TWI636390B - Touch panel - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a touch panel capable of preventing damage of an electrode surface at the time of shipment without changing a manufacturing procedure of the touch panel device. A protective TAC film 4 is adhered to a surface of the sensor portion 2 including the first electrode 13 and the second electrode 14 formed on the back surface 11a of the substrate 11 in a region adjacent to the display device 20, wherein the protective TAC film 4 is adhered thereto. The TAC film 4 is capable of imparting UV penetration at a wavelength required for curing of the UV-curable adhesive. The protective TAC film 4 is provided with a film main body 4a capable of penetrating UV (UVA or UVB), and an adhesive layer 4b, and may further include a hard coat layer 4c, and the material of the hard coat layer 4c is directly connected to the display device 20. The resin type of the main component of the UV-curable adhesive used in the bonding is the same system.

Description

 Touch panel  

The present invention relates to a projected capacitive touch panel capable of multi-point detection using a fingertip.

In recent years, in electronic devices such as mobile phones, tablet terminals, and e-book readers, and electronic devices such as car navigation systems, a display device (touch panel device) including a panel (touch panel) is mounted as an interface. In one form, the panel has a touch sensor function, and has the advantage of being able to operate intuitively and has excellent durability.

The touch panel is a position input device that detects a touch of a pointer such as a finger or a stylus and determines a coordinate of the touch position. In recent years, the demand for a projected capacitive touch panel has been gradually expanded. When the indicator body is approached, the capacitance change of the electrode in the vicinity of the indicator body is based on two electrode columns (vertical The electrostatic capacitance of the electrode column and the lateral electrode column is changed and detected as a position coordinate on the touch panel.

The above-described Patent Document 1 discloses the above capacitive touch panel. The sensor portion of the touch panel is disposed on the back side of the glass substrate. In the sensor portion, a plurality of detecting electrodes are formed to detect that the conductor is close to the surface of the glass substrate, and the wiring electrode is connected to the detecting electrode to transmit the detection signal to the external circuit.

 Prior Technical Literature    Patent Literature  

Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2011-90443

However, when the touch panel is manufactured and then shipped to the receiving side in the manner disclosed in Patent Document 1, in order to protect the surface (touch surface side) and the back surface of the touch panel (the film of the sensor portion) For the purpose of the front side, a low-adhesive protective film is adhered to the surface of the touch panel and the back surface. Then, the person who has received the touch panel peels off the protective film from the touch panel, and performs a manufacturing process for mounting the touch panel on various devices such as a liquid crystal panel.

However, when the touch panel is delivered in a state in which the protective film is adhered, the person who has received the touch panel first peels the protective film and then uses the touch panel. At this time, there is a possibility that the problem shown below will occur.

(Question 1)

Since the touch panel has low resistance to ESD (electro-static discharge), if the protective film enters the above-mentioned manufacturing process in a state where the protective film has been peeled off, there is a possibility that static electricity generated in the process may occur. This causes the sensor to malfunction. Therefore, it is difficult to sufficiently ensure the reliability of the touch panel or the like as a single product.

(Question 2)

In the manufacturing process of the touch panel device, since the touch panel is processed in a state in which the protective film is peeled off, the surface of the sensor is exposed, and in the middle of the manufacturing process, there may be The sensor surface described above causes minor damage.

(Question 3)

The above-described touch panel device is exemplified in the case of manufacturing an in-vehicle car navigation. In this case, when optical bonding is performed on the touch panel and the liquid crystal display (LCD), a UV (Ultraviolet) curing type adhesive (for example, OCR (Optically Clear Resin)) is used. An optical adhesive such as an optical resin or an OCA (Optically Clear Adhesive). After the UV curable adhesive is applied to the sensor surface side of the touch panel, and the sensor surface side is directly bonded to the LCD, ultraviolet rays having a peak wavelength of about 365 nm are irradiated. The above UV curable adhesive is cured.

Therefore, it is assumed that if a PET film (polyethylene terephthalate film) is pasted as the above-mentioned protective film on the surface of the sensor, the film thickness direction between the sensor and the display device (LCD device) A phase difference is generated. Therefore, rainbow unevenness (rain unevenness) is locally generated due to the above PET film. Further, when a general TAC film (triacetate film) is used as the above protective film, since the UV cannot penetrate, the above-mentioned UV-curable adhesive used for direct bonding cannot be cured.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a touch panel capable of ensuring the quality of the above-mentioned products when the touch panel is delivered as a product, and does not deliver the above products. The manufacturing process of the latter touch panel device is hindered.

In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention is a touch panel, which is a projected capacitive touch panel, comprising: a substrate in sequence; a sensor portion having a first electrode and a second formed An electrode structure of the electrode, the first electrode extends along a first direction, the second electrode extends in a second direction crossing the first direction; and a TAC film; the TAC film has a bonding region, and the bonding region is coated The UV curable adhesive is applied to the touch panel and the display device, and the TAC film in the succeeding region has UV permeability.

In the touch panel of the first aspect of the invention, in the touch panel of the first aspect, the phase difference of the TAC film in the thickness direction is substantially zero.

In a touch panel according to a third aspect of the present invention, in the touch panel of the first aspect or the second aspect, the TAC film includes a hard coat layer on the back surface side for the display device, and the hard coat layer The material is the same as the resin type of the above UV-curable adhesive.

According to the present invention, it is possible to ensure the quality of the touch panel as a product by covering a small damage caused by conveyance or the like when the touch panel is delivered, and in the manufacturing process of the touch panel device, when the touch panel is manufactured, When the control panel and the above display device are directly combined, the above UV curable adhesive can be used.

Further, in the second aspect, the phase difference of the TAC film in the thickness direction of the film is substantially zero, so that no phase difference occurs in the thickness direction of the film between the sensor and the display device. Therefore, local rainbow spots and the like are not generated.

Further, in the third aspect, the hard coat layer is provided on the surface of the TAC film, and the material of the hard coat layer is the OCR used as the UV curable adhesive and the resin belonging to the main component of the OCA. The types are the same system. Therefore, when direct bonding is performed, the adhesion between the touch panel and the UV curable adhesive can be improved.

1‧‧‧ touch panel

2‧‧‧Sensor Department

3‧‧‧Shell Department

3a‧‧‧ surface

3b‧‧‧back

4‧‧‧Tacon film for protection

4a‧‧‧ film body

4b‧‧‧Adhesive layer

4c‧‧‧hard coating

11‧‧‧Substrate

11a‧‧‧Back (operating opposite)

11b‧‧‧Surface (operation surface)

12‧‧‧Electrode

13‧‧‧First electrode

14‧‧‧second electrode

14a‧‧‧Electrode components

14b‧‧‧Bridge construction

15‧‧‧Insulation

16‧‧‧Protective layer

16a‧‧‧Surface of the protective layer

17‧‧‧ lead

18‧‧‧Decorative layer

20‧‧‧ display device

20a‧‧‧Installation surface

E1‧‧‧Operating area

E2‧‧‧ lead area

Fig. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a layered structure of a main part of a touch panel according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a graph comparing the UV transmittance of the protective TAC film.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention is not limited to the embodiment, and all other embodiments, examples, and application techniques that can be implemented based on the above-described embodiments, such as those of ordinary skill in the art, are included in the scope of the present invention.

Further, in the present specification, in the following description of each of the attached drawings, when the words of the up, down, left, and right are used to indicate the direction or position, the user is observed as shown in the figure. The top, bottom, left, and right are the same.

The touch panel 1 in this embodiment is a projected capacitive touch panel. When the fingertip is close to the touch panel 1, the capacitance change of the electrode near the fingertip can be detected as the position coordinate on the touch panel 1 based on the capacitance change of the vertical electrode column and the lateral electrode column. Multi-point detection of the above fingertips can be achieved.

In addition, the electrode structure of the touch panel 1 of the present invention may be a projection type capacitive touch panel directly coupled to the display device 20 (a variety of display devices such as a liquid crystal display or an EL display). Therefore, the electrode structure of the sensor unit 2 to be described later and the mounting structure of the sensor unit 2 with respect to the case portion 3 are not particularly limited.

The configuration of the touch panel 1 of the present embodiment will be described. The shape of the touch panel 1 described above can be arbitrarily designed to be, for example, a rectangle (rectangular, square), a circle, a circle, a polygon, or the like in accordance with the shape of the touch panel device.

As shown in FIG. 1, the touch panel 1 of the present embodiment has a structure of OGS (One Glass Solution). The touch panel 1 may include a substrate 11 having a light transmissive property, and a film-shaped sensor portion 2 configured by arranging electrode portions 12 including the first electrode 13 and the second electrode 14; 3. The substrate 11 is embedded; and the TAC film 4 is protected. The substrate 11 has a surface 11b serving as an operation surface and a back surface 11a which is a surface opposite to the surface 11b. For example, the back surface 11a is parallel to the surface 11b and is a surface opposite to the surface 11b. The sensor portion 2 has UV penetration and is formed on the back surface 11a. Further, the protective TAC film 4 protects the surface of the sensor portion 2, that is, the surface of the first electrode 13 and the surface of the second electrode 14 in the electrode portion 12.

The substrate 11 which becomes the base of the above-described sensor unit 2 is formed of an insulating material having UV permeability, and for example, a glass substrate. As the glass substrate, for example, an alkali-free glass, a soda lime glass, an aluminosilicate glass or the like can be used.

The first electrode 13 and the second electrode 14 are formed as the electrode portion 12 on the back surface 11a of the substrate 11.

For example, a transparent conductive material such as ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) may be used, and an etching process may be performed after forming a pattern on the substrate 11 with a photoresist by photolithography or the like, thereby forming the first electrode 13. The first electrode 13 is formed, for example, such that a plurality of column electrodes are arranged in the X direction (the front surface and the depth direction in the first drawing and the direction parallel to the back surface 11a of the substrate 11) in the first direction. Further, the second electrode 14 can be formed in the same manner as the first electrode 13. For example, a transparent conductive film such as ITO can be used, and the substrate 11 can be patterned by a photoresist after photolithography or the like. form. The second electrode 14 is formed, for example, in a plurality of column electrodes arranged in the Y direction (the horizontal direction in the first drawing and the direction parallel to the back surface 11a of the substrate 11) belonging to the second direction.

A method of forming the electrode portion 12 will be described. First, a plurality of the first electrodes 13 extending in the X direction are formed on the back surface 11a of the substrate 11, and a plurality of the first electrodes 13 extending in the Y direction are separated in the Y direction. Electrode element 14a.

Next, an insulating layer 15 is formed on the first electrode 13 at the intersection of the first electrode 13 and the second electrode 14. The insulating layer 15 is a layer that electrically insulates between the first electrode 13 and the second electrode 14. The insulating layer 15 is made of an insulating material such as an acrylic resin.

Next, the second electrode 14 is formed by forming a bridging structure 14b in the Y direction across the first electrode 13, thereby connecting a plurality of the above-described electrode elements 14a. At this time, the adjacent second electrodes 14 are wired between the insulating layers 15 by the bridge structure 14b.

Then, a protective layer 16 is formed on the surfaces of the first electrode 13 and the second electrode 14, thereby forming the sensor portion 2. The protective layer 16 can be formed by a well-known film forming method such as a screen printing method.

Further, in the step of forming the electrode portion 12, the bridge structure 14b is used as the second electrode 14 on the back surface 11a of the substrate 11. In the present embodiment, a configuration in which the first electrode 13 and the second electrode 14 are inverted may be employed, and a bridge structure may be used for the first electrode 13. Further, the first electrode 13 and the second electrode 14 may be insulated as long as at least the intersection of the two electrodes. Therefore, for example, the insulating layer 15 may be formed on the entire surface of the first electrode 13, and the second electrode 14 may be formed on the insulating layer 15.

As shown in Fig. 1, the end portions of the first electrode 13 and the second electrode 14 are pulled out to the end portion of the substrate 11 by the lead wires 17, and are connected to a control IC (control circuit) wiring (not shown). .

The lead wire 17 is a wire drawn from the respective end portions of the first electrode 13 and the second electrode 14 in the lead region E2 located outside the operation region E1. The lead wire 17 is, for example, a wiring formed by sputtering of Ni (nickel), Nb (bismuth), Cu (copper), Mo (molybdenum), MAM (a laminated structure of Mo, Al, and Mo), and APC (by a sputtering method). A metal film containing an alloy of Ag, Pd, and Cu) is formed into a predetermined pattern to the end portion of the substrate 11 by an etching method.

As described above, in the sensor unit 2, in order to ensure the accuracy of the position sensor, the first electrode 13 and the second electrode 14 each composed of a linear electrode are electrically insulated. The substrate 11 is arranged in a matrix shape in the above-described X direction and the Y direction. Further, in the operation area E1, it is not possible to detect which part of the electrode is located on the electrode where the position touched by the indicator is located, and to independently detect which of the X-direction electrodes and the Y-direction electrode belong to The above position is calculated based on the intersection point.

Further, a decorative layer 18 is provided on an outer edge end portion of the back surface 11a of the substrate 11. The decorative layer 18 is a layer provided so that the wiring structure of the sensor unit 2 cannot be visually recognized from the surface 11b side, and is used to cover the first electrode 13 and the second electrode 14 The layer of lead region E2 of lead 17. It is preferable that the decorative layer 18 is excellent in concealing rate, heat resistance, pressure resistance, and chemical resistance from the lead wire 17 which is hidden by the first electrode 13 and the second electrode 14 in the lead region E2. Choose among the materials. Examples of such a material include a polyester resin, an epoxy resin, a phenol resin, a polyoxyn resin, and a polyimide resin. Further, it is preferable that the decorative layer 18 is mixed with a pigment or the like whose content is adjusted so as to ensure insulation, and the color is adjusted to match the color tone of the casing portion 3.

The case portion 3 can be made of, for example, a thermoplastic synthetic resin such as general-purpose plastic or engineering plastic. The case portion 3 is formed into a frame shape by using the surface 11b as an operation surface and hollowing out the shape of the outer edge end portion of the substrate 11. Further, the case portion 3 is such that when the substrate 11 provided with the sensor portion 2 is fitted into the case portion 3, the surface 3a of the case portion 3 is coplanar with the surface 11b of the substrate 11. Thus, the casing portion 3 and the substrate 11 have a seamless structure.

Further, the case portion 3 may be configured such that the outer peripheral edge portion of the substrate 11 corresponding to the region (that is, the lead region E2) corresponding to the decorative layer 18 is sandwiched from the vertical direction. A structure formed by injection molding. By adopting such a configuration, it is not necessary to form the decorative layer 18 which is difficult to perform color tone adjustment with the casing portion 3. Further, the above configuration has an effect of preventing the substrate 11 from being detached from the casing portion 3 by the touch panel 1 being dropped or the like.

The TAC film 4 for protection is adhered to a TAC (Tri-Acetyl Cellulose) film which is adhered to the surface 16a of the protective layer 16 of the sensor unit 2 (the surface facing the mounting surface 20a of the display device 20). . The protective TAC film 4 includes a film main body 4a and an adhesive layer 4b, and may be provided with a hard coat layer 4c. When the protective TAC film 4 is provided with the hard coat layer 4c, a UV curable adhesive is applied to the hard coat layer 4c, and when the hard coat layer 4c is not provided, a UV curable adhesive is used. It is applied to the film main body 4a. The above-mentioned protective TAC film 4 has a function of penetrating ultraviolet rays (UV (for example, UVB or UVA)). Therefore, when the touch panel 1 and the display device 20 are directly coupled, the protective TAC film 4 is adhered to the sensor portion 2, and is coated from the outside of the surface 11b of the substrate 11. The UV curable adhesive applied to the protective TAC film 4 is irradiated with UV, whereby the UV curable adhesive (for example, an optical adhesive such as OCR or an optical adhesive such as OCA) can be cured.

Fig. 2 is a graph showing the transmittance of ultraviolet rays having a peak wavelength of about 365 nm in the UV transmittance of the conventional TAC film and the above-described protective TAC film 4 of the present embodiment. As shown in Fig. 2, in the above conventional TAC film, the amount of UV penetration required for curing the above UV curable adhesive cannot be obtained. On the other hand, the above-mentioned protective TAC film 4 used in the present invention can penetrate a sufficient amount of UV for curing the above-mentioned UV-curable adhesive.

Therefore, even if the protective TAC film 4 is adhered to the surface of the sensor unit 2, the irradiated UV can be irradiated to the UV coated in order to directly bond the touch panel 1 and the display device 20 described above. Curing adhesive. Therefore, the UV curable adhesive can be reliably cured.

Further, the phase difference of the protective TAC film 4 in the thickness direction of the film 4 is substantially zero. This phase difference is manifested in proportion to the intrinsic birefringence and molecular orientation of the film material. Since the phase difference is substantially zero, localized rainbow spots generated when the PET film as a protective film is adhered to the protective TAC film 4 are not generated.

For example, the product name "Z-TAC (registered trademark)" manufactured by Fujifilm Co., Ltd., and the product name manufactured by Konica Minolta Co., Ltd. are known as the TAC film 4 for protection. It is "ZeroTAC (registered trademark)" and the like.

Further, when the protective TAC film 4 is adhered to the surface of the sensor unit 2, the adhesion layer 4b can eliminate minute damage caused by the surface of the sensor unit 2 and the height due to the unevenness. difference. As a result, the quality of the above-described products can be maintained before and after delivery of the touch panel 1 as a product. Therefore, when the protective layer 16 is formed, it is possible to eliminate the use of a photolithography method which can reduce the micro unevenness of the film surface as much as possible at the time of film formation, but the apparatus is expensive, and the device cost is slightly used although a slight unevenness is generated. An inexpensive film forming method by screen printing.

Further, a hard coat layer 4c is formed on the surface of the protective TAC film 4 (the surface facing the display device 20 when the protective TAC film 4 is adhered to the sensor portion 2). The hard coat layer 4c is made of a material having the same system as the resin component of the main component of OCR or OCA used as the UV-curable adhesive. For example, in the case where the above-mentioned UV-curable adhesive is acrylic, the same acrylic polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) can be used as the hard coat layer. As described above, by setting the resin type of the hard coat layer 4c and the UV curable adhesive to the same system, the subsequent affinity can be improved.

In addition, when the protective TAC film 4 is adhered to the sensor unit 2, an EMS (Electromagnetic Susceptibility) withstand voltage test of the touch panel 1 described above is performed as a quality evaluation test. As a result, depending on the electrode structure of the sensor unit 2, the withstand voltage performance can be substantially improved by about 5 kV to 10 kV as compared with the product before the protective TAC film 4 is adhered.

Next, a manufacturing procedure of the above-described touch panel 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.

First, the decorative layer 18 is formed on a portion of the back surface 11a of the substrate 11 corresponding to the lead region E2. Next, after the photoreceptor portion 2 including the first electrode 13 and the second electrode 14 is formed by forming the lead wires 17 on the surface of the above-described decorative layer 18, the surface of the sensor portion 2 is formed by screen printing. The film protective layer 16 is formed.

Next, the protective TAC film 4 is adhered to the surface of the sensor portion 2. At this time, even if minute damage is caused on the surface of the sensor unit 2, the unevenness of the unevenness can be offset by the adhesive layer 4b, and the appearance defects of the touch panel 1 can be eliminated.

Further, the protective TAC film 4 is adhered to at least the surface of the surface of the sensor unit 2 and the display device 20 (corresponding to a region where the UV curable adhesive is applied). Therefore, when the receiver touches the touch panel 1 and the display device 20 of the present embodiment, the UV irradiated from the surface 11b side of the substrate 11 can reach the UV-curable adhesive and can be reliably cured.

As described above, in the touch panel 1 of the present embodiment, the protective TAC film 4 is adhered to at least the rear surface of the display device 20 on the surface of the sensor unit 2. The UV for the wavelength required to cure the UV curable adhesive can penetrate the protective TAC film 4 described above.

Therefore, by covering a small damage caused by transportation or the like during delivery of the touch panel, it is possible to ensure the quality of the touch panel as a product, and in the manufacturing process of the touch panel device, when the touch is When the control panel 1 and the above display device 20 are directly bonded, the above-described UV-curable adhesive can be used.

Further, the phase difference of the protective TAC film 4 in the thickness direction of the film is substantially zero. Therefore, no phase difference occurs in the film thickness direction between the sensor and the LCD, so that no local rainbow spots or the like are generated.

Further, the hard surface formed on the surface of the protective TAC film 4 (that is, the opposing surface of the display device 20 when the protective TAC film 4 is adhered to the sensor portion 2) may be formed. The coating layer 4c is set to be the same material as the resin type of the main component of OCR and OCA used as the UV-curable adhesive. Thus, when the touch panel 1 is directly coupled to the display device 20, the subsequent affinity between the hard coat layer 4c and the UV curable adhesive can be improved.

Claims (3)

 A touch panel is a projected capacitive touch panel, comprising: a substrate in sequence; a sensor portion having an electrode structure formed with a first electrode and a second electrode, the first electrode system Extending along the first direction, the second electrode extends in a second direction crossing the first direction; and a TAC film; the TAC film has a bonding region coated with a UV curing adhesive The touch panel is connected to the display device; the TAC film in the succeeding region has UV transmittance.    The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein the phase difference of the TAC film in the thickness direction is substantially zero.    The touch panel of claim 1 or 2, wherein the TAC film comprises a hard coat layer on a side of the back surface for the display device, and a material of the hard coat layer and the UV curing agent. The type of resin of the type of adhesive is the same system.