in the gap 61B becomes bubbles and may cause deterioration in display performance.

1 Coating stage (first suction part) 10 Protection plate pasting device 100 Touch panel
2 Crimping head (second suction part) 35A Delivery stage 35B Resin plate stage
5 Touch panel body 57 Light-scattering transparent resin sheet 6 Protection plate
61 Planned adhesion area 61A Frame-shaped black print pattern
7 Crimping stage (third suction part) 75 Jig for alignment 8 Adhesive liquid application nozzle
81 Application pattern 83 Adhesive resin layer after pressure bonding

Claims (4)

A touch panel body comprising one or a plurality of substrates, and a touch panel body including an electrode pattern formed on the substrate, and a non-flexible protective plate attached to the outer surface side of the touch panel body. A manufacturing method comprising:
A touch panel body comprising one or a plurality of substrates, and a touch panel body including an electrode pattern formed and arranged on the substrate, and a non-flexible protective plate attached to the outer surface side of the touch panel body In the manufacturing method, a curable adhesive resin liquid is used, a first application step of applying the adhesive resin liquid to the protective plate or the touch panel body, and light scattering on the applied adhesive resin liquid layer. A step of contacting one surface of the transparent resin sheet having the property, a second coating step of applying an adhesive resin liquid to the other surface of the transparent resin sheet, and the transparent resin sheet and both sides thereof Including a step of pressing and bonding the protective plate and the touch panel body so as to sandwich a layer of an adhesive resin liquid, and a step of completing the bonding by curing the adhesive resin liquid Touch panel manufacturing method according to claim. In the first and second application steps, application is performed so as to form a predetermined application pattern with the surface to be applied facing upward.
In the contacting step, the protective plate or the touch panel body is disposed so that the coating surface faces downward, and in this state, the stage on which the transparent resin sheet is placed is raised with respect to the protective plate or the touch panel body. The touch panel manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein A touch panel body including one or a plurality of substrates and an electrode pattern arranged and formed on the substrate; an inflexible protective plate attached to an outer surface of the touch panel body; and a touch panel body; An adhesive resin layer that adheres a protective plate to the entire input operation area of the touch panel body, and a touch panel made of a transparent resin sheet having light scattering properties,
The adhesive resin layer has elasticity and wraps the transparent resin sheet from the side of the touch panel body, the side of the protective plate, and the side of any of these end faces. A touch panel body including one or a plurality of substrates and an electrode pattern arranged and formed on the substrate; a non-flexible protective plate attached to an outer surface of the touch panel body; A touch panel comprising an adhesive resin layer that adheres a protective plate to the entire input operation area of the touch panel body,
This adhesive resin layer has elasticity, and in this adhesive resin layer, spherical, biconvex lens-like or spheroid-like particles made of a transparent cross-linked resin or a transparent inorganic material and having an average particle diameter of 0.5 to 12 μm. In addition, 0.1 to 5 parts by weight is added to 100 parts by weight of the adhesive resin component (organic or inorganic polymerizable component).

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