JPH06324785A - Manufacture of pressure switching device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve productivity and to reduce a manufacture cost in the formation of a pressure sensitive electrically conductive layer formed between the two surface electrodes (baffles) of a pressure switching device to be a coordinate input device for normally insulating the two electrodes and short-circuiting the two electrodes at the time of pressurization. CONSTITUTION:First, a transparent electrode layer 14 is formed on a film substrate 12. Also, polymerizing solution 19a for which a monomer to be the material of an electrically conductive organic polymer, an electrolyte and a solvent are mixed is filled in an electrolytic cell 19. Theta, the film substrate 12 wound from a roll G to the roll H is passed through the polymerizing solution 19a of the electrolytic cell 19 and also a voltage is applied between a counter electrode in the polymerizing solution 19a and the transparent electrode layer 14. At the time, the pressure sensitive electrically conductive layer 17 composed of the electrically conductive organic polymer ms formed on the surface of the transparent electrode layer 14 by electrolytic polymerization reaction. Then, the different film substrate provided with the transparent electrode layer is laminated on the film substrate 12 and the pressure switching device is obtained.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a pressure switch device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, a coordinate input device such as a tablet is used as a pointing device in a computer system or the like. As one of these coordinate input devices, for example, there is a pressure switch device in which two surface electrodes are arranged in parallel with each other with a space therebetween. Each surface electrode has a uniform sheet resistance in the X-axis and Y-axis directions. In this pressure switch device,
A voltage can be applied to the two surface electrodes in directions orthogonal to each other, and when a voltage is applied to one surface electrode, a detector can be connected to the other surface electrode. There is.

When a voltage is applied to the two surface electrodes and a short circuit is caused by pressing one point of the one surface electrode toward the other surface electrode side, the resistance value varies depending on the position of the one point. Therefore, the electric signals indicating the positions of the two surface electrodes in the directions orthogonal to each other are detected (resistance division coordinate detection method). That is, according to the above pressure switch device, the two surface electrodes are used to move in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction.
It is possible to input coordinate values in the axial direction.

FIG. 8 shows an example of the pressure switch device as described above. In the pressure switch device A shown in FIG. 8, the high-elasticity substrate 1 is arranged in the lower layer, and the low-elasticity substrate 2 is arranged above the high-elasticity substrate 1 in parallel with a space. A lower surface electrode (sheet resistor) 3 is formed on the upper surface of the high elasticity substrate 1, and a lower surface electrode of the low elasticity substrate 2 is formed on the lower surface.
An upper surface electrode (surface resistor) 4 is formed. And
Lower electrode terminals 5 and 5 are formed on the left and right side edges of the lower surface electrode 3, and the upper electrode is provided on the front and rear side edges of the upper surface electrode 4 (side edges orthogonal to the left and right side edges of the lower surface electrode). Terminals (not shown) are formed. A seal 6 is formed on the outer peripheral edge of the space between the upper surface electrode 4 and the lower surface electrode 3 to seal the space.

In the space between the upper surface electrode 4 and the lower surface electrode 3, an insulating fluid substance (gas or liquid)
7 is enclosed, and particles 8 having a particle diameter of several μm are dispersed in the fluid substance 7 as spacers for holding the space between the upper surface electrode 4 and the lower surface electrode 3. In the pressure switch device A, by pressing one point of the low-elasticity substrate 2 in the upper layer downward, the low-elasticity substrate 2 is deformed, and the fluid substance 7 and the particles 8 ... The upper surface electrode 4 comes into contact with the lower surface electrode 3 at a portion to cause a short circuit. That is, the insulating fluid material 7 and the particles 8 maintain the space and insulation between the upper surface electrode 4 and the lower surface electrode 3 in a normal state, and when the pressing is performed, the insulating fluid material 7 and the particles 8 are separated from each other. It is for short-circuiting between them. A coordinate detecting device is connected to the upper electrode terminal and the lower electrode terminals 5 and 5.

Further, the pressure switch device B shown in FIG.
Has substantially the same structure as the pressure switch device A, but the particles 8 of the pressure switch device A shown in FIG.
Instead of ..., The minute projections 9 ... Are used as spacers. Further, the pressure switch device C shown in FIG.
A pressure-sensitive conductive rubber 10 is arranged between the upper and lower surface electrodes 3, 4. In the pressure-sensitive conductive rubber 10, the metal wires 11 are dispersed in the rubber in an upright state. When the rubber is pressed in the length direction of the metal wires 11, the resistance value is reduced and the conductivity is reduced. Will be to have.

In the pressure switch device C, by pressing one point of the low-elasticity substrate 2 in the upper layer downward, the low-elasticity substrate 2 is deformed and the pressure-sensitive conductive rubber 1 is formed.
When 0 is pressed, the resistance value of the pressed portion of the pressure-sensitive conductive rubber 10 is lowered, and a short circuit is caused between the upper surface electrode 4 and the lower surface electrode 3. In the pressure switch devices A, B, and C, the above-mentioned members except the electrode terminals and the seal 6 are made transparent so that the work can be performed based on the figure below when inputting coordinates. There is. It should be noted that FIGS. 8 to 10 are for showing the outline of the configuration of the pressure switch device, and the size and the like are different from the actual scale.

[0008]

By the way, in the pressure switch device A and the pressure switch device B,
It is not easy to disperse the particles 8 or to form the minute projections 9 necessary for forming a space between the upper surface electrode 4 and the lower surface electrode 3, and a high-precision processing technique is required.
In particular, when manufacturing a large-sized pressure switch device using the particles 8 ... Or the minute projections 9 ..., it is necessary to maintain a space between the upper surface electrode 4 and the lower surface electrode 3 over a large area. It is extremely difficult, and there is concern that productivity will decrease and manufacturing costs will increase accordingly. Further, in the pressure switch device C using the pressure-sensitive conductive rubber 10, it is necessary to uniformly disperse the metal wires 11 and maintain the uprightness of the metal wires 11 in manufacturing the pressure-sensitive conductive rubber 10. It is difficult to reduce the cost because the composite technology requires a high degree of fine processing.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to manufacture the pressure switch device by manufacturing the pressure sensitive conductive layer easily. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a pressure switch device that can reduce cost and improve productivity.

[0010]

According to the method of manufacturing a pressurizing switch device of the present invention as defined in claim 1, a short circuit is generated between the pair of electrodes facing each other by pressurization. A method for manufacturing a pressure switch device having a pressure-sensitive conductive layer, wherein an electrolysis comprising a monomer serving as a material of a conductive organic polymer, a polymerization solution containing an electrolyte and a solvent, and a counter electrode immersed in the polymerization solution. In the tank, by immersing the electrode in the polymerization liquid, by applying a voltage between the counter electrode and the electrode,
The monomer is electrolytically polymerized on the surface of the electrode to form a pressure-sensitive conductive layer made of the conductive organic polymer on at least one surface of the pair of electrodes, and then the other of the pair of electrodes. The above-mentioned electrode is arranged so as to face the above-mentioned one electrode so as to sandwich the pressure-sensitive conductive layer, and this is a means for solving the above-mentioned problems.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a pressure switch device according to the first aspect, wherein the electrode according to the first aspect is formed on a strip-shaped film substrate and then the electrode on the film substrate and the electrode are formed. A voltage-sensitive conductive layer composed of the conductive organic polymer is formed on the electrode surface by passing the strip-shaped film substrate through the polymerization liquid along the lengthwise direction while applying a voltage to the counter electrode. The above-mentioned problem is solved by continuously forming. Further, as described in claim 3, it is preferable that the pair of electrodes are formed in a plane shape or a stripe shape, respectively.

[0012]

According to the structure of the first aspect, the pressure-sensitive conductive layer of the pressure switch device causes the electrolytic polymerization reaction on the surface of the electrode in the polymerization liquid containing the material of the conductive organic polymer. Is formed by. That is, the pressure-sensitive conductive layer can be formed by an electrolytic polymerization reaction, and can be easily formed without requiring a high processing technique.
Further, according to the configuration of the above-mentioned claim 2, by passing the strip-shaped film substrate on which the electrode is formed into the polymerization liquid, a high-level processing technique is not required and the pressure-sensitive conductive layer is electrolytically polymerized. The conductive organic polymer can be continuously formed, and the pressure-sensitive conductive layer can be formed easily and quickly.

Further, by making the pair of electrodes planar, the pressure switch device of the present invention has the same structure as the conventional pressure switch device except for the material of the pressure sensitive conductive layer. It becomes a device. Further, by forming the pair of electrodes in a stripe shape, the pressurizing switch device of the present invention is configured such that, for example, the directions of the stripes of the pair of electrodes are orthogonal to each other, and thus on the matrix formed of the two stripes. A pressure switch device that specifies a short-circuited position by pressurization.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 are drawings showing a pressure switch device manufactured by a method of manufacturing a pressure switch device according to this embodiment, and FIGS. 4 to 6 are methods of manufacturing a pressure switch device according to this embodiment. 5 is a view for explaining the manufacturing process of FIG. Here, before describing the method of manufacturing the pressure switch device, the configuration of the pressure switch device of this embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the pressure switch device D is formed by two transparent film substrates 12 and 13 arranged in parallel and the inner surfaces of the film substrates 12 and 13, respectively. Transparent electrode layers 14 and 15, and electrode terminals 16 formed on the left and right side edges of one transparent electrode layer 14,
Electrode terminals (shown in FIG. 1) 16 formed on the upper and lower side edges (side edges orthogonal to the left and right side edges of one transparent electrode layer) of the other transparent electrode layer 15, and the inner surface of one transparent electrode layer 14. Pressure-sensitive conductive layer 17 formed on (the surface facing the other transparent electrode layer)
And the two film substrates 12 and 13 are laminated with the pressure-sensitive conductive layer 17 interposed therebetween.

The two film substrates 12 and 13 are made of transparent synthetic resin such as polyester,
A resin of high elasticity is used for one film substrate 12, and a resin of low elasticity is used for the other film substrate 13. In this embodiment, the pressure switch device D is manufactured by roll-to-roll as described later, and the film substrates 12 and 13 are flexible enough to be wound on rollers. It is a thing. It is not always necessary that one of the two film substrates 12 and 13 has high elasticity and the other has low elasticity, and the two film substrates 12 and 13 may be made of the same material.

The transparent electrode layers 14 and 15 are made of, for example, IT.
The film substrates 12 and 13 are made of a metal oxide such as O having a predetermined sheet resistance and are formed by a known method.
It is formed above. The transparent electrode layer 1
It is not necessary that 4 and 15 are metal oxides such as ITO, and a conductive organic polymer may be used as described later. The electrode terminals 16 ... Are, for example, those in which a well-known conductive paste is applied on the transparent electrode layers 14 and 15 and baked. A coordinate detection device (not shown) is connected to the electrode terminals 16 ... Through a control mechanism. The pressure-sensitive conductive layer 17 is made of a conductive organic polymer such as conductive polyaniline. The conductivity of the conductive organic polymer differs depending on the monomer used as the material and the manufacturing method, but in the present example, the pressure-sensitive conductive layer 17 made of the conductive organic polymer usually has its thickness and conductivity. As shown in FIG. 2, an insulating resistance R1 is provided between the transparent electrode layers, and a current hardly flows between the transparent electrode layers 14 and 15 due to the insulating resistance R1.

Then, as shown in FIG. 3, when one point of one film substrate 13 is pressed by the tip of the input pen 18, the one film substrate 13 and the transparent electrode layer 15 on the inner surface of the film substrate 13 are deformed. The transparent electrode layer 14 of the pressing portion,
Since the distance between 15 becomes short, the transparent electrode layer 14,
As the resistance between 15 decreases and the conductivity of the conductive organic polymer increases due to compression, the insulation resistance R2 of the portion pressed by the tip of the pen 18 becomes extremely smaller than the insulation resistance R1. A short circuit is created between layers 14 and 15.

Therefore, the pressure switch device D of this embodiment
Has substantially the same function as the pressure switch device D of the above-mentioned conventional example, and outputs the electric signal indicating the position by utilizing the difference in the resistance value due to the difference in the short-circuited position as described above. The coordinate input device is configured. The pressure switch device D of this embodiment is different from the above-mentioned conventional pressure switch devices A and B in that it is not necessary to press one substrate until one transparent electrode comes into contact with the other transparent electrode. It is possible to reduce deformation fatigue and wear fatigue of the electrode. Further, unlike the conventional pressure switch device C, the pressure switch device D does not use pressure-sensitive conductive rubber having a metal wire, so that the electrode does not come into contact with the metal wire to wear and wear.

Next, a method of manufacturing the pressure switch device D having the above structure will be described. 1. Step of forming film substrate and transparent electrode layer First, the film substrates 12 and 13 are formed in a band shape by a known method, and one surface (opposing surface) thereof is
The planar transparent electrode layer 14 made of ITO is formed by a known method such as sputtering. Further, on the film substrate 12, a resist mask layer 12a for controlling the deposition position of the pressure-sensitive conductive layer 17 made of a conductive organic polymer is formed by printing in order to form a pressure-sensitive conductive layer described later in a rectangular shape. To be done. A large number of rectangular openings are formed in the resist mask layer 12a at equal intervals along the length direction of the strip-shaped film substrate 12 so that the transparent electrode layer 14 on the film substrate 12 is exposed. There is. Then, the strip-shaped film substrate 12 having the transparent electrode layer 14 and the resist mask layer 12a is carried in the rolled state to the next step of forming the pressure-sensitive conductive layer.

2. Step of forming pressure-sensitive conductive layer Next, in the step of forming the pressure-sensitive conductive layer 17, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the rolled strip-shaped film substrate 12 is rotatably fixed. Then, the roll E on the feed side is formed, and the leading end of the strip-shaped film substrate 12 is wound up to form the roll F on the winding side. The pressure-sensitive conductive layer 17 is formed between these two rolls E and F by roll-to-roll. An electrolyzer 19 is arranged below the rolls E and F, and the electrolyzer 19 is filled with a polymerization liquid 19a described later, and is also immersed in the polymerization liquid 19a to form a counter electrode. 20 (cathode, shown in FIG. 5) are arranged horizontally.

Further, guide rollers e1 and f1 are arranged between the rolls E and F on the left and right sides of the electrolytic bath 19 and the electrolytic bath 19, and the film substrate 12 is placed in the electrolytic bath 19. A guide member (not shown) that holds the guide from above and guides it into the polymerization liquid is arranged. When the film substrate 12 is wound from the roll E to the roll F by the guide rollers e1 and f1 and the guide member, the film substrate 12
Pass through the polymerization liquid 19a in the electrolytic bath 19. Further, a voltage can be applied between the counter electrode 20 and the transparent electrode layer 14 on the film substrate 12 by using the counter electrode 20 as a cathode and the transparent electrode layer 14 as an anode.

Prior to forming the pressure-sensitive conductive layer 17, materials for synthesizing a conductive organic polymer by an electropolymerization reaction are mixed and prepared as a polymerization liquid 19a. That is, a monomer that is a material of the conductive organic polymer, an electrolyte, and a solvent are mixed to obtain a polymerization liquid 19a. In this example, aniline is used as the monomer, and the polymerization liquid 19a containing the aniline hydrochloride aqueous solution is used.

Then, the film substrate 12 is passed through the polymerization liquid 19a in a state where an arbitrary voltage is applied to the transparent electrode layer 14 and the counter electrode 20 formed on the film substrate 12, whereby the film substrate A conductive organic polymer, here polyaniline, is deposited on the transparent electrode layer 14 exposed from the resist mask layer 12a on the surface 12 and serving as an anode to form the pressure-sensitive conductive layer 17.

The above-mentioned monomer is not limited to aniline, and conductive polymer materials such as alkylthiophene, phenylene vinylene, thienylene vinylene, pyrrole and derivatives thereof can be used. Also,
As the electrolyte, an appropriate salt, acid or base can be used, and examples thereof include hydrochloric acid, hydrobromic acid, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, perchloric acid, tetrafluoroboric acid, hexafluorophosphoric acid, lithium perchlorate. , Sodium perchlorate, tetrabutylammonium perchlorate, and the like, and nitrates, sulfates, hydrochlorides, tetrafluoroborates, hexafluorophosphates, and the like can be used. The solvent is not limited to water, and propylene carbonate, acetonitrile, benzonitrile, methyl ethyl ketone, dimethylsulfoxide, dimethylformamide, sulfolane, methanol, ethanol and the like can be used alone or in combination.

3. Step of forming electrode terminal Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the electrode terminal 16 for detecting the coordinate position and applying a voltage to the transparent electrode is formed by printing. Also in this case, similarly to the formation of the pressure-sensitive conductive layer 17 described above, the electrode terminal 16 is formed by roll-to-roll using the feed-side roll G and the winding-side roll H. That is, while winding the film substrate 12 on the winding-side roll H, the conductive paste squeegee 23 is applied by printing on the film substrate 12 on which the pressure-sensitive conductive layer 17 is formed between the rolls G and H. The conductive paste is baked by the heating device 24. The electrode terminals 16 are similarly formed on the other film substrate 13 (in the direction orthogonal to the one film substrate 12).

4. Laminating Step Next, as shown in FIG. 7, a strip-shaped film substrate 12 on which the transparent electrode layer 14 is formed and the pressure-sensitive conductive layer 17 and the electrode terminals 16 are formed, and the transparent electrode layer 15. Film substrate 13 on which electrode terminals 16 are formed
And are opposed to each other with the transparent electrode layers 14 and 15 and the pressure-sensitive conductive layer 17 and the electrode terminal 16 interposed therebetween,
The two film substrates 12 and 13 are laminated by heating and pressing.

Also in this case, similarly to the formation of the pressure-sensitive conductive layer 17 described above, a roll using the feed side roll I for the film substrate 12, the feed side roll J for the film substrate 13 and the winding side roll K is used. Lamination is performed by two rolls. That is, the feed-side roll I and the feed-side roll J are arranged vertically, and the two film substrates 12 and 13 respectively rolled by the rolls I and J are taken up by one take-up roll K, and Feed rolls I, J
And the winding-side roll K between the film substrate 1
The sheets 2 and 13 are sandwiched between the upper and lower laminating rollers 25 and 26, and are heated and pressed to be laminated.

When laminating, the positions of the electrode terminals 16 and the like on the film substrates 12 and 13 are aligned between the upper and lower film substrates 12 and 13. Further, the two laminated film substrates 12 and 13 are punched by the press die 27 to be the pressure switch device D before being wound on the winding-side roll K, and the remaining film substrate 1
Only 2, 13 are wound up.

As described above, according to the method of manufacturing the pressure switch device of this embodiment, the conductive liquid is formed on the transparent electrode layer 14 formed on the film substrate 12 in the polymerization liquid 19a by the electrolytic polymerization reaction. The pressure-sensitive conductive layer 17 made of an organic polymer can be easily formed. In forming the pressure-sensitive conductive layer 17, the transparent electrode layer 14 is provided on the band-shaped film substrate 12 and the band-shaped film substrate 12 is passed through the polymerization liquid 19a. Can be continuously produced by roll-to-roll, and productivity can be improved. Therefore, formation of the pressure-sensitive conductive layer 17 does not require dispersion of particles or formation of minute protrusions as in the conventional case, and pressure processing is difficult to achieve because of the need for fine processing. Since it is not necessary to use conductive rubber, it is possible to significantly improve productivity and reduce manufacturing cost as compared with the conventional pressure-sensitive conductive layer.

In this embodiment, the transparent electrode layers 14 and 15 are made of ITO, but like the pressure-sensitive conductive layer 17, the transparent electrode layers 14 and 15 are made of a conductive organic polymer. Good as a thing. At this time, the transparent electrode layers 14 and 15 are formed by the same manufacturing method as that of the pressure-sensitive conductive layer 17, but the transparent electrode layer 14 has higher conductivity than the pressure-sensitive conductive layer 17. It is necessary to use the conductive organic polymer shown.

Further, in the above embodiments, the transparent electrode layers 14 and 15 having the function of sheet resistors are formed on the inner surfaces of the film substrates 12 and 13, but the invention is not limited to this. , Transparent electrode layers 14 and 15,
Each of the electrodes has a stripe shape, and the transparent electrode layer 14 and the transparent electrode layer 15 are arranged such that the stripes are orthogonal to each other, and the position of one stripe of the transparent electrode layer 14 short-circuited by pressure and the one of the transparent electrode layer 15 The position in the X-axis direction and the position in the Y-axis direction may be detected from the position of the stripe. In this case, the transparent electrode layers 14 and 15 are preferably made of highly conductive electrodes.

[0033]

As described above in detail, according to the method of manufacturing the pressure switch device of the present invention, the pressure-sensitive material composed of the conductive organic polymer is formed on the electrode in the polymerization liquid by the electrolytic polymerization reaction. Since the conductive layer can be easily formed, it is possible to improve productivity and reduce manufacturing cost in manufacturing the pressure switch device. Further, in the formation of the pressure-sensitive conductive layer, since the electrodes are formed on the band-shaped film substrate and the band-shaped film substrate is passed through the polymerization solution, it is possible to continuously produce the pressure-sensitive conductive layer. Therefore, it is possible to further improve the productivity of the pressure switch device and reduce the manufacturing cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a pressure switch device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the pressure switch device.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing an input state of the pressure switch device.

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view for explaining a method of manufacturing the pressure switch device.

FIG. 5 is a schematic side view for explaining a method for manufacturing the pressure switch device.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view for explaining a method of manufacturing the pressure switch device.

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view for explaining the method of manufacturing the pressure switch device.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional pressure switch device.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing another conventional pressure switch device.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing still another conventional pressure switch device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 12 Film Substrate 13 Film Substrate 14 Transparent Electrode Layer (Electrode) 15 Transparent Electrode Layer (Electrode) 17 Pressure Sensitive Conductive Layer 19 Electrolytic Tank 19a Polymerization Liquid 20 Counter Electrode

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A method of manufacturing a pressure switch device, wherein a pressure-sensitive conductive layer that causes a short circuit between the pair of electrodes due to pressure is formed between a pair of electrodes facing each other. In a electrolytic cell having a polymerization solution containing a monomer that is a material of the electrolyte, an electrolyte and a solvent, and a counter electrode immersed in the polymerization solution, the electrode is immersed in the polymerization solution, and a voltage is applied between the counter electrode and the electrode. By subjecting the monomer to electrolytic polymerization on the surface of the electrode, a pressure-sensitive conductive layer made of the conductive organic polymer is formed on at least one surface of the pair of electrodes, and then the pair of electrodes. A method of manufacturing a pressurizing switch device, characterized in that the other of the electrodes is arranged so as to face the one of the electrodes so as to sandwich the pressure-sensitive conductive layer. 2. The strip-shaped film substrate is formed along a length direction of the strip-shaped film substrate after a voltage is applied to the electrode on the film substrate and the counter electrode after the electrode is formed on the strip-shaped film substrate. By passing through the above polymerization solution,
The method of manufacturing a pressure switch device according to claim 1, wherein a pressure-sensitive conductive layer made of the conductive organic polymer is continuously formed on the surface of the electrode. 3. The method of manufacturing a pressure switch device according to claim 1, wherein the pair of electrodes are formed in a plane shape or a stripe shape, respectively.