WO2015037919A1

WO2015037919A1 - Method for manufacturing touch panel sensor

Info

Publication number: WO2015037919A1
Application number: PCT/KR2014/008475
Authority: WO
Inventors: 박철
Original assignee: (주)삼원에스티
Priority date: 2013-09-10
Filing date: 2014-09-11
Publication date: 2015-03-19

Abstract

A method for manufacturing a touch panel sensor for sensing the contact position of an object, the touch panel sensor being arranged on the top of a display, comprises the steps of: forming, on an insulating substrate, a connection pattern which is arranged at each end portion of a transparent conductive film and of a transparent conductive pattern formed from the transparent conductive film; forming, on the transparent conductive film, a transparent insulating pattern which corresponds to the transparent conductive pattern and exposes a portion of the connection pattern; and forming the transparent conductive pattern from the transparent conductive film by using the transparent insulating pattern as a mask, the transparent conductive pattern being electrically connected with a wire pattern for external electrical connection.

Description

Manufacturing Method of Touch Panel Sensor

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a touch panel sensor capable of sensing a contact position of an object approaching a display.

1 is a perspective view illustrating a conventional capacitive touch panel sensor.

Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional touch panel sensor is bonded to the lower insulating sheet 10 and the upper insulating sheet 20. The lower ITO electrode 30 and the upper ITO electrode 40 are vertically arranged on the upper surface of the lower insulating sheet 10 and the lower surface of the upper insulating sheet 20, respectively.

The touch panel sensor has a capacitance value corresponding to the area of each intersection at each intersection of the lower ITO electrode 30 and the upper ITO electrode 40. When the body part is close, the upper ITO electrode disposed on the upper part of the touch panel sensor. An area of the body part is added to the area of 40 to change the capacitance value.

In addition, a connection line 48 made of metal electrically connecting the upper ITO electrode 40 and the electrode 52 of the external circuit board 50 may be formed from the end of the upper ITO electrode 40. The lower ITO electrode 30 is also connected to the circuit board 50 by a separate connection line.

In general, the connection line 48, which is provided as a metal, may not be visually seen from the upper part of the transparent upper insulating sheet 20 because light does not pass through. In the related art, the connection line 48 and the circuit board 50 are not visually confirmed. A separate reinforcement substrate 60 having a frame-shaped window decoration 65 is disposed on the upper insulating sheet 20 so as to be prevented.

According to the conventional method, the ITO electrode 40 forms an ITO thin film on the insulating sheet 20, forms a mask for the pattern on the ITO thin film by a method such as a photoresist, and uses the mask to form the ITO thin film. Patterning and removing the mask to form the ITO electrode 40. In this process, it is troublesome to go through several processes such as film formation, etching and cleaning.

After this, the cumbersome process can continue. After the ITO electrode 40 is formed, a process of forming the metal connecting line 48 is necessary. To this end, a metal thin film is formed on the insulating substrate 20 on which the ITO electrode 40 is formed by sputtering or vapor deposition, and then a mask for a pattern is formed by a method such as photoresist to pattern the connecting line 48 again. After forming, patterning the metal thin film using the mask, and removing the mask again, the connecting line 48 may be formed.

As described above, if the mask formation, patterning, etching, cleaning, and mask removal are performed several times each time, the overall manufacturing process is long and, as a result, many processes are performed, thereby increasing the probability of defects.

The present invention provides a method of manufacturing a touch panel sensor that can simplify the process of forming a conductive pattern and a wire pattern.

The present invention provides a method of manufacturing a touch panel sensor capable of forming a conductive pattern in a thin and uniform thickness.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a method of manufacturing a touch panel sensor disposed on an upper part of a display and sensing a contact position of an object may include an end portion of a transparent conductive pattern formed from a transparent conductive layer and a transparent conductive layer on an insulating substrate. Forming a connection pattern disposed on each of the substrates, forming a transparent insulating pattern corresponding to the transparent conductive pattern on the transparent conductive film, and exposing a part of the connection pattern, and using the transparent insulating pattern as a mask The method may include forming a transparent conductive pattern electrically connected to a wire pattern for electrical connection from the outside.

In addition, in the step of forming the transparent conductive film and the connection pattern, the forming order of the transparent conductive film and the connection pattern may be changed. For example, a transparent conductive film may be first formed on an insulating substrate, and a connection pattern may be formed on the transparent conductive film, or a connection pattern may be formed first on the insulating substrate, and the transparent conductive film may be covered to cover the transparent conductive film and the insulating substrate. A film may also be formed.

Regardless of the order of forming the transparent conductive film and the connection pattern, the transparent insulating pattern may be formed before the wire pattern, and the wire pattern may be formed before the transparent insulating pattern. In any case, the transparent conductive pattern can be formed from the transparent conductive film through the etching or dissociation process after forming the transparent insulating pattern and the wire pattern.

The wire pattern may be provided through a printing method using silver paste. In particular, the wire pattern may also be provided through etching in a situation where a transparent insulating pattern is already formed. Specifically, the wire layer may be formed to entirely cover the transparent conductive film and the transparent insulating pattern formed thereon, and then the wire pattern may be completed through an etching process for the designed wire pattern. In the etching process, the transparent conductive film under the transparent insulating pattern may be protected as it is. In addition, the wire layer can be applied to a method using sputtering from a method such as coating or printing.

In particular, in the present invention, since the transparent conductive film is formed on the insulating substrate as a whole for the transparent conductive pattern, it is possible to form a transparent conductive pattern having a uniform thickness using any material. For reference, Korean Patent No. 10-1192645 discloses the formation of a transparent electrode using silver nanowires, but a metal fiber solution is formed in the process of forming a transparent conductive pattern having a thickness of about 0.1 to 0.5 μm from silver nanofibers. It is applied to a thickness of about 20㎛ or more, in this case it may not be easy to form a transparent conductive pattern of a uniform thickness due to the surface tension of the metal fiber solution.

Moreover, in order to form a transparent conductive pattern, methods, such as an etching or chemical dissociation, can be used. For example, a transparent conductive pattern may be formed by removing an area except for a portion protected by a transparent insulating pattern. Alternatively, the transparent conductive pattern may be formed by chemical or physical method such as chemical treatment or exposure to a specific wavelength. The film may be partially adjusted to lose conductivity to form a transparent conductive pattern. In this process, the transparent insulating pattern may be used as a mask.

In addition, in the case where the transparent conductive film is provided using the conductive fiber solution, the conductive fibers in the areas excluding the portion protected by the transparent insulating pattern can be dissociated to form a portion protected by the transparent insulating pattern as the transparent conductive pattern. have. For example, the transparent conductive film, which is partially protected by the transparent insulating pattern, may be precipitated in the high concentration resin solution, and the metal fibers in the portion where the high concentration resin solution is exposed may be dissociated. In this process, the transparent conductive layer under the transparent insulating pattern may be protected.

In addition, the wire pattern may be formed to be electrically connected to the transparent conductive pattern through the connection pattern exposed from the transparent insulating pattern after the transparent conductive pattern is formed.

If the transparent conductive pattern is formed through dissociation after forming the wire pattern while maintaining the transparent conductive film as it is, the transparent conductive film under the wire pattern may be protected.

For reference, when the wire pattern and the transparent insulating pattern are formed on the transparent conductive film to function as a mask, a part of the transparent conductive film may remain in the pattern shape on the lower portion of the wire pattern as well as the transparent insulating pattern. A portion of the transparent conductive film under the pattern may be defined as an electrode pattern.

In addition, the transparent conductive pattern may be provided in various shapes such as straight lines, diamonds, squares, triangles, meshes, etc. according to the required pattern, and the present invention is not limited by the shape, arrangement, and size of the pattern.

Here, since the transparent conductive film remains corresponding to the shape of the transparent insulating pattern or only the transparent conductive film under the transparent insulating pattern maintains conductivity, it is easy to electrically connect the transparent conductive pattern and the wire pattern later. You may not. However, in the present invention, the connection pattern is formed to be exposed to the outside from the transparent insulating pattern, so that the wire pattern is easily connected to the transparent conductive pattern positioned below the transparent insulating pattern through the connection pattern. In addition, when the connection pattern is formed on the transparent conductive film, a silver paste material such as a wire pattern may be adopted to increase mutual bonding.

On the other hand, the transparent conductive film is carbon fiber, carbon powder, metal powder, conductive ink, conductive organic material, PEDOT (polyethylene dioxythiophene), ITO, IZO, AZO (Al-doped zinc oxide), silver nano wire, CNT (carbon Nanotube), graphene (graphene), and carbon powder (carbon powder) may include at least any one, it may be used a conductive fiber solution. The conductive fiber solution may be provided by including a synthetic resin and a volatile solvent (or water) in a metal nano wire such as silver nano wire.

For reference, the conductive fiber in the present invention may include a metal fiber including other metals (Al, Ag, Au, Cu, W) on the fiber other than the aforementioned silver (Ag) nanofibers, and further, Although not composed of a metal, it may include a fibrous nonmetallic fibrous material having conductivity such as carbon fiber.

In addition, dissociation used in the present specification may mean simply dissolving or dissolving. More specifically, dissociation of the conductive fibers contained in the transparent conductive film is entangled with each other, resulting in electrical conduction ability. It can be said that it is loosened so as to keep it sufficiently separated from each other.

In addition, the conductive fiber solution includes a conductive fiber, a water-soluble binder, and a water-soluble solvent for dissolving the water-soluble binder. As the water-soluble solvent is volatilized, the conductive fiber is fixed on the insulating substrate by the water-soluble binder to form a transparent conductive film. The insulating pattern is formed by using a liquid oily resin alone or by mixing an oily solvent for dissolving the oily resin with the oily resin, curing the oily resin on the transparent conductive film, and forming a water-soluble binder in the step of forming a transparent conductive pattern. The conductive fiber can be dissociated using a dissociable resin solution to dissolve.

The oily resin of the transparent insulation pattern may include at least one of urethane, epoxy acrylate, and polyester acrylate, and the oily solvent of the transparent insulation pattern may include acetone, acetone, Methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK), methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), cyclohexane, toluene, ethylate, ethyl acetate, butyl acetate ( butyl acetate).

In addition, the water-soluble binder of the conductive fiber solution may include ethyl cellulose, and the water-soluble solvent of the conductive fiber solution may include water or an alcohol meter.

On the other hand, although the specific materials of the water-soluble binder of the conductive fiber solution, the oil-based resin of the transparent insulating pattern and the oil-based solvents are listed above, the water-soluble binder of the conductive fiber solution includes a synthetic resin having other water solubility that can be dissolved later by the dissociative resin solution. It is apparent that the oil-based resin and the oil-based solvent of the transparent insulating pattern may also include other oil-based (or fat-soluble) synthetic resins which are not dissolved by the dissociative resin solution.

The conductive fiber in the region excluding the portion protected by the transparent conductive pattern is uniformly gradient in the dissociating resin solution and cured as it is, so that the dissociating resin solution is cured as it is, so that it is transparent in the region except the portion protected by the transparent conductive pattern. The conductive film may lose electrical conductivity.

In particular, when the metal fiber is evenly gradient in the dissociation resin solution disposed above the excluded region, and the dissipation resin solution is cured as it is in the dissociated state, the region and the transparent conduction except for the portion protected by the transparent conductive pattern The light transmission by the metal fiber in the portion protected by the pattern may be the same.

The dissociation resin solution may include a water-soluble resin and a water-soluble solvent for dissolving the water-soluble resin, and the water-soluble resin may include at least one of a water-soluble photocurable resin, a water-soluble natural drying resin, and a water-soluble thermosetting resin. In addition, the water-soluble solvent may be used alone or mixed with water or alcohol (alcohol meter).

Although only one touch panel sensor may be formed on the insulating substrate, it is also possible to define the touch panel sensor as one cell and simultaneously form a plurality of touch panel sensors on one insulating substrate. After simultaneously forming a plurality of touch panel sensors, each cell may be cut and used as a conductive pattern film of the touch panel sensor.

In addition, after the transparent conductive pattern is formed, a protective coating layer may be formed.

In the method of manufacturing a touch panel sensor of the present invention, a transparent conductive pattern is formed, but a mask pattern is formed as many times as in the prior art, a transparent conductive pattern is formed by etching, the mask pattern is removed before the wire pattern is formed, and then The process of forming the wire pattern can be simplified, and the defects generated in the process can be reduced by reducing the number of processes.

In the manufacturing method of the touch panel sensor of the present invention, since the transparent conductive film is thinly formed on the entire surface and the transparent conductive pattern is formed using the transparent conductive pattern, the transparent conductive pattern itself can be formed to have a uniform thickness.

The manufacturing method of the touch panel sensor of the present invention forms a transparent conductive pattern, but can be mass-produced through an automated process using a roll film, so that the production speed, accuracy, and yield are higher than those of the conventional technology of manufacturing one cell unit. You can increase it.

1 is a perspective view illustrating a conventional touch panel sensor.

2 is an exploded perspective view of a touch panel sensor according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

3 to 8 are plan views and cross-sectional views for explaining a process of manufacturing the top sheet shown in FIG.

9 and 10 are a plan view and a cross-sectional view for explaining a process of manufacturing a top sheet of a touch panel sensor according to another embodiment of the present invention.

11 and 12 are plan views and cross-sectional views illustrating a process of manufacturing a top sheet of a touch panel sensor according to another embodiment of the present invention.

13 is an exploded perspective view of a touch panel sensor according to another embodiment of the present invention.

14 to 18 are plan views and cross-sectional views for explaining a process of manufacturing the top sheet shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited or limited by the embodiments. For reference, in the present description, the same numbers refer to substantially the same elements, and may be described by referring to the contents described in the other drawings under these rules, and the contents determined to be obvious to those skilled in the art or repeated may be omitted.

2 is an exploded perspective view of a touch panel sensor according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 3 to 8 are plan and cross-sectional views illustrating a process of manufacturing the top sheet shown in FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 2, the touch panel sensor 100 according to the present exemplary embodiment includes an upper cover substrate 110, an upper sheet 120, a lower sheet 130, and a flexible circuit board 140.

The upper sheet 120 includes an upper insulating substrate 122, an upper conductive pattern 126, an upper wire pattern 128, and an upper conductive terminal 129. The lower sheet 130 also includes a lower insulating substrate 132, a lower conductive pattern 136, a lower wire pattern 138, and a lower conductive terminal 139. For reference, the conductive patterns are for a capacitive touch panel sensor, the lower conductive pattern 136 may operate as a transmitter, and the upper conductive pattern 126 may operate as a receiver.

The upper conductive pattern 126 and the upper wire pattern 128 may be disposed on the upper insulating substrate 122, and the lower conductive pattern 136 and the lower wire pattern 138 may be disposed on the lower insulating substrate 132. In addition, the upper conductive pattern 126 is disposed in the longitudinal direction on the upper insulating substrate 122 with reference to FIG. 2, and the lower conductive pattern 136 is disposed in the transverse direction on the lower insulating substrate 132 so that the upper conductive pattern ( 126 may be formed to intersect with each other.

The upper cover substrate 110 may use a rigid glass substrate having high strength and not easily refracted due to direct contact with a part of the body, or a light-transmitting reinforced plastic such as polycarbonate having excellent strength and not easily refracted. .

In addition, the bottom surface of the upper cover substrate 110 is provided with a frame-shaped window decoration 112, the window decoration 112 is a non-transparent component, for example, the upper insulating substrate 122 And the upper and

lower wire patterns

128 and 138 disposed on the edges of the lower insulating substrate 132 and the flexible circuit board 140. In some cases, the upper cover substrate functions as an insulating substrate so that the upper conductive pattern may be directly formed on the bottom surface of the upper cover substrate, and the lower conductive pattern may be formed on the upper cover substrate according to the structure of the touch panel sensor. . That is, as shown in the drawing, in addition to the structure of the glass substrate-upper film-lower film, it is provided in the structure of the glass substrate-film to form a conductive pattern on the bottom surface of the glass substrate and the top surface of the film, respectively, Conductive patterns may be formed on both the top and bottom surfaces of the substrate. This can be referred to a conventional laminated structure, the laminated structure of the substrate, film, etc., except for the relationship between the conductive pattern, the wire pattern, and the insulating pattern does not limit the present invention.

For reference, the upper and lower insulating

substrates

122 and 132 may use materials such as polyethylene, polypropylene, acrylloyl, polyethylene terephthalate, and glass.

Meanwhile, an optical adhesive layer may be interposed between the upper cover substrate 110, the upper sheet 120, and the lower sheet 130, and the optical adhesive layer may be optically excellent because light is transmitted through the optical adhesive layer. Alternatively, an OCA (Optically Clear Adhesive) film, a UV curing agent, or the like may be used.

In addition, the flexible circuit board 140 may include terminals electrically connected to the upper and

lower wire patterns

128 and 138 formed on the upper insulating substrate 122 and the lower insulating substrate 132. Therefore, when an object approaches the surface of the upper cover substrate 110, the change in capacitance value caused by the interaction between the upper conductive pattern 126 and the lower conductive pattern 136 is along the upper and

lower wire patterns

128 and 138. The touch position may be transmitted to an external device, and the control unit corresponding to the external device may calculate the touch position by using the change in the value.

The configuration and components of the touch panel sensor according to the present invention have been described above. Hereinafter, the manufacturing process of the upper and lower sheets for generating an electric signal by the approach of the touch panel sensor, in particular, will be described. The description of the lower sheet may be replaced with the description of the upper sheet.

Hereinafter, a manufacturing process of the top sheet 120 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 8. As will be described later, the following process may be applied to the manufacturing process of the lower sheet 130 by changing only the pattern, and may also be applied to the case of forming the upper conductive pattern and the lower conductive pattern on the upper and lower surfaces of one insulating substrate.

In addition, the top sheet 120 may be formed at the same time as a plurality of cells on the original one insulating substrate base material, it can be progressed as shown in the following drawings. In addition, this process may be easily changed in favor of mass production through the process through the roller.

Referring to FIG. 3, a roll-shaped insulating disc 121 for a touch panel sensor of a plurality of cells is provided. The connection pattern 170 and the transparent conductive layer 124 are coated on the entire surface of the insulating disc 121. In the present embodiment, the connection pattern 170 is provided later than the transparent conductive film 124, but the order of forming the transparent conductive film and the connection pattern may be changed. Specifically, in another embodiment of the present invention, the connection pattern may be first formed on the insulating substrate, and the transparent conductive film may be formed to cover both the connection pattern and the insulating substrate.

The connection pattern 170 may be provided with the same material as the transparent conductive layer 124, but the transparent conductive layer 124 may not be affected in an etching process of forming the transparent conductive pattern 126 from the transparent conductive layer 124. ) And heterogeneous materials are preferred. In addition, by adopting a material similar to the wire pattern, such as silver paste or carbon ink, bonding to the wire pattern may be improved.

The transparent conductive film 124 may be provided as an electrically conductive film using an ITO conductive film or a conductive fiber solution, which may be provided in the field according to a conventional method or may be provided by an external company in the already formed state.

Referring to FIG. 4, a transparent insulating pattern 156 corresponding to the shape of the transparent conductive pattern 126 designed on the transparent conductive layer 124 is formed, and the wire pattern 128 and the connection pattern 170 are later connected. The connection pattern 170 is partially exposed so as to be exposed. The transparent insulating pattern 156 has a rectangular shape extending vertically up and down, and includes a rectangular hole formed at even intervals therein. Therefore, the transparent insulating pattern 156 is provided with three straight patterns connected to the top and bottom and formed in a uniform width and spacing. Three straight patterns form a group, and six transparent insulating patterns 156 are arranged in parallel at equal intervals.

For reference, the above structure may be formed of various structures such as a diamond structure or a transmitter according to the type or function of the touch panel sensor as an example of a transparent conductive pattern.

After the transparent insulating pattern 156 is formed, referring to FIG. 5, a portion of the transparent conductive film 124 not covered by the transparent insulating pattern 156 may be removed by etching. The transparent insulating pattern 156 functions as a mask, and a part of the transparent conductive film 124 including ITO or conductive fibers may be removed by an etching method used for receding etching, an aqueous solution, or a silver etching solution. The transparent conductive pattern 126 may be formed by partially removing a portion of the transparent conductive film 124 not printed with the transparent insulating pattern 156.

Then, referring to FIG. 6, the wire layer 127 is formed to cover the insulating disc 121 as a whole. Here, the wire layer may be applied to a method using sputtering from a method such as coating, printing, or silk screen.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 7, the etching process of the wire layer 127 for the designed wire pattern 128 may be performed. Even during the etching of the wire layer 127, the transparent conductive pattern 126 below the transparent insulating pattern 156 may be protected as it is, and in this process, the portion of the wire layer 127 contacting the connection pattern 170 may be different. It is etched so as to have a larger area than the portion to increase the bonding property and the electrical conductivity of the connection pattern 170 and the wire pattern 128 disposed thereon. The wire pattern 128 directly connected to the connection pattern 170 may be electrically connected to the transparent conductive pattern 126 under the transparent insulation pattern 156 through the connection pattern 170.

In the present embodiment, the wire layer 127 may be applied to a method using sputtering from a method such as coating or printing. Of course, the wire pattern may be provided through a printing method using a printing method such as silver paste silk printing, gravure printing of a conductive ink including silver ink, flexographic printing, or the like. In this embodiment, the transparent insulating pattern 156 may be provided. Is formed first, and the wire pattern 128 is formed. Thus, the wire pattern 128 may also be formed through an etching process of the wire layer 127, and the wire pattern 128 may be formed on the flexible circuit board 140. It may be electrically connected to the terminal.

In the present embodiment, after the transparent insulating pattern 156 is formed, the transparent conductive pattern 126 is formed by leaving the transparent conductive film 124 under the transparent insulating pattern 156 by etching, and then, from the wire layer 127. The wire pattern 128 was formed.

In some cases, however, the transparent insulating pattern and the wire pattern may be formed regardless of the order, and then the transparent conductive pattern may be formed by etching or dissociation using the transparent conductive film. In this case, the transparent conductive film under the wire pattern may also remain on the insulating disc.

Referring to FIG. 8, after forming both the transparent conductive pattern 126 and the wire pattern 128, the protective coating layer 125 is formed, and an insulating substrate corresponding to each cell is cut by cutting the insulating base plate 121 in a paper form. 122 may be provided. In general, it is preferable to form the protective coating layer 125 and to cut the insulating disk 121 in the form of a base paper. However, in some cases, the protective coating layer 125 may be formed after cutting.

As described above, the upper conductive pattern and the upper wire pattern may be separately formed each time on the upper insulating substrate having a size used for one touch panel sensor. However, in the present exemplary embodiment, the upper conductive pattern 126 and the upper wire pattern 128 are provided by drawing out the upper insulating plate 121 corresponding to at least one or more upper insulating substrates 122 from the winding rollers. The upper insulating substrate 122 is produced in a batch, and can be cut and used directly before the touch panel sensor 100 is used.

The upper insulating plate 121 of the present embodiment is provided in a size corresponding to at least one or more upper insulating substrates 122, specifically, the process of forming the upper insulating substrate 122 of 1 * x at a time, Depending on the manufacturer's intention, the design can be changed to x * y, such as 5 * 5, 6 * 6, 3 * 4, etc.

The transparent conductive pattern 126 of the upper insulating plate 121 is protected by the protective coating layer 125 covering the entire insulating plate 121. Can escape.

For reference, the conductive pattern 126 may be provided at about 0.1 to about 0.2 μm, and the protective coating layer 125 may be provided at about 0.5 μm or more to expose the upper conductive pattern 126 to the surface of the upper protective coating layer 125. Can be prevented.

The protective coating layer 125 also covers the upper wire pattern 128 as mentioned above. Therefore, in order to electrically connect the upper wire pattern 128 with an external device such as the controller or the flexible circuit board 140, it is necessary to partially remove the protective coating layer 125 to expose the end portion of the upper wire pattern 128. have.

Through holes are formed in the upper protective coating layer 125 using a laser to expose the ends of the wire patterns 128, and the conductive terminals 129 exposed from the wire patterns 128 are connected to the flexible circuit board 140. I can connect it. Electrical changes generated in the conductive pattern 126 by the approach of the object may be sequentially transmitted through the wire pattern 128 and the flexible circuit board 140 to the controller, and the controller may adjust the touch position by using the electrical changes. Can be calculated Of course, in addition to the laser etching method of selectively peeling only the protective coating layer to form the through hole, a method of chemical etching or physical perforation may be used.

In addition, when forming the protective coating layer, the protective coating layer may be printed so that the through hole is formed from the beginning, and the conductive terminal may be directly exposed to the outside at the same time as printing, in this case, laser or chemical etching on the protective coating layer. The process of forming the through hole can be omitted.

For reference, in the present embodiment, the

conductive patterns

126 and 136 have a group structure in which upper and lower ends are connected such that three straight patterns form a group, but the present invention is not limited to the structure of the conductive pattern. The conductive pattern may be applied to a structure already disclosed in touch panel sensors such as Publication Nos. 10-2011-0092814, 10-2010-0138849, and 10-2011-0095684.

In the present embodiment, the upper sheet has been described as an object, but the same may be applied to the lower sheet, and may also be described as the case where the upper and lower conductive patterns are simultaneously or sequentially formed on both surfaces in one roll film. In addition, the upper conductive pattern may be directly formed on the tempered glass substrate, and the lower conductive pattern may be formed on the insulating substrate and then attached to each other.

9 and 10 are a plan view and a cross-sectional view for explaining a process of manufacturing a top sheet of a touch panel sensor according to another embodiment of the present invention. For reference, the description of the insulating disc, the connection pattern, the transparent insulating pattern, and the transparent conductive film and the process of forming the same may refer to the above description.

Referring to FIG. 9, in the present embodiment, a transparent conductive film 224 is formed of a conductive fiber solution containing a conductive fiber, a water-soluble binder, and a water-soluble solvent for dissolving the water-soluble binder on the insulating disc 221, and thereon. Although the connection pattern 270 is formed, the order of forming the conductive film and the connection pattern may be changed. In the process of forming the transparent conductive film 224 from the conductive fiber solution, the water-soluble solvent is volatilized and disappeared using water or alcohol, and substantially the conductive fiber is stably attached onto the insulating disc 221 through the water-soluble binder. . In this state, since the conductive fibers are entangled with each other, the transparent conductive film 224 has conductivity even if a water-soluble binder is interposed therebetween. In this embodiment, ethyl cellulose may be used as the water-soluble binder of the conductive fiber solution, and water or an alcohol-based material may be used as the water-soluble solvent. In this embodiment, the conductive fiber may include a metal fiber including other metals (Al, Ag, Au, Cu, W) on a fiber other than the silver (Ag) nanofibers mentioned above, and furthermore, Although not constituted, it may include a fibrous nonmetallic fibrous material having conductivity such as carbon fiber.

For reference, in the process of forming the transparent conductive film, the transparent conductive film may be printed and formed only on the touch area in which the transparent conductive pattern is disposed, or the non-touch area in which the transparent conductive film is formed on the front surface and the wire member or window decoration is disposed (bezel area). ) May be removed in advance by etching. That is, it is also possible to form a transparent conductive film corresponding to the touch area.

Thereafter, the wire pattern 228 is provided, and then a transparent insulating pattern 256 is formed on the transparent conductive film 224 to correspond to the desired shape of the transparent conductive pattern 226. Of course, it is also possible to form a transparent insulating pattern first and then provide a wire pattern, and the process of forming a transparent conductive pattern by dissociating or etching the transparent conductive film irrespective of the order of forming the wire pattern and the transparent insulating pattern will be thereafter. Can be.

Unlike the previous embodiment, the present embodiment sequentially provides the wire pattern 228 and the transparent insulating pattern 256, and does not cover the wire pattern 228 or the transparent insulating pattern 256. It will be described as a case of dissociating to provide the transparent conductive pattern 226. This can be confirmed through the laminated structure of each component in FIG.

The transparent insulating pattern 256 may be a liquid oil resin alone, but may be formed by mixing an oil solvent for dissolving the oil resin with the oil resin and curing the oil resin on the transparent conductive film 224.

Referring to FIG. 9 again, transparent insulating patterns 256 are formed on the transparent conductive film 224 at uniform intervals, and ends of the wire patterns 228 are positioned on the transparent conductive film 224, and the transparent insulating patterns are disposed thereon. 256 is formed.

Next, the conductive fibers in the transparent conductive film 224 of the portion not protected by the wire pattern 228 or the transparent insulating pattern 256 can be dissociated so as to lose conductivity. This process may refer to FIG. 10. Here, the dissociation may imply a simple dissolver, but more specifically, the conductive fibers contained in the transparent conductive film 224 are entangled with each other to be released and terminated to lose electrical conduction ability. It can have the meaning of changing to a sufficiently separated state.

Referring to FIG. 10, the dissociation resin solution 260 is coated on the insulating disc 221 so that the transparent insulating pattern 256 is sufficiently covered.

Here, the height of the dissociation resin solution 260 can be adjusted as long as the conductive fibers contained in the transparent conductive film 224 can be spaced enough to lose electrical conductivity.

In addition, the dissociation resin solution 260 may include a water-soluble resin and a water-soluble solvent for dissolving the water-soluble resin. In the process of curing the dissociation resin solution 260, the water-soluble solvent may be volatilized, and thus, the dissociation resin After curing of the solution 260 (substantially to cure the water-soluble resin), the height of the dissociation resin solution 260 may be somewhat reduced, but as mentioned above, the height of the dissociated resin solution 260, which has been reduced and changed, is transparent. The conductive fibers contained in the film 224 must be adjusted within a range that can be sufficiently spaced apart to lose electrical conductivity.

In any case, if the remaining water-soluble resin hardens as it is after the water-soluble solvent in the dissociative resin solution 260 volatilizes, the conductive fibers that are dissociated in the water-soluble resin and kept separated from each other naturally cannot conduct electricity any more. The transparent conductive film 224 exposed to the dissociation resin solution 260, that is, not protected by the transparent insulating pattern 256, may lose electrical conductivity.

In particular, when the metal fiber is evenly gradient in the dissociation resin solution disposed above the excluded region, and the dissipation resin solution is cured as it is in the dissociated state, the region and the transparent conduction except for the portion protected by the transparent conductive pattern The light transmission by the metal fiber in the portion protected by the pattern may be the same. Therefore, when the touch panel sensor manufactured by the present manufacturing method is viewed from above, the boundary portion of the transparent conductive pattern may be virtually obscured and may provide an effect that is not visually confirmed.

In addition, the water-soluble resin of the dissociation resin solution 260 may be used by dissolving at least one of a water-soluble photocurable resin, a water-soluble natural drying resin, and a water-soluble thermosetting resin in a water-soluble solvent, and the dissociation resin solution 260 may be The curing process may change depending on the propensity of the water-soluble resin used. For example, Alberdingk Boley's LUX series products are representative water soluble photocurable resins, and LUX 220, 250 and 255 products are cured by UV light.

Therefore, when Alberdingk Boley Co., Ltd. LUX product is used as a water-soluble resin, the water-soluble solvent may use only general water, and in some cases, when a water-soluble resin is dissolved in alcohol, an alcohol-based material may be used as the water-soluble solvent. For reference, the water-soluble resin may be provided with the same material as the water-soluble binder of the conductive fiber solution.

In summary, the portion that is not protected by the transparent insulating pattern 256 is dissociated and is not substantially removed. However, the transparent conductive layer 224 may realize the effect of losing electrical conductivity as if physically removed. The portion except for the dissociated pattern 227 is defined as the transparent conductive pattern 226.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the protective coating layer may be formed after the transparent conductive pattern is formed in the same manner as in the previous embodiments, but in this embodiment, the dissociative resin solution 260 may actually serve as a protective coating layer.

In addition, looking at the above embodiments, the surface is not smooth unless the protective coating layer is thickened by a wire pattern or transparent insulating patterns.

However, in the present embodiment, the dissociation resin solution 260 is cured and the surface thereof is smoothly provided, thereby greatly lowering the defect rate caused by bubbles interposed between the optical adhesive layer and the sheet used for bonding between upper and lower sheets.

11 and 12 are plan views and cross-sectional views illustrating a process of manufacturing a top sheet of a touch panel sensor according to another embodiment of the present invention. For reference, the description of the insulating disc, the connection pattern, the transparent insulating pattern, and the transparent conductive film and the process of forming the same may refer to the above description.

Referring to FIG. 11, in this embodiment, the connection pattern 370 is first formed on the insulating plate 321, and the transparent conductive film 324 is partially formed on the insulating plate 321 unlike the previous embodiment. The pattern 370 is formed to be printed with a transparent conductive fiber solution so as to partially expose the pattern 370. Thereafter, a transparent insulating pattern 356 is formed on the transparent conductive film corresponding to the desired shape of the transparent conductive pattern 326, but the connection pattern 370 is partially exposed for connection with the wire pattern 328. In addition, a wire pattern 328 electrically connected to the connection pattern 370 is formed. In FIG. 11, it can be confirmed through the laminated structure of each component.

11, the connection pattern 370, the transparent conductive film 324, the transparent insulation pattern 356, and the wire pattern 328 are sequentially stacked on the insulating disc 321.

Next, the conductive fibers in the transparent conductive film 324 in the portion not protected by the wire pattern 328 or the transparent insulating pattern 356 can be dissociated so as to lose conductivity. This process may refer to FIG. 12.

Referring to FIG. 12, the dissociation resin solution 360 is coated on the insulating disc 321 so that the transparent insulating pattern 356 is sufficiently covered.

If the remaining water-soluble resin hardens as it is after the water-soluble solvent in the dissociation resin solution 360 is volatilized, the conductive fibers that are dissociated in the water-soluble resin and kept separated from each other naturally cannot conduct electricity any more. The transparent conductive film 324 exposed to the dissociation resin solution 360, that is, not protected by the transparent insulating pattern 356, may lose electrical conductivity.

In summary, the portion that is not protected by the transparent insulating pattern 356 is dissociated and is not substantially removed. However, the transparent conductive film 324 may be realized in the same way as it is physically removed. The portion except for the dissociated pattern 327 may be defined as the transparent conductive pattern 326.

For reference, the dissociation resin solution 360 may be provided in a state in which the end portion of the wire pattern 328 and the terminal of the flexible circuit board are connected to each other. However, even if it is provided entirely on the insulating disk, it is also possible to remove a part of the dissociative resin solution 360 cured at the end of the wire pattern connected to the flexible circuit board terminal by using a laser.

13 is an exploded perspective view of a touch panel sensor according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 14 to 18 are plan and cross-sectional views illustrating a process of manufacturing the top sheet shown in FIG. 13. For reference, reference numerals of the touch panel sensor according to the present exemplary embodiment are distinguished from the same reference numerals mentioned above with reference to FIGS. 13 to 18.

Referring to FIG. 13, the touch panel sensor 100 according to the present exemplary embodiment includes an upper cover substrate 110, an upper sheet 120, a lower sheet 130, and a flexible circuit board 140.

The upper sheet 120 includes an upper insulating substrate 122, an upper conductive pattern 126, an upper wire pattern 128, and an upper conductive terminal 129. The lower sheet 130 also includes a lower insulating substrate 132, a lower conductive pattern 136, a lower wire pattern 138, and a lower conductive terminal 139.

The upper conductive pattern 126 and the upper wire pattern 128 may be disposed on the upper insulating substrate 122, and the lower conductive pattern 136 and the lower wire pattern 138 may be disposed on the lower insulating substrate 132.

In addition, the bottom surface of the upper cover substrate 110 is provided with a frame-shaped window decoration 112, the upper and

lower wire patterns

128, 138 disposed on the edge of the upper insulating substrate 122 and the lower insulating substrate 132. And the flexible circuit board 140 may be provided.

Meanwhile, an optical adhesive layer may be interposed between the upper cover substrate 110, the upper sheet 120, and the lower sheet 130 to be bonded to each other.

lower wire patterns

128 and 138 formed on the upper insulating substrate 122 and the lower insulating substrate 132.

Hereinafter, a manufacturing process of the top sheet 120 will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 to 18. As will be described later, the following process may be applied to the manufacturing process of the lower sheet 130 by changing only the pattern, and may also be applied to the case of forming the upper conductive pattern and the lower conductive pattern on the upper and lower surfaces of one insulating substrate.

In addition, the top sheet 120 may be formed at the same time as a plurality of cells on the original one insulating substrate base material, it can be progressed as shown in the following drawings.

Referring to FIG. 14, a roll-shaped insulating disc 121 for a touch panel sensor of a plurality of cells is provided. The transparent conductive film 124 is coated on the entire surface of the insulating disc 121 and is provided. The transparent conductive film 124 may be provided as an ITO conductive film.

Referring to FIG. 15, a wire pattern 128 is formed on the transparent conductive film 124. The wire pattern 128 may be electrically connected to the terminals of the flexible circuit board 140. Since the conductive pattern 126 is not yet formed when the wire pattern 128 is formed, the wire pattern 128 can be accurately formed in advance corresponding to the position where the conductive pattern 126 is to be formed.

Referring to FIG. 16, a transparent insulating pattern 156 is formed on the transparent conductive film 124 corresponding to the shape of the transparent conductive pattern 126. The transparent insulating pattern 156 has a rectangular shape extending vertically up and down, and includes a rectangular hole formed at even intervals therein. Therefore, the transparent insulating pattern 156 is provided with three straight patterns connected to the top and bottom and formed in a uniform width and spacing. Three straight patterns form a group, and six transparent insulating patterns 156 are arranged in parallel at equal intervals.

In FIG. 16A, a transparent insulating pattern 156 is formed on the transparent conductive film 124 at uniform intervals. In FIG. 5B, the wire pattern 128 is formed on the transparent conductive film 124. An end is positioned, and a transparent insulating pattern 156 is formed thereon.

Referring to FIG. 17, a portion not covered by the transparent insulating pattern 156 may be removed by etching. The transparent insulating pattern 156 functions as a mask, and a part of the transparent conductive layer 124 including fibers may be removed by an aqueous solution or a silver etching solution. The transparent conductive pattern 126 can be formed by partially removing a portion of the transparent conductive film 124 not printed with the transparent insulating pattern 156.

Referring to FIG. 18, after the transparent conductive pattern 126 is formed, the protective coating layer 125 may be formed, and an insulating substrate 122 corresponding to each cell may be provided by cutting the insulating insulating plate 121 in the form of a paper. have.

The protective coating layer 125 covering the entire insulating disc 121 also covers the upper wire pattern 128. Therefore, in order to electrically connect the upper wire pattern 128 with an external device such as the controller or the flexible circuit board 140, it is necessary to partially remove the protective coating layer 125 to expose the end portion of the upper wire pattern 128. have.

Through holes are formed in the upper protective coating layer 125 using a laser to expose the ends of the wire patterns 128, and the conductive terminals 129 exposed from the wire patterns 128 are connected to the flexible circuit board 140. I can connect it.

For reference, in the present embodiment, the

conductive patterns

126 and 136 have a group structure in which upper and lower ends are connected such that three straight patterns form a group, but the present invention is not limited to the structure of the conductive pattern. .

As described above, although described with reference to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, those skilled in the art various modifications and variations of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention described in the claims below I can understand that you can.

The touch panel sensor according to the present invention can be widely applied to a display for the purpose of detecting a contact position of an object.

Claims

In the manufacturing method of the touch panel sensor disposed on the display to detect the contact position of the object,

Forming a transparent conductive film on the insulating substrate;

Forming a transparent insulating pattern corresponding to the transparent conductive pattern on the transparent conductive film; And

Forming the transparent conductive pattern electrically connected to a wire pattern for electrical connection from the transparent conductive layer to the outside using the transparent insulating pattern as a mask;

Method of manufacturing a touch panel sensor comprising a.
The method of claim 1,

In the step of forming the transparent conductive film on the insulating substrate to form a connection pattern disposed on each end of the transparent conductive pattern formed from the transparent conductive film on the insulating substrate,

The transparent insulating pattern corresponds to the transparent conductive pattern on the transparent conductive film, the manufacturing method of the touch panel sensor, characterized in that to expose a portion of the connection pattern.
The method of claim 2,

In the forming of the transparent conductive film and the connection pattern,

The transparent conductive film is first formed on the insulating substrate, and the connection pattern is formed on the transparent conductive film.
The method of claim 2,

In the forming of the transparent conductive film and the connection pattern,

And first forming the connection pattern on the insulating substrate, and forming the transparent conductive film to cover the transparent conductive film and the insulating substrate.
The method of claim 2,

And etching the region excluding the portion protected by the transparent insulating pattern to form the transparent conductive pattern from the transparent conductive film.
The method of claim 2,

The transparent conductive film is carbon fiber, carbon powder, powder using metal, conductive ink, conductive organic material, PEDOT (polyethylene dioxythiophene), ITO, IZO, AZO (Al-doped zinc oxide), silver nano wire, CNT (carbon nano) Tube), graphene (graphene), and carbon powder (carbon powder) at least one of the manufacturing method of the touch panel sensor comprising a.
The method of claim 2,

The transparent conductive film uses a conductive fiber solution,

Using the transparent insulating pattern as a mask, the conductive fibers in the regions excluding the portions protected by the transparent insulating pattern are dissociated from each other. Method for manufacturing a touch panel sensor, characterized in that to form a conductive pattern.
The method of claim 7, wherein

The conductive fiber solution includes the conductive fiber, the water-soluble binder, and a water-soluble solvent for dissolving the water-soluble binder, and the conductive fiber is fixed on the insulating substrate by the water-soluble binder while the water-soluble solvent is volatilized, so that the transparent fiber is fixed. Forming a conductive film,

The transparent insulating pattern is formed by using a liquid oil resin alone or by mixing an oil solvent for dissolving the oil resin with the oil resin, by curing the oil resin on the transparent conductive film,

Method of manufacturing a touch panel sensor, characterized in that for dissolving the conductive fiber using a dissociating resin solution to dissolve the water-soluble binder in the step of forming the transparent conductive pattern.
The method of claim 8,

The oily resin of the transparent insulating pattern includes at least one of urethane, epoxy acrylate, and polyester acrylate,

The oil-based solvent of the transparent insulating pattern is acetone (acetone), methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK; Methyl isobutyl ketone), methyl ethyl ketone (MEK; methyl ethyl ketone), cyclohexane, toluene, ethylate Method of manufacturing a touch panel sensor comprising at least any one of (ethylate), ethyl acetate, and butyl acetate.
The method of claim 8,

The water-soluble binder of the conductive fiber solution includes ethyl cellulose (ethyl cellulose),

The water-soluble solvent of the conductive fiber solution is a method of manufacturing a touch panel sensor, characterized in that it comprises water or alcohol (alcohol meter).
The method of claim 8,

The dissociation resin solution is cured as it is while the conductive fibers in the region excluding the portion protected by the transparent conductive pattern are evenly gradient and dissociated in the dissociation resin solution.

The method of manufacturing a touch panel sensor, wherein the transparent conductive film loses electrical conductivity in a region excluding a portion protected by the transparent conductive pattern.
The method of claim 8,

The dissociation resin solution comprises a water-soluble resin and a water-soluble solvent for dissolving the water-soluble resin.
The method of claim 12,

The water-soluble resin is a method for manufacturing a touch panel sensor, characterized in that it comprises at least one of a water-soluble photo-curing resin, water-soluble natural drying resin, and a water-soluble thermosetting resin.
The method of claim 12,

The water-soluble solvent is a method of manufacturing a touch panel sensor, characterized in that used alone or mixed with water or alcohol (alcohol meter).
The method of claim 2,

After the transparent conductive pattern is formed using the transparent insulating pattern as a mask,

And forming the wire pattern electrically connected to the transparent conductive pattern through the connection pattern exposed from the transparent insulating pattern.
The method of claim 2,

After forming the wire pattern electrically connected to the transparent conductive pattern through the connection pattern exposed from the transparent insulating pattern while maintaining the transparent conductive film as it is,

And manufacturing the transparent conductive pattern using the transparent insulating pattern as a mask.
The method of claim 2,

After forming the wire pattern electrically connected to the transparent conductive pattern through the connection pattern while maintaining the transparent conductive film as it is,

And forming a transparent insulating pattern exposing a part of the connection pattern, and using the transparent insulating pattern as a mask to form the transparent insulating pattern.
The method of claim 2,

The wire pattern is provided by etching a wire layer provided to cover the entire transparent conductive film, the method of manufacturing a touch panel sensor, characterized in that the transparent conductive film under the transparent insulating pattern is protected during the etching process.
The method of claim 2,

After forming the transparent conductive pattern, a method of manufacturing a touch panel sensor, characterized in that to form a protective coating layer.
The method of claim 2,

A cell for one or a plurality of touch panel sensors is formed simultaneously on the insulating substrate, and the insulating substrate is provided in the form of a flat film or a roll film.