CN106325571A - Flexible covering layer of touch panel and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a soft cover layer of a touch panel and a manufacturing method thereof. The soft cover layer of the touch panel comprises: a substrate; an adhesive layer formed on the substrate; a transparent soft sheet bonded to the substrate via the adhesive layer; a transparent conductive layer formed on the transparent soft sheet; and a metal circuit layer formed on the transparent conductive layer. The transparent soft sheet, the transparent conductive layer and the metal circuit layer are formed by a roll-to-roll method.

Description

Soft covering layer of touch panel and manufacturing method thereof

technical field

The invention relates to a soft covering layer, in particular to a soft covering layer of a touch panel.

Background technique

The resistive touch panel is a common touch panel, and it accounts for about 60% of the global touch panel market, and is the touch panel with the highest market share. Taking consumer electronics products as an example, such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), electronic dictionaries, self-service ordering systems, inventory management and inventory machines, checkout machines, credit card signing machines, medical monitoring systems, etc., all use resistive touch panel. Since the resistive touch panel relies on pressure sensing, it can be operated by hands, pencils, credit cards, wooden sticks, etc., even with gloves on, so it is very convenient to use.

Resistive touch panels are mainly composed of upper and lower two sets of indium tin oxide (ITO) conductive layers. When in use, pressure is used to make the upper and lower electrodes conductive, and the controller detects the change of the panel voltage to calculate the position of the contact point for input. Existing resistive input devices can be roughly divided into two categories. The first category is that the electrodes connected to the upper conductive substrate and the electrodes connected to the lower conductive substrate must be switched for voltage; the second category is that the electrodes connected to the upper conductive substrate and The electrodes connected to the lower conductive substrate do not need to be switched for voltage.

Please refer to FIG. 1 for a schematic diagram of a conventional touch panel. Firstly, an indium tin oxide (ITO) conductive layer 12 and a circuit layer 13 are formed on a glass substrate 11 , and secondly, the glass substrate 11 is usually conveyed between process machines (not shown) by a conveyor.

Under such circumstances, if the path of the glass substrate 11 is not conveyed smoothly or the glass substrate 11 is not a good product, laminations, bruises, cracks, or even broken glass substrates 11 may easily occur. In this way, the yield rate will not be effectively improved, resulting in the need for more manpower to troubleshoot problems and maintain the machine.

The disadvantage of using conveyors to transfer between process machines is that continuous production is not possible. The main reason is that glass substrates 11 are sent to each machine in turn for process processing, but a general process machine can only process one glass substrate 11 at a time. , and the processing time of each process machine is also different. Therefore, the glass substrate 11 is often idle due to waiting for the previous substrate to be processed, so that the touch panel cannot be mass-produced.

In addition, the glass substrate 11 itself cannot be bent, so it cannot be applied to a new generation of flexible display devices, such as smart phones with display screens around the frame, smart watches with curved display screens, and mobile phones with roll-out screens. Tablets and PCs etc. The mass production of flexible display devices also depends on the support of new technologies. Therefore, how to solve the above problems will be an urgent technical issue for the industry.

Contents of the invention

In view of the above-mentioned shortcomings of the prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide a soft covering layer of a touch panel to solve the problems of lamination, bruising, and cracks that often occur during the touch panel manufacturing process, and to support A new generation of flexible display devices.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a soft covering layer of a touch panel, comprising: a substrate; an adhesive layer formed on the substrate; a transparent flexible sheet bonded to the substrate via the adhesive layer; A transparent conductive layer, formed on the transparent flexible sheet; and a metal circuit layer, formed on the transparent conductive layer; wherein, the transparent flexible sheet, the transparent conductive layer and the metal circuit layer are transferred from roller to roller ( Roll to Roll) method formed.

Preferably, a first photoresist pattern layer can be formed on the metal wiring layer, the metal wiring layer and the transparent conductive layer not covered by the first photoresist pattern layer are removed by etching, and the first photoresist pattern layer It is also removed by etching; a second photoresist pattern layer can be formed on the etched metal circuit layer, and the metal circuit layer not covered by the second photoresist pattern layer is removed by etching, and the second photoresist pattern layer is also removed by etching.

Preferably, the metal circuit layer can be a continuous circuit layer, a discontinuous circuit layer or a stepped circuit.

Preferably, the substrate can be a glass substrate or a transparent flexible substrate.

Preferably, the transparent flexible sheet can be polyethylene terephthalate (Polyethyleneterephthalate, PET), polycarbonate (Polycarbonate, PC), polymethylmethacrylate (Polymethylmethacrylate, PMMA), Arton transparent resin , Cyclo-olefin polymer (Cyclo-olefin polymer, COP), triacetate cellulose (Triacetate Cellulose, TAC) and Zeonor transparent resin made of one of the materials.

Preferably, the transparent conductive layer may be an indium tin oxide (ITO) transparent conductive layer.

Preferably, the metal circuit layer is made of one of copper, aluminum, silver, gold and indium tin oxide.

The present invention also provides a method for manufacturing a soft covering layer of a touch panel, so as to solve the problems of lamination, damage, and cracks that often occur during the touch panel manufacturing process, and can support a new generation of flexible display devices.

In order to achieve the above object, a method for manufacturing a soft cover layer of a touch panel provided by the present invention includes the following steps: forming a transparent conductive layer on a transparent flexible sheet via a roll-to-roll method , and forming a metal circuit layer on the transparent conductive layer; forming a first photoresist pattern layer on the metal circuit layer; removing the metal circuit layer and the transparent layer not covered by the first photoresist pattern layer by etching conducting layer; removing the first photoresist pattern layer by etching; forming a second photoresist pattern layer on the metal circuit layer; removing the metal circuit layer not covered by the second photoresist pattern layer by etching; The second photoresist pattern layer is removed by etching.

Preferably, the following step may be further included: forming an adhesive layer on a substrate.

Preferably, the following step may be further included: the transparent flexible sheet is bonded to the substrate via the adhesive layer.

The present invention replaces the glass substrate of the prior art with a transparent flexible sheet, so that the transparent conductive layer and the metal circuit layer can be bonded to the transparent flexible sheet, and the transparent flexible sheet, the transparent conductive layer and the metal circuit layer are transferred from roller to roller. Formed, thereby, will be able to mass-produce and reduce manufacturing cost. Through the method of roller to roller, the transparent flexible sheet can be wound into concentric circles, so it can be produced continuously. And it can be directly bonded to the substrate (glass substrate or flexible substrate) by pasting after being properly cut to fit the shape of the substrate. If it is bonded to a flexible substrate, it can be applied to a bendable electronic display device.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a touch panel in the prior art;

2 is a schematic diagram of a soft cover layer of a touch panel of the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of the formation of the transparent flexible sheet, the transparent conductive layer and the metal circuit layer from roller to roller according to the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a manufacturing method of the soft cover layer of the touch panel of the present invention.

Wherein, the reference signs are explained as follows:

11 Glass substrate

12 Indium tin oxide conductive layer

13 line layer

2 Soft cover for touch panel

21 Substrate

22 paste layer

23 transparent flexible sheet

24 transparent conductive layer

25 metal wiring layer

A~I steps

detailed description

The implementation of the present invention is described below through specific specific examples, and those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the content disclosed in this specification. The present invention can also be implemented or applied through other different specific examples, and various modifications and changes can be made to the details in the description of the present invention based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

It should be noted that the structures, proportions, sizes, etc. shown in the drawings attached to this specification are only used to match the content disclosed in the specification for the understanding and reading of those skilled in the art, and are not intended to limit the implementation of the present invention. Therefore, it has no technical substantive meaning. Any modification of structure, change of proportional relationship or adjustment of size shall fall within the scope of the present invention without affecting the effect and purpose of the present invention. The disclosed technical content must be within the scope covered.

Please refer to FIG. 2 first, which is a structure diagram of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the soft cover layer 2 of the touch panel of the present invention includes: a substrate 21; an adhesive layer 22 formed on the substrate 21; a transparent flexible sheet 23 bonded to the substrate 21 through the adhesive layer 22 A transparent conductive layer 24 is formed on the transparent flexible sheet 23; And a metal circuit layer 25 is formed on the transparent conductive layer 24; Wherein, the transparent flexible sheet 23, the transparent conductive layer 24 and the metal circuit layer 25 are formed by the roller Formed by Roll to Roll method.

In an embodiment of the present invention, a schematic view of the formation of drums to drums is shown in FIG. 3 . The roll-to-roll method uses flexible sheets with a thickness generally less than 0.1 cm, which includes "Unwind", "Process", "Rewind", "Cutting" )” and other process steps. Roll-to-roll is a high-efficiency, low-cost continuous production method.

In an embodiment of the present invention, a first photoresist pattern layer (not shown) may be formed on the metal wiring layer 25, and the metal wiring layer 25 and the transparent conductive layer 24 not covered by the first photoresist pattern layer are removed by etching. , the first photoresist pattern layer is also removed by etching; a second photoresist pattern layer (not shown) can be formed on the etched metal circuit layer 25, and the metal circuit layer 25 not covered by the second photoresist pattern layer is passed through The second photoresist pattern layer is also removed by etching.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the metal circuit layer 25 can be a continuous circuit layer, a discontinuous circuit layer or a stepped circuit. Wherein, the ladder circuit can balance the impedance of the transparent conductive layer 24 . Generally, the impedance of the transparent conductive layer 24 increases with the increase of the distance, and the impedance of the ladder-shaped circuit can be balanced by adjusting the distance of each small segment of the circuit to decrease with the increase of the distance.

Please continue to refer to FIG. 2 , in an embodiment of the present invention, the substrate 21 may be a glass substrate or a transparent flexible substrate. Among them, the light-transmitting flexible substrate can be continuously produced from roller to roller. It is a new generation of substrate technology, and its material has the characteristics of lightness, thinness, impact resistance, unbreakable, easy to carry, and bendability.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the transparent flexible sheet 23 can be polyethylene terephthalate (Polyethylene terephthalate, PET), polycarbonate (Polycarbonate, PC), polymethylmethacrylate (Polymethylmethacrylate, PMMA ), Arton transparent resin, cyclo-olefin polymer (Cyclo-olefin polymer, COP), triacetate cellulose (Triacetate Cellulose, TAC) and Zeonor transparent resin made of one of the materials.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the transparent conductive layer 24 may be an indium tin oxide (ITO) transparent conductive layer. The indium tin oxide transparent conductive layer has the characteristics of high conductivity, high visible light penetration and high infrared light reflection.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the metal wiring layer 25 may be made of one of copper, aluminum, silver, gold and indium tin oxide.

Next, please refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 together. FIG. 4 is a flow chart of the method of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the method for manufacturing the soft cover layer 2 of the touch panel provided by the present invention includes the following steps: forming a transparent conductive layer 24 on a transparent flexible sheet 23 via a roll-to-roll method. and form a metal circuit layer 25 on the transparent conductive layer 24 (step A); form a first photoresist pattern layer (not shown) on the metal circuit layer 25 (step B); A metal circuit layer 25 and a transparent conductive layer 24 covered by a photoresist pattern layer (step C); the first photoresist pattern layer is removed by etching (step D); a second photoresist pattern layer is formed on the metal circuit layer 25 ( Not shown in the figure) (step E); removing the metal circuit layer 25 not covered by the second photoresist pattern layer by etching (step F); and removing the second photoresist pattern layer by etching (step G).

In this embodiment, the following step may be further included: forming an adhesive layer 22 on a substrate 21 (step H). Wherein, the adhesive layer 22 can be a solid transparent optical adhesive (Optically Clear Adhesive, OCA) or a liquid transparent optical adhesive (Optically Clear Resin, OCR).

In this embodiment, the following step is further included: the transparent flexible sheet 23 is bonded to the substrate 21 via the adhesive layer 22 (step I). The substrate 21 can be a glass substrate or a light-transmitting flexible substrate, wherein the light-transmitting flexible substrate can be continuously produced from roll to roll, which is a new generation of substrate technology, which has light, thin, Impact resistance, unbreakable, easy to carry, bendability and other characteristics.

The present invention replaces the glass substrate of the prior art with a transparent flexible sheet 23, so that the transparent conductive layer 24 and the metal circuit layer 25 can be bonded to the transparent flexible sheet 23, and the transparent flexible sheet 23, the transparent conductive layer 24 and the metal circuit Layer 25 can be formed in a roll-to-roll manner, which will allow mass production and reduce manufacturing costs. Through the roll-to-roll method, the transparent flexible sheet 23 can be wound into concentric circles, so it can be produced continuously. And it can be directly bonded to the substrate 21 (glass substrate or flexible substrate) by pasting after being properly cut to fit the shape of the substrate. If it is bonded to a flexible substrate, it can be applied to a bendable electronic display device.

However, the above-mentioned embodiments are only illustrative of the effects of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Any person skilled in the art can modify and change the above-mentioned embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. . In addition, the numbers of elements in the above-mentioned embodiments are only for illustrative purposes, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention should be listed in the following claims.

Claims (10)

1. A soft cover layer of a touch panel, characterized in that, comprising: a substrate; an adhesive layer formed on the substrate; a transparent flexible sheet, bonded to the substrate via the adhesive layer; a transparent conductive layer formed on the transparent flexible sheet; and a metal circuit layer formed on the transparent conductive layer; Wherein, the transparent flexible sheet, the transparent conductive layer and the metal circuit layer are formed by a roll-to-roll method. 2. The flexible covering layer of a touch panel according to claim 1, wherein a first photoresist pattern layer is formed on the metal circuit layer, and the metal circuit not covered by the first photoresist pattern layer layer and the transparent conductive layer are removed by etching, and the first photoresist pattern layer is also removed by etching; a second photoresist pattern layer is formed on the metal circuit layer after etching, and the The metal wiring layer is removed by etching, and the second photoresist pattern layer is also removed by etching. 3 . The flexible cover layer of a touch panel according to claim 1 , wherein the metal circuit layer is a continuous circuit layer, a discontinuous circuit layer or a stepped circuit. 4 . 4 . The soft cover layer of a touch panel according to claim 1 , wherein the substrate is a glass substrate or a transparent flexible substrate. 5. The soft cover layer of the touch panel according to claim 1, characterized in that, the transparent soft sheet is polyethylene glycol terephthalate, polycarbonate, polymethacrylate, Arton It is made of one of transparent resin, cycloolefin polymer, cellulose triacetate and Zeonor transparent resin. 6 . The soft covering layer of a touch panel according to claim 1 , wherein the transparent conductive layer is an indium tin oxide transparent conductive layer. 7 . The flexible cover layer of a touch panel according to claim 1 , wherein the metal circuit layer is made of one of copper, aluminum, silver, gold and indium tin oxide. 8. A method for making a soft cover layer of a touch panel, comprising the steps of: Forming a transparent conductive layer on a transparent flexible sheet through a roll-to-roll method, and forming a metal circuit layer on the transparent conductive layer; forming a first photoresist pattern layer on the metal circuit layer; removing the metal wiring layer and the transparent conductive layer not covered by the first photoresist pattern layer by etching; removing the first photoresist pattern layer by etching; forming a second photoresist pattern layer on the metal circuit layer; removing the metal wiring layer not covered by the second photoresist pattern layer through etching; and The second photoresist pattern layer is removed by etching. 9 . The method for manufacturing the soft covering layer of a touch panel according to claim 8 , further comprising the step of: forming an adhesive layer on a substrate. 10 . 10 . The method for manufacturing a soft cover layer of a touch panel according to claim 9 , further comprising the step of: adhering the transparent flexible sheet to the substrate via the adhesive layer. 11 .