WO2005064452A1

WO2005064452A1 - Touch panel

Info

Publication number: WO2005064452A1
Application number: PCT/JP2004/019804
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kazuhiko Takahata; Yuichiro Takai
Original assignee: Nissha Printing Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2003-12-25
Filing date: 2004-12-27
Publication date: 2005-07-14
Also published as: TW200529055A; JP2007072494A

Abstract

A touch panel where, even in a high temperature environment, wire breaking, connection failure, etc. are unlikely to occur at a section where a heat seal connector is connected. The touch panel has heat- or photo-cured film deformation restricting layers (16) in regions where output ends are not formed, the regions being on planes where output ends (9a, 9b) are formed, on the lower surface side of a movable side insulation base material (6) in a thermo compression bonding region and on the upper surface side of a fixed side insulation material (3).

Description

Specification

Technical field

The present invention relates to a touch panel arranged on the front of a display. Background art

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing a general touch panel. As shown in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3188780, the touch panel includes a fixed insulating substrate 3 such as a glass plate and a movable insulating substrate 6 such as a polyester film below. On the upper side, these are opposed to each other, and the fixed side insulating base material 3 has a transparent fixed electrode 1 made of indium tin oxide (ITO) or the like on its upper surface and a silver paste or the like. A transparent movable electrode 4 made of ITO or the like and a lead wire 5 made of silver paste or the like are formed on the lower surface of the movable-side insulating base material 6. The fixed electrode 1 and the movable electrode 4 have a structure separated by a spacer 7. The end 8a of the heat seal connector 8 is inserted between the fixed insulating base material 3 and the movable insulating base material 6, whereby the output ends 9b, 9 of the lead wires 2, 5 are inserted. a is connected to the connector terminals 12 b and 12 a of the heat seal connector 8. Further, the fixed-side insulating base material 3 and the movable-side insulating base material 6 are bonded together with a double-sided tape 10 or the like at the periphery except the insertion portion of the heat seal connector 8.

In manufacturing a touch panel with a heat seal connector having the above configuration, first, the fixed-side insulating base material 3 and the movable-side insulating base material 2 are bonded together, and then the end 8a of the heat seal connector 8 is fixed. Inserted between the side insulating base material 3 and the movable side insulating base material 2 It is done in the order of doing. Disclosure of the invention

Recently, touch panels have begun to be used in devices such as mobile phones and car navigation systems. For example, in car navigation systems installed in cars, the temperature inside the car is particularly high (eg, about 90 ° C), especially in summer. ), High heat resistance is also required for touch panels.

However, in a conventional touch panel, when used in a high-temperature environment, the bonding force at the connection between the connector 12 of the heat seal connector 18 and the output terminals 9a and 9b of the touch panel body 11 is impaired. Peeling may occur, eventually leading to problems such as disconnection and poor connection.

Hereinafter, the principle of occurrence of the peeling will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing one end 8a of a heat seal connector used for a conventional touch panel, and shows a state before the touch panel is inserted into a touch panel main body 11. As shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view when the end 8 a of the conventional heat seal connector 8 is inserted between the movable-side insulating base material 6 and the fixed-side insulating base material 3, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the pressure is applied by a thermocompression bonding machine 17. FIG. 14 is an external perspective view for explaining a state of crimping by the thermocompression bonding machine. Further, FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing the conventional movable-side insulating base material 6—the one end 8a of the heat-seal connector and one fixed-side insulating base material 3 in a state of thermocompression bonding. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 8 in the direction of the arrow, and FIGS. 10 to 12 are cross-sectional views of the corresponding portions. As shown in FIG. 9, the end 8a of the heat seal connector is provided with two connector terminals 12a and 12b on the upper and lower surfaces of the base film 15 with two spaces between them. 15 and the connector terminals 12 a and 12 b are covered with an anisotropic conductive adhesive 14. The end 8a of the heat seal connector 8 is inserted between the movable insulating base 6 and the fixed insulating base 3 so as to be connected to the output ends 9a and 9b of the lead wires 5 and 2. Thermocompression bonding is performed. In the thermocompression bonding, the touch panel with the connector end 8a inserted in this way is placed on the mounting table 17b of the thermocompression bonding machine 17, and the heated rubber elastic body 17a (metal head 17c This is done by applying a pressing force from above with rubber (living body 17a attached to the tip of the heating) (Fig. 14 (arrow B)). By the way, in the thermocompression bonding area (portion where thermocompression bonding is performed with one end 8a of the heat seal connector sandwiched between the fixed insulating base material 3 and the movable insulating base material 6), as shown in FIG. There are a portion where the connector terminals 12a and 12b in the one end portion 8a and the output terminals 9a and 9b of the touch panel body 11 overlap, and a portion where these do not exist. When thermocompression bonding is performed by the thermocompression bonding machine 17 in this state, the portion where the terminals 12a and 12b and the output ends 9a and 9b do not exist is located on the rubber elastic body 17a side. The movable insulating substrate 6 is deformed (FIG. 11). The reason is that the connector terminals 12a and 12b of the heat seal connector 18 and the output end 9 of the touch panel body 11 are already hardened by heat or light curing so that the shape can be maintained. Therefore, the height of the portion where the connector terminal 12 and the output end 9 are present and the height of the portion where the connector terminal 12 and the output end 9 are not present are different even in the same thermocompression bonding area. The relatively soft movable-side insulating base material 6 is deformed.

If the deformation of the movable-side insulating substrate 6 remains after the thermocompression bonding, stress is generated (see the arrow C in FIG. 12), and the touch panel body 11 is heat-sealed. The connection to connector 8 is always stressed. In this state, if the expansion and contraction of the movable-side insulating base material 6 is repeated due to the rise and fall of the temperature, the movable-side insulating base material 6 is easily peeled off. The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a touch panel in which disconnection or poor connection is unlikely to occur at a connection portion of a heat seal connector even when exposed to a high temperature environment. Is to do. The present invention, which has achieved the above object, provides an end of a heat seal connector having a connector terminal between a fixed insulating base having an output end and a movable insulating base having an output end in a touch panel. A touch panel with a heat seal connector formed by inserting a portion and performing thermocompression bonding via an anisotropic conductive adhesive, wherein the thermocompression bonding area between the fixed-side insulating base material and the movable-side insulating base material is provided. And / or wherein the output terminal non-formation area on the output end formation plane and / or the connector terminal non-formation area on the connector terminal formation plane are provided with a heat or electromagnetic wave cured film deformation suppression layer. Sign.

In the present invention, as described above, the film deformation suppressing portion is provided at a portion other than the output end of the touch panel body or the portion where the connector terminal of the heat seal connector is present (a portion where the output end or the connector terminal is not present in plan view). By providing the layer, the deformation (unevenness of the surface of the movable-side insulating base material) of the movable-side insulating base material, which has conventionally occurred by the thermocompression bonding, can be reduced (or eliminated), and the stress of the remaining deformation is reduced. (Or disappear).

It is necessary that the film deformation suppressing layer is cured by heat or electromagnetic waves as described above, and one end of the heat seal connector is inserted between the fixed insulating base and the movable insulating base. If the film deformation suppressing layer is deformed by this thermocompression operation during the thermocompression bonding step, the above-described action of correcting the deformation of the movable insulating base material as described above becomes difficult to be exerted.

The electromagnetic waves include visible light, ultraviolet light, and the like. The film deformation suppressing layer may be made of an electromagnetic wave curable resin (a synthetic resin that is cured by being irradiated with an electromagnetic wave) or a thermosetting resin (a heat-curable resin). (A synthetic resin that cures when cured). In particular, it is preferable that the film deformation suppressing layer is made of a non-conductive material or an anisotropic conductive material. In particular, when the film deformation suppressing layer is made of an anisotropic conductive material, the film deformation suppressing layer is formed of the above-mentioned output terminal or the above-mentioned one. Even if it protrudes so as to cover these surfaces without staying in the non-formation region of the connector terminal, it is more preferable because conduction between the output terminal and the connector terminal is not impaired.

As a place where the film deformation suppressing layer is formed,

(1) the output end non-formation area on the fixed insulating base material side, (2) the output end non-formation area on the movable insulation base material side, and (3) the upper and lower surfaces of the base film. In the structure having connector terminals, there are a connector-free area on the upper surface of the base film, and (4) a connector-free area on the lower surface of the base film.

It is most preferable that the film deformation suppressing layer is formed at all of the four types. In this case, the protrusion due to the presence of the output end and the connector terminal can be leveled evenly by the film deformation suppressing layer. However, it is possible to bring the movable-side insulating base material into a completely planar state and reduce the deformation stress to zero. However, even when the film deformation suppressing layer is formed only in the above (1) and (2), or when the film deformation suppressing layer is formed only in the above (3) and (4), the protrusion is to some extent. Since the residual stress is reduced sufficiently to reduce the residual stress, there is substantially no fear of peeling at the connection portion of the heat seal connector, and good durability is exhibited.

In addition, when forming the film deformation suppressing layer only in (1) and (2), the thickness of the film deformation suppressing layer is the same as (or almost the same as) the thickness of the output end. The total thickness of the connector terminal facing the end may be the total thickness (that is, the thickness of the output terminal + the thickness of the connector terminal). In this case, the movable-side insulating base material can be in a completely flat state. Similarly, in forming the film deformation suppressing layer only in (3) and (4), In addition to making the same (or almost the same) as the thickness of the connector terminal, the total thickness of the output terminal facing the connector terminal (ie, the thickness of the output terminal + the thickness of the connector terminal) may be used. Also in this case, the movable-side insulating base material can be in a completely flat state.

Further, the film deformation suppressing layer may be formed at only one of the above four types (only (1), only (2), only (3), or only (4)). By adjusting the thickness of the film deformation suppressing layer, the effect of suppressing the deformation of the movable-side insulating substrate can be expected, and the risk of peeling at the connection portion of the heat seal connector can be reduced.

In other words, in the present invention, the film deformation suppressing layer is formed at least on one or both of the fixed insulating substrate side and the movable insulating substrate side. The heat seal connector may have a structure in which the connector terminals are provided on upper and lower surfaces of a base film, and the heat seal connector may be formed in the non-forming region of the output end. The layer may be formed at least on the upper, lower, or upper and lower surfaces of the base film in the non-connector terminal forming regions. Even in the case where the film deformation suppressing layer is formed in a small number of places as described above, in addition to the fact that the peeling prevention effect can be expected as described above, the manufacturing process is simplified as compared with the case where the film deformation suppressing layer is formed in all of the four types of places, An increase in manufacturing costs can be prevented.

Since the touch panel of the present invention has the above-described configuration, the following effects can be obtained.

That is, the touch panel according to the present invention suppresses deformation of the movable insulating base material and the like due to thermocompression bonding as described above, and reduces stress at the connection surface between the touch panel main body and the heat seal connector. Even when exposed to a high-temperature environment, such as in the use environment, disconnection and poor connection at the connection part of the heat seal connector are unlikely to occur. in addition Since the unevenness of the movable insulating substrate is almost eliminated at the thermocompression bonding part, the appearance is improved. Brief Description of Drawings

FIG. 1 is a partially enlarged side view showing the vicinity of an output end of a touch panel according to a first embodiment of the present invention before a heat seal connector is inserted.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing a thermocompression bonding portion in the first embodiment of the touch panel according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing an end portion of the heat seal connector before the touch panel according to the second embodiment of the present invention is inserted into the touch panel main body. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing a thermocompression bonding portion of the touch panel according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing a thermocompression bonding portion in the third embodiment of the touch panel according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing an end of the heat seal connector before being inserted into the touch panel main body in another embodiment of the touch panel according to the present invention. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing an end of a heat seal connector before being inserted into a touch panel main body in still another embodiment of the touch panel according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing an example of a general configuration of a touch panel. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing one end of the heat seal connector before the touch panel according to the related art is inserted into the touch panel main body.

FIG. 10 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing a thermocompression bonding step of a touch panel according to the related art.

FIG. 11 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing a thermocompression bonding process of a touch panel according to the related art.

Figure 12: Partially enlarged section showing the thermocompression bonding process of a touch panel according to the prior art FIG.

FIG. 13 is a front view showing another example of the general configuration of the touch panel. FIG. 14 is an external perspective view showing a state of thermocompression bonding by a thermocompression bonding machine. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, the touch panel according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, an example of the entire configuration of the touch panel according to the present invention will be described.

FIG. 8 is a perspective exploded view showing an example of a general configuration of a touch panel, and FIG. 13 is a front view showing a general touch panel according to another example. In general, the touch panel has a fixed-side insulating base material 3 and a movable-side insulating base material 6 opposed to each other, and has a wide rectangular fixed electrode 1 formed on the upper surface of the fixed-side insulating base material 3. At the same time, lead wires 2 are connected to two sides (sides along the Y direction) opposite to the fixed electrode 1 in the X direction, and a wide rectangular shape is formed on the lower surface of the movable-side insulating base material 6. The movable electrode 4 is formed, and the lead wire 5 is connected to each of two sides (sides along the X direction) of the movable electrode 4 facing the Y direction, and the fixed electrode 1 and the movable electrode 4 are connected to each other. The spacers are separated by spacers 7 formed on the fixed electrode 1. The end 8 a of the heat seal connector 8 is inserted between the fixed insulating base 3 and the movable insulating base 6, and is connected to the output ends 9 b and 9 a of the leads 2 and 5. The connector terminals 12b and 12a of one end 8a of the heat seal connector are connected. In addition, the fixed-side insulating base material 3 and the movable-side insulating base material 6 are bonded together with a double-sided tape 10 on the periphery except for the inserted portion of the heat seal connector one end 8a.

When manufacturing the touch panel having the above configuration, first, the fixed-side insulating base material 3 and the movable-side insulating base material 6 are bonded together, and then the end 8a of the heat seal connector 8 is fixed to the fixed side. Between the insulating base material 3 and the movable side insulating base material 6 It is inserted in the middle, and thermocompression bonding is performed by thermocompression bonding machine 17 (Fig. 14).

Examples of the material of the fixed-side insulating base material 3 include glass plates such as soda glass, borosilicate glass, and tempered glass, and engineering materials such as polycarbonate-based, polyamide-based polyetherketone-based, norpolene-based, and polyolefin-based materials. For example, a flexible transparent film of a plastic such as a plastic, an atarinole type, a polyethylene terephthalate type, or a polybutylene terephthalate type can be used. Further, it may be a laminate of a transparent film and a glass plate, or a laminate of a transparent plastic.

Examples of the material of the fixed electrode 1 and the movable electrode 4 include metal oxide films such as tin oxide, indium oxide, antimony oxide, zinc oxide, cadmium oxide, and indium tin oxide (ITO); A composite film mainly composed of an oxide, and a metal film of gold, silver, copper, tin, nickel, aluminum, palladium, and the like can be given. As a method for forming the fixed electrode 1 (or the movable electrode 4), first, the fixed-side insulating base material 3 (or the movable-side insulating base material 6) is formed using a vacuum deposition method, a sputtering method, an ion plating method, a CVD method, or the like. ) A method of forming a conductive film on the entire surface and then removing unnecessary portions by etching. In the above-mentioned etching method, a resist is formed on a portion to be left as an electrode by a photolithography method or a screen method, and then the resist is formed by dipping in an etching solution such as hydrochloric acid or spraying the etching solution. There is a method in which the conductive coating is removed from the uncoated portion, and then the resist is swelled or dissolved by immersion in a solvent to remove the resist.

As the material of the lead wires 2 and 5, a material in which a conductive boiler is contained in a thermosetting resin such as an epoxy-based, phenol-based, melamine-based, or silicon-based resin can be used. Further, a resin in which a conductive filler is contained in a photocurable resin may be used. Gold, silver, copper, It is preferable to use a conductive metal powder such as nickel, platinum, palladium, carbon, and graphite. As the conductive filler, an inorganic insulator such as alumina or glass, or an organic polymer such as polystyrene, polyethylene or dibutylbenzene is used as a core material, and the surface of the core material is formed of a conductive layer such as gold or nickel. A coated product may be used. Examples of a method for forming the lead wires ² and 5 include a screen printing method and a dispensing method. After the lead wires 2 and 5 are formed by the screen printing method and the dispense method, they are heat- or electromagnetic-wave-hardened in advance before thermocompression bonding.

Examples of the material of the movable-side insulating base material 6 include engineering plastics such as polycarbonate, polyamide, polyetherketone, norpolene, and polyolefin, and acrylic, polyethylene terephthalate, and the like. A flexible transparent film such as polybutylene terephthalate can be used.

The spacer 7 may be, for example, an acrylate resin such as a melamine acrylate resin, a urethane acrylate resin, an epoxy acrylate resin, a methacryl acrylate resin, an acryl acrylate resin, or a polyvinyl alcohol resin. Such a photocurable resin can be obtained by forming a fine dot shape by a photo process. In addition, the spacer 7 can be formed by forming many fine dots of a resin such as an epoxy resin, a polyester resin, and an acrylic acrylate resin by a printing method such as screen printing.

At the end 8 a of the heat seal connector 8, two connector terminals are provided at intervals on the upper and lower surfaces of the base film 15, and the base film 15 and the connector terminals 12 are anisotropically conductive adhesive. It has a structure covered by 14. The anisotropic conductive adhesive 14 may not be provided on the heat seal connector 8 side, but may be provided on the touch panel main body 11 side. The material of the base film 15 is polyimide, polyester, A flexible transparent film such as polyetherimide may be used. As a material and a forming method of the connector terminal 12, it is preferable to appropriately select and use the materials described for the lead wires 2 and 5.

Examples of the anisotropic conductive adhesive 14 include heat-sensitive adhesives such as polyamide-based, polyethylene-based, polystyrene-based, polyester-based, polyurethane-based, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, and ethylene-acrylate copolymer. It is possible to use a thermoplastic resin, or an epoxy, phenol, melamine, or silicon-based uncured thermosetting resin containing a conductive filler. As the conductive filler, conductive metal powders such as gold, silver, copper, nickel, platinum, palladium, carbon, and graphite may be used, or inorganic insulators such as alumina and glass may be used as core materials. It is also possible to use an organic polymer such as polystyrene, polyethylene, or divinylbenzene or the like, and coat the surface of this core material with a conductive layer such as gold or nickel. Examples of the method of applying the anisotropic conductive adhesive 14 include screen printing, a roll coater method, and a dispenser method.

The overall configuration of the touch panel with the heat seal connector is as described above. Next, the thermocompression bonding part (between the fixed insulating base material 3 and the movable insulating base material 6, one end 8 a of the heat seal connector) An embodiment will be described.

Embodiment 1

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a thermocompression bonding portion of the touch panel according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a movable-side insulating base material before inserting the heat seal connector end 8a in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a thermocompression bonding portion (the thermocompression bonding portion of the touch panel main body 11) representing 6 and the fixed-side insulating base material 3. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line DD shown in FIG.

The first embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the output end on the plane on which the output end is formed is located on the upper surface side of the fixed-side insulating base material 3 and the lower side

1 In the formation area, a heat or electromagnetic wave cured film deformation suppressing layer (hereinafter, sometimes simply referred to as a film deformation suppressing layer) 16a, 16b is provided. The film deformation suppressing layers 16a and 16b are formed to have the same thickness as the output terminals 9a and 9b.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, the manufacturing method according to the first embodiment includes, as shown in FIG. 1, a region where the output terminals 9 a and 9 b are not formed on the movable-side insulating base material 6 and the fixed-side insulating base material 3. The connector terminals 12a and 12b are also not formed in this area). Heat or electromagnetic wave hardened film deformation suppression layers 16a and 16b are provided in advance. One end 8a of the heat seal connector is inserted between the fixed-side insulating base material 3 and thermocompression bonding (see Fig. 14). At this time, the film deformation suppressing layers 16a and 16b reduce the deformation of the movable-side insulating base material 6 caused by the conventional thermocompression bonding, and as shown in FIG. That is, the stress at the connection surface between the touch panel body 11 and the heat seal connector 8 is reduced.

The film deformation suppressing layers 16a and 16b are not limited to a single layer, and may be formed of a plurality of layers. Further, it is preferable that the film deformation suppressing layers 16a and 16b are formed without gaps in the output end non-forming area. Specifically, in the connector insertion width direction (output ends 9a, 9b, It is preferable that there is no gap in the connector terminals 12a and 12b arrangement direction: (1) direction shown in Fig. 2) and no gap in the connector insertion depth direction (F direction shown in Fig. 14). However, if the space is very small, there is almost no stress on the movable-side insulating base material 6, and there is no problem with the adhesiveness.

Next, the material and the forming method of the film deformation suppressing layers 16a and 16b will be described.

Examples of the material for the film deformation suppressing layers 16a and 16b include thermosetting resins such as epoxy, phenol, melamine, and silicon. Further, a resin in which a conductive filler is contained in an electromagnetic wave curable resin (light curable resin) may be used.

Examples of the method for forming the film deformation suppressing layers 16a and 16b include a screen printing method and a dispensing method. The film deformation suppressing layers 16a and 16b of the present invention are formed by a screen printing method or a dispensing method, and then are subjected to thermosetting or electromagnetic wave curing (photo-hardening) before performing thermocompression bonding. ) Since the film deformation suppressing layers 16a and 16b are hardened before the thermocompression bonding as described above, the movable insulating substrate 6 disposed thereon is easily deformed during the thermocompression bonding. The connector terminal 12 of the seal connector 8 and the output terminal 9 of the touch panel main body 11 are not significantly different from each other.

Further, the material of the film deformation suppressing layers 16a and 16b is not limited to an insulating material. For example, of the materials described in the above anisotropic conductive adhesive 14, a material using a thermosetting resin is appropriately selected and used, and after being formed by a screen printing method, a dispensing method, or the like, before forming by thermocompression bonding, It may be heat cured.

Embodiment 2

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a thermocompression bonding portion of the touch panel according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the second embodiment before being inserted between the movable-side insulating base 6 and the fixed-side insulating base 3. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing one end 8a of the heat seal connector. 4 corresponds to a section taken along line D-D shown in FIG. 13, and FIG. 3 corresponds to a section taken along line A-A shown in FIG.

In the second embodiment, film deformation suppression is performed on the upper and lower surfaces of the base film of the end portion 8a of the heat seal connector in the thermocompression bonding region, in the non-connector terminal forming region on the plane where the connector terminals 12a and 12b are formed. Layers 16a and 16b are provided. The film deformation suppressing layers 16a and 16b have the same thickness as the connector terminals 12a and 12b. In the manufacturing method according to the second embodiment, first, as shown in FIG. 3, a heat seal connector having film deformation suppressing layers 16a and 16b provided on the upper and lower surfaces of a base film is manufactured. a is inserted between the movable-side insulating base material 6 and the fixed-side insulating base material 3 to perform thermocompression bonding (see Fig. 14). At this time, the film deformation suppressing layers 16a and 16b suppress the deformation of the movable-side insulating base material 6 which has conventionally been caused by thermocompression bonding.

The film deformation suppressing layers 16a and 16b are preferably provided directly on the base film 15. If it is provided on the base film 15 via the anisotropic conductive adhesive 14, the film deformation suppressing layers 16a and 16b are positioned at predetermined positions by the fluidity of the anisotropic conductive adhesive 14 during thermocompression bonding. This is because there is a risk that it cannot be fixed to

The material and forming method of the film deformation suppressing layers 16a and 16b of the second embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment. The film deformation suppressing layers 16a and 16b are not limited to a single layer. It may be composed of a plurality of layers. In addition, it is preferable that the connector end is formed without a gap in the non-terminal forming area. However, if it is a small space, even if it is vacant, it does not affect the adhesiveness.

Embodiment 3

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a thermocompression bonding portion of the touch panel according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention, and corresponds to a cross section taken along line DD shown in FIG.

In the third embodiment, the film is formed on the upper surface side of the fixed-side insulating base material 3 and the lower surface side of the movable-side insulating base material in the output end non-formation region and the connector terminal non-formation region on the upper and lower surfaces of the base film 15 Deformation suppression layers 16a and 16b are provided.

The manufacturing method according to the third embodiment is characterized in that the heat- or electromagnetic-wave-cured film deformation suppressing layer 1 is formed in a region where the output terminals 9 a and 9 b of the movable-side insulating base 6 and the fixed-side insulating base 3 are not formed. 6a and 16b are provided (the same thickness as the output terminals 9a and 9b, respectively) (see Fig. 1) and attached to one end 8a of the heat seal connector. The film deformation suppressing layers 16a and 16b are provided on the upper and lower surfaces of the base film 15 (the same thickness as the connector terminals 12a and 12b, respectively) (see Fig. 3). Next, one end 8a of the heat seal connector is inserted between the movable insulating base material 6 and the fixed insulating base material 3 to perform thermocompression bonding (see FIG. 14). Thereby, as shown in FIG. 5, a touch panel in which the movable-side insulating base material 6 has no deformation can be obtained.

Also in the case of the third embodiment, the material and the forming method of the film deformation suppressing layers 16a and 16b are the same as those of the first embodiment, and the film deformation suppressing layers 16a and 16b are a single layer. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be composed of a plurality of layers. In addition, it is preferable that no gap is formed in the area where the output terminal is not formed or the area where the connector terminal is not formed. However, if the space is very small, even if it is vacant, the adhesion will not be affected.

In the first to third embodiments, the total thickness of the film deformation suppression layer 16a (the thickness of one film deformation suppression layer 16a in the first and second embodiments) is determined by the thickness of the output end 9a and the thickness of the output end 9a. The total thickness of the connector terminals 12a to be connected approaches the total, and the total thickness of the film deformation suppressing layer 16b (in the first and second embodiments, the thickness of one film deformation suppressing layer 16b) is output. As the thickness approaches the sum of the thickness of the end 9b and the thickness of the connector terminal 12b connected thereto, the effect of suppressing the deformation of the movable-side insulating base material 6 due to the above-mentioned thermocompression bonding increases. Therefore, the total thickness of the film deformation suppressing layers 16a and 16b is the thickness of the output terminals 9a and 9b and the thickness of the connector terminals 12a and 12b connected to the output terminals 9a and 9b, respectively. More preferably, it is equal to or substantially equal to the sum. The configuration of the touch panel according to the present invention has been described above, but is not limited to the above-described embodiment.

For example, the output terminals 9a and 9b of the touch panel body 11 are not provided on the movable insulating base 6 and the fixed insulating base 3, respectively, but are provided on the movable insulating base 6 or the fixed insulating base. Material 3 on either side

Five It may be a digit (not shown). In this case, as shown in FIG. 6 (a cross-sectional view showing the end 8a of the heat seal connector before being inserted into the touch panel main body in the touch panel according to another embodiment of the present invention), the above output is obtained. The connector terminals 12 of the heat seal connector 8 corresponding to the ends 9a and 9b are provided collectively on one surface of the base film 15. In this case, it is preferable to form the film deformation suppressing layer 16 on the base film 15 in the region where the connector terminals are not formed.

Also, as shown in FIG. 7 (a cross-sectional view showing the end 8a of the heat seal connector before being inserted into the touch panel body in the touch panel according to still another embodiment of the present invention), the base film 15 Four connector terminals 12a, 12b are provided on the upper and lower surfaces, and one terminal 12a, 12b used for connection is connected to one of the output terminals 9a, 9b of the touch panel body 11. May be appropriately selected according to the situation. The connector terminals 12a and 12b not used for this connection are also called dummy terminals 13 in particular. Further, instead of the double-sided tape 10, an adhesive made of an acrylic resin, an epoxy resin, a phenol resin, a bur resin, or the like may be used.

Furthermore, for the formation of the fixed electrode 1 and / or the movable electrode 4, instead of etching away unnecessary portions after forming a conductive film as shown in FIG. Unnecessary parts may be covered with an insulating layer. Acryl acrylate resin is used as the insulating layer. As a method of forming the insulating layer, there are a screen printing, a photo process and the like. Further, the insulating layer may also serve as an adhesive for bonding. Further, an unnecessary conductive film may be removed by laser etching instead of etching. Further, the fixed electrode 1 and the movable electrode 4 may be formed by pattern printing of a transparent conductive ink.

<Example 1> A glass plate with a length of 85 mm, a width of 60 mm and a thickness of 1.1 mm was used as a fixed-side insulating substrate, and a 10-nm-thick ITO film was formed on the entire surface by sputtering, followed by an ITO film. By removing the peripheral part of the fixed electrode, a wide rectangular fixed electrode was obtained. First, an epoxy resin was used to form a 2-mm-wide lead wire composed of pass-pers disposed on two sides of the fixed electrode facing in the lateral direction and a routing circuit for outputting each of the bus bars to the outside. A conductive paste containing a silver conductive filler is prepared in a binder made of, and the conductive paste is screen-printed at a predetermined lead line position with a thickness of 10 m, and thereafter, Drying was performed at 120 ° C. for 30 minutes. In addition, a dot spacer made of acrylic urethane resin was formed on the fixed electrode by a photo process. In addition, the thermocompression bonding area (width 20 mm X depth

(2.5 mm), the entire surface of the non-formation area at the output end of the lead wire is screen-printed at 10 / m with an ink made of epoxy resin, and then dried at 120 ° C for 30 minutes. Thus, a film deformation suppressing layer was formed. On the other hand, a polyester resin film with a length of 85 mm and a width of 60 mm (length and width are the same dimensions as the above-mentioned fixed-side insulating base material) and a thickness of 188 μm is used as the movable-side insulating base material. A 1-nm-thick ITO film was formed on the entire surface by sputtering, and the periphery of the ITO film was removed to form a wide rectangular movable electrode 4. Further, in order to form a lead wire having a width of 2 mm comprising a busper arranged on two sides of the movable electrode facing in the longitudinal direction and a routing circuit for outputting each from the pass bar to the outside, Similarly, a conductive paste containing a silver conductive filler in a binder made of epoxy resin is prepared, and this conductive paste is screen-printed with a thickness of 10 jam, and then at 120 ° C and 30 ° C. A minute drying was performed. In addition, in a thermocompression bonding area (width 20 mm x depth 2.5 mm), an ink of epoxy resin is screen-printed to a thickness of 1 O ^ m over the entire non-forming area of the output end of the lead wire, Thereafter, drying is performed at 120 ° C. for 30 minutes, thereby forming a film deformation suppressing layer. It was.

Next, the fixed-side insulating base material and the movable-side insulating base material are opposed to each other with a spacer so as to separate the fixed electrode and the movable electrode from each other, excluding the vicinity of the output end of the lead wire. Attached with double-sided tape at the periphery to make a touch panel body.

Next, the end of the heat seal connector was inserted between the fixed insulating base material and the movable insulating base material of the touch panel body.

This heat seal connector has a strip-shaped polyimide film as a base film, and has a 1-m-wide connector terminal on upper and lower surfaces at an end portion which enters the touch panel body. A lead wire is provided with the connector terminal as one end (the lead wire is formed by the same material and method as the lead wire of the touch panel body). An anisotropic conductive adhesive is applied so as to cover the base film and the terminal of the connector. This anisotropic conductive adhesive is obtained by dispersing nickel metal powder in a binder made of chloroprene rubber. You.

Finally, by thermocompression bonding using thermocompression bonding machine (1 2 0 ° C, 2 0 kg / cm 2, 2 0 sec), it was connected to the connector terminals of the heat seal connector one to the output terminal of Tatsuchipaneru body .

In the touch panel of Example 1, the deformation of the movable-side insulating base material due to the thermocompression bonding was suppressed small, and the stress at the connection surface between the touch panel main body and the heat seal connector was reduced. Therefore, even under the high-temperature environment required for car navigation and the like, disconnection and poor connection are unlikely to occur at the connection portion of the heat seal connector.

Instead of providing a film deformation suppressing layer on the fixed insulating base material side and the movable insulating base material side as in Example 1 above, a heat seal connector was used. An film deformation suppressing layer was formed, and the other conditions were the same as in Example 1.

As a method of forming the film deformation suppressing layer of the heat seal connector, a melamine-based resin is applied to the entire area of the area where the connector is not formed in the area of the thermocompression bonding before applying the anisotropic conductive adhesive. The ink was screen-printed at a thickness of 10 / m, and then dried at 110 ° C for 90 minutes to form a film deformation suppressing layer.

In the touch panel of Example 2, the deformation of the movable insulating base material due to the thermocompression bonding was suppressed to be small, and the stress at the connection surface between the touch panel panel and the heat seal connector 1 was reduced. Therefore, even in the high-temperature environment required for car navigation, etc., disconnection and poor connection are unlikely to occur at the connection portion of the heat seal connector.

Example 3>

As in the above embodiment, in addition to the provision of the film deformation suppressing layer on the fixed insulating base material side and the movable insulating base material side, a film deformation suppressing layer was also formed on the heat seal connector. The same as above.

The film deformation suppressing layer of this heat seal connector is coated with a melamine-based resin over the entire area where the connector terminals are not formed in the thermocompression bonding area before the application of the anisotropic conductive adhesive, as in Example 2 above. Was formed by screen printing with a thickness of 10 μπι, followed by drying at 110 ° C for 90 minutes.

In the touch panel of Example 3, deformation of the movable-side insulating base material due to thermocompression was suppressed to be small, and stress at the connection surface between the touch panel main body and the heat seal connector was reduced. Therefore, even in the high-temperature environment required for car navigation and the like, disconnection and poor connection are unlikely to occur at the connection portion of the heat seal connector. <Example 4>

Example 1 was the same as Example 1 except that the method for forming the film deformation suppressing layer was as described below. As a method for forming the film deformation suppressing layer, an ink in which silver metal powder is dispersed in a binder made of a phenolic resin is used, and the ink is screen-printed with a thickness of Ι Ομπι. Drying was performed at 20 ° (: 60 minutes), thereby forming a film deformation suppressing layer.

In the touch panel of Example 4, deformation of the movable-side insulating base material due to thermocompression was suppressed to be small, and stress at the connection surface between the touch panel main body and the heat seal connector was reduced. Therefore, even in the high-temperature environment required for car navigation, etc., disconnection and poor connection are unlikely to occur at the connection portion of the heat seal connector.

Example 5>

Example 2 was the same as Example 2 except that the method for forming the film deformation suppression layer was as described below. As a method for forming the film deformation suppressing layer, an ink in which silver metal powder is dispersed in a binder made of a phenolic resin is used, and the ink is screen-printed with a thickness of 10 im. Drying was performed at 20 ° C. for 60 minutes to form a film deformation suppressing layer.

In the touch panel of Example 5, the deformation of the movable-side insulating base material due to the thermocompression bonding was suppressed to be small, and the stress at the connection surface between the touch panel main body and the heat seal connector was reduced. Therefore, even in the high-temperature environment required for car navigation and the like, disconnection, poor connection, and the like are unlikely to occur at the connection portion of the heat seal connector.

Example 6>

Example 3 was the same as Example 3 except that the method for forming the film deformation suppression layer was as described below. As a method for forming the film deformation suppressing layer, an ink in which silver metal powder is dispersed in a binder made of a phenolic resin is used, and this ink is screen-printed with a thickness of 10 ιη, and thereafter, 120 ° C, After drying for 60 minutes, a film deformation suppressing layer was formed.

In the touch panel of Example 6, the deformation of the movable-side insulating base material due to the thermocompression bonding was suppressed small, and the stress at the connection surface between the touch panel main body and the heat seal connector was reduced. Therefore, even in the high-temperature environment required for car navigation systems and the like, disconnection and poor connection at the connection portion of the heat seal connector are unlikely to occur.

Experiment>

In the same manner as in Example 1 above, a fixed-side insulating base material provided with a film deformation suppressing layer and the movable-side insulating base material were prepared, and these were opposed to each other to obtain a touch panel body, and a heat seal connector was obtained. (Sample 1).

A touch panel body was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the fixed-side insulating base material and the movable-side insulating base material were prepared without forming the film deformation suppressing layer. Was obtained (Sample 2). For each of Samples 1 and 2, insert the end of the heat seal connector between the fixed-side insulating base material and the movable-side insulating base material of the touch panel body, and then attach a silicon rubber head (2 mm wide). Thermocompression bonding was performed using a thermocompression bonding machine at a compression temperature of 130 ° C. for 10 seconds and a pressure of 30 kg / cm ² . These were left in a high-temperature and high-humidity chamber at a temperature of 85 ° C and a humidity of 85%, and the conductivity was checked by a tester every 100 hours to determine whether or not conduction was maintained (reliability test). Table 1 shows the test results. In the table, “〇” indicates good conduction and “X” indicates poor conduction.

table 1

According to Table 1 above, the touch panel of Sample 1 having the film deformation suppressing layer exhibited good conduction even when exposed to high temperature and high humidity for as long as 500 hours. It can be seen that there is no disconnection or poor connection. On the other hand, in the touch panel of Sample 2 having no film deformation suppressing layer, conduction failure occurred in 300 hours.

Sample 1 is a type corresponding to the above-described first embodiment, and the movable-side insulating base material is slightly deformed (see FIG. 2). Therefore, in the case where the movable-side insulating base material has no deformation at all like the third embodiment (see FIG. 5), it is possible to exhibit even more excellent durability. is expected. In the type of the second embodiment, the movable-side insulating base material is also slightly deformed (see FIG. 4), but it is expected that the type of the first embodiment will exhibit the same excellent durability. Industrial potential

The present invention relates to a touch panel arranged in front of a display such as an LCD, an organic EL, a CRT, etc., and these CDs are widely used in products such as PDAs, mobile phones, personal computers, car navigations and the like. . In addition, the touch panel of the present invention can be effectively used particularly for car navigation applications requiring high heat resistance.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. Insert the end of the heat seal connector with the connector terminal between the fixed insulating base material with the output end and the movable insulating base material with the output end on the touch panel, and In a touch panel with a heat seal connector that is thermocompression bonded via an adhesive,

In the thermocompression bonding region between the fixed-side insulating base material and the movable-side insulating base material, an output end non-formation area on the output end formation plane and a connector terminal on the output terminal formation plane or the connector terminal formation plane A touch panel comprising a heat or electromagnetic wave cured film deformation suppressing layer in a non-forming region.

2. The film deformation suppressing layer is formed on at least one of or both the fixed-side insulating base material side and the movable-side insulating base material side or the output-end non-forming region. Touch panel.

3. The heat seal connector has a structure in which the connector terminals are provided on upper and lower surfaces of a base film,

3. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein the film deformation suppressing layer is formed at least on an upper surface, a lower surface, or an upper and lower surface of the base film, where the one terminal of the connector is not formed.

4. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein the film deformation suppressing layer is formed of a non-conductive material or an anisotropic conductive material.