TW201437718A - Manufacturing method for touch panel - Google Patents

Abstract

A manufacturing method for a touch panel includes the steps of: heating a film substrate to a temperature in the range of between 120 DEG C and 140 DEG C to increase a surface area of the film substrate, wherein an ink structure is disposed on a periphery of the film substrate; locating a translucent substrate with the film substrate, wherein an adhesion structure is disposed on a periphery of the translucent substrate; and laminating the translucent substrate and the film substrate, and an air gap is formed between the translucent substrate and the film substrate.

Description

Touch panel manufacturing method

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a touch panel.

With the rapid development of the electronics industry, various types of touch input technologies have been widely used in electronic products, such as mobile phones and tablet computers. The touch panel is used as an input interface, and the user can conveniently touch the input panel directly. The surface is used to give instructions, or to move around the surface of the touch panel to operate the mouse or input handwritten text. The display panel matched with the touch panel can also display a virtual button for the user to click, and the user can input the corresponding related text through the virtual button.

As far as the manufacture of the touch panel is concerned, the protective cover is generally directly attached to the substrate as the touch sensing to accelerate and simplify the manufacturing process. However, due to the widespread use of touch technology, when an electronic device equipped with a touch panel is used in a relatively harsh environment, for example, when operating in a high temperature or high humidity environment, the touch panel will be due to external factors. The shape of the curved or tilted shape is changed, thereby reducing the touch sensing capability of the touch panel and affecting the normal operation and display of the electronic device.

Therefore, how to provide a method for manufacturing a touch panel can improve the uniformity of the substrate of the touch panel during the bonding process, and avoid shape variation due to changes in the external environment, so as to maintain the shape The ability of touch sensing to expand the application range of touch panels has become an important issue.

In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for improving the uniformity of a substrate of a touch panel during the bonding process, and avoiding shape variation due to changes in the external environment, so as to maintain the touch. A method of manufacturing a touch panel that expands the application range of the touch panel by sensing the ability.

To achieve the above object, a method of manufacturing a touch panel according to the present invention includes the steps of: heating a film-like substrate to a temperature between 120 ° C and 140 ° C to increase the surface area of the film-like substrate, wherein An ink structure is disposed on a periphery of the film-like substrate; a transparent substrate and a film-like substrate are positioned, wherein an adhesive structure is disposed on a periphery of the transparent substrate; and the temperature is between 120 ° C and 140 ° C The light-transmissive substrate and the film-form substrate are combined to form an air gap between the film-form substrate and the light-transmitting substrate.

In an embodiment of the invention, the adhesive structure has a substrate, a first adhesive layer and a second adhesive layer, and the substrate is disposed between the first adhesive layer and the second adhesive layer.

In an embodiment of the invention, the manufacturing method further comprises the step of applying a vacuum source to the film-like substrate after heating the film-like substrate to planarize the film-form substrate.

In an embodiment of the invention, the manufacturing method further comprises the step of cooling the transparent substrate and the film-like substrate after bonding the transparent substrate and the film-like substrate.

In an embodiment of the invention, the light transmissive substrate is a glass substrate, and the film substrate is a plastic film.

In an embodiment of the invention, the transparent substrate and the film-like substrate are positioned to position the adhesive structure and the ink structure such that the ink structure and the adhesive structure at least partially overlap each other in the vertical direction of the surface of the film-form substrate.

In an embodiment of the invention, the film-like substrate is heated by setting the film-like substrate The substrate is heated to a temperature between 120 ° C and 140 ° C.

In an embodiment of the present invention, when the transparent substrate and the film-like substrate are bonded together, the transparent substrate is disposed on a pressing mechanism, and after the transparent substrate and the film-shaped substrate are positioned, the film is pressed. The mechanism applies a pressure to bond the adhesive structure to the ink structure.

In an embodiment of the invention, before the adhesive structure is bonded to the ink structure through the pressing mechanism, a step of adjusting the application pressure of the pressing mechanism to 500000 to 1000000 Pascals (pa) is further included.

In one embodiment of the invention, the surface area of the film-like substrate is increased by at least 0.1% to 0.3% after heating the film-like substrate.

As described above, the touch panel of the present invention is manufactured by preheating the film-form substrate to a temperature between 120 ° C and 140 ° C to increase the surface area of the film-like substrate without damaging it. The maximum size of the plasticity itself, followed by the subsequent bonding process, thereby not only improving the uniform flatness of the substrate, but more importantly, releasing the film substrate in advance, so that it will not be subjected to high temperature in the application environment in the future or Humidity affects the expansion or relaxation, so as to avoid shape variation due to changes in the external environment, to achieve the purpose of maintaining its touch sensing capability, and to effectively expand the scope of application.

1, 3‧‧‧ touch panel

11, 31‧‧ ‧ film substrate

111, 311‧‧‧ ink structure

112, 312‧‧‧ first transparent conductive part

113, 322‧‧‧Second transparent conductive part

12, 32‧‧‧Transparent substrate

121, 321‧‧ ‧ adhesive structure

122‧‧‧Substrate

123‧‧‧First adhesive layer

124‧‧‧Second Adhesive Layer

13‧‧‧ Air gap

2‧‧‧Fitting equipment

21‧‧‧First mould

211‧‧‧Compression mechanism

22‧‧‧ second mould

221‧‧‧heating platform

222‧‧‧Vacuum suction hole

223‧‧‧Protective membrane

A-A‧‧‧ hatching

S01~S03‧‧‧Steps

FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of a touch panel according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

1B is a cross-sectional view of a touch panel in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1C is a schematic view showing another variation of the adhesive structure of the light-transmitting substrate according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a flow chart of a method of manufacturing a touch panel according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

3A to 3C are schematic views showing a method of manufacturing a touch panel according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a schematic view of a film-like substrate of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of another touch panel according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a method of manufacturing a touch panel according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein the same elements will be described with the same reference numerals.

First, please refer to FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B , which are respectively a schematic view of a touch panel 1 and a side view at a section line A-A. The touch panel 1 includes a film substrate 11 and a light transmissive substrate 12. The periphery of the upper surface of the film-like substrate 11 is provided with an ink structure 111, and the upper surface of the film-like substrate 11 has a plurality of conductive patterns (not shown) for use in touch sensing. In practice, the film substrate 11 can be a plastic film, and the material thereof is, for example, polycarbonate (PC) or polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and the film substrate 11 A conductive pattern in which the horizontal and vertical staggered are arranged at the same time. Further, the ink structure 111 may be provided on the film-form substrate 11 by a printing method such as screen printing after providing the conductive pattern and the peripheral circuit to provide an effect of shielding the peripheral circuit.

The transparent substrate 12 can be a glass substrate, and an adhesive structure 121 is disposed on the periphery of the lower surface of the transparent substrate 12. In this embodiment, the adhesive structure 121 includes a substrate 122, a first adhesive layer 123, and a second adhesive layer 124. The substrate 122 is disposed between the first adhesive layer 123 and the second adhesive layer 124. In practice, the first adhesive layer 123 and the second adhesive layer 124 may be made of the same material or different materials, and the invention is not limited thereto. In addition, although the first adhesive layer 123 and the second adhesive layer 124 are applied to both sides of the substrate 122 to form the adhesive structure 121 similar to the sandwich structure, the first adhesive layer may also be as shown in FIG. 1C. The layer 123 and the second adhesive layer 124 are in contact with each other, and the adhesive structure 121 is formed to cover the substrate 122. In addition, in practical use, the transparent substrate 12 The adhesive structure 121 can also be a double-sided adhesive adhesive without providing a substrate in the adhesive structure 121.

The transparent substrate 12 is disposed opposite to the film substrate 11 , and the transparent substrate 12 is adhered to the ink structure 111 of the film substrate 11 by the adhesive structure 121 , and the transparent substrate 12 and the film substrate 11 are formed. An air gap 13 partitions the transparent substrate 12 and the film substrate 11. Therefore, the distance between the air gaps 13 depends on the thickness of the adhesive structure 121, the thickness of the ink structure 111, and the amount of gas retained therein, and affects the thickness of the touch panel 1.

It is worth mentioning that in the present embodiment, the adhesive structure 121 is completely adhered to the ink structure 111, that is, the adhesive structure 121 has the same surface area as the ink structure 111. Of course, in the production requirements or design considerations, the surface area of the ink structure 111 may be larger than that of the adhesive structure 121, for example, to meet the design of the shielding or decoration. Next, as shown in FIG. 1A, the adhesive structure 121 and the ink structure 111 are respectively disposed on the four sides of the transparent substrate 12 and the film-like substrate 11, but in other applications or circuit layouts, only the transparent substrate 12 may be used. The adhesive structure 121 and the ink structure 111 are provided on three sides or both sides of the film-form substrate 11, and other elements or components are mounted on the side where the adhesive structure 121 and the ink structure 111 are not provided.

Next, please refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B and FIG. 3A to FIG. 3C to illustrate a method for manufacturing a touch panel according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The manufacturing method of the touch panel includes steps S01 to S03.

Step S01 is to heat the film-form substrate 11 to a temperature between 120 ° C and 140 ° C to increase the surface area of the film-like substrate 11 , wherein an ink structure 111 is disposed on the periphery of the film-like substrate 11 . In the present embodiment, the film-like substrate 11 is a plastic film made of, for example, polycarbonate or polyethylene terephthalate. By heating the film-form substrate 11, the film-form substrate 11 is expanded by heat. The maximum size of the plastic damage caused by itself, in general, after heating the film-like substrate 11, the film-like substrate 11 will have its surface area increased by at least 0.1 according to its own heat shrinkage rate. From % to 0.3%, in this heating step, the preferred heating temperature is to heat the film-like substrate 11 to 135 °C. Of course, it should be noted that, when the film-like substrate 11 is heated, it is of course possible to cause an increase in the overall volume, but as long as the volume increase is partially or wholly due to an increase in the surface area, it is also included in the scope of the present invention. Inside.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 3A, in the actual operation, the work is performed by using a bonding apparatus 2 having a first mold 21 and a second mold 22, and the first mold 21 is provided with a pressing mechanism 211. A heating platform 221 is disposed on the second mold 22. The step of heating the film-form substrate 11 is such that the film-like substrate 11 is placed on the heating platform 221 and heated by the heating platform 221 to heat the overall average temperature of the film-like substrate 11 to 120 ° C to 140 ° C. Preferably, it is heated to 135 ° C. It should be particularly noted that, in the present embodiment, the heating platform 221 is a mechanism for heating and adjusting the heating temperature, and can stably carry the film-like substrate 11 , and the present invention is not directed to the bonding device 2 . There are any restrictions on the size, size or appearance of the first mold 21, the second mold 22 or the heating platform 221.

Next, in step S02, the transparent substrate 12 and the film-like substrate 11 are positioned, wherein the periphery of the transparent substrate 12 is provided with an adhesive structure 121. In this embodiment, the periphery of the transparent substrate 12 is provided with an adhesive structure 121, and the adhesive structure 121 includes the substrate 122, the first adhesive layer 123 and the second adhesive layer 124 as described above, and the substrate 122 is disposed on the substrate 122. Between the first adhesive layer 123 and the second adhesive layer 124.

As shown in FIG. 3B, in the implementation, the transparent substrate 12 can be disposed on the pressing mechanism 211, so that the transparent substrate 12 and the film-like substrate 11 are disposed in a relatively disposed relationship. Then, one of the positioning elements built in the pressing mechanism 211 or the positioning element is matched with the pressing mechanism 211. The positioning process of the transparent substrate 12 and the film substrate 11 can be carried out, of course, the positioning operation can also be achieved by computer control. The positioning of the transparent substrate 12 and the film-like substrate 11 is to position the adhesive structure 121 of the transparent substrate 12 and the ink structure 111 of the film-like substrate 11 so that the ink structure 111 and the adhesive structure 121 are in a film shape. The vertical direction of the surface of the substrate 11 at least partially overlaps, or both at least partially overlap in the projection direction.

In step S03, the transparent substrate 12 and the film-like substrate 11 are bonded together, and an air gap 13 is formed between the film-form substrate 11 and the transparent substrate 12. As shown in FIG. 3C, in the present embodiment, a pressure is applied by the pressing mechanism 211 to bond the adhesive structure 121 of the transparent substrate 12 to the ink structure 111 of the film substrate 11, thereby forming FIG. 1A. And the touch panel 1 shown in FIG. 1B. After the adhesive structure 121 is closely adhered to the ink structure 111, an air gap 13 is formed between the transparent substrate 12 and the film substrate 11, and the distance between the air gaps 13 is based on the thickness of the adhesive structure 121 and the thickness of the ink structure 111. And the amount of gas retained inside it. In addition, before the adhesive structure 121 is bonded to the ink structure 111 through the pressing mechanism 211, the pressure to be applied by the pressing mechanism 211 (ie, the downward pressure of the frame pressure) is further adjusted to 500000 to 1000000 Pascal. The selection and adjustment of the pressure values described above are related to the materials of the film-like substrate 11, the ink structure 111, the transparent substrate 12, and the adhesive structure 121.

It should be noted that the pressure applied in the step of bonding the transparent substrate 12 and the film substrate 11 may be a fixed value. Of course, the applied pressure may be applied according to the design and specifications of the product. The pressure is a variable value, for example, the time required for the fitting step is divided into a plurality of operating periods, and the pressure applied during each operating period is gradually decreasing. Next, in the step of positioning and bonding the transparent substrate 12 and the film-like substrate 11, the film-like substrate 11 is maintained at a temperature of from 120 ° C to 140. Between °C, the film-like substrate 11 is maintained in a state in which the surface area is maximized and the plasticity is not destroyed when it is bonded; and when it is bonded, because of the adhesion and the rigidity of the transparent substrate 12, Membrane substrate 11 maintains the size at the time of bonding, because at this size, the stress has been released in advance, and even if it is used in an environment of high temperature or high humidity in the future, the film-like substrate 11 has no space for deformation, thereby maintaining the shape. Not deformed. In addition, in other embodiments, the heating platform and the pressing mechanism may be divided into different implements, or two integrated applications, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

Therefore, by heating the film-form substrate 11 in advance to a temperature of between 120 ° C and 140 ° C to increase the surface area of the film-like substrate 11 to a maximum size that does not destroy its own plasticity, and then subsequent paste The touch panel 1 formed by the process will be at a temperature between -40 ° C and 70 ° C, and the humidity is between 5% and 90% RH, and the time is within 240 hours. Effectively maintaining the film-like substrate 11 as a uniform flat surface while avoiding variations in its shape. At the same time, since both the film-like substrate 11 and the transparent substrate 12 can be evenly leveled, the air gap 13 between the two can be maintained at the same pitch without affecting the touch feeling.

Further, in order to further improve the flatness of the film-form substrate 11, the manufacturing method further includes applying a vacuum source to the film-form substrate 11 after heating the film-form substrate 11, to planarize the film-form substrate 11. The vacuum source can be achieved by the vacuum suction holes 222 disposed on the two sides of the heating plate 221 on the second mold 22 . Further, referring to FIG. 3B, in order to prevent the vacuum source from causing vacuum suction on the film-like substrate 11, a protective film 223 is disposed on the second mold 22, and the vacuum suction must be appropriately adjusted and controlled.

Furthermore, after the transparent substrate 12 and the film-like substrate 11 are bonded together, the step of cooling the transparent substrate 12 and the film-like substrate 11 is further included, and after the cooling step is completed, FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B can be formed. The touch panel 1 is shown, and since the film-like substrate 11 has been shaped on the light-transmitting substrate 12, the surface area reduction effect caused by cooling does not affect the flatness of the entire touch panel 1.

Next, referring to FIG. 4, in the present embodiment, the upper surface of the film-like substrate 11 is used. The plurality of conductive patterns are provided to have a plurality of first transparent conductive portions 112 and a plurality of second transparent conductive portions 113. Each of the first transparent conductive portions 112 is disposed on the upper surface of the film-form substrate 11 in parallel with each other and extends in a first axial direction, and each of the second transparent conductive portions 113 is juxtaposed to each other on the film-like substrate 11 The upper surface extends in a second axial direction. In operation, the first axial direction is, for example, the X-axis direction, and the second axial direction is, for example, the Y-axis direction.

In addition, the first transparent conductive portion 112 and the second transparent conductive portion 113 are respectively disposed with an insulator so that the first transparent conductive portion 112 traverses the second transparent conductive portion 113 in a manner of bridging to isolate the first transparent conductive portion 112. A transparent conductive portion 112 and a second transparent conductive portion 113 prevent short circuits from occurring.

In this embodiment, by providing the conductive patterns of the X-axis and the Y-axis on the same substrate (the film-like substrate 11), the step of bonding the two touch-sensitive substrates can be eliminated, and the cause is not caused. The bonding process causes a problem of a decrease in yield, which improves the production yield, and also reduces the process and auxiliary materials required for the bonding, such as a transparent adhesive, film or glass cover, thereby reducing manufacturing costs and simultaneously reducing The overall thickness and volume of the touch panel facilitates thinning of the product. In addition, in terms of manufacturing cost, since a single substrate and an optical adhesive layer are used less, the cost can be reduced.

Referring to FIG. 5, the present invention can also be applied to an embodiment in which a conductive pattern of an X-axis and a Y-axis is provided on two substrates (film-like substrates). In the embodiment, an ink structure 311 and a plurality of first transparent conductive portions 312 are disposed on the upper surface of the film substrate 31. Each of the first transparent conductive portions 312 is disposed in parallel with each other and extends in a first axial direction. The lower surface of the transparent substrate 32 has an adhesive structure 321 and a plurality of second transparent conductive portions 322, and each of the second transparent conductive portions 322 is juxtaposed to each other and extends in a second axial direction. In operation, the first axial direction is, for example, the X-axis direction, and the second axial direction is, for example, the Y-axis direction.

By heating the film-form substrate 31 in advance, it is expanded by heating to no The adhesive structure 3 of the transparent substrate 32 is adhered to the ink structure 311 of the film substrate 31, and the touch panel 3 formed is also protected from external environment changes. Produces the characteristics of shape variation.

As described above, the touch panel of the present invention is manufactured by preheating the film-form substrate to a temperature between 120 ° C and 140 ° C to increase the surface area of the film-like substrate without damaging it. The maximum size of the plasticity itself, followed by the subsequent bonding process, thereby not only improving the uniform flatness of the substrate, but more importantly, releasing the film substrate in advance, so that it will not be subjected to high temperature in the application environment in the future or Humidity affects the expansion or relaxation, so as to avoid shape variation due to changes in the external environment, to achieve the purpose of maintaining its touch sensing capability, and to effectively expand the scope of application.

The above is intended to be illustrative only and not limiting. Any equivalent modifications or alterations to the spirit and scope of the invention are intended to be included in the scope of the appended claims.

S01~S03‧‧‧Steps

Claims (10)

A method for manufacturing a touch panel, comprising the steps of: heating a film-like substrate to a temperature between 120 ° C and 140 ° C to increase a surface area of the film-like substrate, wherein a periphery of the film-like substrate An ink structure is disposed; a transparent substrate and the film substrate are positioned, wherein an adhesive structure is disposed on a periphery of the transparent substrate; and the transparent substrate and the film substrate are bonded to the film substrate An air gap is formed between the light transmissive substrate. The manufacturing method of claim 1, wherein the adhesive structure has a substrate, a first adhesive layer and a second adhesive layer, and the substrate is disposed on the first adhesive layer and the second adhesive layer. Between the layers. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, further comprising: after heating the film-form substrate, applying a vacuum to the film-form substrate to planarize the film-form substrate. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of cooling the light-transmitting substrate and the film-form substrate after bonding the light-transmitting substrate and the film-form substrate. The manufacturing method of claim 1, wherein the transparent substrate is a glass substrate, and the film substrate is a plastic film. The manufacturing method of claim 1, wherein positioning the transparent substrate and the film substrate to position the adhesive structure and the ink structure such that the ink structure and the adhesive structure are on the film base The vertical direction of the surface of the material at least partially overlaps. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the film-form substrate is heated by the film The substrate is placed on a heating platform to be heated to a temperature between 120 ° C and 140 ° C. The manufacturing method of claim 1, wherein the light-transmissive substrate and the film-form substrate are bonded to the light-transmissive substrate, and the light-transmitting substrate is positioned After the film-like substrate, a pressure is applied by the pressing mechanism to bond the adhesive structure to the ink structure. The manufacturing method according to claim 8, wherein before the bonding structure is bonded to the ink structure through the pressing mechanism, a step of adjusting the pressing force of the pressing mechanism to 500000 to 1,000,000 Pascals is further included. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the surface area of the film-form substrate is increased by at least 0.1% to 0.3% after heating the film-form substrate.