JP2019179462A - Light-transmitting conductive material - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a light-transmitting conductive material with excellent light-transmittance and touch detection sensitivity without causing moire when it being superimposed on a liquid crystal display.SOLUTION: Provided is a light-transmitting conductive material which: includes a column electrode as a sensor section that is formed with irregular mesh shaped metallic thin line patterns; the sensor section includes a diaphragmatic portion in a certain cycle L; and when deemed an average angle made between the metallic thin line at the diaphragmatic portion and the direction to which the sensor unit stretches as C and the average angle at other portions other than the diaphragmatic portion as D, the D>C relation is satisfied.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

  The present invention relates to a light transmissive conductive material mainly used for a touch panel, and more particularly to a light transmissive conductive material suitably used for a light transmissive electrode of a projected capacitive touch panel.

  In electronic devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), notebook PCs, OA devices, medical devices, and car navigation systems, touch panels are widely used as input means for these displays.

  The touch panel includes an optical method, an ultrasonic method, a surface capacitance method, a projection capacitance method, a resistance film method, and the like depending on a position detection method. In a resistive touch panel, a light-transmitting conductive material and a glass with a light-transmitting conductive layer are arranged to face each other with a spacer as a light-transmitting electrode serving as a touch sensor. It has a structure that measures the voltage in the glass with a flowing light transmissive conductive layer. On the other hand, the capacitive touch panel has a basic structure of a light transmissive conductive material having a light transmissive conductive layer on a base material as a light transmissive electrode serving as a touch sensor, and has no moving parts. Therefore, since it has high durability and high light transmittance, it is applied in various applications. Furthermore, since the projected capacitive touch panel can simultaneously detect multiple points, it is widely used for smartphones, tablet PCs, and the like.

  Conventionally, as a light-transmitting conductive material used for a light-transmitting electrode of a touch panel, a material in which a light-transmitting conductive layer made of an ITO (indium tin oxide) conductive film is formed on a base material has been used. However, since the ITO conductive film has a large refractive index and a large surface reflection of light, there is a problem that the light transmittance of the light transmissive conductive material is lowered. In addition, since the ITO conductive film has low flexibility, there is a problem that when the light-transmitting conductive material is bent, the ITO conductive film is cracked and the electric resistance value of the light-transmitting conductive material is increased.

  As a material replacing the light transmissive conductive material having a light transmissive conductive layer made of an ITO conductive film, a metal fine wire pattern is formed on the light transmissive support as a light transmissive conductive layer, for example, the line width or pitch of the metal fine wire pattern. Furthermore, a light-transmitting conductive material is known in which a mesh-shaped fine metal wire pattern is formed by adjusting the pattern shape and the like. By this technique, a light-transmitting conductive material that maintains high light transmittance and has high conductivity can be obtained. With respect to the mesh shape of the mesh-shaped fine metal wire pattern (hereinafter also referred to as a metal pattern), it is known that a repeating unit of various shapes can be used. For example, in JP2013-30378A (Patent Document 1), Triangles such as regular triangles, isosceles triangles, right triangles, squares such as squares, rectangles, rhombuses, parallelograms, trapezoids, (positive) hexagons, (positive) octagons, (positive) dodecagons, (positive) (Positive) n-gons such as an icosahedron, repeating units such as a circle, an ellipse, and a star, and combinations of two or more of these are disclosed.

  As a manufacturing method of the light-transmitting conductive material having the above-described mesh-shaped metal pattern, a thin catalyst layer is formed on a support, a resist pattern is formed thereon, and then a metal layer is formed on the resist opening by plating. Are semi-additive methods for forming a metal pattern by finally removing the resist layer and the base metal protected by the resist layer, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-287994, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-28753, etc. Is disclosed.

  In recent years, a method using a silver salt photographic light-sensitive material using a silver salt diffusion transfer method as a conductive material precursor is known. For example, in JP-A-2003-77350, JP-A-2005-250169, JP-A-2007-188655, etc., a silver salt photographic photosensitive material having a physical development nucleus layer and a silver halide emulsion layer at least in this order on a support. A technique for forming a metal (silver) pattern by causing a soluble silver salt forming agent and a reducing agent to act on a material (conductive material precursor) in an alkaline solution is disclosed. Patterning by this method can reproduce a uniform line width, and since silver has the highest conductivity among metals, higher conductivity can be obtained with a narrower line width than other methods. Furthermore, the layer having the metal pattern obtained by this method has an advantage that it is more flexible than ITO conductive film and strong against bending.

  However, since the light-transmitting conductive material having these metal patterns on the light-transmitting support is disposed on the liquid crystal display, the period of the metal pattern interferes with the period of the elements of the liquid crystal display, and moire is generated. There was a problem that occurred. In recent years, liquid crystal displays with various resolutions have been used, which further complicates the above problems.

  For example, JP 2011-216377 A, JP 2013-37683 A (Patent Document 2), JP 2014-17519 A, JP 2015-210615 A (Patent Document 3), JP In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-9386 (Patent Document 4), Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-62170 (Patent Document 5), and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-99919 (Patent Document 6), as a metal pattern, for example, “Mathematical model of trumpet Voronoi There has been proposed a method of suppressing interference by using a long-known random pattern described in "Introduction to mathematical engineering from the drawing" (Non-Patent Document 1) and the like.

  By the way, in the projected capacitive touch sensor, two light-transmitting conductive layers having a plurality of column electrodes connected to the terminal portion via the peripheral wiring portion are connected to each other via the insulating layer. They are superimposed so as to be substantially orthogonal. As the shape of the column electrode, as described in Patent Documents 2 to 6 and the like described above, a shape called a diamond type in which a diaphragm is provided at a portion where one column electrode and the other column electrode intersect is generally used. It is used.

  In recent years, in order to increase the position accuracy of touch detection, a column electrode interval (pitch) that is narrower than before is required, and in connection with this, the diamond type column electrode described above has a narrower electrode width at the aperture portion, This is a factor that increases the resistance of the column electrode (decreases detection accuracy). In addition, in the random pattern described above, the number of fine metal wires included in the narrowed portion of the column electrode may be reduced, which causes the resistance of the column electrode to be further increased. In response to this problem, International Publication No. 2014/13658 (Patent Document 7) discloses a conductive film in which three or more irregular polygonal cells made of fine metal wires are arranged at the aperture portion of the column electrode. Yes. However, in order to arrange a large number of cells in the aperture portion, it is necessary to use cells having a small size, and there is a problem that a decrease in transmittance is unavoidable.

JP2013-30378A JP 2013-37683 A JP2015-210615A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-9386 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-62170 JP-A-2006-99919 International Publication No. 2014/136484 Pamphlet

Mathematical model of Nawabari Introduction to mathematical engineering from Voronoi diagram (Kyoritsu Shuppan February 2009)

  An object of the present invention is to provide a light-transmitting conductive material that does not generate moiré even when stacked on a liquid crystal display, and has excellent light transmission and touch detection sensitivity.

The above problem is basically solved by the following light-transmitting conductive material.
(1) On a light-transmitting support, a sensor unit connected to a terminal unit via a peripheral wiring unit, and a dummy unit not electrically connected to the terminal unit, the sensor unit and the dummy unit Has an irregular mesh-shaped fine metal wire pattern, and the sensor part is a column electrode having a diaphragm portion with a constant period L, and the fine wire constituting the fine metal wire pattern in the diaphragm part of the sensor part And the average angle formed between the direction in which the sensor part extends, and C, and the average angle formed between the fine lines constituting the metal fine line pattern in the part other than the diaphragm part of the sensor part and the direction in which the sensor part extends A light-transmitting conductive material satisfying a relationship of D> C, where D is an angle.
(2) The light transmissive conductive material according to (1), wherein the average angle C is 30 ° to 40 °.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a light-transmitting conductive material that does not generate moire even when stacked on a liquid crystal display and is excellent in light transmittance and touch detection sensitivity.

It is the schematic which shows the positional relationship of an upper electrode layer and a lower electrode layer. It is the schematic which shows an example of the upper electrode layer in this invention. It is the schematic which shows an example of the lower electrode layer in this invention. It is an expansion schematic explaining the shape of a diamond type in the present invention. It is the schematic explaining the measurement range of the angle of a thin line in the present invention. It is the schematic explaining the angle of the thin wire | line in this invention. It is the schematic explaining an example of the comparison with the average angle C and the average angle D in this invention. It is the schematic explaining another example of the comparison with the average angle C and the average angle D in this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating a Voronoi figure. It is the schematic explaining the method to produce the figure shown in FIG. It is the schematic which shows an example of the drawing method in this invention. It is the schematic explaining correction of a boundary part. It is the schematic of the figure used in an Example.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, it goes without saying that the present invention can be variously modified and modified without departing from the technical scope thereof and is not limited to the following embodiments. Yes.

  In the projected capacitive touch panel, an upper electrode layer having a plurality of column electrodes and a lower electrode layer having a plurality of column electrodes cross an extending direction of the upper column electrode and the lower column electrode through an insulating layer. It is the composition which overlapped with. More specifically, the light-transmitting support is an insulating layer, an upper electrode layer is provided on one surface of the light-transmitting support, and a lower electrode layer is provided on the other surface. The upper and lower column electrodes intersect. Arrange to do. Alternatively, the upper electrode layer and the lower electrode layer are provided on different light-transmitting supports, and the surface of the upper electrode layer on the light-transmitting support side and the surface of the lower electrode layer on the side having the electrode layer are optical adhesive tapes. By bonding with (OCA), the upper row electrode and the lower row electrode may cross each other. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship between an upper electrode layer and a lower electrode layer, and illustrates a surface of the upper electrode layer 1 on the side of a light-transmitting support and a surface of the lower electrode layer 2 on the side having the electrode layer. The positional relationship in the case of bonding with the optical adhesive tape (OCA) which does not perform is shown. In practice, these are bonded together without gaps via optical adhesive tape (OCA) according to the alignment marks 3 at the four corners. Alternatively, an optical adhesive tape (OCA) may be used as an insulating layer, and the upper electrode layer 1 and the lower electrode layer 2 may be bonded to face each other. The angle at which the column electrode of the upper electrode layer 1 and the column electrode of the lower electrode layer 2 intersect is most preferably 90 degrees, but any angle within the range of 60 degrees or more and 120 degrees or less may be used. May be any angle within the range of 45 degrees or more and 135 degrees or less. FIG. 1 shows an example in which the upper column electrode extends in the x direction and the lower column electrode extends in the y direction. However, the upper column electrode extends in the y direction and the lower column electrode extends in the x direction. It may be a direction.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing an example of the upper electrode layer in the present invention. In FIG. 2, the upper electrode layer 1 has a sensor part 21, a dummy part 22, a peripheral wiring part 23, and a terminal part 24 on the light transmissive support 4. Here, although the sensor part 21 and the dummy part 22 are comprised from the mesh-shaped metal fine wire pattern, in FIG. 2, for the sake of convenience, the mesh shape is not illustrated, and those ranges are represented by temporary outlines a (non-existing lines). Show. Further, FIG. 2 shows that the light-transmitting support 4 is provided by providing a disconnection portion along the temporary outline a (the metal fine line pattern located at the boundary portion between the sensor portion and the dummy portion has the disconnection portion). It is also an example in which the sensor part 21 and the dummy part 22 are formed on the top.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing an example of the lower electrode layer in the present invention. In FIG. 3, the lower electrode layer 2 has a sensor part 31, a dummy part 32, a peripheral wiring part 33, and a terminal part 34 on the light transmissive support 5. Here, although the sensor part 31 and the dummy part 32 are comprised from a mesh-shaped metal fine wire pattern, the mesh shape is not shown in FIG. 3 for convenience, and those ranges are tentative outline b (non-existing line). Is shown. FIG. 3 also shows that the light-transmitting support 5 is provided by providing a disconnection portion along the temporary contour line b (the metal fine line pattern located at the boundary portion between the sensor portion and the dummy portion has the disconnection portion). It is also an example in which the sensor unit 31 and the dummy unit 32 are formed on the top.

  2 described above is electrically connected to the terminal portion 24 through the peripheral wiring portion 23, and the sensor portion 21 is electrically connected to the outside through the terminal portion 24, whereby the sensor portion 21 is electrically connected. Capacitance change sensed with can be captured. On the other hand, the dummy part 22 is formed by providing a disconnection part in the position along the temporary outline a. As described above, all the fine metal wire patterns that are not electrically connected to the terminal portion 24 become dummy portions in the present invention. In the present invention, the peripheral wiring portion 23 and the terminal portion 24 do not need to have a light transmittance particularly when they are arranged in a frame of a display device, for example, so a solid pattern (a pattern having no light transmittance). However, in the case where light transmittance is required by being arranged outside the frame, etc., it may be formed of a mesh-like metal fine line pattern like the sensor unit 21 or the dummy unit 22. Hereinafter, the description of the present invention is continued using the upper electrode layer, but the same applies to the lower electrode layer except that the direction (xy in the drawing) is changed.

  In FIG. 2, the upper electrode layer 1 includes a sensor portion 21 extending in the first direction (x direction in the drawing) in the plane of the light transmissive conductive layer, and a second portion perpendicular to the first direction across the dummy portion 22. In the direction (y direction in the figure). The period P of the sensor unit 21 can be set to an arbitrary length as long as the resolution as a touch sensor is maintained. Further, the width of the sensor unit 21 (the length of the sensor unit 21 in the y direction) can be arbitrarily set within a range that maintains the resolution as a touch sensor, and the shape and width of the dummy unit 22 can be arbitrarily set accordingly. Can be set.

  It is preferable that the sensor unit 21 has a contour shape that periodically repeats the same shape by periodically having a diaphragm portion in the first direction (x direction in the drawing). FIG. 2 shows an example of the present invention (diamond type example) in which the diaphragm portion is provided in the sensor portion 21 at a period L (period L in which the lower row electrodes shown in FIG. 3 are arranged in the X direction). FIG. 4 is an enlarged schematic view for explaining the shape of the diamond type in the present invention. In FIG. 4, the sensor unit 21 extends in the first direction (x direction in the figure), and the width of the sensor unit 21 is not constant but varies depending on the position in the x direction. In the figure, L2 is the narrowest portion, and L1 and L3 are portions where the width continuously changes between the narrowest portion and the widest portion. The width of the narrowest part is W. In the figure, reference numeral 41 denotes a W × L2 portion, which corresponds to the aperture portion in the present invention. Moreover, the part comprised by L1 and L3 which are the other parts in a sensor part is called a diamond part in this invention.

  The size of the aperture portion 41 can be arbitrarily set according to the touch performance. However, when W is too small, the resistance of the sensor is increased, and when it is too large, the overlapping portion with the sensor of the lower electrode layer is not present. Both are unfavorable because they both increase touch performance. The length of the narrowest portion of the sensor portion 21 (the length of the throttle portion 41 in the direction in which the sensor portion extends) L2 can be appropriately determined according to the size of the throttle portion 41 of the lower electrode layer. A preferable W range is 1.0 to 2.0 mm, and a preferable L2 range is 1.5 to 3.0 mm. FIG. 4 shows an enlarged view when W = 1.5 mm and L2 = 2.25 mm.

  In the present invention, when the length (L2 in FIG. 4) of the narrowest portion of the diaphragm portion in the sensor portion is too short, the angle described later (the direction in which the fine wire constituting the metal fine wire pattern and the sensor portion extend) (The angle between the two), the number of fine lines included in the range for measuring the angle is small and the average value of the angles may be biased. It is preferable that the length is as described above. Further, the contour lines of the sensor part (the temporary contour line a in FIG. 2 and the temporary contour line b in FIG. 3) are non-existing boundary lines connecting the broken portions of the thin metal wires separating the sensor part and the dummy part. When the contours of the sensor part in the narrowest part of the sensor part are respectively linear and parallel, the range of the narrowest part of the sensor part of the present invention becomes clear as shown in FIG. . On the other hand, in the present invention, when the contour line of the sensor part is not a straight line or not parallel, the length L2 range of the narrowest part of the sensor part is equal to the width of the sensor part at the narrowest position of the sensor part. The range includes a position having a width up to 1.1 times (note that the range of the narrowest portion may or may not be continuous).

  FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining the measurement range of the angle of the thin line in the present invention. In FIG. 5, (5-a) is a diagram for explaining the fine lines constituting the fine metal line pattern of the aperture portion of the sensor unit. The mesh shape of the sensor unit is a Voronoi figure that is an irregular mesh shape to be described later. In the figure, the aperture portion is indicated by a frame 51. The fine line included in the frame 51 even in a part thereof is defined as a fine line constituting the metal fine line pattern of the aperture part. (5-b) is an enlarged view of the portion of the frame 51 of (5-a). The number of fine lines (including the sides of the polygon) included in the narrowed portion and included in the narrowed portion is included in the narrowed portion. Number) is 87.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the angle of the fine line (angle formed between the fine line constituting the fine metal line pattern and the direction in which the sensor portion extends) in the present invention. The fine line 52 described in FIG. 5 (5-b) will be taken as an example. In FIG. 6, the direction in which the sensor extends is the x direction in the figure. In FIG. 6, a straight line passing through the middle point of the thin line 52 and parallel to the x direction is shown as the auxiliary line 61. In the present invention, the angle formed between the thin wire constituting the metal thin wire pattern and the direction in which the sensor portion as the column electrode extends is expressed in the range of 0 ° to 90 °. In the case of FIG. = Angle e = 63.39 °. Then, by measuring the angles of the 87 thin lines shown in (5-b) of FIG. 5 by such a method and obtaining the average angle C, the average angle was 47.12 °. . Therefore, the average angle C formed between the fine lines constituting the metal fine line pattern in the diaphragm portion of the sensor portion and the direction in which the sensor extends is 47.12 °.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of comparison between the average angle C and the average angle D in the present invention. In FIG. 7, a frame 71 indicates a diaphragm portion having the same fine metal line pattern as that of the frame 51 in FIG. 5, and the number of thin lines constituting the diaphragm portion is 87. As described above, the average angle of the 87 fine lines is 47.12 °. On the other hand, the frame 72 is a frame congruent with the frame 71 and has the same area range as that of the frame 71 at the center of the diamond portion. In the present invention, the average angle D is an average angle formed between the fine metal wire constituting the diamond portion and the direction in which the sensor portion extends, but from any three locations such as the upper portion, middle portion, and lower portion of the diamond portion. If the difference between the maximum and minimum average angles of 30 or more thin lines extracted at random is 5 ° or less, it is assumed that they have the same angle distribution as a whole, and are the same as the aperture part for convenience. The area range can be extracted from the central part of the diamond portion using the specimen as a sample. The measured values in FIG. 7 are an average value of 44.80 ° for the upper 30 pieces, an average value of 44.29 ° for the middle 30 pieces, and an average value of 44.70 ° for the lower 30 pieces. This is an example that can be regarded as having a distribution. As a result of measuring the fine lines included in the frame 72 as well as the fine lines constituting the aperture portion, the number of fine lines was 93 and the average angle was 44.09 °. In this case, D (= 44.09 °) <C (= 47.12 °), and FIG. 7 does not satisfy the requirements of the present invention. In addition, when it cannot be considered that the metal thin wire | line which comprises parts other than the aperture | diaphragm | squeeze part of a sensor part has the same angular distribution as a whole, the average angle D is set to the average angle of all the thin metal wires which comprise a diamond part. And

  FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram for explaining another example of comparison between the average angle C and the average angle D in the present invention. A frame 81 indicates a diaphragm portion, and the number of thin lines constituting the diaphragm portion is 79. The angle formed between the 79 fine lines and the direction in which the sensor portion extends was measured to obtain an average value of 36.69 °. In FIG. 8, when the maximum value and the minimum value of the average value are examined at any three locations in the diamond portion according to the method described above, it can be considered that the fine metal wires constituting the diamond portion have the same angular distribution as a whole. It was. The frame 82 is the same frame as the frame 81, and the frame 82 indicates the same location as the frame 72 of FIG. The number of fine lines composing the frame 82 was 93, and the average angle was 44.09 °. In this case, since D (= 44.09 °)> C (= 36.69 °), FIG. 8 is an example satisfying the requirements of the present invention.

  The reason why the present invention provides a light-transmitting conductive material that does not generate moire and is excellent in light transmittance and touch detection sensitivity is not clear, but is considered as follows. It is considered that it is preferable that the fine lines in the narrowed portion of the sensor portion are oriented in the direction in which the column electrode extends, which leads to a reduction in resistance of the column electrode. On the other hand, since the diamond portion detects a change in capacitance particularly at the boundary portion, it is preferable that there is no orientation because detection without deviation is possible. From this, it is considered necessary that D> C. In the present invention, the angle D is preferably 43 ° to 47 °, particularly preferably 44 ° to 46 °. The angle C is preferably 40 ° or less, but if the angle C is too low, a peculiar pattern may be visually recognized when the upper electrode layer 1 and the lower electrode layer 2 are overlapped, and the range of 30 ° to 40 ° is particularly preferable. preferable. In the prior arts such as Patent Documents 2 to 7 described above, random figures generated under the same conditions are used without distinguishing between the narrowed portion and the diamond portion. For this reason, the angle C and the angle D are substantially equal, and the effect of the present invention cannot be obtained.

  Next, a metal fine line pattern having an irregular mesh shape that constitutes a sensor part and a dummy part preferably used in the present invention will be described. Examples of irregular figures include, for example, figures obtained by irregular geometric shapes represented by Voronoi figures, Delaunay figures, Penrose tile figures, etc. A mesh shape (hereinafter referred to as a Voronoi figure) composed of the Voronoi sides thus obtained is preferably used. By using Voronoi figures, it is possible to obtain a light-transmitting conductive material that can constitute a touch panel with excellent visibility (hard visibility of a fine metal wire pattern). A Voronoi figure is a known figure applied in various fields such as information processing.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining Voronoi figures. As shown in (9-a) of FIG. 9, when a plurality of generating points 911 are arranged on the plane 90, an area 91 (called a Voronoi area) closest to one arbitrary generating point 911, When the plane 90 is divided by dividing the region 91 closest to the other generating point by the boundary line 92, the boundary line 92 of each region 91 is called a Voronoi side. The Voronoi side is a part of the perpendicular bisector of a line segment connecting an arbitrary generating point and the adjacent generating point. A figure created by collecting Voronoi sides is called a Voronoi figure.

  A method for arranging the generating points will be described with reference to (9-b) of FIG. In the present invention, a method in which the plane 90 is divided by polygons and the generating points 911 are irregularly arranged in the division is preferably used. As a method of dividing the plane 90, the plane 90 is filled with a single shape or a plurality of polygons of two or more shapes (hereinafter referred to as original polygons), and the center of gravity of the original polygon and each of the original polygons are filled. A method for creating an enlarged / reduced polygon by connecting positions of arbitrary percentages of the distances of the vertices of the original polygon from the center of gravity on a straight line or extension line connecting the vertices, and dividing the plane 90 by the enlarged / reduced polygon Is preferred. After dividing the plane 90 in this way, one generating point is randomly arranged in the enlargement / reduction polygon. In (9-b) of FIG. 9, the plane 90 is filled with a square original polygon 93, and then the center 94 of the straight line connecting the center 94 of the original polygon and each vertex of the original polygon. A reduced polygon 95 formed by connecting 80% positions from the original polygon to each vertex of the original polygon is created, and one generation point 911 is irregularly arranged in the reduced polygon 95.

  In the present invention, in order to prevent “grainy”, it is preferable that the original polygon 93 having a single shape and size as shown in (9-b) of FIG. Note that “grainy” is a phenomenon in which irregularly shaped parts have a high density part and a low density part. The ratio of the position from the center of gravity to each vertex of the original polygon on the straight line or extension line connecting the center of gravity of the original polygon of the enlargement / reduction polygon and each vertex of the original polygon is 10 to 300%. The range of is preferable. If it exceeds 300%, a grainy phenomenon may appear, and if it is less than 10%, high regularity remains in the Voronoi figure, and moire may occur when it is superimposed on a liquid crystal display.

  The shape of the original polygon 93 is preferably a square such as a square, a rectangle, or a rhombus, a triangle, or a hexagon. Among these, a rectangle is preferable from the viewpoint of preventing the grain phenomenon. The length of one side of the original polygon is preferably 100 to 2000 μm, more preferably 120 to 800 μm. In addition, it is preferable that the line | wire width of the metal fine wire pattern which the sensor part 21 and the dummy part 22 have is 1-20 micrometers from a viewpoint of making electroconductivity and light transmittance compatible, More preferably, it is 2-7 micrometers.

  An example of a method for creating a fine metal wire pattern included in the light transmissive conductive material of the present invention will be described. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining a method of creating the graphic shown in FIG. 10, the x-direction portion (X11 to X16) including L2 in FIG. 8 is reduced by 2/3 times in the x-direction. In the state before the reduction, the plane was filled with 16 × 16 squares (original polygons). In FIG. 10, since the position (X11 to X16) corresponding to the aperture portion is reduced by 2/3 times in the x direction, the original polygon in that portion is compressed in the x direction and transformed from a square to a rectangle. Yes. Next, a reduced polygon is created by connecting 80% positions from the center of gravity of the original polygon to each vertex of the original polygon (not shown), and the mother point is irregularly formed in the reduced polygon. Each one is arranged. A Voronoi figure is drawn from the mother points arranged in this way. And the Voronoi figure of the part (X11-X16) reduced by 2/3 times in the x direction is enlarged 3/2 times in the x direction. The figure thus obtained is shown in FIG. In FIG. 11, the aperture portion (L2) of the sensor unit has returned to its original size. In FIG. 11, similarly to FIG. 8, the frame 81 and the frame 82 are congruent frames. The reduction and enlargement magnifications described above may be any combination as long as they are multiplied to the original size (1 time), but the reduction magnification is 1/3 to 9/10 and the enlargement magnification is 10/9 to 3 Is preferable for obtaining the angle range of the present invention.

  FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram for explaining the correction of the boundary portion. A straight line 121 shown in (12-a) and (12-b) in FIG. 12 is a boundary between X10 and X11 in FIG. 11, and after reduction and enlargement in the x direction in the above-described procedure, It shows the state of the boundary. The thin line 122 and the thin line 123 were straight line segments (not shown) before being enlarged 3/2 times (not shown), but the right side of the straight line 121 in the x direction is 3 / Since it has been enlarged twice, it is a thin line formed by two line segments and bent at the straight line 121 (12-a). The bent thin line is corrected to one original line segment. The fine line after correction is indicated by a fine line 126 in (12-b). The thin line 126 connects the points 124 and 125 corresponding to the start point and end point of the line segment after being enlarged by 3/2 by a straight line. Similarly, the boundary portion between X16 and X01 can be corrected to obtain the figure of the present invention shown in FIG.

  As described above with reference to FIG. 2, there is no electrical connection between the sensor unit and the dummy unit. The dummy portion 22 is formed by providing the disconnection portion at a position along the temporary outline a. Furthermore, in addition to the position along the temporary contour line a, a plurality of disconnected portions may be provided at a position in the dummy portion. It is preferable that the length in which the fine metal wire of the disconnection part is interrupted is 3 to 100 μm, and more preferably 5 to 20 μm.

  In the present invention, the sensor portion 21 and the dummy portion 22 are formed by a mesh-like fine metal wire pattern. Such metal is preferably made of gold, silver, copper, nickel, aluminum, and a composite material thereof. In addition, it is preferable from the viewpoint of production efficiency that the peripheral wiring part 23 and the terminal part 24 are also formed of a metal fine line pattern formed of a metal having the same composition as the sensor part 21 and the dummy part 22. As a method of forming these fine metal wire patterns, a method using a silver salt photosensitive material, a method of applying electroless plating or electrolytic plating to a silver image obtained by using the same method, a silver paste using a screen printing method, copper A method for printing conductive ink such as paste, a method for printing conductive ink such as silver ink and copper ink by the ink jet method, or forming a conductive layer by vapor deposition or sputtering, and forming a resist film on it. , Exposure, development, etching, a method obtained by removing a resist layer, a metal foil such as a copper foil is attached, a resist film is further formed thereon, exposure, development, etching, a method obtained by removing the resist layer, etc. A known method can be used. Among them, it is preferable to use a silver salt diffusion transfer method that can reduce the thickness of the manufactured fine metal wire pattern and can easily form an extremely fine metal fine wire pattern.

  If the thickness of the fine metal wire pattern produced by the method described above is too thick, subsequent processes (for example, bonding with other members) may be difficult, and if it is too thin, the necessary conductivity as a touch panel is secured. It becomes difficult. Therefore, the thickness is preferably 0.01 to 5 μm, more preferably 0.05 to 1 μm.

In the light transmissive conductive material of the present invention, the total light transmittance of the sensor portion 21 and the dummy portion 22 is preferably 80% or more, more preferably 85% or more, and even more preferably 90% or more. Further, the total light transmittance between the sensor unit 21 and the dummy unit 22 is preferably such that the difference is within 0.5%, more preferably within 0.1%, and even more preferably the same. . The haze value of the sensor unit 21 and the dummy unit 22 is preferably 2 or less. Further, the b ^* value representing the hue of the sensor unit 11 and the dummy unit 12 is preferably 2 or less, and more preferably 1 or less.

  Examples of the light transmissive support of the light transmissive conductive material of the present invention include glass or polyester resins such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), acrylic resins, epoxy resins, fluororesins, silicone resins, Known optically transparent supports such as polycarbonate resin, diacetate resin, triacetate resin, polyarylate resin, polyvinyl chloride, polysulfone resin, polyether sulfone resin, polyimide resin, polyamide resin, polyolefin resin, cyclic polyolefin resin, etc. The body is illustrated. Here, the light transmittance means that the total light transmittance is 60% or more, and the total light transmittance is more preferably 80% or more. The thickness of the light transmissive support is preferably 50 μm to 5 mm. The light-transmitting support may have a known layer such as a fingerprint antifouling layer, a hard coat layer, an antireflection layer, or an antiglare layer.

  In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, when the upper electrode layer 1 and the lower electrode layer 2 are bonded to each other with an optical adhesive tape (OCA), or the electrode layers are bonded to each other. Examples of the OCA pressure-sensitive adhesive used when facing the structure (a structure in which OCA is disposed as an insulating layer) include, for example, a rubber-based pressure-sensitive adhesive, an acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesive, a silicone-based pressure-sensitive adhesive, and a urethane-based pressure-sensitive adhesive. For example, a resin composition that is light-transmitting after bonding can be preferably used.

  EXAMPLES Hereinafter, although this invention is demonstrated in detail using an Example, this invention is not limited to a following example, unless the summary is exceeded.

<Light transmissive conductive material 1>
As the light transmissive support, a polyethylene terephthalate film having a thickness of 100 μm and a total light transmittance of 92% was used.

  Next, according to the following prescription, a physical development nucleus layer coating solution was prepared, applied onto the light transmissive support, and dried to provide a physical development nucleus layer.

<Preparation of palladium sulfide sol>
Liquid A Palladium chloride 5g
Hydrochloric acid 40ml
1000ml distilled water
B liquid sodium sulfide 8.6g
1000ml distilled water
Liquid A and liquid B were mixed with stirring, and 30 minutes later, the solution was passed through a column filled with an ion exchange resin to obtain a palladium sulfide sol.

<Preparation of coating solution for physical development nucleus layer> Amount of silver salt photosensitive material per 1 m ^{2 The} palladium sulfide sol (as solid content) 0.4 mg
2% by weight glyoxal aqueous solution 200mg
Surfactant (S-1) 4mg
Denacol (registered trademark) EX-830 25mg
(Polyethylene glycol diglycidyl ether manufactured by Nagase ChemteX Corporation)
10% by mass Epomin (registered trademark) HM-2000 aqueous solution 500 mg
(Nippon Shokubai Polyethyleneimine; average molecular weight 30,000)

  Subsequently, an intermediate layer, a silver halide emulsion layer, and a protective layer having the following composition are coated on the physical development nucleus solution layer in order from the side closest to the light-transmitting support and dried to obtain a silver salt photosensitive material. It was. The silver halide emulsion was prepared by a general double jet mixing method for photographic silver halide emulsions. This silver halide emulsion was prepared with 95 mol% of silver chloride and 5 mol% of silver bromide, and an average grain size of 0.15 μm. The silver halide emulsion thus obtained was subjected to gold sulfur sensitization using sodium thiosulfate and chloroauric acid according to a conventional method. The silver halide emulsion thus obtained contains 0.5 g of gelatin per gram of silver.

<Interlayer composition> Amount of silver salt photosensitive material per 1 m ² Gelatin 0.5 g
Surfactant (S-1) 5mg
Dye 1 50mg

<Composition of silver halide emulsion layer 1> Amount of silver salt photosensitive material per 1 m ² Gelatin 0.5 g
Silver halide emulsion 3.0g Silver equivalent 1-Phenyl-5-mercaptotetrazole 3mg
Surfactant (S-1) 20mg

<Composition of protective layer 1> Amount of silver salt photosensitive material per 1 m ² Gelatin 1 g
Amorphous silica matting agent (average particle size 3.5μm) 10mg
Surfactant (S-1) 10mg

  A transparent original having the pattern image of FIG. 2 was brought into close contact with the silver salt light-sensitive material thus obtained, and exposed through a resin filter that cut light of 400 nm or less with a contact printer using a mercury lamp as a light source. In the transparent document, ten sensor portions 21 extending in the x direction in the figure are arranged in a cycle of 6.0 mm in the y direction perpendicular to the x direction with the dummy portion 22 interposed therebetween. A diamond portion and a diaphragm portion are provided in the x direction with a period of 6.0 mm.

  In the transparent original, the Voronoi figure shown in FIG. 7 was used as the thin metal line pattern of the sensor unit 21 and the dummy unit 22. In order to obtain such Voronoi figures, first, a square with a side length of 375 μm is filled as the original polygon, and then the plane is filled, and then 80% of the length from the center of gravity of the original polygon to each vertex is connected. The reduced polygons that can be produced by the above are created, and one generating point is irregularly arranged in each reduced polygon. A Voronoi figure was drawn based on the mother points arranged in this way. The line width of the Voronoi figure is 5 μm, and a disconnection part having a width of 20 μm is provided at the boundary between the sensor part 21 and the dummy part 22. The line width of the peripheral wiring 23 is 50 μm.

  Then, after immersing in the following diffusion transfer developer at 20 ° C. for 60 seconds, the silver halide emulsion layer, the intermediate layer, and the protective layer were subsequently removed by washing with warm water at 40 ° C., dried, and the upper electrode layer As a result, a light-transmitting conductive material 1 having a metallic silver image was obtained. The metal silver image of the light transmissive conductive layer of the obtained light transmissive conductive material, including other light transmissive conductive materials shown below, has the same shape and line width as the image pattern of the used transmissive original. there were. The average angle C of the fine wire in the aperture portion is 47.12 °, the average angle D of the fine wire in the diamond portion is 44.09 °, and the light-transmitting conductive layer satisfies the relationship of D> C, which is a requirement of the present invention. Absent.

<Diffusion transfer developer composition>
Potassium hydroxide 25g
Hydroquinone 18g
1-phenyl-3-pyrazolidone 2g
Potassium sulfite 80g
N-methylethanolamine 15g
Potassium bromide 1.2g
The total amount was adjusted to 1000 ml with water and pH = 12.2.

<Light transmissive conductive material 2>
When the transparent original having the pattern image of FIG. 2 used to obtain the light transmissive conductive material 1 is prepared, the Voronoi figure shown in FIG. 8 is used as the metal thin line pattern of the sensor unit 21 and the dummy unit 22. A transparent manuscript was obtained in the same manner except that. In order to obtain such a Voronoi figure, first, a square having a side length of 375 μm is filled as an original polygon to fill the plane, and the original polygon at a position corresponding to the aperture portion of the sensor unit 21 in FIG. Reduced by 3 times. Next, with respect to the original polygon and the original polygon reduced by 2/3 times in the x direction, a reduced polygon formed by connecting a position of 80% with respect to the length from the center of gravity of each of the original polygons to each vertex. Each of the generating points is irregularly arranged in the reduced polygon. A Voronoi figure was drawn based on the mother points arranged in this way, and the Voronoi figure of the portion previously reduced by 2/3 times was enlarged 3/2 times in the x direction. A light-transmitting conductive material 2 was obtained in the same manner except that such a transparent original was used. In the light transmissive conductive material 2, the average angle C of the narrow line in the aperture portion is 36.69 °, and the average angle D of the fine line in the diamond portion is 44.09 °, and the light transmissive conductive layer is a requirement of the present invention. A certain D> C relationship is satisfied.

<Light transmissive conductive material 3>
In creating a transparent original having the pattern image of FIG. 2 used to obtain the light transmissive conductive material 2, X11 in the graphic creating method of FIG. 8 is used as the metal fine line pattern of the sensor unit 21 and the dummy unit 22. In the same manner except that the figure obtained by changing the x-direction original polygon reduction magnification of the X16 portion to 1/3 and then changing the x-direction enlargement magnification of the Voronoi figure to 3 times is used. Material 3 was obtained. The average angle C of the fine wire in the aperture portion is 25.67 °, the average angle D of the fine wire in the diamond portion is 44.09 °, and the light-transmitting conductive layer satisfies the relationship of D> C, which is a requirement of the present invention. .

<Light transmissive conductive material 4>
In producing a transparent original having the pattern image of FIG. 2 used to obtain the light transmissive conductive material 2, the light transmissive conductive material 4 is obtained in the same manner except that the Voronoi figure shown in FIG. 13 is used. It was. In the light transmissive conductive material 4, the average angle C of the narrow line in the aperture portion is 45.19 °, and the average angle D of the fine line in the diamond portion is 44.09 °, and the light transmissive conductive layer is a requirement of the present invention. A certain D> C relationship is not satisfied. The Voronoi figure shown in FIG.
First, fill a plane with a square with a side length of 300 μm as the original polygon, and then create a reduced polygon that connects 80% of the length from the center of gravity of each of the original polygons to each vertex. Then, one generation point is irregularly arranged in the reduced polygon. It was obtained by drawing a Voronoi figure based on the generating points arranged in this way.

<Light transmissive conductive material 5>
The pattern of the transparent original is changed from FIG. 2 to FIG. 3, and the drawing is performed again from the generation of irregular points in the creation of the Voronoi figure shown in FIG. 7 as the metal thin line pattern of the sensor unit 31 and the dummy unit 32. Used Voronoi figures. Specifically, first, a square having a side length of 375 μm is filled as an original polygon, and then the plane is filled. Next, 80% of the length from the center of gravity of the original polygon to each vertex can be connected. Reduced polygons were created, and one generation point was irregularly arranged in each reduced polygon. A Voronoi figure was drawn based on the mother points arranged in this way. The x direction and the y direction of the Voronoi figure (an image pattern in a range corresponding to the “width portion of one diamond portion combined with one aperture portion in the x direction” × “the full width in the y direction”) are interchanged, and FIG. A transparent conductive material 5 having a metallic silver image as a lower electrode layer was obtained in the same manner except that a transparent original produced by repeatedly pasting with a period L in the x direction and a period P in the y direction was used. . In the transparent original, ten sensor portions 31 extending in the y direction in the figure are arranged in a cycle of 6.0 mm in the x direction perpendicular to the y direction with the dummy portion 32 interposed therebetween. A diamond portion and a diaphragm portion are provided in the y direction at a period of 6.0 mm. The average angle C of the fine wire in the aperture portion is 44.87 °, the average angle D of the fine wire in the diamond portion is 44.75 °, and the light-transmitting conductive layer satisfies the relationship of D> C, which is a requirement of the present invention. Absent.

<Light transmissive conductive material 6>
In creating the transparent original having the image of the pattern of FIG. 3 used when obtaining the light transmissive conductive material 5, the metal thin line pattern of the sensor unit 31 and the dummy unit 32 is used in the creation of the graphic shown in FIG. 8. The figure redrawn from the place where the generating point is generated irregularly was used. Specifically, first, a square having a side length of 375 μm is filled as the original polygon to fill the plane, and the original polygon at a position corresponding to the aperture portion of the sensor unit 21 in FIG. 2 is multiplied by 2/3 times in the x direction. Reduced at Next, with respect to the original polygon and the original polygon reduced by 2/3 times in the x direction, a reduced polygon formed by connecting a position of 80% with respect to the length from the center of gravity of each of the original polygons to each vertex. Each of the generating points is irregularly arranged in the reduced polygon. A Voronoi figure was drawn based on the mother points arranged in this way, and the Voronoi figure of the portion previously reduced by 2/3 times was enlarged 3/2 times in the x direction. The x direction and the y direction of the figure (an image pattern in a range corresponding to a “width portion of one diamond portion and one aperture portion combined in the x direction” × “full width in the y direction”) are interchanged, and FIG. A light-transmitting conductive material 6 having a metallic silver image as a lower electrode layer was obtained in the same manner except that a transparent original produced by repeatedly pasting with a period L in the middle x direction and a period P in the y direction was used. In the transparent original, ten sensor portions 31 extending in the y direction in the figure are arranged in a cycle of 6.0 mm in the x direction perpendicular to the y direction with the dummy portion 32 interposed therebetween. A diamond portion and a diaphragm portion are provided in the y direction at a period of 6.0 mm. The average angle C of the fine wire in the aperture portion is 35.46 °, the average angle D of the fine wire in the diamond portion is 44.75 °, and the light-transmitting conductive layer satisfies the relationship of D> C, which is a requirement of the present invention. .

<Light transmissive conductive material 7>
In creating the transparent original having the pattern image of FIG. 3 used when obtaining the light transmissive conductive material 5, as the metal thin line pattern of the sensor unit 31 and the dummy unit 32, the figure shown in FIG. The figure obtained by changing the x-direction original polygon reduction magnification of the X11 to X16 portions in FIG. 10 to 1/3, and then changing the x-direction enlargement magnification of the Voronoi figure to 3 times (“one in the x direction” The x-direction and the y-direction of the portion of the width of the diamond portion combined with one aperture portion "×" image pattern in the range of the full width in the y-direction "are interchanged, and the period L in the x-direction and the period P in the y-direction in FIG. A light-transmitting conductive material 7 having a metal silver image as a lower electrode layer was obtained in the same manner except that a transparent original prepared by repeatedly pasting in step 1 was used. In the transparent original, ten sensor portions 31 extending in the y direction in the figure are arranged in a cycle of 6.0 mm in the x direction perpendicular to the y direction with the dummy portion 32 interposed therebetween. A diamond portion and a diaphragm portion are provided in the y direction at a period of 6.0 mm. The average angle C of the fine lines in the aperture portion was 24.81 °, and the average angle D of the fine lines in the diamond portion was 44.75 °. The light transmissive conductive layer satisfies the relationship of D> C, which is a requirement of the present invention.

<Light transmissive conductive material 8>
When creating a transparent original having the pattern image of FIG. 3 used to obtain the light transmissive conductive material 5, the Voronoi figure shown in FIG. 13 is created as the metal thin line pattern of the sensor unit 31 and the dummy unit 32. The Voronoi figure redrawn from where the generating points are randomly generated was used. Specifically, first, a square having a side length of 300 μm is filled as an original polygon, and then the plane is filled. Next, 80% of the length from the center of gravity of the original polygon to each vertex can be connected. Reduced polygons were created, and one generation point was irregularly arranged in each reduced polygon. It was obtained by drawing a Voronoi figure based on the generating points arranged in this way. The x direction and the y direction of the Voronoi figure (an image pattern in the range corresponding to “part of X01 to X20 in the x direction” × “part of Y01 to Y20 in the y direction”) are interchanged, and the x direction in FIG. A light-transmitting conductive material 8 having a metallic silver image as a lower electrode layer was obtained in the same manner except that a transparent original prepared by repeatedly affixing with a period L and a period P in the y direction was used. In the transparent original, ten sensor portions 31 extending in the y direction in the figure are arranged in a cycle of 6.0 mm in the x direction perpendicular to the y direction with the dummy portion 32 interposed therebetween. A diamond portion and a diaphragm portion are provided in the y direction at a period of 6.0 mm. The average angle C of the fine wires in the narrowed portion was 46.98 °, and the average angle D of the fine wires in the diamond portion was 46.40 °. The light-transmitting conductive layer does not satisfy the relationship of D> C, which is a requirement of the present invention.

<Production of touch panel>
The obtained light-transmitting conductive materials 1 to 8 and a 2 mm thick chemically strengthened glass plate were coated with an optical adhesive tape (MHN-FWD100, NEIEI KAKO Co., Ltd.) with the metal silver image surface of each light-transmitting conductive material facing the glass plate side. Manufactured, hereinafter simply abbreviated as OCA), with the alignment marks (+ marks) at the four corners matching, and the bonding order is glass plate / OCA / light transmissive conductive material 1-4 / OCA / light transmissive conductivity. It bonded by the combination of Table 1 so that it might become the materials 5-8, and produced the touchscreens 1-4.

  The obtained touch panels 1 to 4 were evaluated according to the following procedures.

<Visibility>
The obtained touch panel is placed on an AOC I2267FWH 21.5 type wide liquid crystal monitor displaying a white image on the entire surface, x for clearly showing moire or unevenness, Δ for slightly understanding, and practically understood. Those with no problem were marked with △ ○, and those without any problem were marked with ○.

<Touch detection sensitivity>
The obtained touch panel was connected to a projected capacitive control board and touched with a finger to confirm operability. Response time is slow and there is a problem with operability ×, response speed is slightly slow and there is some problem with operability, △, response speed is slow but there is almost no problem with operability △ ○, response A circle with a high speed and no operability was marked with a circle.

<Total light transmittance>
The total light transmittance of the obtained touch panel was measured using a haze meter HZ-V3 (manufactured by Suga Test Instruments Co., Ltd.).

  The results are shown in Table 1. The touch panel 2 which is a combination of the light-transmitting conductive materials of the present invention was a good result with high transmittance and excellent touch detection sensitivity. The touch panel 1, which is a combination of the light-transmissive conductive materials of the comparative example, has the same transmittance as the touch panel 2, but the touch detection sensitivity is inferior. The touch panel 3 which is a combination of the light-transmitting conductive materials of the present invention in which the average angle C of the fine lines constituting the fine metal line pattern of the aperture part of the sensor part is less than 30 ° is slightly within a range where there is no practical problem in visibility. The results were high in transmittance and excellent in touch detection sensitivity. On the other hand, the touch panel 4 which is a combination of the light transmissive conductive materials of the comparative example manufactured from a small original polygon has no problem in touch detection sensitivity like the touch panel 2, but the transmittance is less than 87%, which is a low result. It was. From the above results, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a light-transmitting conductive material that is excellent in visibility without causing moiré even when stacked on a liquid crystal display, and that has excellent touch detection sensitivity without reducing transmittance. It can be seen that C is particularly preferably 30 ° to 40 °.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Upper electrode layer 2 Lower electrode layer 4, 5 Light-transmissive support body 21, 31 Sensor part 22, 32 Dummy part 23, 33 Peripheral wiring part 24, 34 Terminal part 41 Aperture part 51, 71, 72, 81, 82, 131, 132 Frame a, b Temporary contour line

Claims (2)

  On the light transmissive support, a sensor unit connected to the terminal unit through the peripheral wiring unit and a dummy unit not electrically connected to the terminal unit, the sensor unit and the dummy unit being irregular A fine line-shaped metal fine line pattern, and the sensor unit is a column electrode having a narrowed portion with a constant period L, the fine line constituting the thin metal line pattern in the narrowed portion of the sensor unit, and The average angle formed between the direction in which the sensor part extends is C, and the average angle formed between the fine lines constituting the metal fine line pattern in the part other than the diaphragm part of the sensor part and the direction in which the sensor part extends is D. A light-transmitting conductive material satisfying a relationship of D> C.   The light transmissive conductive material according to claim 1, wherein the average angle C is 30 ° to 40 °.