KR102436107B1 - Apparatus for fabricating touch sensor and methods of manufacturing touch sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

The touch sensor manufacturing apparatus of the present invention includes a transfer unit for bonding a transfer body including a touch sensor layer with a first film, a first bonding unit receiving a transfer body from the transfer unit and bonding the second film to form a first laminate , a second bonding unit that receives the first laminate from the first bonding unit and bonding a third film to form a second laminate, and heating to impart shrinkage to the transfer body, the first laminate or the second laminate; It includes a cooling unit. The shrinkage rate is uniformly increased by the heating and cooling unit, and mechanical damage due to flexural stress can be prevented.

Description

A touch sensor manufacturing apparatus and a manufacturing method of a touch sensor

The present invention relates to a touch sensor manufacturing apparatus and a touch sensor manufacturing method. More specifically, it relates to an apparatus for manufacturing a touch sensor that can be manufactured in the form of a film or a sheet, and a method for manufacturing a touch sensor using the same.

The touch sensor refers to a sensor capable of detecting the touch point according to a change in electrical characteristics generated from the touch point. The touch sensor may be applied to the display device in the form of a touch screen panel or a touch sensor film.

The touch sensor may be classified into a resistive film type, a light sensing type, a capacitive type, and the like according to a driving method. Among them, the capacitive touch sensor converts the contact position into an electrical signal by detecting a change in capacitance formed by a conductive sensing pattern formed by another sensing pattern or a ground electrode in the vicinity when a person's hand or an object is in contact.

Recently, as a base material of the touch sensor, a polymer film is applied instead of a glass substrate to make it thinner and a touch sensor capable of realizing bending and folding characteristics has been developed. In addition, a roll-to-roll method used in manufacturing a film laminate structure is also being used in a touch sensor manufacturing process.

In the case of a film-type touch sensor including a trough or bent region, a tensile force may be applied to form the bent or bent region, and by the tensile force, cracks, peeling, etc. in the electrode pattern and insulating structure included in the touch sensor The same mechanical damage may occur.

For example, Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-0058404 discloses a method for manufacturing a touch panel using a roller, a laminator, etc., but does not include consideration for implementing a bending characteristic.

Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2000-0058404 (10.05.2000)

One object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for manufacturing a touch sensor having excellent flexural strength and reliability.

One object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a touch sensor having excellent flexural strength and reliability.

1. a transfer unit for bonding the transfer body including the touch sensor layer to the first film; a first bonding unit receiving the transfer member from the transferring unit and bonding a second film to form a first laminate; a second bonding unit receiving the first laminate from the first bonding unit and bonding a third film to form a second laminate; and a heating and cooling unit for imparting shrinkage to the transfer body, the first stacked body, or the second stacked body.

2. The apparatus of 1 above, wherein the heating and cooling unit is disposed between the transfer unit and the first bonding unit, between the first bonding unit and the second bonding unit, or at a rear end of the second bonding unit.

3. The apparatus of 1 above, wherein the heating and cooling unit includes a heating unit and a cooling unit arranged to sequentially and continuously perform heat treatment and cooling treatment.

4. The apparatus of 3 above, wherein the heating unit and the cooling unit are disposed between a pair of non-stretching rollers.

5. In the above 4, the non-stretching roller is fixed to the transfer member, the first laminate or the second laminate for a predetermined heating time and a predetermined cooling time, and moves through the heating unit and the cooling unit. Possibly arranged, a touch sensor manufacturing device.

6. The apparatus of 1 above, further comprising a hardening part disposed between the first junction part and the second junction part.

7. The apparatus of 6 above, wherein the curing unit includes an ultraviolet lamp.

8. The apparatus of 6 above, wherein the heating and cooling unit is disposed between the hardening unit and the second bonding unit.

9. The apparatus of 1 above, further comprising a front end for forming a laminate including the transfer body and the carrier substrate, wherein the transfer unit receives the laminate from the front end.

10. The apparatus for manufacturing a touch sensor according to 9 above, wherein the transfer member is separated from the carrier substrate in the transfer unit.

11. The apparatus of 1 above, wherein the transfer unit, the first bonding unit, and the second bonding unit each include one or more pressing rollers.

12. Forming a transfer body including a touch sensor layer;

bonding the transfer body and the base film to form a first laminate;

bonding a protective film to the first laminate to form a second laminate; and

A method of manufacturing a touch sensor, comprising the step of imparting shrinkage by sequentially and continuously performing heat treatment and cooling treatment on the transfer body, the first laminate or the second laminate.

13. The method of 12 above, wherein the heat treatment is performed at a temperature of 50 to 250 ^o C, and the cooling treatment is performed at a temperature of -20 to 25 ^o C, the manufacturing method of the touch sensor.

14. The method of manufacturing a touch sensor according to the above 12, wherein no tension or stretching is applied to the transfer member, the first laminate, or the second laminate while the heat treatment and the cooling treatment are performed.

15. The method of 12 above, wherein the forming of the transfer body comprises:

forming the transfer member including a separation layer, an intermediate layer, and the touch sensor layer sequentially stacked on a carrier substrate; and

Comprising the step of separating the transfer member from the carrier substrate, a method of manufacturing a touch sensor.

In embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to increase the shrinkage rate of the touch sensor or the laminate by continuous treatment of heating and cooling in a state in which stretching or tension is substantially removed. Therefore, it is possible to improve the buffering force or buffering force against flexural stress by increasing the shrinkage in advance before flexural tension is added in the commercialization process.

Accordingly, it is possible to prevent, for example, a phenomenon such as cracking or delamination of the sensing electrode of the touch sensor occurring in the curved portion of the curved display or the flexible display device.

In addition, since the shrinkage rate is increased by continuous heating and cooling treatment by the non-stretching process, substantially uniform shrinkage occurs in all directions of the touch sensor or laminate, and non-uniform shrinkage and mechanical damage occurring in the shrinkage process can be prevented. have.

1 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating an apparatus for manufacturing a touch sensor according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention.
2 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating film lamination at a front end according to some embodiments.
3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a process in the transfer unit.
4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a process in the first bonding portion.
5 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a structure and a process of a heating and cooling unit according to exemplary embodiments.
6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a process in the second bonding portion.
7 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating an apparatus for manufacturing a touch sensor according to some embodiments.
8 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating an apparatus for manufacturing a touch sensor according to some embodiments.

According to embodiments of the present invention, a transfer unit for bonding a transfer body including a touch sensor layer with a first film, receiving the transfer body from the transfer unit and bonding a second film to form a first laminate a first bonding unit, a second bonding unit receiving the first laminate from the first bonding unit and bonding a third film to form a second laminate, and the transfer member, the first laminate or the second laminate There is provided a touch sensor manufacturing apparatus including a heating and cooling unit to impart a contraction. In addition, a method for manufacturing a touch sensor capable of suppressing cracks and damage due to bending stress by using the touch sensor manufacturing apparatus is provided.

Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail. However, the following drawings attached to the present specification illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention, and serve to further understand the technical spirit of the present invention together with the above-described content of the present invention, so the present invention is described in such drawings It should not be construed as being limited only to the matters.

1 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating an apparatus for manufacturing a touch sensor according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

2 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating film lamination at a front end according to some embodiments. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a process in the transfer unit. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a process in the first bonding portion. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a structure and a process of a heating and cooling unit according to exemplary embodiments. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a process in the second bonding portion.

Hereinafter, a touch sensor manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing process according to exemplary embodiments will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6 .

According to exemplary embodiments, the touch sensor device may be designed such that continuous film cutting, moving, laminating, and the like are performed by a roll-to-roll method.

Referring to FIG. 1 , the touch sensor manufacturing apparatus may include a transfer unit 100 , a first bonding unit 130 , a curing unit 150 , a heating and cooling unit 170 , and a second bonding unit 190 . .

In the transfer unit 100 , a transfer body 40 (see FIGS. 2 and 3 ) for forming a touch sensor may be formed.

In some embodiments, a front end may be disposed at the front end of the transfer unit 100 . Referring to FIG. 2 , a laminate of the carrier substrate 30 and the transfer member 40 may be formed in the transfer unit 100 . In example embodiments, the transfer member 40 includes a separation layer 42 , an intermediate layer 44 , a touch sensor layer 46 , and an insulating layer 48 sequentially stacked on the carrier substrate 30 . can do.

The carrier substrate 30 may include, for example, a glass substrate. The separation layer 42 may be formed to promote peeling from the carrier substrate 30 in the transfer process (see FIG. 3 ). The separation layer 42 may include, for example, an organic polymer such as polyimide, polyvinyl alcohol, polyamide, or polyethylene. The intermediate layer 44 may be formed to protect the sensing electrode included in the touch sensor layer 46 and/or to match the refractive index with the sensing electrode. The intermediate layer 44 may include, for example, an inorganic insulating material such as silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, or a polymer-based organic insulating material.

The touch sensor layer 46 may include sensing electrodes formed of a transparent conductive metal oxide such as ITO, a metal, and/or a metal nanowire. The sensing electrode may include, for example, unit electrodes patterned in a mesh shape or a polygonal shape. The unit electrodes may be connected in a column direction and a row direction to form sensing lines.

The insulating layer 48 may include, for example, an organic insulating material such as an acrylic resin.

For example, a laminate of the carrier substrate 30 and the transfer body 40 cut into predetermined units by a shearing device 25 such as a cutter on the transfer unit 20 including a conveyor belt may be formed. have.

Referring to FIG. 3 , while the laminate moves into the transfer unit 100 through the transfer unit 20 at the front end, the transfer body 40 may be peeled off from the carrier substrate 30 .

For example, while the first film 50 is supplied between the first pressing roller 102 and the second pressing roller 104 , the first film 50 is aligned with the transfer member 40 of the laminate in the direction of the arrow. It can be squeezed while moving. Accordingly, as the first film 50 is discharged to the outside of the second roller 104 , the transfer member 40 may be separated from the carrier substrate 30 while being attached to the first film 50 .

The first film 50 may be, for example, a film made of a polymer material such as cellulose ester, polyimide, polycarbonate, polyester, polyethylene terephthalate, or the like. In some embodiments, an adhesive resin layer may be formed on the surface of the first film 50 .

The transfer member 40 bonded to the first film 50 may be moved to the first bonding unit 130 through the first guide roller 110 .

Referring to FIG. 4 , the transfer member 40 may be bonded to the second film 60 within the first bonding portion 130 .

For example, the second film 60 is moved to the first bonding portion 130 by the second guide roller 120 and the transfer member ( 40) can be combined. Accordingly, a first laminate in which the second film 60 and the transfer member 40 are laminated may be formed.

According to exemplary embodiments, the second film 60 may include a laminated structure of the base film 62 and the adhesive layer 64 . The adhesive layer 64 may be bonded to the transfer member 40 between the third compression rollers 125 .

The base film 62 may include, for example, a flexible resin film such as polyimide, or various optical functional layers such as a polarizing film. The adhesive layer 64 may be formed of, for example, a pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) composition or an optically clear adhesive (OCA) composition.

In one embodiment, the first film 50 may be extended while being discharged from the third compression roller 125 while being included as a part of the first laminate together with the second film 60 . In some embodiments, the first film 50 may be discharged by being separated from the first laminate by the third pressing roller 125 .

Referring back to FIG. 1 , the first laminate may be moved from the first bonding part 130 to the hardening part 150 . According to example embodiments, the curing unit 150 may include an ultraviolet (UV) lamp.

In the curing unit 150 , an ultraviolet exposure or ultraviolet irradiation process is performed. Accordingly, for example, the first adhesive layer 64 in the first laminate is cured to form a space between the base film 62 and the transfer member 40 . The bond may be strengthened.

For example, the first laminate or the second laminate is moved from the first bonding part 130 by the winding roller 152 and the UV exposure process is performed in the curing part 150 for a predetermined time. The film 60 may be fixed.

In some embodiments, when the first film 50 moves together to the hardening part 150 , a peeling part for removing the first film 50 may be further included at the rear end of the hardening part 150 .

The first laminate or the second film 60 may be moved to the heating and cooling unit 170 through, for example, a second guide roller 154 . According to exemplary embodiments, the heating and cooling unit 170 may be provided as a contraction region of the laminate.

Referring to FIG. 5 , the heating and cooling unit 170 may include, for example, a chamber-shaped heating unit 163 and a cooling unit 165 , respectively. The first laminate including the second film 60 and the transfer member 40 may sequentially and continuously pass through the heating unit 163 and the cooling unit 165 .

The first laminate may be continuously subjected to heat treatment and cooling treatment while moving in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 5 . A moving chamber or a door or window that can open and close may be disposed between the heating unit 163 and the cooling unit 165 so that the heating treatment and cooling treatment can be continuously performed.

According to some embodiments, the heat treatment in the heating unit 163 may be performed at a temperature of about 50 to 250 ^o C. In terms of obtaining an effective heating effect and preventing excessive expansion, the heat treatment may be performed at a temperature of about 100 to 200 ^o C. For example, the heat treatment may be performed through an infrared (IR) lamp, a hot air device, etc. disposed in the heating unit 163 . Alternatively, a heating roller may be disposed in the heating unit 163 to be in contact with the first laminate to be heated.

In some embodiments, the cooling treatment in the cooling unit 165 may be performed at a temperature of about -20 to 25 ^o C. In terms of preventing damage to the laminate and obtaining uniform shrinkage, the cooling treatment is about -10 to 20 It can be carried out at a temperature of ^o C. For example, the cooling treatment may be performed through a cooling air device, a cooling roller, or the like disposed in the cooling unit 165 .

The heating unit 163 and the cooling unit 165 may be disposed between the first non-stretching roller 172 and the second non-stretching roller 174 . The first and second non-stretching rollers 172 and 174 may fix and move the first laminate by pressure. For example, while the first laminate is heat-treated in the heating unit 163, the first laminate is stopped by the pressure of the first and second non-stretch rollers 172 and 174, and after the heat treatment , it may be stopped again after moving to the cooling unit 165 .

The first and second non-stretching rollers 172 and 174 do not apply tension or elongation to the first laminate, and may only perform fixing and moving roles of the first laminate.

As described above, the shrinkage rate of the first laminate may be increased by continuous treatment of heating and cooling in a state in which stretching or tension is substantially removed. Since it is not contracted by an artificial mechanical external force, damage such as breakage and cracks of the first laminate can be prevented, and the length direction (eg, TD direction) and width direction (eg, the TD direction) of the first laminate , MD direction) can be given a uniform shrinkage. In addition, the cooling treatment is performed immediately following the heat treatment by the cooling unit 165 to prevent a phenomenon of relaxation due to the recovery stress after contraction.

In FIG. 5 , the first laminate is illustrated as including the second film 60 and the transfer member 40 , but the first film 50 may also be included.

The first laminate whose shrinkage is increased by the heating and cooling unit 170 may be moved to the second bonding unit 190 to form a second laminate.

Referring to FIG. 6 , in the second bonding portion 190 , the third film 185 may be supplied between the fourth compression rollers 180 to be bonded to the first laminate. Accordingly, the second laminate in which the second film 60 , the transfer member 40 , and the third film 185 are laminated together may be formed.

For example, the third film 185 may be a protective film for protecting the touch sensor product from the outside. The third film 185 may be a resin film such as cellulose ester, PET, or PE. In an embodiment, an adhesive may be applied to the surface of the third film 185 to be bonded to the first laminate.

In some embodiments, the touch sensor manufacturing apparatus further includes a cutting part for cutting the touch sensor for each unit product or unit unit, a rolling part for winding the laminate in a film or sheet state, etc. at the rear end of the second bonding part 190 . may include

The touch sensor may be exposed to flexural tension by, for example, a winding process after a process in the second bonding part 190 . In addition, the touch sensor may be applied to a bent portion of a curved display or, when applied to a flexible display, a bending or folding operation may be performed to give a bending tension.

According to the above-described embodiments of the present invention, in the subsequent process or commercialization process through the heating and cooling unit 170, the shrinkage rate is increased in advance before the flexural tension is added to improve the buffering or buffering power against the flexural stress. have. Therefore, for example, it is possible to prevent a phenomenon such as cracking or delamination of the sensing electrode of the touch sensor occurring in the bent portion of the display device.

In addition, since the shrinkage rate is increased by continuous heating and cooling treatment by the non-stretching process, substantially uniform shrinkage occurs in all directions of the touch sensor or laminate, and mechanical damage or defects occurring in the shrinkage process can be prevented. .

In addition, according to exemplary embodiments, the heating and cooling unit 170 may be disposed after the curing unit 150 , and may prevent delamination from occurring when the unit is shrunk in an uncured state.

7 and 8 are conceptual views schematically illustrating an apparatus for manufacturing a touch sensor according to some embodiments. 7 and 8 , the position of the heating and cooling unit 170 may be appropriately changed without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

7 , the heating and cooling unit 170 may be disposed at the rear end of the second bonding unit 190 . In this case, shrinkage by heating and cooling treatment may be performed after forming the second laminate through the second bonding portion 190 .

As shown in FIG. 8 , the heating and cooling unit 170 may be disposed between the transfer unit 100 and the first bonding unit 130 . In this case, application of shrinkage by heating and cooling treatment may be performed after peeling of the transfer member 40 from the carrier substrate 30 (refer to FIG. 3 ). Accordingly, by preliminarily applying the shrinkage to the transfer member 40 before bonding to the base film, the efficiency of increasing the shrinkage rate can be improved.

20: transfer unit 25: shearing device
30: carrier substrate 40: transfer body
42: separation layer 44: intermediate layer
46: touch sensor layer 48: insulating layer
50: first film 60: second film
62: base film 64: adhesive layer
100: transfer unit 102: first compression roller
104: second pressing roller 110: first guide roller
125: second compression roller 130: first joint
150: hardening part 163: heating part
165: cooling unit 170: heating and cooling unit
172: first non-stretching roller 174: second non-stretching roller
185: third film 190: second bonding portion

Claims (15)

a transfer unit for bonding the transfer body including the touch sensor layer to the first film;
a first bonding unit receiving the transfer member from the transferring unit and bonding a second film to form a first laminate;
a second bonding unit receiving the first laminate from the first bonding unit and bonding a third film to form a second laminate; and
and a heating and cooling unit for imparting shrinkage to the transfer body, the first laminate or the second laminate,
The heating and cooling unit is disposed between a pair of non-stretching rollers,
The non-stretching roller is fixed so that no tension or stretching is applied to the transfer member, the first laminate or the second laminate for a predetermined heating time and a predetermined cooling time.
The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the heating and cooling part is disposed between the transfer part and the first junction part, between the first junction part and the second junction part, or at a rear end of the second junction part.
The method according to claim 1, The heating and cooling unit, the touch sensor manufacturing apparatus comprising a heating unit and a cooling unit arranged to sequentially and continuously heat treatment and cooling treatment is performed.

delete The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the non-stretching roller passes through the heating and cooling unit after the heating time and the cooling time to move the transfer body, the first laminate, or the second laminate. .
The method according to claim 1, A touch sensor manufacturing apparatus further comprising a curing portion disposed between the first bonding portion and the second bonding portion.
The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the curing unit includes an ultraviolet lamp.

The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the heating and cooling unit is disposed between the hardening unit and the second bonding unit.
The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a front end for forming a laminate including the transfer body and the carrier substrate, wherein the transfer unit receives the laminate from the front end.
The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the transfer member is separated from the carrier substrate in the transfer unit.
The method according to claim 1, The transfer unit, the first bonding portion and the second bonding portion each comprising one or more compression rollers, the touch sensor manufacturing apparatus.
forming a transfer body including a touch sensor layer;
bonding the transfer body and the base film to form a first laminate;
bonding a protective film to the first laminate to form a second laminate; and
Containing shrinkage by sequentially and continuously performing heat treatment and cooling treatment on the transfer body, the first laminate or the second laminate,
While the heat treatment and cooling treatment are performed, the transfer member, the first laminate or the second laminate is fixed so that no tension or stretching is applied.
The method according to claim 12, wherein the heat treatment is performed at a temperature of 50 to 250 ^o C, and the cooling treatment is performed at a temperature of -20 to 25 ^o C, the manufacturing method of the touch sensor.
delete The method according to claim 12, wherein the step of forming the transfer body,
sequentially forming the transfer member including a separation layer, an intermediate layer, and the touch sensor layer on a carrier substrate; and
Comprising the step of separating the transfer member from the carrier substrate, a method of manufacturing a touch sensor.

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