JP5631356B2 - Cover glass for portable device and method for manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cover glass for a mobile device used for protecting a display screen of a mobile device such as a mobile phone, a smart phone, or a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a manufacturing method thereof, and a glass substrate for a cover glass of the mobile device.

  In portable devices such as mobile phones, smartphones, and PDAs, a transparent protective plate is disposed on the outside of the display device in order to protect the display device such as a liquid crystal. As the protective plate, a resin such as acrylic is often used. However, since the protective plate made of resin is easy to bend, it is necessary to increase the thickness of the plate or to leave a large gap with the display device. Therefore, in order to protect the display device of the portable device, it is preferable to use a cover glass made of a glass material. Since glass has high hardness, there is little bending and it can contribute to thickness reduction.

  Patent Document 1 describes a cover glass for a portable device using a glass material. According to Patent Document 1, by cutting out plate-like glass into a desired shape by etching, it is possible to obtain an extremely smooth end face free from microcracks and obtain high mechanical strength that can withstand external pressure.

JP 2009-167086 A

  A display screen (display device) such as a liquid crystal panel or an organic EL panel incorporated in the device has a non-display area at the edge, and a gap is formed between the edge of the display screen and the housing. In addition, along with the shift to touch panels for mobile devices, wiring for transparent electrodes (ITO: Indium Tin Oxide) for touch panels (this wiring is not transparent) is placed on the outer periphery on the inner side of the cover glass. The In order to hide these non-display areas, gaps, wiring, etc., the cover area is usually covered with a front panel of the housing or a black or white frame-like paint is applied to the inside of the cover glass to form a concealment area doing.

  On the other hand, in recent portable devices, there are increasing demands for both a larger display screen and a smaller device. As a result, the width of the display screen becomes larger as it approaches the entire width of the casing of the device, and the cover glass forms not only the display screen but also the entire device surface including operation buttons and a speaker unit. In such a case, it is often the case that the above-described concealment region is not covered with the front panel of the housing but is concealed by painting mainly for design reasons.

  However, when the area of the coating observed from the outside increases, there is a problem that the aesthetic appearance of the device is impaired. That is, it can be expected that the aesthetics and high functionality of the device are improved by making the display screen appear as far as possible to the end of the housing.

  Therefore, the present invention reduces the area of the concealed region observed from the outside, improves the aesthetics of the portable device, and can secure the area for wiring for the transparent electrode for the touch panel and its manufacture It is an object to provide a method and a glass substrate for a cover glass of a portable device.

  In order to solve the above problems, a typical configuration of the present invention is a cover glass that protects a display screen of a portable device, and the main surface on the inner side of the portable device is a cross-sectional view of the cover glass. It is longer in the outer peripheral direction than the main surface on the outer side, and the edge on the main surface on the inner side is coated to hide the wiring.

  According to the above configuration, the outermost periphery of the inner main surface cannot be observed from the outer main surface side. As a result, an invisible region that cannot be observed from the outside can be formed on the outer peripheral edge on the inner side of the cover glass, so that only the invisible region of the concealed region that should be formed on the inner side of the cover glass is observed from outside. The area of the visible region can be reduced. Thereby, the beauty | look of a portable apparatus can be improved.

  The cover glass has at least an outer peripheral end surface, a boundary portion that protrudes most in an outer peripheral direction in a cross-sectional view, and an inclined surface that is continuous while inclining from the boundary portion toward both main surfaces. It is preferable to be formed biased toward the inner main surface side. This is preferable because the boundary portion can be hardly observed from the outside of the portable device.

  Another representative configuration of the present invention is a method of manufacturing a cover glass that protects a display screen of a portable device, and after forming a resist pattern on both sides of a large plate glass and etching from both sides, It is characterized by the fact that one surface is used as the main surface on the outer side and the edge on the main surface on the inner side is coated to hide the wiring. To do.

  According to the manufacturing method described above, the main surface on the further etched side is deeply etched, and at the same time, the main surface is shortened in the outer peripheral direction. Thereby, a difference can be provided in the length of the main surface almost uniformly over the entire circumference. Further, by extracting the glass substrate by etching, it is possible to obtain an extremely smooth end face free from microcracks, and it is possible to obtain a higher mechanical strength than by forming a taper on the end face by machining.

  Another representative configuration of the present invention is a glass substrate for a cover glass that protects a display screen of a portable device, and is characterized in that one main surface is longer in the outer circumferential direction than the other main surface in a cross-sectional view. To do. By coating such a glass substrate, the above-described cover glass for portable devices can be manufactured.

  Another representative configuration of the present invention protects a touch panel including a transparent electrode disposed so as to cover a display screen of a mobile device and a wiring connected to the transparent electrode, A cover glass for a portable device to be mounted, the cover glass corresponding to the display screen and having a pair of opposed main surfaces, and an inside disposed on the display screen side of the pair of opposed main surfaces And a wiring protection portion for protecting the wiring of the touch panel, the main surface on the side being extended outward. Thereby, the space for protecting the wiring can be secured with a margin.

  Also, the cover glass for mobile devices described above has a concealment region formed by coating on the outer periphery of the inner main surface, and at least a part of the concealment region overlaps the wiring protection part when the cover glass is viewed in plan view. It is preferable. Thereby, the area of the visible region which can be observed from the outside among the concealed regions can be reduced.

  According to the present invention, a cover glass for a portable device capable of reducing the area of a concealed region observed from the outside, improving the aesthetics of the portable device, and securing a wiring area for a transparent electrode for a touch panel, and its manufacture A method and a glass substrate for a cover glass of a portable device can be provided.

It is an exploded view explaining a portable device and a cover glass. It is a figure explaining the edge part of a cover glass. It is a figure explaining a cover glass from another viewpoint. It is a figure explaining the other structural example of a cover glass. It is a figure explaining the process at the time of extracting a glass substrate by an etching.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The dimensions, materials, and other specific numerical values shown in the embodiments are merely examples for facilitating understanding of the invention, and do not limit the present invention unless otherwise specified. In the present specification and drawings, elements having substantially the same function and configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted, and elements not directly related to the present invention are not illustrated. To do.

  FIG. 1 is an exploded view illustrating a portable device and a cover glass. A portable device 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 is an example, which is a touch panel device, and includes a large cover glass 120 that covers the entire surface of the housing 102. A housing 102 of the portable device 100 accommodates a main substrate 104, a display screen 106 such as a liquid crystal panel or an organic EL panel, a speaker 108, a button 110, and the like. A touch panel 112 having a transparent electrode 114 is disposed inside the cover glass 120. A wiring 116 made of a flexible cable is connected to the transparent electrode 114 and can be connected to the main board 104 by a connector (not shown). In many cases, blue plate glass (soda lime glass) is used for the base material of the touch panel 112, but it may be formed of a resin film instead of glass.

  The cover glass 120 is attached to protect the display screen 106 of the mobile device 100. The cover glass 120 has a substantially rectangular plate shape as a whole, and is configured by applying a frame-shaped coating 122 to the glass substrate 130. The cover glass 120 (glass substrate 130) has a speaker hole 132 formed near the upper portion and a button hole 134 formed near the lower portion in the substrate surface.

  The display screen 106 built in the portable device 100 has a non-display area at the edge, and a gap is always formed between the edge of the display screen 106 and the side wall of the housing 102. Further, the wiring 116 of the transparent electrode 114 is arranged on the outer peripheral edge on the inner side of the cover glass 120. Therefore, the coating 122 is provided to form a concealment region 150 (see FIG. 2) around the display screen 106 in order to conceal these non-display regions, gaps, and wiring. As a specific example of the coating 122, a paint such as black or white is applied.

  Here, in the present embodiment, the glass substrate 130 of the cover glass 120 has a main surface on the inner side of the portable device that extends in an outer peripheral direction from the main surface on the outer side of the portable device over substantially the entire outer periphery of the glass substrate 130. It is formed long.

  FIG. 2 is a view for explaining an end portion of the cover glass 120.

  First, the cover glass 120a shown in FIG. A cover glass 120a shown in FIG. 2A is an example using a glass substrate 130a extracted from a plate glass by etching. In the glass substrate 130a, the upper side in the figure is an external main surface 140a on the outside of the portable device 100, and the lower side is an internal main surface 140b on the internal side (both are shown by hatching in the figure).

  On the outer peripheral end surface of the glass substrate 130a, the most protruding boundary part 142a over the entire circumference, and the inclined surface 142b that continues while inclining from the boundary part 142a toward the outer main surface 140a and the inner main surface 140b, 142c is formed. The inclined surfaces 142b and 142c are surfaces dissolved by an etchant.

  Here, in the present embodiment, the inner main surface 140b is formed longer in the outer circumferential direction than the outer main surface 140a. Accordingly, the boundary portion 142a is formed so as to be biased toward the inner main surface 140b that is long in the outer circumferential direction over substantially the entire outer circumference of the glass substrate 130a. Such an end surface can be formed by etching the inclined surface 142b on the outer main surface 140a side more (longer) than the inclined surface 142c on the inner main surface 140b side, as will be described later. .

  According to the above configuration, the invisible region 152 that cannot be observed from the outer main surface 140a is formed on the outermost periphery of the inner main surface 140b. As described above, the concealment region 150 is formed by the coating 122 on the inner main surface 140b of the glass substrate 130a, but a part of the concealment region 150 becomes the invisible region 152. The area of the visible region 154 that can be observed from the side can be reduced. As a result, the frame can be made thin, so that it is possible to improve the aesthetics of the portable device and improve the sense of high functionality.

  Further, if the concealment region 150 observed from the appearance is set to the same level as the conventional one, a larger space than the conventional case (in comparison with the case where the end surface of the cover glass is a vertical surface) is provided on the inner side of the cover glass 120a. Can be obtained. That is, when the visible region 154 has the same width as the conventional concealment region 150, a wide space obtained by adding the width of the conventional concealment region 150 and the width of the invisible region 152 can be obtained on the inner side of the cover glass 120a. it can. Accordingly, the wiring 116 of the transparent electrode 114 can be arranged with a sufficient margin in this space, and the degree of freedom in design can be improved.

  It is preferable that the boundary portion 142a is formed so as to be biased toward the inner main surface 140b that is long in the outer circumferential direction, so that the boundary portion 142a is less likely to be observed from the outside of the mobile device 100.

  A cover glass 120b shown in FIG. 2B is a diagram showing an example using a glass substrate 130b cut out by machining. Similarly, the cover glass 120b is formed so that the inner main surface 140b is longer in the outer peripheral direction than the outer main surface 140a over almost the entire outer periphery. The end surface 144 of the glass substrate 130b is a flat inclined surface, and the cross-sectional shape of the whole glass substrate 130b is substantially trapezoidal.

  Even when the outer shape is formed by machining as shown in FIG. 2B, an invisible region 152 that cannot be observed from the outer main surface 140a side is formed on the outermost periphery of the inner main surface 140b. Thereby, the area of the visible region 154 that can be observed from the outer main surface 140a side in the concealed region 150 can be reduced.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the cover glass according to the present embodiment from another viewpoint. In other words, the cover glass 120a can be considered by separating the function into a display screen protection portion 160 corresponding to the display screen 106 and a wiring protection portion 162 in which the main surface on the inner side extends outward. Here, the display screen protection portion 160 includes a pair of opposing main surfaces, that is, the above-described external main surface 140a and the internal display main surface 140c in a range corresponding thereto. The wiring protection portion 162 is configured by an inner wiring portion main surface 140d obtained by extending the inner display portion main surface 140c further outward. The wiring protection portion 162 does not have an external main surface (inclined surface) facing the internal wiring portion main surface 140d.

  According to the above configuration, a space for protecting the wiring can be secured with a margin. If the cross-sectional shape of the cover glass is a rectangle (the end surface is a vertical surface), the wiring 116 is routed in response to a design request to increase the proportion of the area occupied by the display screen 106 on the surface of the portable device 100 as much as possible. The space for it becomes very narrow. Then, the wiring 116 which is a flexible cable is forcibly bent, which makes it difficult to assemble and causes contact failure due to disconnection or plating crack. However, by securing the space by the wiring protection portion 162 as described above, it is possible to facilitate the assembly of the touch panel 112 and to prevent the disconnection or the like and improve the durability.

  As described above, when the concealment region 150 is formed by the coating 122 on the outer periphery of the main surface on the inner side of the cover glass 120a, when the cover glass 120a is viewed in plan, at least a part of the concealment region 150 is a wiring protection portion. Preferably, it overlaps 162. That is, the concealment region 150 is applied across the inner display portion main surface 140c and the inner wiring portion main surface 140d or only on the inner wiring portion main surface 140d. Thereby, the area of the visible region 154 that can be observed from the outside of the concealed region 150 can be reduced (particularly, the area of the visible region 154 when the portable device is viewed from the front). As a result, the frame can be made thin, so that it is possible to improve the aesthetics of the portable device and improve the sense of high functionality.

  In addition, since the area of the inner main surface 140b is larger than the area of the outer main surface 140a, a larger bonding area with respect to the casing 102 or the touch panel 112 of the portable device can be ensured, and the adhesion stability can be secured. Can be improved. Further, since the area of the inner main surface 140b is larger than the area of the outer main surface 140a, when the cover glass 120a is pressed from the outer main surface 140a side, the pressure is applied to the inner main surface 140b side. The impact resistance can be improved.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating another configuration example of the cover glass. In the cover glasses 120a and 120b shown in FIG. 2, the coating 122 is applied up to the end of the inner main surface 140b. However, the coating 122a may be applied only to the visible region 154 as shown in FIG. In other words, the coating 122a may be applied only to the region on the inner main surface 140b of the glass substrate 130 that extends from the edge of the display screen 106 to the outer peripheral edge of the outer main surface 140a. That is, the edge (invisible region 152) that is the edge of the inner main surface 140b and does not overlap with the outer main surface 140a is not painted. Thereby, while the range (visible region 154 of the concealment region 150) observed from the outside is concealed by the coating 122a, the paint for applying the coating 122a can be reduced, and the production cost can be reduced. .

  As described above, in order to form the cover glass 120 (glass substrate 130) so that the main surface on the inner side of the portable device is longer in the outer peripheral direction than the main surface on the outer side of the portable device, a glass substrate 130a is used. It may be extracted by etching, or may be processed by machining like the glass substrate 130b. However, it is preferable to extract the glass substrate 130a by etching. This is because etching makes it possible to obtain a very smooth end surface without microcracks, and higher mechanical strength can be obtained than when a taper is formed on the end surface by machining. Therefore, hereinafter, a process for extracting the glass substrate 130a by etching will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a process for extracting the glass substrate 130a by etching. First, as shown in FIG. 5A, a resist pattern 162 having a mask shape of a predetermined glass substrate 130a is formed on both surfaces of a plate glass 160. Next, as shown in FIG.5 (b), it etches from both surfaces of the sheet glass 160. Next, as shown in FIG. The etching method is preferably wet etching (wet etching) rather than dry etching (dry etching). The etchant used for wet etching may be any material that can etch plate glass. For example, an acidic solution containing hydrofluoric acid as a main component or a mixed acid containing at least one of sulfuric acid, nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, and silicic hydrofluoric acid in hydrofluoric acid can be used.

  When the plate glass 160 is etched, the plate glass 160 is melted in regions not masked by the resist pattern 162, and grooves 160a and 160b are formed on both sides. In wet etching, glass is etched isotropically. Therefore, the width of the grooves 160a and 160b increases as the depth increases.

  If the etching is proceeded from both sides as it is, the glass substrate 130a is extracted by the continuous groove at the substantially central portion of the plate thickness. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. The process is terminated halfway, and etching is performed from one surface (the upper surface in the figure). As a result, the groove 160a on the further etched side is deeply and widely etched, and the main surface is shortened in the outer peripheral direction. When the glass substrate 130a is extracted as shown in FIG. 5D, the above-described boundary portion 142a and inclined surfaces 142b and 142c are formed on the end surface. In this way, it can be formed so that one main surface is longer than the other main surface in the outer peripheral direction substantially uniformly over the entire outer periphery of the glass substrate 130a. And it becomes a cover glass as a product by performing the printing process which prints predetermined coating.

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was described referring an accompanying drawing, it cannot be overemphasized that this invention is not limited to the example which concerns. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made within the scope of the claims, and these are naturally within the technical scope of the present invention. Understood.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is used as a cover glass for a mobile device used for protecting a display screen of a mobile device such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, or a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a manufacturing method thereof, and a glass substrate for a cover glass of a mobile device. Can do.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Portable apparatus, 102 ... Case, 104 ... Main board, 106 ... Display screen, 108 ... Speaker, 110 ... Button, 112 ... Touch panel, 114 ... Transparent electrode, 116 ... Wiring, 120 ... Cover glass, 120a ... Cover glass 120b ... Cover glass, 122, 122a ... Paint, 130 ... Glass substrate, 130a ... Glass substrate, 130b ... Glass substrate, 132 ... Speaker hole, 134 ... Button hole, 140a ... External main surface, 140b ... Internal side main surface, 142a ... boundary portion, 142b ... inclined surface, 142c ... inclined surface, 144 ... end surface, 150 ... hiding region, 152 ... invisible region, 154 ... visible region, 160 ... sheet glass, 160a ... groove, 160b ... groove, 162 ... resist pattern

Claims (2)

A cover glass for protecting a display screen of a mobile device,
In the cross-sectional view of the cover glass, the main surface on the inner side of the mobile device is longer in the outer peripheral direction than the main surface on the outer side of the mobile device,
The edge on the main surface on the inner side is painted to hide the wiring ,
The cover glass has at least an outer peripheral end surface, a boundary portion that protrudes most in the outer peripheral direction in a cross-sectional view, and an inclined surface that is continuous while inclining from the boundary portion toward both main surfaces,
The boundary portion, the portable device cover glass characterized that you have formed unevenly on the main surface side of the inner side. A method of manufacturing a cover glass for protecting a display screen of a mobile device,
After forming a resist pattern on both sides of a large plate glass, etching from both sides, and then etching out from one side to form an outer shape,
A method for manufacturing a cover glass for a portable device, characterized in that the one surface is an outer main surface, and an edge on the inner main surface is coated to hide wiring.

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