JP2014013526A - Touch panel - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a touch panel having improved appearance.SOLUTION: A spacer 25 includes: a cable side portion 25C facing an end surface 26A of a cable 26; and a recess portion 25A and a protrusion portion 25D at the cable side portion 25C. The end surface 26A is disposed at the recess portion 25A. The protrusion portion 25D protrudes toward a square hole 25B at a position corresponding to the recess portion. With this configuration, the cable side portion 25C can be formed to have a predetermined line width, thereby obtaining a touch panel 100 having improved appearance with irregularities on the top surface of a decoration sheet 21 suppressed.

Description

  The present invention relates to a touch panel used mainly for operating various electronic devices.

  In recent years, as various electronic devices such as mobile phones and electronic cameras have become highly functional and diversified, a light-transmissive touch panel is mounted on the upper surface of the liquid crystal display, and the display on the lower surface of the liquid crystal display is viewed through this touch panel. There are an increasing number of devices that switch various functions of a device by pressing the touch panel with a finger, a pen, or the like, and a device capable of various operations is demanded.

  Such a conventional touch panel will be described with reference to FIGS.

  In addition, in this drawing, in order to make the configuration easy to understand, the dimensions are partially enlarged.

  4 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional touch panel 20, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the touch panel 20.

  Here, the touch panel 20 includes a decorative sheet 1, an adhesive layer 2, an upper substrate portion 3, a lower substrate portion 4, a spacer 5, and a cable 6.

  Here, the upper substrate portion 3 and the lower substrate portion 4 are arranged with the spacer 5 and the cable 6 interposed therebetween, and the decorative sheet 1 is bonded to the upper surface of the upper substrate portion 3 by the adhesive layer 2.

  The upper substrate portion 3 includes an upper substrate 7, an upper conductive layer 8, and a pair of upper electrodes 9. Here, a translucent and conductive upper conductive layer 8 is provided on the lower surface of the translucent upper substrate 7, and upper electrodes 9 </ b> A and 9 </ b> B are disposed on the left and right ends of the upper conductive layer 8.

  Further, the lower substrate portion 4 includes a lower substrate 11, a lower conductive layer 12, a pair of lower electrodes 13 </ b> A and 13 </ b> B, and a dot spacer 14. Here, a translucent and conductive lower conductive layer 12 is provided on the upper surface of the translucent lower substrate 11, and a plurality of dot spacers 14 are formed on the upper surface of the lower conductive layer 12.

  The upper substrate 7 and the lower substrate 10 are made of an insulating resin film, and the upper conductive layer 8 and the lower conductive layer 12 are made of ITO (indium tin oxide) or the like. The upper electrodes 9A and 9B and the lower electrode 13 are formed by printing silver paste or etching copper foil.

  The spacer 5 has a frame shape and has a recess 5A on the side where the cable 6 made of a flexible printed wiring board or the like is disposed. In general, since the upper conductive layer 8 and the lower conductive layer 12 are in contact with each other at the central square hole 5B of the spacer 5 to form an operation region, the square hole 5B has a rectangular shape. For this reason, in the cable side part 5C provided with the recessed part 5A, the line width is narrow at the recessed part 5A, and the line width is wide at the part other than the recessed part 5A.

  In the cable side portion 5C, the line width bonded to the upper substrate portion 3 and the lower substrate portion 4 is wider than the line width of the recessed portion 5A in the portion other than the recessed portion 5A. The bending of the substrate unit 3 and the lower substrate unit 4 tends to be large.

  The touch panel 20 configured as described above is disposed above a liquid crystal display (not shown) and mounted on an electronic device, and a pair of upper electrodes 9 and lower electrodes 13 are control circuits such as a microcomputer of the device. (Not shown) is electrically connected.

  In the above configuration, when the operator presses the upper surface of the decorative sheet 1 with a finger or a pen according to the display on the liquid crystal display on the back of the touch panel 20, the upper conductive layer 8 is bent and the upper conductive layer 8 is pressed. Contacts the lower conductive layer 12.

  Then, a voltage is sequentially applied from the control circuit to the upper electrode 9 and the lower electrode 13, and the control circuit detects the pressed portion based on the voltage ratio between these electrodes, and various functions of the device are switched.

  As prior art document information related to the invention of this application, for example, Patent Document 1 is known.

JP-A-2005-107655

  However, the upper substrate portion and the lower substrate portion that are bonded to the spacer have a large bend at the side portion of the cable where the cable is arranged, so that the appearance of the decorative sheet deteriorates due to the bend caused by the bend. There was something to do.

  This invention solves such a conventional subject, and it aims at providing the touch panel which suppressed the unevenness | corrugation of the upper surface of a decorating sheet, and improved the appearance.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention particularly includes a concave portion where the end face of the cable is disposed on the side portion of the cable and a convex portion protruding into the square hole at a position corresponding to the concave portion.

  According to the present invention, the upper substrate portion and the lower substrate portion to be bonded to the spacer are provided by providing the concave portion where the end face of the cable is disposed on the side portion of the cable and the convex portion protruding from the square hole at a position corresponding to the concave portion. Therefore, the touch panel with improved appearance can be realized by suppressing the unevenness on the upper surface of the decorative sheet.

1 is an exploded perspective view of a touch panel according to an embodiment of the present invention. Cross section of the touch panel Top view explaining the layout of spacer, upper electrode, lower electrode and cable of the touch panel Exploded perspective view of a conventional touch panel Cross-sectional view of a conventional touch panel

(Embodiment)
Hereinafter, a touch panel 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  Note that these drawings are partially enlarged in size for easy understanding of the configuration.

  FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a touch panel 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the touch panel 100.

  Here, the touch panel 100 includes a decorative sheet 21, an adhesive layer 22, an upper substrate portion 23, a lower substrate portion 24, a spacer 25, and a cable 26.

  The decorative sheet 21 includes a decorative layer 21B in which ink or the like is printed on the lower surface or the upper surface of a sheet layer 21A made of a translucent film or the like. Here, the range in which the decoration layer 21B is not provided is the operation area of the touch panel 100, but a part of the portion where the decoration layer 21B is arranged like the button operation unit 21C is used as the operation area of the touch panel 100. You can also.

  An upper substrate portion 23 bonded by an adhesive layer 22 is disposed below the decorative sheet 21, and the lower substrate portion 24 is disposed with a predetermined gap between the upper substrate portion 23. Further, the spacer 25 is disposed between the upper substrate portion 23 and the lower substrate portion 24 so as to be adhered to each of the upper substrate portion 23 and the lower substrate portion 24. Further, the cable 26 is disposed on the side of the spacer 25 between the upper substrate portion 23 and the lower substrate portion 24.

  The upper substrate portion 23 includes an upper substrate 31, an upper conductive layer 32, and a pair of upper electrodes 33A and 33B. Here, a light-transmitting, conductive, and substantially rectangular upper conductive layer 32 is provided on the entire bottom surface of the light-transmitting upper substrate 31 by a sputtering method, a vacuum evaporation method, or the like. The upper electrode 33A is disposed at the left end of the upper conductive layer 32, and the upper electrode 33B is disposed at the right end.

  Further, the lower substrate section 24 includes a lower substrate 41, a lower conductive layer 42, a pair of lower electrodes 43A and 43B, and a dot spacer 44. Here, a light-transmitting, conductive, and substantially rectangular lower conductive layer 42 is provided on the entire upper surface of the light-transmitting lower substrate 41 by a sputtering method, a vacuum evaporation method, or the like. A plurality of dot spacers 44 are formed. The lower electrode 43A is disposed at the front end of the lower conductive layer 42, and the lower electrode 43B is disposed at the rear end.

  The upper substrate 31 and the lower substrate 41 are made of an insulating resin film or the like, and the upper conductive layer 32 and the lower conductive layer 42 are made of ITO (indium tin oxide) or the like. The upper electrodes 33A and 33B and the lower electrodes 43A and 43B are formed by printing silver paste or etching copper foil.

  Moreover, the cable 26 is comprised with a flexible printed wiring board etc., and is electrically connected with upper electrode 33A, 33B and lower electrode 43A, 43B.

  The spacer 25 has a frame shape, has a concave portion 25 </ b> A on the side where the cable 26 is disposed, and has a square hole 25 </ b> B serving as an operation area of the touch panel 100 at the approximate center of the spacer 25. The side provided with the recess 25A is referred to as a cable side 25C. Further, a convex portion 25D protruding into the square hole 25B is provided at a position corresponding to the concave portion 25A of the cable side portion 25C.

  Here, the upper conductive layer 32 and the lower conductive layer 42 are in contact with each other in the central hole 25B of the spacer 25 to form an operation region.

  In order to bond the spacer 25 to the upper substrate portion 23 or the lower substrate portion 24, for example, an acrylic adhesive is used.

  Next, the arrangement of the spacer 25 and the positional relationship between the upper electrodes 33A and 33B and the lower electrodes 43A and 43B will be described in detail.

  3 is a top view illustrating the arrangement of the spacer 25, the upper electrodes 33A and 33B, the lower electrodes 43A and 43B, and the cable 26 of the touch panel 100. FIG.

  In the drawing, upper electrodes 33A and 33B are disposed on the upper surface of the spacer 25, and lower electrodes 43A and 43B are disposed on the lower surface of the spacer 25. Here, the upper electrodes 33A and 33B are disposed in parallel at both left and right ends with the square hole 25B interposed therebetween, and the lower electrodes 43A and 43B are disposed in parallel at both front and rear ends with the square hole 25B interposed therebetween.

  Further, the cable side portion 25C is provided with a recess 25A at a substantially central position and a projection 25D at a position corresponding to the recess 25A, so that the cable side portion 25C has a variation in the line width Wa over the entire length. Is configured to be within 10%.

  The cable side portion 25C is configured so that the variation in the line width Wa is within 10% throughout the entire length, and the line width Wa is preferably 1 mm or more and 3 mm or less. This is because the upper substrate portion 23 is bonded to the upper surface of the spacer 25 and the lower substrate portion 24 is bonded to the lower surface. However, if the line width Wa of the cable side portion 25C is 1 mm or less, the adhesive force is weak and durable. This is because if the line width Wa of the cable side portion 25C is 3 mm or more, unevenness is likely to occur on the upper surface of the upper substrate portion 23 after bonding, and unevenness is likely to occur on the upper surface of the decorative sheet 21.

  The total width Wb including the bending in the front-rear direction of the cable side portion 25C is preferably 3 mm or more and 6 mm or less. This is to adapt to the size of the cable 26 that is generally used.

  Note that the line width Wa of the cable side portion 25C and the line width Wc of the other side of the spacer 25 may be the same width, or the width may be changed, but the line widths of all sides are within 20%. By making it fit, variation in adhesive force due to the bonding position is suppressed, and the appearance is improved.

  Further, the line width Wa of the cable side portion 25C may not be constant. In addition, the variation in the line width Wa is within 10% through the entire length of the cable side portion 25C, thereby suppressing the variation in the adhesive force due to the bonding position and improving the appearance.

  Furthermore, the end surface 26A of the cable 26 is provided in the recess 25A, and the end surface 26A is disposed in the recess 25A.

  Here, the cable side portion 25C is configured as a bent side due to the influence of the concave portion 25A and the convex portion 25D, but the lower electrode 43A disposed on the lower surface of the cable side portion 25C is disposed linearly. .

  This is because the position detection accuracy of the touch panel 100 can be improved by keeping the interval between the lower electrodes 43A and 43B constant.

  Here, the lower electrode 43A disposed on the lower surface of the cable side portion 25C is preferably disposed so as to pass below the convex portion 25D. By arranging in this way, the line width Wa of the cable side portion 25C can be further reduced.

  The touch panel 100 configured in this manner is disposed above a liquid crystal display (not shown) and mounted on an electronic device, and a pair of upper electrodes 33A and 33B and lower electrodes 43A and 43B are provided as a microcomputer of the device. It is electrically connected to a control circuit (not shown).

  In the above configuration, when the operator presses the upper surface of the decorative sheet 21 with a finger, a pen, or the like according to the display on the liquid crystal display on the back of the touch panel 100, the upper substrate portion 23 is bent and is pressed in the square hole 25B. The upper conductive layer 32 is in contact with the lower conductive layer 42.

  Then, voltages are sequentially applied from the control circuit to the upper electrodes 33A and 33B and the lower electrodes 43A and 43B, and the control circuit detects the pressed position based on the voltage ratio between these electrodes, and switches various functions of the device. Is done.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the spacer 25 includes the cable side portion 25C facing the end surface 26A of the cable 26, and the position corresponding to the recess portion 25A where the end surface 26A is disposed on the cable side portion 25C. To provide a touch panel 100 that has a convex portion 25D that protrudes into the square hole 25B, and that can form the cable side portion 25C with a predetermined line width, suppresses irregularities on the upper surface of the decorative sheet 21, and improves the appearance. Can do.

  Further, since the line width of the cable side portion 25C is 1 mm or more and 3 mm or less over the entire length, the adhesive force of the cable side portion 25C is adjusted, and the appearance can be improved.

  Further, either the upper substrate portion 23 or the lower substrate portion 24 includes an electrode (for example, the lower electrode 43A) disposed on the upper surface or the lower surface of the cable side portion 25C, and the electrode passes through the lower surface of the convex portion 25D. Therefore, the cable side portion 25C can be made thin while maintaining the parallel relationship between the upper electrodes 33A and 33B and the lower electrodes 43A and 43B.

  Furthermore, since the spacer 25 has a frame shape and all sides around the square hole 25B are configured with a line width of 1 mm or more and 3 mm or less, the adhesive force can be adjusted on all sides.

  In addition, since the line widths of all sides around the square hole 25B are configured to be within 20%, the appearance of the touch panel 100 can be further improved.

  The touch panel according to the present invention has an advantageous effect of being able to obtain a touch panel with improved appearance by suppressing irregularities on the upper surface of the decorative sheet, and is mainly useful for operation of various electronic devices.

21 decorative sheet 21A sheet layer 21B decorative layer 21C button operation part 22 adhesive layer 23 upper substrate part 24 lower substrate part 25 spacer 25A recessed part 25B square hole 25C cable side part 26 cable 31 upper substrate 32 upper conductive layer 33A, 33B Upper electrode 41 Lower substrate 42 Lower conductive layer 43A, 43B Lower electrode 44 Dot spacer 100 Touch panel

Claims (5)

A decorative sheet, an upper substrate portion disposed below the decorative sheet, a lower substrate portion disposed with a predetermined gap between the upper substrate portions, and the upper substrate portion and the lower substrate. A spacer disposed on each side of the spacer, and a cable disposed on a side of the spacer between the upper substrate portion and the lower substrate, and the spacer is formed on a square hole and an end surface of the cable. A touch panel comprising a cable side portion facing each other, a concave portion where an end face of the cable is disposed on the cable side portion, and a convex portion protruding from the square hole at a position corresponding to the concave portion. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein a line width of the side portion of the cable is 1 mm or more and 3 mm or less over the entire length. The electrode disposed on an upper surface or a lower surface of the side portion of the cable is provided on either the upper substrate portion or the lower substrate portion, and the electrode is disposed so as to pass the lower surface of the convex portion. 1 is a touch panel. The touch panel as set forth in claim 1, wherein the spacer has a frame shape and all sides around the square hole have a line width of 1 mm or more and 3 mm or less. The touch panel according to claim 4, wherein the line widths of all sides around the square hole are configured to fall within 20%.

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