JPH0315202B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention uses a thin-film type coordinate input device, more specifically, an insulating film on which a resistor is formed.
The present invention relates to a coordinate input device that detects coordinate values in the Y direction.

[Background of the invention]

This type of coordinate input device is frequently used as an input device for figures, symbols, coordinate values, etc. in office computers, personal computers, various measuring instruments, communication devices, and the like.

Generally, a resistor is formed on a predetermined portion of the insulating flexible film, and parallel strip electrodes and lead electrodes connected to the parallel strip electrodes are formed on other portions where the resistor is not formed. The two insulating films thus formed are made to face each other with a spacer interposed therebetween.

However, the above-mentioned resistor is formed in a predetermined area by printing etc. on an insulating film, or the resistor on an insulating film coated with a resistor on the entire surface is selectively removed mechanically or chemically. Therefore, the former has problems with the printing accuracy of the resistor, and the latter has problems with the mechanical cutting accuracy or chemical etching accuracy of the resistor, as well as workability. Work efficiency was one of the keys to improving yield.

[Purpose of the invention]

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to eliminate the drawbacks of the above-mentioned prior art, and to provide a coordinate system that can be manufactured without removing the resistor by etching or the like, using an insulating film on which a resistor is previously formed on the entire surface of one surface. The purpose is to provide an input device.

[Structure of the invention]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention makes a pair of insulating films on which a resistor is formed face each other with a spacer interposed therebetween, and presses an arbitrary position on one of the insulating films to bring the two resistors into conduction. In a coordinate input device configured to detect coordinate values in the X and Y directions of a pressing point, the resistor is provided on the entire surface of one side of the insulating film, and a pair of strip-shaped electrodes extend parallel to each other on the sides of the resistor. , an insulating coating that is wider than the strip-shaped electrode and has a window is provided on the strip-shaped electrode, and a lead electrode connected to the strip-shaped electrode via the window passes over the insulating coating to an external connection part. It is characterized by the fact that it has been derived.

[Embodiments of the invention]

The drawings all relate to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 1 a to c are plan views showing the manufacturing process, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the other insulating film facing the insulating film in FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the main parts in an assembled state.

In Fig. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a flexible insulating film. For example, when forming a transparent touch panel, a transparent thin synthetic resin film is used, and a transparent resistor 2 is preliminarily coated with a uniform thickness on one side of the film. It is formed. This film has resistors 2 continuously formed on a long material, and is very productive, and is cut into the shape shown in FIG. 1a. Then, strip-shaped electrodes 3, 3 are first formed in parallel on two opposing sides of the resistor 2 by means such as printing, and then a resistor including the strip-shaped electrodes 3, 3 is formed as shown in FIG. 1b. An insulating coating 4 is formed on the four sides of the body 2 and on the external connection portion 1a by printing. At this time, the insulating coating 4 is provided with a window 4a that exposes a portion of both strip-shaped electrodes 3. Next, this window part 4a
Lead electrodes 5, 5 connected to the band-shaped electrodes 3, 3 via the lead electrodes 5, 5 are formed by printing on the insulating coating 4, as shown in FIG. 1c, and are led out onto the external connection portion 1a.

Using exactly the same method as above, a strip electrode 3', an insulating coating 4', and a lead electrode are placed on the resistor 2' of the insulating film 1' opposite to the insulating film 1 of FIG. 1c, as shown in FIG. 5' are formed sequentially. However, assuming that the strip electrode 3 is for detecting in the X direction, the strip electrode 3' in FIG. The lead electrode 5' is formed on the external connection portion 1'a so as not to overlap the lead electrode 5 when the insulating film 1' is turned over from the illustrated state to face the insulating film 1.

The two insulating films 1 and 1' are arranged facing each other with a spacer 6 in between, as shown in the third figure, with an appropriate distance between them, and the upper insulating film 1
By pressing with a pen tip or the like, the upper and lower resistors 2 and 2' come into contact and conduction through the conductor part or through hole of the spacer 6, and the coordinate voltage value or coordinate current value of this pressing point becomes It will be taken out in both the X and Y directions.

Here, since the insulating coatings 4, 4' are applied on the strip electrodes 3, 3' to be wider than the strip electrodes 3, 3', the coordinate voltage value of the pressing point becomes unstable. The area around 3' can be set as an input prohibited (impossible) area, and only the area where the coordinate voltage value is relatively stable can be set as an input valid area. In other words, when detecting the coordinate voltage value (or coordinate current value) of a pressing point by applying a voltage between the strip-shaped electrodes on two opposing sides, the equipotential lines (surfaces) near the strip-shaped electrodes are susceptible to current wraparound. As a result, the coordinates obtained by pressing the vicinity of the strip electrode will be inaccurate. Therefore, it is better not to have such an unstable region.As mentioned above, if you mask this unstable region with an insulating film in advance, you can input only the region where the equipotential lines (planes) are less distorted. It can be a region.

In addition, since the insulating coatings 4 and 4' are formed by printing technology, the thickness of the coatings can be made as thin as possible to maintain insulation. A simple method of printing can be used for the lead electrodes, and the conduction between the strip electrode and the lead electrode can be ensured.

For example, when forming a transparent touch panel, the spacer 6 is made of a transparent flexible insulating thin film resin with a large number of holes, or a transparent pressure-sensitive conductive film. Without limitation, it is possible to use a structure in which a network made of conductive wire is embedded in a foamed resin, a structure using an anisotropically conductive material, or the like. Furthermore, in the above embodiments, a printing method was shown, but it is also possible to form electrodes by thin film technology such as vapor deposition, and the insulating film and resistor do not need to be transparent materials, and the external connection part The position and shape of are not limited to the examples.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, there is no step of partially forming a resistor on an insulating film, and a long insulating film on which a resistor is continuously formed in advance can be used, thereby simplifying the manufacturing process. Moreover, since the vicinity of the strip electrode, where coordinate detection is unstable, is masked in advance with an insulating coating, and this area is designated as an input prohibited area, it is possible to provide a coordinate input device that is accurate in coordinate detection. .

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings all relate to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 1 a to c are plan views showing the manufacturing process, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the other insulating film facing the insulating film in FIG. FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the main parts in an assembled state. 1, 1'... Insulating film, 1a, 1'a... External connection part, 2, 2'... Resistor, 3, 3'... Strip electrode, 4, 4'... Insulating coating, 4a, 4 'a... Window portion, 5, 5'... Lead electrode, 6... Spacer.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A pair of insulating films on which a resistor is formed are placed facing each other via a spacer, and by pressing an arbitrary position on one of the insulating films to bring both resistors into conduction, the coordinate values of the pressed point in the X and Y directions can be determined. In the coordinate input device configured to perform detection, the resistor is provided on the entire surface of one side of the insulating film, a pair of strip-shaped electrodes extending parallel to each other is provided on the sides of the resistor, and the strip-shaped electrode is placed on the strip-shaped electrode. A coordinate input device characterized in that an insulating coating having a wider width and a window portion is provided, and a lead electrode connected to the strip electrode through the window portion is led out to an external connection portion through the insulating insulating coating.