JP2014170586A - Touch panel, touch panel device, user interface device, and electronic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a touch panel for contributing to, as the whole touch panel, area saving, increase in a detection area on the other hand reduction in a wiring area, as well as reduction in thickness of the touch panel device, and excellent in connection reliability.SOLUTION: A base sheet has flexibility. A wiring area 10b comprises a wiring part 11 extending to length reaching outward a touch panel control circuit which should perform electrical wiring to the touch panel control circuit for performing projection transformation of a detection signal of a touch panel 10 into a coordinate signal representing XY coordinates on a display.

Description

  The present invention relates to a touch panel device that is applied together with a display device as a user interface device to an electronic device such as a mobile phone.

  In an electronic device having a display, a touch panel may be mounted as a user interface (UI) that cooperates with the display in order to operate the display easily and quickly. The touch panel is almost transparent so as not to hinder the visual recognition of the display, and is arranged on the front surface of the display in accordance with the touch position of the touch body to be detected such as the user's finger or pen on the surface. This is a type of sensor that outputs a detection signal. Examples of the detection method include a thin film resistance method and a capacitance method.

  Such a type of touch panel is disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example. The touch panel disclosed in Patent Document 1 is an example of a double structure having a fixed substrate and a movable substrate arranged in parallel to the fixed substrate at a predetermined interval through a frame-shaped spacer.

  On the other hand, an example of a sheet-like touch panel is shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 1, the touch panel 60 has a rectangular sheet shape. In the figure, reference numeral 60a indicates a substantially transparent detection area on which a transparent electrode is formed, and reference numeral 60b indicates an opaque wiring area. At one end of the touch panel 60, a part of the wiring pattern in the wiring region 60b is exposed in a land shape (pad shape), and an FFC (Flexible Flat Cable) 70 is thermocompression bonded as an electrical wiring means to the control circuit board. Or it is soldered. At the end of the FFC 70, a contact portion 70a for insertion into an FFC connector mounted on the control circuit board is formed. A touch panel device is configured by a combination of such a touch panel and a control circuit board connected via an electrical wiring unit.

JP 2005-190382 A

  Meanwhile, portable electronic devices having a display such as a mobile phone are required by the market to have a large display screen while reducing the size of the housing. In recent years, in order to satisfy these requirements, a display that has been enlarged to the same extent as the size of the housing tends to be employed. In order to make the touch panel compatible with such a display, it is necessary to reduce the wiring area while reducing the area of the entire touch panel and increasing the detection area. In order to reduce the size of an electronic device, it is useful to reduce the size of a touch panel device including a touch panel and its control circuit board, in particular, to reduce the thickness so that the electronic device can be arranged with high density.

  However, in order to connect the touch panel shown in FIG. 1 to the control circuit board, a part of the FFC, which is a separate component from the touch panel, occupies a part of the wiring area of the touch panel. As a result, the wiring area is reduced while the area of the touch panel device is increased, and the touch panel device is reduced in thickness.

  Further, since the FFC is joined to the wiring area of the touch panel by thermocompression bonding or the like, there is a problem in connection reliability.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to reduce the area of the entire touch panel, increase the detection area, reduce the wiring area, and reduce the thickness of the touch panel device. Is to provide.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a touch panel device having such a touch panel.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a user interface device having such a touch panel device.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide an electronic apparatus having such a user interface device.

  According to the present invention, a detection region that includes a transparent electrode formed on a substantially transparent base sheet and outputs a detection signal corresponding to a touch position touched by a touch body that is a detection target; and the detection region of the base sheet And a wiring region having a conductive pattern formed so as to be connected to the transparent electrode, the base sheet has flexibility, and the wiring region displays a detection signal of the touch panel. A touch panel having a wiring portion extending to reach the touch panel control circuit toward the outside in order to make an electrical wiring to the touch panel control circuit that performs projection conversion into a coordinate signal representing the above XY coordinates Is obtained.

  According to the present invention, the touch panel includes the touch panel and a circuit board on which the touch panel control circuit is formed, and the touch panel control circuit is connected to the transparent electrode through the wiring portion. A device is obtained.

  The circuit board may include a connector that removably receives the wiring portion of the touch panel.

  You may further have the flame | frame which joins to the front surface of the said touch panel, and hold | maintains the flatness of this touch panel.

  The frame may have a plate shape having an area corresponding to the touch panel, and may have a substantially transparent area corresponding to the detection area of the touch panel.

  According to the present invention, there is provided a user interface that is mounted on an electronic device and controls the operation of the electronic device including a display operation of the display based on a touch operation by a user, the touch panel device, the display, and the display A display device having a display control circuit for driving the display, and a user interface control circuit for instructing the display control circuit to change display contents on the display based on the coordinate signal from the touch panel device. The touch panel is arranged on the front surface side of the display, while the circuit board is arranged on the back surface side of the display.

  In addition to the touch panel control circuit, at least one of the display control circuit and the user interface control circuit may be formed on the circuit board.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, an electronic apparatus having the user interface device can be obtained.

  The touch panel according to the present invention contributes to reducing the area of the entire touch panel, increasing the detection area, reducing the wiring area, and reducing the thickness of the touch panel device, and is excellent in connection reliability.

It is a top view which shows the touchscreen by the related technique of this invention. It is a top view which shows the touchscreen by the Example of this invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a user interface device having the touch panel illustrated in FIG. 2.

  The touch panel according to the present invention has a detection area and a wiring area. The detection area includes a transparent electrode formed on a substantially transparent base sheet, and outputs a detection signal corresponding to a touch position touched by a touch body that is a detection target. The wiring region includes a conductive pattern formed so as to be connected to the transparent electrode around the detection region of the base sheet.

  In particular, in this touch panel, the base sheet has flexibility. Also, the wiring area has a length that reaches the touch panel control circuit toward the outside in order to make an electrical wiring to the touch panel control circuit that projects and converts the detection signal of the touch panel into a coordinate signal representing the XY coordinates on the display. It has an extended wiring part.

  With such a configuration, the touch panel according to the present invention contributes to reducing the wiring area while reducing the area of the entire touch panel, increasing the detection area, and reducing the thickness of the touch panel device. Are better. In addition, the time and cost required for manufacturing and assembly can be expected to be reduced.

  Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, a more specific embodiment of a touch panel display device as a touch panel according to the present invention, a touch panel device having the touch panel, and a user interface device having the touch panel device will be described in detail.

  Referring to FIG. 2, the touch panel 10 according to the present embodiment includes a detection region 10a and a wiring region 10b, as in the related art shown in FIG.

  The detection region 10a includes a transparent electrode (not shown) formed on a substantially transparent base sheet such as a PET (PolyEthylene Terephthalate) film, and a detection signal corresponding to a touch position touched by a touch body as a detection target. Output.

  The wiring region 10b includes a conductive pattern (not shown) that is formed around the detection region 10a of the base sheet so as to be connected to the transparent electrode and performs an electrical length adjustment function.

  In particular, in this touch panel, the base sheet has flexibility.

  Further, the wiring area 10b controls the touch panel toward the outside in order to make an electrical wiring to a touch panel control circuit (not shown) for projecting and converting the detection signal of the touch panel 10 into a coordinate signal representing XY coordinates on the display. It has the wiring part 11 extended to the length which reaches | attains a circuit. The conductive pattern is exposed at the tip of the wiring part 11 and constitutes a contact part 11a.

  The wiring part 11 is an integral body in which at least the base sheet is made of a single material such as a PET film, together with the detection area 10a and the wiring area 10b, and has flexibility as a whole.

  Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3 together, the touch panel device according to the present embodiment is applied to a mobile phone provided with a display device.

  The touch panel device includes a touch panel 10 and a circuit board 40 on which a touch panel control circuit is formed. The touch panel control circuit is connected to the transparent electrode of the touch panel 10 via the wiring part 11 bent into a U shape using flexibility.

  Further, the circuit board 40 includes a connector 42 that removably receives the contact portion 11a of the wiring portion 11 of the touch panel 10.

  Furthermore, it has a frame plate 20 that is bonded to the front surface of the touch panel 10 and maintains the flatness of the touch panel 10. The frame plate 20 is made of acrylic or the like, has a plate shape having an area corresponding to the touch panel 10, and has a substantially transparent area corresponding to the detection area 10 a of the touch panel 10. On the other hand, the frame plate 20 is subjected to silk printing or the like corresponding to the wiring region 10 b of the touch panel 10. The means for maintaining the flatness of the touch panel 10 is not limited to the frame plate 20, and a frame having a frame shape corresponding to the wiring region 10 b of the touch panel 10 is fixed to the front surface side or the back surface side of the touch panel 10. May be.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the touch panel display device as a user interface device according to the present embodiment is mounted on a mobile phone, and controls the operation of the electronic device including the display operation of the display based on the touch operation by the user. A touch panel device, a display device, and a user interface control circuit.

  The touch panel device includes a touch panel 10, a frame panel 20, and a control circuit board 40.

  The display device includes a display 30, a display control circuit that drives the display 30, and display wiring (not shown) that connects the display and the display control circuit. The display 30 has a rectangular shape and has a display area having almost the same size as its outer surface. The display control circuit drives the display 30 based on a signal from an upper circuit of the electronic device. The display wiring is derived from the display 30 and connected to the display control circuit. The display 30 is also provided with a backlight, and the operation of the backlight is controlled by a display control circuit.

  The user interface control circuit instructs the display control circuit to change the display content on the display 30 based on the coordinate signal from the touch panel control circuit of the touch panel device.

  The touch panel 10 is disposed on the front surface side of the display 20, while the circuit board 40 is disposed on the back surface side of the display 30, and both of them are wiring bent into a U shape using flexibility. They are connected via the part 11.

  In addition to the touch panel control circuit, at least one of a display control circuit and a user interface control circuit is formed on the circuit board 40.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and it goes without saying that various modifications are possible within the technical scope described in the claims. For example, the present invention is not limited to a mobile phone but can be applied to an electronic device having a display and a touch panel such as a PDA, a personal computer, a digital camera, a movie camera, a game machine, a display device, and a television device.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10, 60 Touch panel 10a, 60a Detection area 10b, 60b Wiring area 11 Wiring part 11a Contact part 20 Frame plate 30 Display 40 Circuit board 42 Connector 70a Contact part

Claims (8)

A detection region that includes a transparent electrode formed on a substantially transparent base sheet and outputs a detection signal corresponding to a touch position touched by a touch body that is a detection target;
In the touch panel having a wiring region provided with a conductive pattern formed to connect to the transparent electrode around the detection region of the base sheet,
The base sheet has flexibility,
The wiring area has a length that reaches the touch panel control circuit toward the outside in order to make an electrical wiring to the touch panel control circuit that projects and converts the detection signal of the touch panel into a coordinate signal representing XY coordinates on the display. A touch panel having an extended wiring portion. The touch panel according to claim 1 and a circuit board on which the touch panel control circuit is formed,
The touch panel control circuit is connected to the transparent electrode through the wiring portion.   The touch panel device according to claim 2, wherein the circuit board includes a connector that removably receives the wiring portion of the touch panel.   The touch panel device according to claim 2, further comprising a frame that is bonded to a front surface of the touch panel to maintain flatness of the touch panel.   The touch panel device according to claim 4, wherein the frame has a plate shape having an area corresponding to the touch panel, and has a substantially transparent region corresponding to the detection region of the touch panel. A user interface that is mounted on an electronic device and controls the operation of the electronic device including a display operation based on a touch operation by a user,
A touch panel device according to any one of claims 2 to 5,
A display device having the display and a display control circuit for driving the display;
A user interface control circuit that instructs the display control circuit to change the display content on the display based on the coordinate signal from the touch panel device;
The user interface device, wherein the touch panel is disposed on a front surface side of the display, and the circuit board is disposed on a back surface side of the display.   The user interface device according to claim 6, wherein at least one of the display control circuit and the user interface control circuit is formed on the circuit board in addition to the touch panel control circuit.   An electronic apparatus comprising the user interface device according to claim 6.

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