TWI845054B - Manufacturing method and structure of plastic panel for touch display panel - Google Patents

Abstract

A manufacturing method and structure of a plastic panel for a touch display panel, the method comprising: using ink to print at least one pattern layer on the surface of a plastic substrate; forming at least one hardening layer on the plastic substrate, the hardening layer covering the pattern layer; and cutting the plastic substrate according to the size of the pattern layer, thereby forming a plastic panel in which the pattern layer is buried between the hardening layer and the plastic substrate.

Description

Manufacturing method and structure of plastic panel for touch display panel

The present invention relates to a technical field of a plastic panel mounted on a touch display panel, and more particularly to a method and structure for manufacturing a plastic panel with a printed image between a surface coating and a plastic substrate.

The touch display panel is composed of a multi-layer structure, each layer has its own function. The plastic panel mentioned in this article is located at the outermost layer of the touch display panel. As the panel that directly contacts the operator, the surface must be wear-resistant to facilitate long-term touch operation and protect the touch template underneath.

As shown in FIG1 , it is a schematic diagram of the structure of a conventional touch display panel, which mainly includes a touch display panel 11 and a plastic panel disposed thereon, wherein the plastic panel includes a pattern layer 12, a plastic substrate 13 and a coating layer 14, wherein the pattern layer 12 is located between the touch display panel 11 and the plastic substrate 13, and the coating layer 14 is located on the surface of the plastic substrate 13 that contacts the outside. The pattern layer 12 constitutes a border area that the screen cannot sense, and the coating layer 14 is formed on the surface with the required hardness and shape according to the requirements, such as forming a matte surface to reduce the reflection phenomenon during operation, or increasing the hardness to improve the wear resistance. The processing method of the plastic panel is: purchase a plastic substrate 13 with a coating layer 14 on the surface, use ink to print an image on the surface of the plastic substrate 13 without the coating layer 14 to form at least one layer of the pattern layer 12, then cut the plastic substrate 13 into the required shape, and then the subsequent bonding process is to stick the surface of the plastic substrate 13 with the pattern layer 12 on the touch display panel 11, but this processing method has the following disadvantages: 1. For plastic panel manufacturers, they must first purchase a variety of different coating layers 14 and plastic substrates 13 of various thicknesses, and then print the corresponding patterns and cut the sizes according to the order requirements. This results in a large inventory of stock, and the stock must be managed separately according to the type and thickness of the coating. Some coatings are easily damaged when stacked, so management must pay attention to it, causing management troubles. In addition, too much inventory is easily wasted if it is not used; 2. The pattern layer 12 is located on the surface of the plastic substrate 13, so there is a height difference between the two (not on the same plane), so the surface with the pattern layer 12 is easily bonded to the touch display panel 11, which easily generates bubbles, resulting in a high defect rate in the bonding process; 3. In addition, the pattern layer 12 is located at the bottom layer of the plastic substrate 13 and is used to illuminate the backlight when the display is in use. The pattern layer 12 is prone to halo phenomenon, which affects the image display quality.

The main purpose of the present invention is to provide a method and structure for manufacturing a plastic panel for a touch display panel, which mainly allows a printed pattern layer to be located between a surface coating and a plastic substrate, thereby preventing the pattern layer from falling off when the material is not in use, improving the yield rate in the subsequent bonding process, and reducing the halo phenomenon of the pattern layer caused by the backlight being illuminated during use.

To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

The invention is a method for manufacturing a plastic panel for a touch display panel, the method comprising: using ink to print at least one pattern layer on the surface of a plastic substrate; forming at least one hardening layer on the plastic substrate, the hardening layer covering the pattern layer; and cutting the plastic substrate according to the size of the pattern layer.

As one of the preferred embodiments, the method for forming the hardened layer includes: applying a photocurable adhesive on the surface of the plastic substrate and covering the pattern layer; applying pressure to the photocurable adhesive using a transfer film; irradiating the photocurable adhesive with light to harden the photocurable adhesive; peeling off the transfer film so that the photocurable adhesive forms the hardened layer on the surface of the plastic substrate, and the hardened layer has a surface with the same shape as the surface of the transfer film.

As one of the preferred embodiments, the surface of the transfer film is planar, and after pressurization, light curing and peeling of the transfer film, the surface of the hardened layer is planar.

As one of the preferred embodiments, the surface of the transfer film has a specific shape, and after pressurization, light curing and peeling of the transfer film, the surface of the hardened layer has a specific shape.

As one of the preferred implementation schemes, the irradiation intensity of the irradiation light is 60mw/cm ² ~150mw/cm ² , and the accumulated irradiation energy per layer is 300mj/cm ² ~900mj/cm ² .

As one of the preferred implementation schemes, the pattern layer is a surrounding pattern, and after cutting, the pattern layer is on the plastic substrate and is an opaque frame area.

A structure of a plastic panel for a touch display panel includes: a plastic substrate; at least one pattern layer formed on the surface of the plastic substrate; at least one hardening layer formed on the surface of the plastic substrate having the pattern layer, and the hardening layer covers the pattern layer.

As one of the preferred embodiments, the surface of the hardened layer is planar.

As one of the preferred embodiments, the surface of the hardened layer has a specific shape.

As one of the preferred implementation schemes, the thickness of each pattern layer is 3μm~7μm.

As one of the preferred implementation schemes, the total thickness of the operating area in the middle of the hardening layer, that is, the area enclosed by the pattern layer, is 20μm to 70μm.

As one of the preferred implementation schemes, the pattern layer is a light-proof frame area of the plastic substrate.

Compared with the existing technology, the present invention has the following specific effects: 1. The printed pattern layer is wrapped between the surface coating and the plastic substrate, and the pattern layer will not fall off even if it is not used for a long time. 2. The plastic substrate is bonded to the touch substrate from the surface without the pattern layer, so there is no surface difference, which can avoid the problem of bubbles generated by the bonding process and improve the production process yield. 3. The pattern layer is located on the surface of the plastic substrate, which can reduce the halo phenomenon of the pattern layer generated by the back light source of the plastic substrate. 4. Initially, the product inventory only needs to be prepared with plastic substrates of different sizes, and then processed and shipped according to orders. It is easier to manage, and the product types vary greatly. There will be no waste caused by purchasing plastic substrates with different surface coatings and thicknesses in advance but not using them as in the usual method.

The technical solution of the present invention will be described clearly and completely below in conjunction with specific embodiments and accompanying drawings. It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being "mounted on or fixed to" another element, it means that it can be directly on the other element or there can also be a centered element. When an element is considered to be "connected to" another element, it means that it can be directly connected to the other element or there can be a centered element at the same time. In the illustrated embodiments, the directions indicating up, down, left, right, front and back, etc. are relative, and are used to explain that the structures and movements of different components in this case are relative. These representations are appropriate when the components are in the positions shown in the figures. However, if the description of the component positions changes, it is believed that these representations will also change accordingly.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as those commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. The terms used herein are for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and are not intended to limit the present invention. The term "and/or" used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more of the related listed items.

As shown in FIG2 , it is a structural diagram of a plastic panel used for a touch display panel of the present invention. The plastic panel includes a plastic substrate 2 , a pattern layer 3 and a hardening layer 4 .

The plastic substrate 2 is a transparent plastic plate with thickness, and its material includes PC board (polycarbonate board), PMMA board (polymethyl methacrylate board) or PET board (polyethylene terephthalate). The plastic substrate 2 has a first surface 21 and a second surface 22 that are positioned opposite to each other. The first surface 21 is for bonding to a touch substrate with a touch circuit. The second surface 22 is for the pattern layer 3 and the hardening layer 4 to be arranged thereon. The pattern layer 3 is printed on the second surface 22 with ink, and the thickness of each layer is 3μm ~ 7μm, and it can be a single-layer or multi-layer structure. In this embodiment, the pattern layer 3 is located on the second surface 22 of the plastic substrate 2 in a circumferential shape. After cutting and subsequent steps, the pattern layer 3 forms an opaque frame area. The hardened layer 4 is formed on the second surface 22 of the plastic substrate 2 by surface coating and covers the pattern layer 3. In this embodiment, the hardened layer 4 is the surface that the operator directly contacts, so the hardened layer 4 can be light-transmissive and must have wear resistance and appropriate hardness, for example, it can reach pencil hardness 2H~6H. The outermost layer of the hardened layer 4 can be a plane or a specific shape, such as a matte surface, a hairline texture surface, a grid texture surface, etc., but the special shape must also have appropriate light transmittance and cannot hinder the screen display. The special shape has a special function, for example, the matte surface reduces reflection during operation, which is conducive to long-term viewing and touch operation.

The plastic panel of the present invention has the pattern layer 3 covered by the hardening layer 4. The hardening layer 4 has a protective function and is located on the outermost layer of the plastic substrate 2. The planar first surface 21 is used as the contact surface for subsequent bonding with the touch substrate. In this way, after the plastic panel of the present invention is completed, the pattern layer 3 will not fall off due to long-term non-use during the preparation and waiting process. In the bonding operation, since the first surface 21 of the plastic substrate 2 does not have the pattern layer 3, there is no surface discontinuity problem, which can avoid the generation of bubbles after bonding. Furthermore, the pattern layer 3 is located on the surface of the plastic substrate 2. When installed in a touch display, the phenomenon of halo in the pattern layer 3 of the plastic substrate 2 generated by the back light source being turned on can be reduced.

Next, the manufacturing method of the plastic panel for the touch display panel of the present invention is described. As shown in FIG. 3 , the steps of the method include:

Step 301: Use ink to print at least one pattern layer on the surface of the plastic substrate; the method is to use ink to print a pattern layer on the second surface of the plastic substrate, and the printing method includes screen printing, relief printing, pad printing and digital inkjet printing, and then bake to solidify the pattern layer. If it is necessary to print several layers or print multiple times in different areas, the above printing and baking operations are repeated to achieve the required thickness or shape.

Step 302: forming at least one hardening layer on the plastic substrate. As shown in FIG4 , the detailed steps of forming the hardening layer include: Step 401: applying a light-curing adhesive on the surface of the plastic substrate and covering the pattern layer; Step 402: applying pressure to the light-curing adhesive using a transfer film. If the surface of the transfer film is a plane, a flat surface can be obtained later. If the transfer film is a non-plane, such as having a special pattern, pattern or matte surface, the surface can be a specific shape later. Step 403: irradiate light to harden the photocurable adhesive; the irradiation intensity of the irradiated light is 60mw/ ^cm2 ~150mw/ ^cm2 , and the accumulated irradiation energy per layer is 300mj/ ^cm2 ~900mj/ ^cm2 , thereby curing the photocurable adhesive. Step 404: peel off the transfer film, so that the photocurable adhesive forms the hardening layer on the surface of the plastic substrate, and the hardening layer has a surface with the same shape as the transfer film surface. The total thickness of the hardening layer 4 in the middle operating area, that is, the area surrounded by the pattern layer 3, is about 20μm~70μm. If the hardening layer needs to be several layers, repeat steps 401~404 to achieve the required thickness. When multiple hardening layers are stacked, only the outermost hardening layer will form a specific shape, and the outermost hardening layer is the hardest.

Step 303: Cut the plastic substrate according to the size of the pattern layer, thereby obtaining the plastic substrate of the present invention.

In summary, through the manufacturing method of the present invention, it is only necessary to prepare plastic panels of various sizes in the initial preparation, so the inventory can be more accurate, and because the surface does not have a surface coating that is required at the beginning of use, storage is convenient and management is also easier. After that, according to the type of order, the pattern layer 3 is printed on the plastic substrate 2 and the hardening layer 4 is formed. The hardening layer 4 can also form a specific shape on the outermost surface to meet the needs of the manufacturer. After cutting, it can be supplied to the panel factory for bonding. As mentioned above, because there is no discontinuity on the surface, there is no bubble problem after bonding and the yield is improved. When installed in a touch display, it can also reduce the halo phenomenon of the pattern layer 3 generated by the back light source of the plastic substrate 2 after lighting. Overall, the method of the present invention is extremely advanced and meets the requirements for patent applications.

The above is only the preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present invention. That is, all equivalent changes and modifications made according to the scope of the patent application of the present invention are covered by the patent scope of the present invention.

11: Touch display panel

12: Pattern layer

13: Plastic substrate

14: Coating layer

2: Plastic substrate

21: First surface

22: Second surface

3: Pattern layer

4: Hardening layer

301~303: Steps

401~404: Steps

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a conventional touch display panel.

FIG. 2 is a structural diagram of a plastic panel used for a touch display panel of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of the method for manufacturing a plastic panel for a touch display panel according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of the present invention for forming a hardened layer on a plastic panel of a touch display panel.

2: Plastic substrate

21: First surface

22: Second surface

3: Pattern layer

4: Hardening layer

Claims (7)

A method for manufacturing a plastic panel for a touch display panel, the method using a machine to perform the following steps, the steps including: using ink to print at least one pattern layer on the surface of a plastic substrate; forming at least one hardening layer on the plastic substrate, the hardening layer covering the pattern layer, the method for forming the hardening layer including: applying a photocurable adhesive on the surface of the plastic substrate and covering the pattern layer; using a transfer film to pressurize the photocurable adhesive, the surface of the transfer film having a specific shape; irradiating light to harden the photocurable adhesive; peeling off the transfer film, so that the photocurable adhesive forms the hardening layer on the surface of the plastic substrate, the hardening layer having the same specific shape as the surface of the transfer film; cutting the plastic substrate according to the size of the pattern layer. In the manufacturing method of the plastic panel for touch panel as described in claim 1, the irradiation intensity of the irradiation light is 60mw/ ^cm2 ~150mw/ ^cm2 , and the accumulated irradiation energy per layer is 300mj/ ^cm2 ~900mj/ ^cm2 . The manufacturing method of the plastic panel for the touch panel as described in claim 1, wherein the pattern layer is a surrounding pattern, and after cutting, the pattern layer is on the plastic substrate and is an opaque frame area. A structure of a plastic panel for a touch display panel includes: a plastic substrate; at least one pattern layer, the pattern layer is formed on the surface of the plastic substrate; at least one hardening layer, the hardening layer is formed on the surface of the plastic substrate having the pattern layer, and the hardening layer covers the pattern layer, and the method for forming the hardening layer includes: applying a photocurable adhesive on the surface of the plastic substrate and covering the pattern layer; applying pressure on the photocurable adhesive using a transfer film, the surface of the transfer film having a specific shape; irradiating light to harden the photocurable adhesive; peeling off the transfer film, so that the photocurable adhesive forms the hardening layer on the surface of the plastic substrate, and the hardening layer has a surface with the same specific shape as the surface of the transfer film. In the structure of the plastic panel used for the touch panel as described in claim 4, the thickness of each pattern layer is 3μm~7μm. As described in claim 4, the structure of the plastic panel used for the touch panel, the total thickness of the operating area in the middle of the hardening layer, i.e. the area enclosed by the pattern layer, is 20μm~70μm. In the structure of the plastic panel for a touch panel as described in claim 4, the pattern layer is the opaque frame area of the plastic substrate.

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