JPH11242561A - Touch panel, display device with input function and electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To optimize the physical property of a substrate of a touch panel of a resistor film system by providing a pair of substrates having electrodes on the substrate surfaces opposite to each other, making the thickness and Young's modulus of one of the substrates under a specific condition and forming a hard coat layer on the surface of the other substrate. SOLUTION: An acrylic substrate 8 whose thickness h is made to 0.1<=h<=1.5 mm and Young's modulus E to 200<=E<=800 kg/mm<2> is stuck on the surface of a transparent substrate 3 made of a polyether sulfone film 175 μm thick via an adhesive layer and is made a touch panel 2. A non-glare treatment is applied to the surface of the substrate 8 and further, a hard coat layer made of silicone acrylates of 10 μm is formed on the substrate 8. As a result, the deformation amt. of the panel 2 is small even when the surface of the panel 2 is written by using a pencil having the core hardness of 7 H under a load of 1 kg. Then, the physical property value of the substrate 3 of the panel 2 can be optimized without damaging the surface of the panel 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a touch panel, a display device with an input function, and a POS (point of sale information) terminal, a portable order input terminal, and an ATM equipped with the touch panel or the display device.
The present invention relates to an electronic device such as an automatic teller machine, an OA device, a measuring device, and a portable device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, conventional POS terminals for restaurants include a liquid crystal display device, a plasma display, and a CRT.
A touch panel is provided as an input device on a display unit of the display device, and a screen in which a plurality of menu keys are arranged is displayed on the display unit. When an operation position signal generated by touching the touch panel is captured, the operation position is determined. 2. Description of the Related Art There has been known an apparatus in which a menu key operated by a signal is determined, and data of a menu product set in the menu key is registered. There is also a type of touch panel using a dedicated pen for input, but a finger input type in which an input is made by touching with a finger is preferable because it is easier to operate. As a finger input type touch panel, there are an ultrasonic type, a capacitance type, and a resistive type.

In addition, since the surface may be accidentally touched by a hard object such as a ballpoint pen or a pencil, a touch panel having a hard surface is required. Therefore, in this field, an ultrasonic type and a touch panel of a capacitance type of a finger input have been used.

The ultrasonic method has a structure in which a touch panel is made of a single piece of glass, the surface of which is made of glass, has very high durability, and is resistant to scratches. Ultrasonic waves generated from the ultrasonic vibration element on the surface propagate on the surface of the touch panel as surface acoustic waves, and reach every corner of the touch panel via the reflection array, so the propagation path of the surface acoustic waves propagating on the surface of the touch panel There is a time difference in reaching the ultrasonic receiving element due to the difference. At this time, when a surface elastic energy absorber such as a finger touches the panel, a part of the surface acoustic wave is absorbed, and the input position is detected from the resulting change in the received signal.

[0005] In the capacitance type of finger input, a uniform transparent electrode is formed on a single glass substrate surface, and detection electrodes are provided at the four sides of the transparent electrode, and a voltage is applied between the detection electrodes. .
When a conductor such as a finger touches the input surface, a current corresponding to the touched position flows through the detection electrode. Therefore, the input position is detected from the value of the current.

In the resistive film system, a transparent conductive film and a transparent conductive glass or a transparent conductive film are opposed to each other and separated by a minute point-like spacer to form a low-resistance electrode on the side of the transparent electrode of the film or glass. The electrodes are superposed so as to be perpendicular to each other, and a signal is extracted from four electrodes having low resistance. A potential gradient is applied to one of the transparent electrodes and the potential at the position contacted by input is detected from the other substrate,
Next, a potential gradient is applied to the transparent electrode on the opposite side to detect the potential in the same manner, and the position is detected from them.

[0007] Even with the finger input type, a hard object such as a ballpoint pen or a pencil may accidentally touch the surface, so a touch panel with a hard surface is required. Therefore, in this field, an ultrasonic type and a capacitance type touch panel have been used.

[0008]

However, such a conventional ultrasonic touch panel has a complicated structure image of the reflection array and a complicated controller for detecting the position from the received signal, so that the product cost is high. Become. In addition, when liquid such as water droplets adhere to the surface, there is a problem that a received signal becomes the same as when a finger is touched, and accurate position detection cannot be performed.

Further, the capacitance type touch panel has a special electrode structure because accurate position detection cannot be performed unless the magnitude and direction of the current density are constant at all points on the touch panel. Since the electrode structure is special and the controller for detecting the position from the current value is complicated, the capacitance method also has a problem that the product cost increases.

On the other hand, the structure of the resistive touch panel is simple, and the controller is simpler than the ultrasonic type or the capacitive type, so that the price is low. However, since the input side is soft with a film such as polyethylene terephthalate, if a thick hard coat layer is provided in an attempt to harden the surface, cracks will occur in the hard coat layer under a high input load, and the hard coat layer will not crack even under a high input load. If the coating layer is made thin, there is a problem that sufficient hardness cannot be obtained and the coating is easily scratched.

As described above, the display device with an input function equipped with the conventional ultrasonic or capacitance type touch panel is hardly scratched on the surface, but is expensive, and the resistive touch panel is inexpensive but has a short surface. There is a problem that the display is damaged and the display becomes difficult to see.

Further, conventional electronic devices equipped with a touch panel or a display device with an input function have a problem that a keyboard must be used as an input device because there is no inexpensive touch panel with a hard surface.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a touch panel that is inexpensive and resistant to damage by optimizing the physical properties of a substrate of a resistive touch panel in order to solve the conventional problems. . Another object of the present invention is to provide a display device with an input function that solves the problem that the surface is immediately damaged and the display becomes difficult to see. It is another object of the present invention to provide an electronic device that is inexpensive and does not easily damage the input surface.

[0014]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a touch panel including a pair of substrates having electrodes on opposing substrate surfaces, wherein one of the substrates has a thickness h and a Young's modulus E.

[0015]

(Equation 7)

[0016]

(Equation 8)

[0017] A hard coat layer is formed on the surface of the one substrate. According to the above configuration, there is an effect that the substrate is hardly damaged.

Preferably, in claim 1, the product of the thickness h of the one substrate and the Young's modulus E is

[0019]

(Equation 9)

The thickness of the one substrate is h
And the Young's modulus E is set.

In a touch panel having a first substrate having electrodes on the substrate surface and a second substrate, the thickness h and the Young's modulus E are

[0022]

(Equation 10)

[0023]

[Equation 11]

[0024] A third substrate having a hard coat layer formed on its surface is attached to the first substrate or the second substrate.

With this configuration, the surface of the touch panel is hardly damaged, and the substrate of the touch panel is not damaged because the substrate is laminated.

In the third aspect, the product of the thickness h of the third substrate and the Young's modulus E is

[0027]

(Equation 12)

It is preferable that the thickness h and the Young's modulus E of the third substrate are set so that

A touch panel according to a fifth aspect is characterized in that the surface of the substrate is subjected to a non-glare treatment.

According to the above configuration, there is an effect that the reflection of light on the surface of the touch panel is controlled to prevent a decrease in display quality due to the reflected light.

A display device with an input function according to claim 6 is
A touch panel is combined with a display device such as a liquid crystal display device, a plasma display, or a CRT.

According to the above configuration, there is an effect of preventing a deterioration in display quality due to a scratch on the surface of the touch panel.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic apparatus including a touch panel or a display device having an input function.

According to the above configuration, an input can be made by the touch panel instead of the keyboard, and the operability is improved.

[0035]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[Embodiment 1] As shown in FIG. 3, the resistive touch panel of this embodiment has an ITO selectively provided on the lower surface of a transparent substrate 3 of a polyether sulfone film having a thickness of 175 μm. Transparent electrode 4 and silver paste electrode terminals 9 at both ends thereof and silver paste routing electrodes 10 and 11
And external connection terminals 12 are formed. 0.7mm thick
The transparent electrode 5 of ITO and the electrode terminals 13 of silver paste on both ends thereof are formed on the upper surface of the glass plate substrate 6.
Dot spacers are formed on the transparent electrode 5 of ITO at a height of 5 μm and at intervals of 5 mm. The directions between the electrode terminals 9 of the substrate 3 and the directions of the electrode terminals 13 of the substrate 6 overlap so as to be orthogonal to each other, and are bonded together with the double-sided tape 7. Electrode terminal 13 of substrate 6 and routing electrode 11 of substrate 3
Is a structure in which conduction is established by a silver paste in a gap provided in the double-sided tape 7. As shown in FIG. 1, an acrylic substrate 8 having a thickness (h) of 0.3 mm and a Young's modulus (E) of 300 kg / mm ² was stuck on the touch panel through an adhesive layer to form a touch panel 2. The display device with an input function was mounted on the display device 1. The surface of the acrylic substrate 8 is subjected to a non-glare treatment, and a 10 μm silicon acrylate hard coat layer is formed thereon.

When a finger is input to this touch panel, 8
It was possible to input when the input load was 0 g or more. In addition, when input was performed on this touch panel with a polyacetal pen having a tip having a radius of 0.8 mm, input could be performed with an input load of 60 g or more. So the core hardness is 7H
The pencil was used to write on the upper surface of the touch panel with a load of 1 kg. However, since the Young's modulus was 300 kg / mm ² , the amount of deformation of the substrate was small, and the surface was not scratched. Furthermore, the upper surface of the touch panel was written with a load of 1.5 kg using a ballpoint pen, but no scratch was found on the surface. Therefore, the display was not damaged with a force that could be considered in normal use, and the screen displayed on the display device with the input function remained clean without any deterioration in appearance due to scratches on the touch panel.

Embodiment 2 In the display device with an input function of Embodiment 1, an acrylic plate having a thickness of 0.5 mm and a Young's modulus of 300 kg / mm ² was used for the substrate 8 of the touch panel shown in FIG. The surface of this acrylic plate was also subjected to a non-glare treatment, and a 10 μm silicon acrylate hard coat layer was formed thereon. When an input load was applied to the touch panel with a finger, the input was performed when the input load was 100 g or more. Also, using a pencil whose core hardness is 7H, load 1
The upper surface of the touch panel was written with kg, but the surface was not scratched. Furthermore, the upper surface of the touch panel was written with a load of 1.5 kg using a ballpoint pen, but no scratch was found on the surface. For this reason, the screen displayed on the liquid crystal display device remains beautiful without any deterioration in appearance due to scratches on the touch panel.

Third Embodiment FIG. 4 shows a touch panel at this time. 300 kg / Young's modulus of 0.25 mm thickness
On the lower surface of a transparent acrylic substrate 3 having a thickness of ² mm, an ITO transparent electrode 4 selectively provided and silver paste electrode terminals 9 on both ends thereof are formed. On the upper surface of a glass plate substrate 6 having a thickness of 0.7 mm, an ITO transparent electrode 5, silver paste electrode terminals 13 at both ends thereof, and silver paste routing electrodes 14, 15 are formed, and the routing electrodes 14, 15 are formed. The connector 16 which is in conduction with the conductive particles via the conductive particles is crimped. The transparent electrode 5 of ITO has a height of 5 μm and a height of 5 m.
Dot spacers at m intervals are formed. The directions between the electrode terminals 9 of the substrate 3 and the directions of the electrode terminals 13 of the substrate 6 overlap so as to be orthogonal to each other, and are bonded together with the double-sided tape 7. The electrode terminals 9 of the substrate 3 and the routing electrodes 15 of the substrate 6 have a structure in which conduction is established by a silver paste in a gap provided in the double-sided tape 7. Further, the surface of the acrylic substrate 8 is subjected to a non-glare treatment, and a 10 μm silicon acrylate hard coat layer is formed thereon.

This touch panel was mounted on the liquid crystal display device 1 as shown in FIG. 2 to obtain a display device with an input function. This display device with an input function has a brighter display because it has one less substrate than in the first and second embodiments.

When a finger is input to this touch panel,
It was possible to input when the input load was 0 g or more. In addition, when input was made on this touch panel with a polyacetal pen having a tip having a radius of 0.8 mm, an input was possible at an input load of 50 g or more. So the core hardness is 7H
The pencil was used to write on the upper surface of the touch panel with a load of 1 kg. However, since the Young's modulus was 300 kg / mm ² , the amount of deformation of the substrate was small, and the surface was not scratched. Furthermore, the upper surface of the touch panel was written with a load of 1.5 kg using a ballpoint pen, but no scratch was found on the surface. Therefore, the liquid crystal display device with the input function did not suffer damage due to a force that could be considered in normal use, and the screen displayed on the liquid crystal display device with the input function remained clean without any deterioration in appearance due to scratches on the touch panel.

In this embodiment, a liquid crystal display device is used as a display device. However, a similar effect can be obtained even if a plasma display or a CRT is provided.

Although an acrylic substrate was used in this embodiment, the thickness h and Young's modulus E of the substrate may be other than acrylic.

[0044]

(Equation 13)

[0045]

[Equation 14]

[0046]

(Equation 15)

However, it is necessary to adjust the interval and height of the dot spacers formed inside the touch panel so that the input can be performed with a desired input load and the Newton ring cannot be seen in the touch panel.

At this time, the Young's modulus E is 200 kg / mm ²
If the hardness is smaller, a hard coat layer of sufficient hardness is formed to cause cracks at the time of input. If the Young's modulus E is larger than 8000 kg / mm ² , the spacing and height of the dot-like spacers formed inside the touch panel are reduced. Even if it is adjusted, the input load becomes large and it is difficult to input. When the thickness h is 1.
When the distance is larger than 5 mm or when E × h is larger than 1000 kg / mm, the input load becomes large and it is difficult to input even if the interval and the height of the dot spacer formed inside the touch panel are adjusted.

[Embodiment 4] The display device with an input function according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 3 displays a screen in which a plurality of menu keys are arranged on a display unit, and outputs an operation position signal generated by touching a touch panel. When loaded, the menu key operated by the operation position signal is determined, and the data of the menu item set in the menu key is registered in a POS terminal for a restaurant where the data of the menu item is registered. Then, I could input by touching it with my finger, and even if I accidentally touched the surface with a hard object such as a ballpoint pen or a pencil, I did not learn that the display would not be visible and the display would be difficult to see. And even if a liquid such as a water drop adheres to the surface, the input can be performed without any problem.
A similar effect was observed when mounted on a portable order input terminal, ATM (automatic teller machine), OA equipment, measuring instrument, and the like. Further, since a resistive touch panel is used, the price can be made much lower than that of a conventional touch panel of an ultrasonic type or a capacitive type.

[0050]

As described above, according to the touch panel of the present invention, the thickness and the Young's modulus of the substrate are optimized, so that the touch panel is inexpensive and hardly damaged. In addition, since the display device with an input function of the present invention is equipped with a touch panel that optimizes the thickness of the substrate and the Young's modulus, it is possible to prevent the display from being difficult to see due to scratches on the touch panel surface. Furthermore, since the electronic device of the present invention is equipped with a liquid crystal display device with an input function that optimizes the thickness and Young's modulus of the touch panel substrate, it is inexpensive and can withstand heavy use.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a structural view of a liquid crystal display device with an input function of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a structural diagram of a liquid crystal display device with an input function of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a structural view of a part of the touch panel of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a structural view of a touch panel of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1. Liquid crystal display device 2. Touch panel 3. Substrate 4. Transparent electrode 5. Transparent electrode 6. Substrate 7. Double-sided tape 8. Substrate 9. Electrode terminal 10. Routing electrode 11. Leading electrode 12. External connection terminal 13. Electrode terminal 14. Routing electrode 15. Routing electrode 16. connector

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A touch panel having a pair of substrates having electrodes on opposing substrate surfaces, the thickness h of one of the substrates.
And Young's modulus E are (Equation 2) Wherein a hard coat layer is formed on the surface of the one substrate. 2. The product according to claim 1, wherein the product of the thickness h of the one substrate and the Young's modulus E is Wherein the thickness h of the one substrate and the Young's modulus E are set so as to be between the two. 3. A first substrate having an electrode on a substrate surface and a second substrate having an electrode on the substrate surface.
In the touch panel provided with the above substrate, the thickness h and the Young's modulus E are (Equation 5) Wherein a third substrate having a hard coat layer formed on its surface is attached to the first substrate or the second substrate. 4. The product according to claim 3, wherein the product of the thickness h of the third substrate and the Young's modulus E is So that the thickness h and the Young's modulus E of the third substrate
A touch panel characterized by setting: 5. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein a non-glare treatment is performed on a surface of the substrate. 6. A display device with an input function, comprising the touch panel according to claim 1 and a display device. 7. An electronic device comprising the touch panel or a display device with an input function.