JP4087738B2 - Optical touch panel - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an optical touch panel that allows a predetermined command to be executed while viewing instruction input information displayed on a display panel, and more specifically, does not allow water droplets or dust to enter from the inner bottom of a recess in which an input operation area is formed. The present invention relates to an optical touch panel.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, an optical touch panel in which an optical touch panel is laminated on a display panel constituted by a CRT or a liquid crystal display device is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Information for inputting various instructions is displayed on the display panel, and the operator inputs the corresponding position while viewing these displays in the input operation area of the optical touch panel.
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 7-82419 (2nd page, Fig. 1)
[0004]
Hereinafter, this type of conventional optical touch panel 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 5. The optical touch panel 100 includes a liquid crystal display panel 102 and a liquid crystal display panel 102 in a bezel 101 in which a recess 105 opening upward is formed. A transparent glass substrate 103 that protects the surface is laminated.
[0005]
The inner bottom of the recess 105 is a display window hole 106 penetrating inward, and the display area of the liquid crystal display panel 102 is disposed below the transparent glass substrate 103 disposed so as to cover the display window hole 106. The The transparent glass substrate 103 protects a pen or a finger inserted into the recess 105 when an instruction is input from directly touching the liquid crystal display panel 102.
[0006]
The liquid crystal display panel 102 displays predetermined instruction input information on the display area by a liquid crystal driver (not shown) according to the application of the instruction input, and the operator displays the instruction input information through the display window hole 106 and the transparent glass substrate 103. Can be confirmed.
[0007]
In the bezel 101 around the recess 105, a plurality of infrared light emitting elements 108 are attached along the inner wall surface of the recess 105, and infrared scanning light emitted from the infrared light emitting elements 108 is input to the recess 105. Light is received by an infrared light receiving element 109 provided for each of the infrared light emitting elements 108 in the bezel 101 at the opposite position across the operation area 105A. Here, the infrared scanning light emitted from the infrared light emitting element 108 is allowed to pass through the concave portion 105, the extraneous light is blocked, and only the infrared scanning light passing through the concave portion 105 is received by the infrared light receiving element 109. As described above, the bezel 101 formed of synthetic resin is formed of an infrared transmitting material.
[0008]
When the operator places a pen or finger at a predetermined instruction input position in the input operation area 105A, the infrared scanning light passing through the instruction input position is blocked. The infrared light emitting element 108 does not receive light at the light emission timing, and the instruction input position to the input operation area 105A is thereby detected.
[0009]
Since the input operation area 105 </ b> A is on the display area of the liquid crystal display panel 102, the operator inputs instructions while viewing the instruction input information of the liquid crystal display panel 102 from the display window hole 106 through the transparent glass substrate 103. be able to.
[0010]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In this conventional optical touch panel 100, as described above, infrared scanning light is passed from the infrared light emitting element 108 in the bezel 101 to the recess 105, and the infrared light receiving element 109 in the bezel 101 is infrared scanned. The bezel 101 is formed of an infrared transmitting material so as to receive only light. On the other hand, the transparent glass substrate 103 for protecting the liquid crystal display panel 102 is transparent such as glass so that the instruction input information can be seen. It was made of material.
[0011]
Therefore, the housing (bezel) 101 and the transparent protective plate (transparent glass substrate) 103 disposed along the inner bottom of the recess 105 of the housing 101 are formed separately, and the inner bottom of the recess 105 The transparent protective plate 103 is bonded by an adhesive 110 or ultrasonic welding, and the transparent protective plate 103 is attached so as to cover the display window hole 106.
[0012]
However, when an instruction input operation is performed by inserting a finger or a pen into the recess 105, the tip of the finger or pen may come into contact with the transparent protective plate 103. If it is not joined to the inner bottom, it may fall off inward or a gap may be formed between it and the inner bottom.
[0013]
In addition, even when bonding by welding or welding is not performed completely on the entire periphery of the display window hole 106, a gap is formed between the inner bottom of the recess 105 and the transparent protective plate 103, and water droplets and dust are introduced into the inside from this gap. It was an intrusion. In particular, in the concave portion 105 facing the outside, such water droplets and dust are likely to accumulate on the inner bottom, which causes a failure of this type of optical touch panel.
[0014]
Further, since the transparent protective plate 103 is formed separately from the casing 101, the number of parts increases and the attachment work by bonding or the like is also required, which causes an increase in cost.
[0015]
The present invention has been made in consideration of such conventional problems, and an object thereof is to provide an optical touch panel in which the transparent protective plate does not fall off from the inner bottom of the recess.
[0016]
It is another object of the present invention to provide an optical touch panel that has no gap between the casing and the transparent protective plate and can be completely waterproof and dust-proof.
[0017]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
[0018]
[0019]
[0020]
[0021]
[0022]
[0023]
[0024]
The optical touch panel according to claim 1 is disposed at a predetermined interval in a casing having a display window hole formed in an inner bottom of a recess serving as an input operation area, and in a casing along the inner wall surface of the recess. A plurality of light emitting means for emitting infrared scanning light to each other, each of which is disposed at a portion of the housing facing the paired light emitting means with the recess interposed therebetween, and receives the infrared scanning light of the paired light emitting means. A plurality of light receiving means, a transparent protective plate that is arranged along the inner bottom of the recess so as to cover the display window hole, and an inner side of the transparent protective plate that can be viewed from the outside through the display window hole A display panel that displays various instruction input information, and because the instruction input to the instruction input information blocks infrared scanning light in the input operation area, this is an optical touch panel that detects the instruction input position in the input operation area. And
The casing is formed of a transparent synthetic resin material integrally with a transparent protective plate that covers the display window hole, and the surface of the casing and the transparent protective plate is in-mold formed when the casing and the transparent protective plate are integrally molded. The ink film is covered with an ink film composed of an infrared transmitting ink, a light-shielding ink, and a hard coat ink. The light-shielding ink is characterized in that the hard coat ink of the ink film is adhered to the surface of the transparent protective plate.
[0025]
Since the transparent protective plate that covers the display window hole formed on the inner bottom of the concave portion of the casing is molded integrally with the casing, the transparent protective plate is firmly held, and between the inner bottom of the concave portion and the transparent protective plate There are no gaps, and water drops and dust do not enter from the outside.
[0026]
Since the transparent protective plate is molded from a transparent synthetic resin, the display area of the display panel can be visually observed from the input operation area through the transparent protective plate. Since it is attached, even if a finger or the like comes into contact with an instruction input, the surface is hardly damaged and the aesthetics are not impaired.
[0027]
When the casing and the transparent protective plate are integrally formed on the surface of the inner wall of the recess of the casing, the infrared transmission ink is simultaneously attached, so that the infrared scanning light is passed from the light emitting means to the recess, and the infrared is transmitted from the recess to the infrared. The scanning light reaches the light receiving means in the housing.
[0028]
When the casing and the transparent protective plate are integrally formed on the surface of the casing excluding the inner wall surface of the concave portion, since the light shielding ink is simultaneously attached, extraneous light other than infrared rays is blocked and does not reach the light receiving means.
[0029]
[0030]
[0031]
[0032]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an optical touch panel 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The optical touch panel 1 according to the present embodiment is used as an input device of an automatic cash drawer provided in a bank, and the entire optical touch panel 1 is attached along the operation surface of the automatic cash drawer.
[0033]
The optical touch panel 1 includes a liquid crystal display panel 4, a plurality of pairs of infrared light emitting elements 7 and infrared light receiving elements 8, which are accommodated in a bezel 3 that is a synthetic resin casing.
[0034]
The bezel 3 is formed in a hollow rectangular parallelepiped shape that is attached along the surface to be the decorative panel 2 of the automatic cash drawer, and is screwed to the decorative panel 2 with screws that penetrate the flange portion 3a from the inside as shown in FIG. Is done.
[0035]
The upper plate of the bezel 3 is provided with a rectangular recess 9 whose inside is the input operation area 10. The inner bottom of the recess 9 is opened by forming a display window hole. The display window hole is covered with a transparent protective plate 5 integrated with the inner bottom of the bezel 3.
[0036]
The transparent protective plate 5 is integrally formed when the bezel 3 is molded as a part of the bezel 3, and the transparent protective plate 5 needs to be transparent so that the instruction input information 11 of the liquid crystal display panel 4 can be visually observed. Therefore, here, the bezel 3 and the transparent protective plate 5 are molded using a transparent synthetic resin material such as acrylic or polycarbonate.
[0037]
The liquid crystal display panel 4 is positioned in the bezel 3 so that the display area is positioned below the transparent protective plate 5 so that the display area of the liquid crystal display panel 4 can be viewed from the input operation area 10 through the transparent protective plate 5. It has become.
[0038]
The liquid crystal display panel 4 can display arbitrary instruction input information 11 for inputting an instruction at an arbitrary position in the display area, and these display controls are performed by a liquid crystal driver (not shown).
[0039]
Here, since the optical touch panel 1 is used for an automatic cash withdrawal machine of a bank, as shown in FIG. 1, instruction input information 11 such as a display for guiding an operation method, a deposit of cash, a display for withdrawal, and the like are displayed. .
[0040]
The plurality of infrared light-emitting elements 7 and infrared light-receiving elements 8 are mounted on a sub-board 15 that is horizontally disposed within the bezel 3 around the recess 9 (input operation area 10). As shown in FIG. The infrared light emitting elements 7 are attached so as to emit infrared scanning light toward the concave portions 9 at equal intervals inward along the orthogonal X and Y directions around the input operation region 10. In addition, the infrared light receiving element 8 paired with each infrared light emitting element 7 is arranged with the light receiving surface facing the concave portion 9 at a portion facing the pair of infrared light emitting elements 7 across the input operation region 10. .
[0041]
The entire inner wall surface 9 </ b> A of the bezel 3 and the outer surface 3 </ b> A are coated with an infrared transmission coating 12 that serves as an infrared transmission layer, whereby infrared scanning light emitted from the infrared light emitting element 7 is input. While passing through the operation region 10 and reaching the paired infrared light receiving element 8, extraneous light other than infrared light is blocked by the infrared transmitting paint 12. Therefore, the infrared light receiving element 8 does not erroneously recognize natural light other than infrared rays or fluorescent lamps as infrared scanning light.
[0042]
When the infrared light emitting elements 7 of the optical touch panel 1 configured as described above are sequentially controlled to emit light at a predetermined scanning timing, a mesh-like scanning optical path indicated by a one-dot chain line in FIG. The When an operator inputs an instruction within the input operation area 10 with a pen or a finger, infrared scanning light in the X and Y directions passing through the instruction input position is blocked.
[0043]
As a result, the infrared light receiving element 8 on the optical path does not receive the infrared scanning light at the light emission timing of the paired infrared light emitting elements 7, thereby detecting the X and Y coordinates indicating the instruction input position. Is done.
[0044]
In the input operation area 10, an instruction input area 13 (indicated by a broken line in the figure) associated with a predetermined command for the automatic cash drawer is virtually set as necessary. The instruction input area 13 is completely surrounded by an outline represented by X and Y coordinates in the input operation area 10 on the display position of the instruction input information 11 representing the instruction.
[0045]
Accordingly, the operator inserts a finger or a pen into the input operation area 10 above the instruction input information 11 displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 4 through the transparent protective plate 5 from above, and A predetermined instruction can be executed.
[0046]
In the first embodiment described above, the infrared transmitting coating 12 is applied and the infrared transmitting layer is attached to the inner wall surface 9A of the bezel 3 and the entire surface 3A facing outward. A transmissive ink film may be formed in-mold to form an infrared transmissive layer.
[0047]
That is, an infrared transmitting ink film in which an infrared transmitting ink is attached to a film in advance is placed in a mold for forming the bezel 3 along a portion corresponding to the inner wall surface 9A and the surface 3A, and the bezel 3 And the transparent protective plate 5 are molded in-mold.
[0048]
Thereby, the infrared transmitting layer can be attached to the surface of the bezel 3 at the same time in the step of integrally forming the bezel 3 and the transparent protective plate 5.
[0049]
FIG. 3 shows a third embodiment in which an ink film in which a light-shielding ink and a hard coat ink are attached in addition to the infrared transmitting ink is molded in-mold when the bezel 3 and the transparent protective plate 5 are integrally formed. The optical touch panel 20 is shown. In the figure, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.
[0050]
The infrared transmitting ink 22 is applied to the inner wall surface 9A of the bezel 3, the light-shielding ink 23 is applied to the outer surface 3A, and the hard coat ink 24 is applied to the surface 5A of the transparent protective plate 5 so as to be applied separately on the ink film. The ink film is disposed in a mold for forming the bezel 3 and the transparent protective plate 5 so that each of the inks 22, 23, and 24 is along the forming surface for forming the corresponding surfaces 9A, 3A, and 5A.
[0051]
As a result, when the bezel 3 and the transparent protective plate 5 are integrally formed, the ink film is molded in-mold, and as shown in FIG. 3, the infrared transmitting ink 22 is applied to the inner wall surface 9 </ b> A of the bezel 3 and the surface 3 </ b> A of the bezel 3. The light-shielding ink 23 and the hard coat ink 24 are integrally attached to the surface 5 A of the transparent protective plate 5.
[0052]
Therefore, the infrared scanning light emitted from the infrared light emitting element 7 passes through the infrared transmitting ink 22 adhering to the inner wall surface 9A of the bezel 3 and reaches the infrared light receiving element 8, and extraneous light other than infrared light. Is blocked by the light shielding ink 23 attached to the surface 3A of the bezel 3 facing outward, and does not reach the infrared light receiving element 8, and there is no fear of malfunction due to saturation of the amount of received light.
[0053]
The transparent protective plate 5 is formed of a relatively soft material such as acrylic so as to be a transparent material. However, since the hard coat ink 24 is attached to the surface 5A, a pen or a finger is applied when inputting instructions. Even if it contacts, it is hard to be damaged and the aesthetics of the input operation area | region 10 are not impaired.
[0054]
Thus, according to the present embodiment, the ink corresponding to the characteristics required for each part of the bezel 3 and the transparent protective plate 5 is simultaneously applied to the surface of the corresponding portion in the process of integrally forming the bezel 3 and the transparent protective plate 5. Can be attached.
[0055]
In the second and third embodiments described above, the film serving as the carrier for the infrared transmitting ink may be left as it is after molding or may be peeled off from the ink adhering to the surface.
[0056]
FIG. 4 shows an optical touch panel 30 according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention in which a bezel 31 and a transparent protective plate 32 made of different materials are integrally formed. Also in FIG. 4, the same as the first embodiment is shown. The same number is attached | subjected to the structure.
[0057]
In this optical touch panel 30, a transparent protective plate 32 that requires transparency is molded from a transparent synthetic resin material such as acrylic or polycarbonate, and a bezel 31 that requires infrared transparency is molded from an infrared transmitting material. Both are integrally molded simultaneously using a two-color molding machine.
[0058]
According to the fourth embodiment, the transparent protective plate 32 is firmly fixed to the inner bottom of the bezel 31 by integral molding, and an external device other than infrared rays is used without attaching an infrared transmitting layer to the surface of the bezel 31. It is possible to prevent light from reaching the infrared light receiving element 8.
[0059]
In each of the embodiments described above, the display panel is exemplified by the liquid crystal display panel 4, but may be another display device such as a cathode ray tube or a plasma display as long as the desired instruction input information 11 can be displayed.
[0060]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the transparent protective plate is integrally formed so as to be in close contact with the inner bottom of the concave portion of the housing. There is no gap between the bottom and the transparent protective plate, so that the entry of water droplets and dust can be completely blocked.
[0061]
In addition, when the casing and the transparent protective plate are integrally formed, the infrared transmission layer can be attached to the surface of the casing at the same time.
[0062]
Also, further, it may either be simultaneously form a hard coat layer upon forming the transparent protective plate.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an optical touch panel 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the optical touch panel 1. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of an optical touch panel 20 according to a third embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of an optical touch panel 30 according to a fourth embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional optical touch panel 100. FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
1, 20, 30 Optical touch panel 3, 31 Housing (bezel)
3A Surface 4 Display panel (Liquid crystal display panel)
5, 32 Transparent protective plate 5A Surface of transparent protective plate 7 Light emitting means (infrared light emitting element)
8 Light receiving means (infrared light receiving element)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 9 Recessed part 9A Inner wall surface 10 Input operation area 11 Instruction input information 12 Infrared transmitting layer 22 Infrared transmitting ink 23 Shading ink 24 Hard coat ink

Claims (1)

A housing (3) having a display window hole formed in the inner bottom of the recess (9) to be the input operation area (10);
A plurality of light emitting means (7) disposed at predetermined intervals in the housing (3) along the inner wall surface (9A) of the recess (9) and emitting infrared scanning light to the input operation region (10);
Each of the plurality of light-receiving means (7) is disposed at a position in the housing (3) opposite the pair of light-emitting means (7) with the recess (9) interposed therebetween, and receives a plurality of infrared scanning lights of the pair of light-emitting means (7). A light receiving means (8);
A transparent protective plate (5) disposed along the inner bottom of the recess (9) so as to cover the display window hole;
A display panel (4) disposed on the inner side of the transparent protective plate (5) and displaying instruction input information (11) visible from the outside through the display window hole;
Since the instruction input to the instruction input information (11) blocks infrared scanning light in the input operation area (10), the optical touch panel detects the instruction input position of the input operation area (10),
The casing (3) is formed of a transparent synthetic resin material integrally with a transparent protective plate (5) that covers the display window hole,
The surface (3A, 5A, 9A) of the casing (3) and the transparent protective plate (5) is an infrared transmitting ink (in-molded when the casing (3) and the transparent protective plate (5) are integrally molded) 22), covered with an ink film comprising a light-shielding ink (23) and a hard coat ink (24),
The infrared transmitting ink (22) of the ink film is applied to the inner wall surface (9A) of the recess (9) of the housing (3), and the surface (3A) of the housing (3) excluding the inner wall surface (9A) of the recess (9). An optical touch panel, wherein the light-shielding ink (23) of the ink film is adhered to the surface (5A) of the transparent protective plate (5) and the hard coat ink (24) of the ink film is adhered thereto.

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