JP4195330B2 - Transparent touch panel - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a resistive film type transparent touch panel used for a portable personal computer, a mobile phone, a portable information terminal, and the like, and further relates to a technique for expanding an inputable area of the transparent touch panel.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Transparent touch panels can be broadly classified into digital types and analog types, but analog types capable of handling character input are becoming mainstream. Each of the analog type transparent touch panels has a transparent conductive film on the surface, and electrodes on both ends of the touch panel, the movable side on the touch side and the fixed side on the non-touch side, the transparent conductive film is opposite and the electrode direction is orthogonal It is arranged and laminated so as to. The movable side surface and the fixed side surface are firmly held between the substrates with a double-sided adhesive tape or the like.
[0003]
FIG. 11 is an exploded view of an example of a conventional resistive film type transparent touch panel. As shown in FIG. 11, the transparent touch panel is configured by laminating a movable side surface 110 and a fixed side surface 130 via a spacer 140 made of a double-sided adhesive tape. The thickness of the double-sided pressure-sensitive adhesive tape is usually about 100 μm. The movable side surface 110 receives an input using a finger or an input pen from an operator on the transparent touch panel. Reference numeral 120 denotes a connector portion connected to an internal electrode.
[0004]
The spacer 140 is formed in a continuous frame shape except for a portion where the connector portion 120 is to be mounted and a corner cutout portion 141 on the opposite side, and the movable side surface 110 and the fixed side surface 130 are attached to the peripheral portion thereof. Is done. In the excision portion 141, since no spacer member is interposed, a gap is formed between the movable side surface 110 and the fixed side surface 130, but this acts as an internal air vent hole. When the air vent hole is not required, the cut portion 141 may not be provided.
[0005]
In the gap between the movable side surface 110 and the fixed side surface 130 on the inner side of the spacer 140, dot-shaped spacers 160 are provided at a predetermined interval, and the main surface on the side of the movable side surface 110 that faces the fixed side surface 130. The transparent conductive film 111 is formed on substantially the entire surface. In addition, electrodes 112 are provided on two opposing sides of the transparent conductive film 111. A pair of electrode end portions 114 and 114 for connecting to the pair of connection electrodes 122 and 122 on the connector portion 120 side are formed in the remaining region of the main surface and facing the connector portion 120. The electrode ends 114 and 114 and the electrodes 112 and 112 provided on the two sides of the resistance film 111 are connected by routing circuits 113 and 113.
[0006]
The fixed side surface 130 is provided with a transparent conductive film 131 substantially on the entire main surface on the side facing the movable side surface 110. Electrodes 132 and 132 are formed on the two opposite sides of the transparent conductive film 131 in the direction perpendicular to the opposing direction of the electrodes 112 and 112 formed on the transparent conductive film 111 of the movable side surface 110. Has been. In the remaining area of the main surface, like the movable side surface 110, a pair of electrode end portions 134, 134 connected to the pair of connection electrodes 123, 123 on the connector portion 120 side are formed. , 134 and routing circuits 133, 133 that connect the electrodes 132, 132 provided on the two sides of the transparent conductive film 131 are formed.
[0007]
The connector part 120 is formed by exposing the connection electrodes 122, 122, 123, 123 connected to the electrode end parts 114, 114, 134, 134 of the movable side face 110 and the fixed side face 130 on the upper and lower surfaces. In a state where the transparent touch panel is assembled, the movable side connection electrodes 122 and 122 are movable side electrode ends 114 and 114, and the fixed side connection electrodes 123 and 123 are fixed side electrode ends 134 and 134, respectively, by thermocompression bonding or the like. It is connected.
[0008]
By the way, in recent portable devices such as mobile personal computers, mobile phones, and portable information terminals, the non-display part of the peripheral part of the display device such as a liquid crystal is narrowed, and the peripheral part other than the inputable area part is also provided for the mounted transparent touch panel. Narrowing has been required.
[0009]
As a countermeasure, there is a method of providing a routing circuit on a flexible connecting member. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1.) Some of them have thinned electrodes and routing circuits. (For example, see Patent Document 2.)
[0010]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2000-299033 A (Claim 1)
[Patent Document 2]
JP 2001-216090 A (Claim 1)
[0011]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, there is a strong demand for miniaturization of the transparent touch panel. In particular, in portable information devices, there is an increasing demand for a transparent touch panel with a small peripheral edge other than the input possible area of the transparent touch panel even at one side, even slightly, and countermeasures are required. It was. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a transparent touch panel in which a peripheral edge other than the input-capable area is made small even on one side in order to reduce the size and pocket size of a portable personal computer, a mobile phone, a portable information terminal, and the like. .
[0012]
[Means for solving problems]
The transparent touch panel according to the invention of claim 1 is formed by bending a transparent conductive film having a transparent conductive layer formed on one surface of the transparent film so that the transparent conductive layer faces each other, and bending the two surfaces as a movable side surface. In a resistive touch panel with a fixed side, a transparent substrate is laminated on the movable side and the fixed side that are not opposite to each other, and a transparent conductive film is formed on one surface of the transparent film at the folded portion of the transparent conductive film. There is a transparent conductive layer non-existing region where no layer is present, and a resin portion protrudes from the transparent conductive layer non-existing region.
[0013]
A transparent touch panel according to a second aspect of the present invention is the transparent touch panel according to the first aspect, characterized in that the resin portion is linear or dot-shaped, and the width or diameter is 10 to 100 μm.
[0014]
A transparent touch panel according to a third aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the transparent touch panel according to any one of the first and second aspects, the height of the resin portion is 20 μm to 200 μm.
[0015]
A transparent touch panel according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the transparent touch panel according to any one of the first to third aspects, characterized in that the transparent substrates laminated on the movable side surface and the fixed side surface are made of the same material.
[0016]
The transparent touch panel according to the invention of claim 5 is the transparent touch panel according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein when the peripheral portion of the movable side surface and the fixed side surface is bonded with a double-sided adhesive tape, The double-sided adhesive tape width is narrower than the width of the double-sided adhesive tape on the side having no resin portion.
[0017]
The transparent touch panel according to the invention of claim 6 is the transparent touch panel according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein a double-sided adhesive tape for bonding peripheral portions of the movable side surface and the fixed side surface is provided only on the side without the resin portion. It is characterized by.
[0018]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.
Transparent conductive film FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the transparent conductive film 30, and the transparent conductive film 30 includes a transparent film 31 and a transparent conductive film 32. The transparent film 31 used in the present invention includes transparent polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polyethersulfone (PES), polycarbonate (PC), polypropylene (PP), polyamide (PA), etc. A plastic film or a laminate thereof is used. The thickness is usually 2 to 200 μm. However, when the thickness exceeds 50 μm, punching or slit processing is applied to a part of the bent portion for bending.
[0019]
Next, as a method for forming the transparent conductive film 32, a general method for forming the transparent conductive film on the film substrate is a PVD method such as a sputtering method, a vacuum deposition method, an ion plating method, a CVD method, There are coating methods and printing methods. The material for forming the transparent conductive film is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include indium-tin composite oxide (ITO), tin oxide, copper, aluminum, nickel, and chromium. May be formed. Further, before forming the transparent conductive film, an undercoat layer may be provided for improving transparency and adhesion.
[0020]
Conductive film pattern and electrode FIG. 3 shows a movable side surface and a fixed side surface produced on one transparent conductive film. A transparent touch panel can be formed by bending the left side to be a movable side surface and the right side to be a fixed side surface, and folding the conductive film to face each other at the folding site 40.
[0021]
In FIG. 3, the transparent conductive film is first patterned to provide the movable side conductive film pattern 12 and the fixed side conductive film pattern 22. Of course, the directions of the orthogonal patterns are not limited, and may be reversed left and right.
Patterning is performed by forming a desired pattern-like mask on the conductive film surface of the transparent conductive film, and then etching with an acid solution to remove only unnecessary portions of the conductive film, and then using a stripping agent such as an alkaline solution. The pattern mask is removed by dissolution or the like. There is also a method of cutting the conductive film surface with a laser.
[0022]
Next, electrodes 13, 14, 23, and 24 are formed with conductive ink on both ends of the transparent conductive film. As the conductive ink, a conductive printable paste such as silver, carbon ink, or copper ink is used, and silver and carbon may be mixed or overcoated. The electrode width is generally 0.2 mm to several mm, and the thickness is generally several μm to several tens of μm. Then, as a measure for ensuring insulation and migrating, insulating ink may be applied to the necessary portions of the transparent conductive film and electrodes. As the insulating ink, acrylic resin, urethane resin, epoxy resin, silicon resin, or the like is used. The routing circuits 15, 16, 25 and 26 are usually formed simultaneously.
Although not shown, dot spacers are provided on and around the fixed side conductive film pattern 22.
[0023]
Resin layer As shown in Fig. 4, a resin portion 46 may be provided in the bent portion 40 of Fig. 3. The resin portion 46 is made of ultraviolet curable acrylic resin or the like, and is provided in a linear shape or a dot shape by a fixed amount discharge device, a screen printer, or the like. The resin portion 46 has a width or diameter of 10 μm to 100 μm and a height of about 20 μm to 200 μm. FIG. 5 shows a state in which the movable side surface and the fixed side surface are bent. The resin portion 46 can be easily bent, and the gap between the movable side surface and the fixed side surface can be adjusted.
The bent portion 40 may be marked for bending, or a punch cut or slit may be included in a part thereof.
[0024]
It shows the Figure 6 as a modification of the pull turning circuit modification <br/> Figure 3 pulling turning circuit. In FIG. 6, the routing circuits 15, 16, 25, and 26 are gathered on the movable side surface, and the connection to the outside is one place and one side. Therefore, when connecting by heat sealing or the like, it is easier to do than both sides. Of course, the circuits 15, 16, 25 and 26 may be gathered around the fixed side surface.
[0025]
FIG. 3 shows the movable side and fixed side of a single touch panel cut around the film. Usually, the movable side and fixed side of a plurality of touch panels are produced on a single transparent conductive film and punched out. Individually.
[0026]
Transparent substrate bonding <br/> next bonding the transparent conductive film and the transparent substrate. In general, the entire surface is bonded with an acrylic transparent adhesive. FIG. 1 shows an example in which a transparent substrate 11 is provided on the movable side surface 10 of the transparent conductive film 30 and a transparent substrate 21 is provided on the fixed side surface 20.
In FIG. 1, the transparent conductive film 30 is bent, but the transparent conductive film 30 and the transparent substrate 11 and the transparent substrate 21 may be bonded before or after bending.
[0027]
The transparent substrate 11 used in the present invention includes transparent polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polyethersulfone (PES), polyetheretherketone (PEEK), polycarbonate (PC), polypropylene ( PP), polyamide (PA), polyacrylic (PAC), plastic films such as norbornene-based thermoplastic transparent resins, or laminates thereof, and polarizing plates, retardation plates, hard coat films, fine uneven films, etc. are used. It is done. By sticking together, elasticity, durability and visibility at the time of input can be improved.
[0028]
For the transparent substrate 21, a glass substrate or an acrylic resin substrate is used in addition to the material of the transparent substrate 11. By sticking together, the fixed side surface 20 can be firmly supported. The transparent touch panel having the configuration shown in FIG. 1 is bonded to a liquid crystal electrode substrate and integrated with the liquid crystal.
[0029]
In FIG. 1, when the transparent substrate 11 and the transparent substrate 21 are made of the same material, they may be produced as follows. As shown in FIG. 7, a material composed of a transparent conductive film 30, an adhesive layer 42, and a transparent substrate 43 is prepared. Next, a movable side surface and a fixed side surface are produced on the transparent conductive film 30 as shown in FIG. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, a slit 41 is inserted into the transparent substrate 43 corresponding to the portion 40 of the transparent conductive film 30 to be bent, and the transparent substrate 43 is divided. The depth and width of the slit may be determined by the material and thickness of the transparent substrate 43 and the transparent conductive film 30, and the slit may be inserted into a part of the thickness of the transparent conductive film 30. A resin portion may be provided on the conductive layer side of the portion 40 of the transparent conductive film 30 to be bent.
[0030]
A bonding <br/> then the movable side fixed side and movable side and the stationary side, folded at the site folded, bonded only substantially peripheral portion using an adhesive or a pressure-sensitive adhesive or a double-sided adhesive tape or the like. In the bent portion 40, the movable side surface and the fixed side surface are connected, and the double-sided adhesive tape of the bent portion can be narrower than the other side or omitted. If the resin portion is provided, it is easy to bend, and the gap between the movable side surface and the fixed side surface can be adjusted.
[0031]
Double-sided adhesive tape is made by applying adhesive on the upper and lower surfaces with a core film interposed between them. Plastics such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polyethersulfone (PES) are used as the core material. A film is used. As the adhesive, acrylic, silicon, urethane, or a mixture thereof is used.
[0032]
The transparent touch panel is usually arranged on the display device. In the example of FIG. 9, a polarizing plate is used as the transparent substrate 11, and the liquid crystal upper electrode substrate 51 of the liquid crystal display element 50 is also used as the transparent substrate 21. In the example of FIG. 10, a polarizing plate is used as the transparent substrate 11 and a retardation plate is used as the transparent substrate 21, which are bonded to the liquid crystal upper electrode substrate of the liquid crystal display element 50.
[0033]
In order to finish to the final dimension, the other side except the bent portion may be punched out after the double-sided bonding. Since each drawing is drawn so that the configuration is easy to understand, it is not an actual size ratio but is partially enlarged or reduced.
[0034]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the transparent touch panel according to the present invention bends the transparent conductive film having the transparent conductive layer on the surface of the transparent film so that the transparent conductive layer faces each other, and the two folded surfaces are a movable side surface and a fixed side surface. As a result, the width of the double-sided pressure-sensitive adhesive tape that holds the movable side surface and the fixed side surface is reduced at the bent portion, and an effect that the area other than the input possible area portion can be narrowed can be obtained. Further, the routing circuit is gathered at one place on the movable side surface or the fixed side surface, and connection to the outside becomes easy.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a transparent touch panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the transparent conductive film of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a conductive film pattern and the like of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory plan view of a resin portion according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of a resin portion of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of another conductive film pattern of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a transparent conductive film with a transparent substrate of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of transparent substrate slit processing according to the present invention.
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a transparent touch panel incorporating a display device of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of another display device built-in transparent touch panel according to the present invention.
FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional transparent touch panel.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Movable side surface 11 Movable side surface transparent substrate 12 Movable side surface conductive film pattern 13, 14, 23, 24 Electrode 15, 16, 25, 26 Route circuit 20 Fixed side surface 21 Fixed side surface transparent substrate 22 Fixed side surface conductive film pattern 30 Transparent Conductive film 31 Transparent film 32 Transparent conductive film 40 Bending part 41 Slit 42 Adhesive layer 43 Transparent substrate 44 Double-sided adhesive tape 45 Conductive film removal area (non-conductive area)
46 resin part 50 liquid crystal display element 51 liquid crystal upper electrode substrate 52 liquid crystal layer 53 liquid crystal lower electrode substrate 100 transparent touch panel 110 movable side surface 111, 131 transparent conductive film 112, 132 electrode 113, 133 routing circuit 120 connector part 130 fixed side surface 140 both sides Spacer 160 made of adhesive tape Dot spacer

Claims (6)

Bending the transparent conductive film in which the transparent conductive layer is formed on one surface of the transparent film so that the transparent conductive layer faces,
In a resistive touch panel with two bent surfaces as a movable side and a fixed side,
A transparent conductive layer in which a transparent substrate is laminated on the movable side surface and the fixed side surface that are not opposed to each other, and the transparent conductive layer does not exist on the one surface of the transparent film at the bent portion of the transparent conductive film A transparent touch panel , wherein a non-existing region is present, and a resin portion projects from the transparent conductive layer non-existing region . 2. The transparent touch panel according to claim 1, wherein the resin portion is linear or dotted and has a width or diameter of 10 to 100 μm .   The transparent touch panel according to claim 1, wherein a height of the resin portion is 20 to 200 μm.   The transparent touch panel according to claim 1, wherein the transparent substrate laminated on the movable side surface and the fixed side surface is made of the same material. In the transparent touch panel in any one of Claims 1-4,
When pasting the periphery of the movable side and fixed side with double-sided adhesive tape,
A transparent touch panel, wherein the width of a double-sided adhesive tape on a side having a resin part is narrower than a width of a double-sided adhesive tape on a side having no resin part. In the transparent touch panel of Claims 1-4,
Double-sided adhesive tape that bonds the periphery of the movable side and fixed side
A transparent touch panel provided only on a side having no resin portion.

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